I've been without power since 4:30 pm Sunday.

[myrna minx]

I'm at work, so I've been able to discover that I'm one of the 2,000 or so people still without power. The strong winds caused a huge tree branch to snap and take out the transformer. While this isn't an emergency, it made me realize that I am wholly unprepared for a true emergency.

Does anyone have any suggestions for brands of hand crank flashlights/radios? I want to assemble a small emergency kit in case I'm truly stuck without heat/power/water for an extended period of time. Does anyone else have a kit? What do you have on hand in case of an emergency?

[MineralMan]

1. I see you're in MN.

The biggest danger in MN with a power failure is during the winter. If you live in a house, your furnace will not work in case of power failure. That can be a bad thing, indeed. If you live in an apartment, see if your building has auxiliary power. If so, you'll be OK.

In a single-family dwelling, it's a bigger problem. You could have a standby generator, but getting it hooked up to your furnace isn't easy, and it's expensive. If you don't do that, find out from a plumber or someone knowledgeable how to shut off and drain your water system in case of a long power outage. Then, find a place you can go that's warm. Do this stuff ahead of time.

For short power failures, a battery flashlight is fine. Alkaline D cells last a long, long time when not used, and will provide light for quite some time. I have three of these...one in each room I'm likely to be in when power fails.

Next, have another form of lighting. Candles are ok, but a propane-powered mantle lantern, like a Coleman, is ideal, since it provides strong lighting and can be carried from room to room.

Have a battery-powered radio. This is important, since it can let you keep up with the situation. In the winter, that can be critical. In the Twin Cities, tune to WCCO-830. They are the best at keeping up with stuff like that.

For non-winter periods, I have a propane-powered Coleman two-burner stove. I can prepare meals on it, or just some coffee. I have a stove-top percolator, but a French Press or other non-electric coffee maker will work, too. If you have a gas range, check in advance to see if the gas comes on when you turn the knob. If so, you can manually light burners with a match and use that for food and other prep. Again, make sure you know how to do this in advance.

It's possible that your cell-phone won't work if the power failure is widespread. That's why you need a wired phone, even if you never use it. It will almost always work, even in a power failure. Be sure to call the power company number to report your outage. They need this info to map the failure.

Keep the refrigerator and freezer closed. If the failure doesn't last more than a few hours, stuff will be fine.

Finally, in the winter, if the failure looks like it's going to last long, take care of your water system as you've been advised by a plumber or other person, then go somewhere warm. If you have pets, take them too. Don't wait until the temps drop below zero. If you have an attached garage, learn how to bypass the garage door opener and try that before you need it.

[myrna minx]

2. Thanks for your advice.

I live in an apartment in Minneapolis. I've never experienced a prolonged outage like this before. Mercifully this wasn't an emergency, but it's the fear of something like this happening in winter that made me want to prepare myself for an emergency. :hi:

[MineralMan]

3. Yah, sure...we Minnesnowtans have to stick together, you betcha!

:grouphug:

[Lydia Leftcoast]

4. The battery-powered radio can be just a Walkman the size of a playing card

That works just fine.

I have some kerosene lamps, thanks to my mother breaking up housekeeping. Just use lamp oil available at Target and be sure the wick isn't too high when you light it or place the glass chimney over the flame.

Your hardware store can sell you a flashlight that stays permanently plugged into the wall. When the power goes off, a red dot glows on it so that you can find it in the dark.

If I KNOW there's a storm coming, I boil up a lot of water, store it in a thermos, and grind up some coffee in advance. That way I know that I will have the Necessity of Life (coffee) when I need it. Water will stay reasonably hot in a thermos overnight. You can also use the hot water to make instant noodles or oatmeal.

Always have some ready-to-eat foods available: peanut butter, crackers, applesauce in individual cartons, rice milk or soy milk in individual cartons, anything else that can be safely consumed without refrigeration.

[myrna minx]

5. Oh Lydia, I wish I would have had your foresight to prepare for coffee in advance.

I couldn't wait to get to work to have my life force. :D I'm definitely going to be prepared in case this happens again - number one on my list is a cold press. Thanks for your advice. :hi:

[Lydia Leftcoast]

6. I learned my lesson in Portland

I don't know what was wrong with the grid in my neighborhood, but we had power outages five times in one winter.

It wasn't that cold, but the lack of coffee was brutal, especially the time that the outage was due to an ice storm and I could see out the window that no one was getting more than a few steps without falling. I felt like chewing the coffee beans.

So after the power came back on, I immediately ran out and bought a thermos and some ice walker straps for my shoes.

[myrna minx]

7. Five times? That's horrible.

The power grid in my new neighborhood is poor. I've had several power outages since I've moved here, but it never extended beyond an hour or two. I've learned my lesson. It shouldn't be a physical comedy for me to find a flashlight or a candle while in the dark. I'm so delighted that the power has returned. Thanks to you, I now know to grid enough beans for a few pots, and to replace my broken cold press. :hi:

[Lydia Leftcoast]

8. I could thank Pacific Gas and Electric (i.e. Enron) or those five power outages

Before moving to Portland, I lived in a small Oregon town that had a publicly owned power company for seven years, and during that whole time, we had ONE power outage and electric bills averaging $12 a month for a two-bedroom apartment, including heat.

