Regarding cooking and heating inside, beware carbon monoxide. People die from this all the time, and any gas burning appliance could become deadly without proper ventilation. So make sure you use the Weber grill outside, and think twice before turning on your propane stove if you can’t power on your exhaust vent.
Page 5 of the Mr. Heater owners manual states “Asphyxiation Hazard: Do not use this heater for heating human living quarters.” Wall vented propane heaters offer a safe way to heat a room, and they could also serve as a nice hedge against higher heating costs.
Admin: after reading this post, we contacted the team at Mr Heater and have amended our recommendation. The vent-free product now featured in this post is specifically designed for indoor use. Please make sure to follow the user manual instructions carefully.
Wow! But we live in a city - on the edge, but in a city. We don’t have enough space to do like you did. I’m the only one with fuel reserves I know. All people I know ignore the possibility public traffic systems being down and gas stations out of gas.
Ignorance is a bless, it seems.
…more space: But one couple I know intend to leave the town. They will sell their house and buy another far away from the city with lots of space. I know, we should do the same. But we don’t want to leave our house. There is so much effort we invested into it. And me job demands for presence in the city. And daily driving long distances isn’t an option for the future.
isora – maybe you know (or can find) someone (or another family/group) that are like-minded. With them, you can pool your resources and set something up outside whatever metro area you’re in. Or look into local urban gardening groups?
Just a couple thoughts. Welcome to the community!
My plan is to take on room in my basement (use the earths insulation effect) and uber insulate it for emergencies in extreme cold weather. Then move the family into the room vs trying to keep the who house warm. I’m toying with what to heat the room with and right now a small pellet stove is winning out.
Eye
Sine wave vs modified sign wave inverters - if you are planning to use for all normal electrical uses on a continuing basis, then do yourself a favor and spend the extra to get a full blown sine wave inverter. The “noise” on modified sine wave inverters does not do well with computers, radios and the like. My laptop hooked up had enough noise that it was unusable for audio when connected to the inverter - so I imagine it may have been potentially causing problems with the internal electonics also. I’ve been told that a number of appliances will have their life shortened by connecting to the modified sine wave systems.
I have an older modified sine wave unit and kicked my self on numerous occasions for not spending the extra to do it right the first time – just now installing a new full blown sine wave inverter in my RV trailer
I’ve moved on from SmartWool socks. The wool is high grade but wears quickly. Plus, Smart Wool is always changing their product line and dropping models. After time it just gets too confusing. But the real deal breaker, if you tread heavily, is the wool wearing off the sock. What’s the point? My next sock was Wigwam’s Fusion line, a two-in-one layer with olefin inner, mixed merino outer. These last, and their lightweight models excel for warm and moderate temperatures.
However: for late fall, early spring, and all-winter use, I have found that Feetures’ F1102 medium cushion wool/bamboo blend far exceeds anything I have ever worn for warmth, maintaining dry feet, and comfort. It’s simply no contest. Although I have no experience with mountain store hiking and mountaineering weight socks, for urban use down to ~0º (assuming proper winter footwear like Sorel) I have found Feetures to perform perfectly in every important way, and to fail in no way.
[quote=BartWindrum]However: for late fall, early spring, and all-winter use, I have found that Feetures’ F1102 medium cushion wool/bamboo blend far exceeds anything I have ever worn for warmth, maintaining dry feet, and comfort. It’s simply no contest. Although I have no experience with mountain store hiking and mountaineering weight socks, for urban use down to ~0º (assuming proper winter footwear like Sorel) I have found Feetures to perform perfectly in every important way, and to fail in no way.
[/quote]
Wow, I guess I’m out of touch in the sock world. $50 for three pair seems pretty expensive. I would hope they would last a long time. Heck, for that price I would expect them to perform other “certain functions”
My wife and I just completed four days without power due to a very intense winter storm here in Northern California foothills. We could not get the brand spanking new generator to run, thus our power backup was useless and it was in the 20s…and we were COLD.
We put four pots on the stove (thank goodness we have propane), filled them with snow (we have our own well, run by electricity within an hour the entire house was very comfortable; we were snug as a bug in a rug!
Tip: We put aluminum foil over the stove vent/exhaust fan to keep the steam in the house.
Tip: No need to continually boil water. Start on high and once boiling starts bring it down to a simmer. We refilled the pots about every four to six hours depending on how high we needed to keep the house warm.
The solar recharging station link in the article takes you to an item which is discontinued.
Does anybody else recommend where to get a good solar recharging batteries unit?
(admin, I don’t know if this means you want to take out that link or not)
They’re made in Rochester, NY and I haven’t seen anything like their design before. Does anyone out there have any experience with or knowledge about them?
She is a friend of a member of our prep group and is going to come down to give us a little seminar. Should be a real education. She sounds like a dynamo.
Doug
About 10 years ago, eastern Canada experience a massive ice storm that knocked out power to millions, some for days, one area near Kingston Ontario was without power for about a month in the dead of winter because so many telephone and power poles were destroyed, the system had to be rebuilt. Anyway, I have always believe in being prepared for natural disasters of some sort, so that they do not become human disasters. Don’t confuse the two!
We went through 4 days of no power and I have nothing but fond memories of it. We kept a wood stove burning, the wife prepared tasty hot soups on it, we lit oil lamps, the neighbours all worked together. Relatives moved in to enjoy our comforts. Our food freezer is kept in the garage, it never thawed, there was lots of other goodies to eat and drink in my wine cellar under the front porch. I cut fallen trees for a week to reopen roads and drive ways. I was a bit disappointed when the power finally came back on and things became very normal again.
oops!! quoting his "disclaimer" heh, heh.
you KNOW i’m going to post on his blog . . . about this, and what it signifies, down deeeeep. Full disclosure: In this and future articles, we will recommend specific products and services that we have found to be especially suitable and relevant. If you click on a link to purchase one of the recommended products or services, PeakProsperity.com may receive a small commission. This will not impact the price you pay for those items – you can locate and buy these products elsewhere if you wish
remember chomsky?, edward bernays, propaganda?, and how they got women to go out, be good little consumers, and buy ‘cigarets’??
check out the marketing mechanism in this martinson bid’niss!
hello? !! 'they pay him–and thusly,
and he automatically loses a large shred of real honest ‘cred’
This is NOT how to change the world; no, no no! --this is playing by its lowest fiendish rules.
the market . . .
for shame, for shame!!
If a person is so financially strapped or does not want to spend this money You can take 2 flat sheets , sew them around three edges and in strips like a down comforter . Go pick cat tails, golden jojoba oil and stick the heads in and leave them until they explode then pull the stems out and sew the top shut . I also like to then sew a flannel outer covering with snaps on them so the flannel can be taken off and washed . You just air out the comforter .
