Black out

[Paul]

No problem, been there, done it.
Thanks to prepping!
The generator uses 4 liter of fuel lasts 10 hours continuous.
We keep 2 Jerry cans for such emergencies.(40 liters) plus our vehicle cans two of which we always keep topped up during the winter. (8 liters)

Last winter we lost power a number of times.
Logged two of them for insurance purposes 'just in case' sort of thing.

Event 1
At -12 C power off for 10 hours.
Generator ran the deep freeze every 6 hours for 20 mins to keep it chilled. (total for day 45mins)
Multifuel kept most of the house warm BUT when the overall temperature dropped to under 14 C we plugged in the Central heating into the generator and ran it for 1/2 an hour.
That brought up the house to 17 C. Did that twice (total for event 1 hour)

Lights, We probably have the biggest stock of 8 hour tea candles in the UK and the little lanterns to put them in. No problems with light.

Heating water and food, no problem, flat top on multifuel stove and we brought the correct pans for flat plate cooking. Before than we managed with mess tins which are perfect but no lids.

Total for event 1, no losses, warm, lit, fed well. Generator time 1:45 so 3/4 liter of fuel)

Event 2
Power went off at 4am, came back on 9pm that day (16 hours). minus 8 dropping to minus 9.
Strong Easterly wind so house chilled a little too quickly for our liking.
Alerted to power fail by 'no power' alarm I made.

Generator ran central heating for 4 times that day for a total of 2:25 hours.
Deep freeze top up twice (40 mins)
Total fuel 3 hours(ish) 1.5 liters which is slightly up for normal use.
Guessing it was up because the generator was outside being blasted by strong winds.

OK there wasn't a conflict going on and although the generator is a 'hush' type, it could be plainly heard from across the street so approx 30 yards you could hear a continuous 'buzz'. Not good.
As for lights? All our windows have heavy blackout thickness lined curtains anyway to keep the heat in. No problem with light.
Radio was a little 2 cell AAA Asda £3 job, worked fine.
Lots of scrabble and cards. No real problems.

If there is one thing I'd advise home owners to buy it's got to be a little flat topped multi fuel stove. It doesn't have to be tied into the central heating or anything silly but our little 18kw Arrow stove keeps our home warm (not hot) all by itself. IT burns most anything solid, pallet wood, our old beech tree lasted for 3 seasons, although we prefer using coal ovoids as its 'less messy'.
Fussy little sods aren't we?