Dealing with power outages

[WhiteFeather]

Thanks for sharing this great info Bill. I was always interested in an inverter for my automobile. Maybe I'll treat myself. I believe I had that inverter in my cart on Amazon awhile ago.

[WhiteFeather]

Posted by Bill Ryan (here)
Dear Friends, I was inspired to start this thread after reading Ewan's experience here (no power for 4 days), and Wade Frazier's here (no power for 5 days). And some after Hurricane Helene, maybe longer.

Here in Ecuador, as I shared on several threads, we're just pulling out of a record 150-day drought, which hugely compromised the hydro-dependent power grid and caused scheduled blackouts which for a brief few weeks were as much as 14 hours a day.

Fortunately, my life at home was almost completely unaffected, internet outages notwithstanding. I feel quietly pleased with how well my system here all worked, and I thought it might be helpful to share it.

Much will be very well-known (or just plain obvious!), but there are one or two little things which might be useful for others to consider when creating their own power outage safety nets.


1. A generator

I have a little Briggs & Stratton 1700 watt gasoline generator, this one.



I bought it years ago in a Black Friday sale, 60% reduced to just $150. I never used it until a couple months ago, and just started it for 5 minutes every now and then to keep it all working fine. It's now done about 200 hours and is perfect for the job. (Like any engine, it needs oil changes and clean filters to keep it all in good shape, but these are extremely simple things anyone can do in minutes.)

It's not big enough to power heavy appliances, and so when it's running I unplug my fridge/freezer and don't use my electric kettle or coffee machine.

But it's ideal for lights, charging batteries, small low-power things, and my laptop. (I actually could use my electric kettle or coffee machine, but it puts a big load on the generator which slows down and works very hard like a car going up a steep hill. For that reason I go easy and never overload it.)

For fresh coffee, I fill a jug when the power grid is on, and then store it in the fridge. I use gas for cooking, so it's easy to heat it up again in a pan on the stove. And re the fridge/freezer, I have it turned a little cooler than normal when the power is on, so that even if it's unplugged for 7 or 8 hours nothing thaws or spoils. This has worked perfectly.


2) An inverter

Some may not know about this. It's a cheap and clever little device that you attach to your car battery (directly, or via the cigarette lighter socket) and which then converts the 12 volts from your car to 300 or 400 watts and 110 volts (or 240). That's plenty enough to charge batteries, flashlights, or a laptop, any time you like.

If you connect it without the engine running, it'll drain the battery super-fast (like leaving the headlights on). But with the engine running, you have your own little generator right there.

Here's one of many on Amazon, and it costs just $33. Never let a rechargeable flashlight fail on you again!




3) Washing clothes

I have a little Avalon Bay (that's its name ) hand-cranked washing machine and spin dryer. It costs about $50.



The hand crank has a gear which makes it spin super-fast. It won't take a heavy load, but works great (and quickly!) for washing socks, underwear, or T-shirts. All you need is hot water, but cold water will do fine much of the time. There's a fun video review which shows it in action here.


4) Rechargeable LED light bulbs

Some may not know about these either. They're wonderful inventions. They're 'normal' bulbs that fit into any standard light socket. They look exactly the same.

But they have a little battery built-in, so that when they're on (powered by the grid), they're also recharging like a flashlight. Then when the grid is down, they work in exactly the same way, lasting for maybe 5-6 hours at a time. They can stay in the lamp (and switch on in exactly the same way), or you can unscrew them and hang them anywhere with little hooks.

There are zillions available, and here's just one.




4) Rechargeable batteries

Like everyone reading this, I have lots of little things that need AA or AAA batteries. I use rechargeable batteries that are a small investment to start with, but the ones I have I've had for 10 years and they still work fine.

I have a little bank of battery chargers, like this:



But I also have a solar battery charger, that looks like this:



It's slower than a grid-powered one, but it works perfectly and it's a great backup.

I've NOT got one of these, but they look cool and fun: This is a pedal-powered generator that will produce 20 watts. That's plenty enough to charge any batteries in an emergency.




5) A solar flashlight

And to solve the rechargeable flashlight problem once and for all, you can get solar-re-chargeable flashlights too. I keep mine outside on the windowsill where it's sheltered from any rain but permanently charged by the morning sun.



~~~

Those are just a few things that have kept my life 99% normal even with 14 hours of blackout per day. I know that many others have been through very similar things, of course, and so I felt this thread might be useful for sharing experiences, hot tips, learning, never-again-mistakes , and anything else that we might all benefit from.

Thanks for this Bill, I just purchased a 500 Watt inverter for under $33.00. There's a 10% Coupon on Amazon.

[Bill Ryan]

Posted by Bill Ryan (here)
3) Washing clothes

I have a little Avalon Bay (that's its name ) hand-cranked washing machine and spin dryer. It costs about $50.



The hand crank has a gear which makes it spin super-fast. It won't take a heavy load, but works great (and quickly!) for washing socks, underwear, or T-shirts. All you need is hot water, but cold water will do fine much of the time. There's a fun video review which shows it in action here.

~~~

Dear Friends, here's a fun update. I had this simple little hand-cranked washing machine for a while, and it's been very useful for rinsing and spin-drying muddy hiking socks. But now, all of a sudden, I have a serious full-time use for it.

Power isn't a problem, but I have an undiagnosed water issue. My water (from the mountain spring up the hill half a mile away) is coming through fine to my filter, which is in the field about 30 feet from my house. But after that there's nothing at all reaching any of my taps, including everything in the bathroom and (of course!) the electric washing machine, which is hard-connected to the water supply.

As best I can rationalize, it's either a blocked pipe (but that seems unlikely, as the filter should take care of any mud or debris) — or an underground leak somewhere.

So it's a solvable problem (but maybe not by me ). I have a lot of stored clean water for eventualities just like this, plus a large rainwater barrel and (if needed!) a beautiful fast-flowing river 100 yards away. If neither I nor my highly skilled friend and neighbor Gilberto can fix this (and Gilberto built his own house from the ground up, including all the plumbing), I'll have to send an SOS for some professional help.

But that's just the intro to this post. Here's the actual update:

Right now, this plastic hand-driven Avalon Bay washing machine is the only way I can wash my clothes. And (wow!) it works.