Preparing for Rolling Electric Blackouts (1 Viewer)

[Linda]

News articles and reports have been floating around about possible electric power outages during this summer in the US. My ears pricked up because whether planned, orchestrated, result of poor management, etc., it matters to me and mine. So, how can we best make it through because we live in a rather hot climate. As our provider has a good track record, I anticipate that outages will be similar to those during snowmageddon 2021. We had rolling blackouts lasting from 1 to 9 hours. It was well below freezing then, but we managed. The peak of the summer will bring different challenges, but we've thought it through.

Ride on the top half (my grandfather's saying), which means fill your gas tank at the half way mark. At the very least, it is an inflation hedge. If power goes out, gas pumps will not work, either.

Freezers and refrigerators are most vulnerable. First rule of outages is to not open the doors. Have blankets to wrap garage freezers.

Plan to move food, beverages, medicines from the refrigerator to a cooler. Have a mental or actual list of what you need from the refrigerator and open it one time quickly.

Keep a cooler in the house rather than a shed or garage because it will cool down faster.

Block ice melts more slowly than crushed ice. I cannot store block ice, so I made my own substitute by filling gallon freezer baggies with water, setting them in square foil casseroles, and freezing. They stack well and are easier to fit in a freezer. I left a few in the foil pans so they can help keep them cool, and the pan will contain liquid if they start to melt. I've stacked a few plain ones to go into the cooler.

Lights at night - we have a few battery operated lanterns that work great, as well as extra batteries.

Generators - I'd like a small battery generator to run a fan and charge phone and laptop, but it is not in the picture at this time. So looking for some kind of battery operated fan.

Also, one thing that made life much easier during snowmageddon was that I was caught up with laundry.

Do you all have any other thought?

 

[Linda]

Happy to report good results. Needed to check on something in the freezer, which required emptying it out. I brought over the cooler (which was cool from being inside the house), popped in my homemade ice blocks, and stacked the contents. Easy-peasy and very effective.

 

[Lila]

I've used two pots, one inside the other with a wet cloth overtop to make a cooler. It worked surprisingly well and was simple to do. It's simple enough to try if you have pots.

You cover any holes at the bottom of the pot with tape and allow the air between the two pots to act as an insulator. Then the wet cloth evaporates and creates cooling as it does. You have to keep the cloth wet. I was able to safely store cheese in it for a few days out in the desert in the summer; it really impressed me that I could. Not sure it was really cool enough for milk, though I didn't always have the cloth wet.

For me this was a simple science experiment with my kids that turned out to have practical value. I've heard that a clayworker (makes pots, etc) in India used the principle to make custom shaped fridges. His had two layers of pottery with the ability to keep water between them for evaporation. This video shows the principle, though this guy has used sand between the pots which I didn't do. He got between 30-39 F degrees difference between the outside air and inside his pots:

 

[Lila]

Here's another one that uses winter ice to continue to cool goods during very hot winters. It's far more extensive and :

 

[Lila]

Turns out lots of people are looking into different designs.
Here is a ceramic + water cooler for a bigger building:


I think I've also found a video about the potter (claymaker) who created refrigerators which didn't require electricity. It seems he's doing well. The fridge costs about $40. The part that focuses on fridges is around 5.20 min: