Power! I WANT POWER! BWA-A-A-A-H!

[Muzhik]

Just finished an unplanned 24-hour power fast (i.e., the storm blew the power lines down, and I was sans electricity for a day). I found out a) I don't have enough batteries, and b) I rely WAY too heavily on rechargeable batteries.

What ideas does anyone have about dealing with long-term power outages?

[Muzhik]

If you're looking for new rechargeable batteries, check out this review of rechargeables and chargers.

[Jenna Bailey]

Originally Posted by Muzhik

If you're looking for new rechargeable batteries, check out this review of rechargeables and chargers.

Thanks for that link Muzhik. I have not bought any rechargeables in a long time, and what I had from years ago is long gone. One of the chargers on that site is the Maha brand, which I found recommended on the Backwoods Home blog.

http://www.backwoodshome.com/forum/v...hlight=battery

As soon as I can, I am going to order that and then some rechargeable batteries. But what I am getting from your recent experience, is that we still need plenty of regular batteries for emergencies. Would you agree?

Also, I like your idea of keeping the frozen bottles of water wherever there is spare room in the freezer.

[Muzhik]

Yes, to the idea of getting a lot of regular batteries, esp. if you can't count on your rechargeables to hold a charge.

I started buying rechargeable batteries as a combined economic/green choice. Even if the batteries cost more initially, being able to use them again and again would keep materials out of landfills, etc. I've learned though that if I used a battery-powered device such as a radio on a regular basis, then the rechargeable batteries would make economic sense, but my present device usage doesn't justify that expense. Maybe the new rechargeables (if they hold a charge longer) will make better economic sense.

It will also help if I can get a way to recharge the batteries "off the grid", i.e. using solar, wind, mechanical, etc. My solar-powered charger doesn't seem to be worth the $20 I paid for it. I'd like to buy/build a pedal-powered generator, but have neither the money nor the apartment space to store one.

I started doing the frozen-bottle-of-water thing when I read that doing that will increase your freezer's efficiency (i.e., a full freezer is more efficient). I think that's what saved a lot of my food.

[2livfree]

Go Amish, when growing up we lived kind of like little house on the prairie (or in the big woods). so get the hand crank solar radio, ( i bought on years ago at big lots for 20.) crank solar flashlight with led bulb. solar shed light might be useful if you could mount it. laundry plunger for clothes washing. paint recycled plastic half black and put it out side to heat water. use a solar cooker, we used a homemade one in scouts and cooked whatever in it in freezing weather. you can also use your solar cooker at night to cool things. use power from your phone jack to charge cell phone or run an led light. you can get like 14 watts out of the jack! ooo make a small radiation charger which pulls energy from the air http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zxEW1Keb_hA

Have Fun!

[DJgang]

I have a hand crank radio already. Funny that we won it about two years ago on rewards with AT&T.

Looking now at a solar powered generator.

DH has been wanting a generator, but we need to think...no gas!

I have a solar oven as well.

If I had the money...solar panels would be installed tomorrow and my home would be mostly solar, but that's just not feasible right now.

I am also working in heating without power, that has me concerned. Usually we use kerosene heat, but what if no kerosene? Trying to figure out if a solar generator would run a space heater....

For some reason I can not view the complete group forum...I am only able to link from the social group page, I wonder what's up with that....is this a mod function?

Anyway....

God bless!!!!

[2livfree]

I don't think solar panels for a space heater is the way to go. I would check into 12v heaters for a solar panel. invest in hats and sweaters too! http://www.roadtrucker.com/12-volt-h...s-sheets-1.htm here are some cool 12v blankets to keep you warm.

http://www.reuk.co.uk/Make-a-Simple-...Air-Heater.htm this is interesting space heater!

[DJgang]

http://www.northerntool.com/shop/too...Product%20Page

I am checking these out ....

[2livfree]

Wow those are expensive. Do your research if you have enough sunlight to make it effective in the winter where you're located. I have plenty of sun in fl, but a small budget so I'll have to stick with the homemade one.

[Muzhik]

DJgang, welcome! This is the only way I know how to get to the group lists:

http://forums.catholic.com/forumdisp...301?styleid=18

As for generators, a couple of ideas there, depending on your location and your climate. For a gas-powered generator, see if you can get one that can be modified to run on alcohol or on a gasoline-alcohol mix. If you have space for storage of tanks, you might be able to plan on getting a propane or natural gas-powered generator -- good for temporary outages, but not for long-term outages.

Diesel is a possibility, as you can make your own diesel out of vegetable oil. If you plan on going that route, start learning NOW how to make diesel. From what I understand, it's one of those things that is easy to learn but hard to master. Most online instruction videos/manuals don't include one very important step, and that is to wash the resulting diesel before using it in your motor.

Otherwise, if you have a ready supply of wood available, there are now places where you can buy plans, parts, and even completely assembled wood-gassification generators.

At the present time, unless you live in a high-sunshine area (hint: Minnesota is NOT a high-sunshine area!) you shouldn't depend on photo-voltaic solar for your power needs. As backup, or something to trickle charge batteries and keep the charge up, yes, but not as your primary source. An exception can be made in the case of using parabolic mirrors to heat water, etc. While I've seen plans for doing stuff like this be advised of one very important fact (and yes, I'm going to be shouting :

STEAM IS DANGEROUS! STEAM IS VERY, VERY, VERY DANGEROUS! IF YOU'RE PLANNING ON BUILDING A STEAM GENERATOR, MAKE SURE YOU INCLUDE AS MANY SAFETY SYSTEMS AS POSSIBLE, AS WELL AS A LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT!

Having said (screamed) that, I've got links to various web sites that claim to have used steam for power generation. On one site the author claims to have met someone living in the back woods who built a low-pressure steam generator using a 55-gal drum as the pressure chamber. If the pressure got too high the drum would start leaking steam, well below the pressure point where it would be dangerous. (So it wasn't deadly dangerous, just very dangerous.) There were no plans available, however, so it really was a do-it-yourself system.

On another site, the authors showed how they took an antique steam engine bought at a farm auction, refurbished it, and used it to drive a home-built 12V generator that they used to "top off" their battery systems. The whole contraption only put out 2KW, but it could possibly generate more. The article included information on building your own 12V generator, including winding the coils.

If your biggest concern is heat for comfort, cooking, or both, you may be looking at a cast iron stove. That would not be my first choice, although it might be my only choice. For a combination of efficiency and effectiveness, look at rocket stove systems. They are able to generate a lot of heat from a small amount of biomass fuel (i.e., wood, paper, cow dung, etc.) It's easy to put one together (I've seen plans for building one using concrete building blocks for emergency use) and depending on how well it's built can reach temperatures of around 600*F. (One guy, while experimenting, got his system to produce temps of over 1,000*F. He knows because the aluminum he was using in his burn chamber started melting.) So rocket stoves are good for cooking.

For heating, you should check out a masonry heater (if you have money) or a rocket mass heater (RMH) (if you don't). I say that because masonry heaters are known items that take some skill to build, so they're expensive, but most building codes have sections to allow for them. RMHs are the new kids on the block, where building one pretty much uses rule-of-thumb, standards are non-existent and so they aren't included in building codes (i.e., you're on your own). They work by using rocket technology to create a burn chamber that is very high efficiency and produces a lot of heat quickly. The output from the burn chamber runs horizontally for a few feet before being vented outside with a standard stove pipe chimney. The horizontal run is covered with cob, a mixture of clay, sand, and straw. The cob absorbs the heat from the horizontal run and slowly releases it into the area. Thus it's possible to burn some wood for about two hours in the evening and have the system still be warm twelve hours later.

If you want or have the cast-iron stove, see about stacking a lot of thermal mass (firebrick NOT sand -- sand is an insulator) around the stove. This will work like the cob in an RMH -- absorbing the heat and releasing it slowly.

[Muzhik]

Originally Posted by DJgang

http://www.northerntool.com/shop/too...Product%20Page

I am checking these out ....

Wow. Those are expensive. I spent a couple of hours looking at YouTube videos on building stuff like that. Most of them involved gluing discarded pop and beer cans together to make aluminum tubes, painting them black, and putting them in glass-covered boxes. The conclusion I came to after watching all of these is that these things were very effective, BUT the beer cans etc. didn't help or hinder the collection process. Instead, they acted as thermal mass, storing and evening out temperature changes. One person got very similar results by flattening out his cans, attaching them to the wooden box he was using, and painting the result black. You'll notice the units are made of extruded aluminum that's been painted black. That's your thermal mass.