[Brickbat]

9. I always have a couple of jugs of water on hand -- we've got a well, so when the power goes out our

water goes, too.

If, for whatever reason, it gets really cold and you can't get out, get everyone into one of your rooms, light a bunch of candles and lamps (safely!), and read in bed. It's amazing how warm a couple candles can make a room, if it's closed off. But again, be safe with the candles. We have a fireplace, so we use that for heat when the power is off in the winter.

I also stock up on ready-to-eat food when a storm is coming -- bread, PB, granola bars, etc. -- and make a Thermos of coffee.

[myrna minx]

11. Thanks for your advice.

:hi:

[krispos42]

10. Hand-crank flashlights are a bit over-rated

You have to keep cranking them. They're good to take hiking or as a backup or whatever, I guess, but when you're just sitting around trying to read a book it's hard to get involved.


I would recommend buying, for long-term lighting purposes, a Coleman lantern that burns propane or Coleman fuel for when you're doing big things like cooking or eating or whatever. It will also output some heat to keep you warm. However, carbon dioxide or carbon monoxide might be a significant risk to your health. And of course that whole burning-down-your-building issue might crop up. I think if you don't mind dropping about $70 bucks, you can get a Coleman lantern that can run on gasoline or Coleman fuel, so that gives you some flexability. Of course, you an also get a little Coleman stove or that runs on the same fuel.

You might want to consider keeping a big barbeque-sized propane tank in the apartment and running your lantern, stove, and grill off of it. They make hoses and pipes and splitters and such that let you do that.

For when you're just hanging around, I would suggest an LED flashlight. If you already have a big Mag-Lite, you can buy an LED conversion kit for it for about $20. It's suppose to dramatically increase the battery life, five or ten times or something like that. However you'll probably want to get a little flashlight with a pocket clip as well... these you can simply clip to a baseball cap so you have your hands free.

SureFire is an American company that makes high-end flashlights that use those CR123 3-volt lithium batteries. Those batteries last several times longer than same-sized alkaline batteries, have a much longer shelf life, and don't freeze in a Minnesota winter. They make some "Tactical" lights, high-powered flashlights with short run times, and "Outdoorsman" type lights that have more typical light outputs and that run a couple of days on a set of batteries. Streamlight is another company that makes similar products.

They're a bit pricey but probably the last flashlight you'll ever buy: military-spec, shockproof, waterproof, unbreakable, and made from hard-anodized aluminum. They engineered them to be attached to firearms and be 100% reliable.

You can also buy generic LED flashlights that run off of CR123 batteries: I keep a little one (about the size of a D-cell) in my car. It's a dual LED/incandescent one that runs off of a single CR123. I got it from the Sportsman's Guide for 20 or 25 bucks.

Incidently, the per-unit cost of a CR123 is super-cheap at Surefire: $21 for a 12-pack, and they cost 3 or 4 bucks each at the store. I keep a box of CR123s in my car next to the aforementioned flashlight... I probably could run the light for two weeks! 10-year shelf life, too.

Of course, they also make generic pocket LED flashlights that run off of AAA and AA batteries... I keep one in my belt holster at work that I got from Target for like $10. These clip right on to the visor of a ballcap for hands-free use. Very important when trying to read a book to while away the hours.

Candles work very nicely as well as general room lighting, as long as you're awake. They last for a very long time, but are hard to read by or do anything productive with.


C. Crane markets a wind-up radio line, including one that has a built-in solar panel and LEDs.

http://www.ccrane.com/radios/wind-up-emergency-radios/freeplay-companion-am-fm-led-radio.aspx



If you're inclinded to invest a little, you can buy some military MRE pouches. 15-year shelf life, includes a main dish, a side dish, snack, dessert, condiments, utensils, and a water-activated heater mesh for heating up your food without pans or fire. I think they run about $6 each if you buy them by the dozen.

If you're inclinded to cook, then I would suggest using lots of aluminum foil so you don't have to clean up, wasting precious resources like fuel and water. Reynold's Release works quite well.

And keep Bisquick around... self-rising bread in the form of biscuits is a fast and easy. Evaporated milk, water, mix, bake or pan fry. You'll get something bread-like, at least.


Your car is also a generator. You can buy a power inverted to plug into your cigarette lighter so you can generate household power from car voltage. I have a 400-watt one that I used to power my laptop for my kid on long drives. Don't know if this can be applied to you, but it would be useful to run things like portable DVD players charge cell phones or whatever. You can run an extension cord through a window or something.

[myrna minx]

12. Thank you for all of this helpful information.

:hi: Wow. This is really helpful.