Just got power back about 1900 hours on 2-sep, after losing it 27-aug 2300 hours. Single guy, no kids, no big expections. City water, 1 crank LED flashlight and an olive oil lamp, book of matches.
I'm surprised at how resourceful and frugal one can become if necessary. I went to work, Monday, in the Groton/New London area (30 miles away) and my work place had power. I brought along a gas can to get fuel for my friend's generator. It was touch and go for two days since nothing within 20 miles of the house had power. Most of the people showed up for work the whole week although MOST had no power at home.
The tidbits I learned are:
1) fuel up ALL vehicles. My friend tanked up her Saturn only to have the gearbox seal blow and render the car unusable. She did not have to work all week since her workplace is without power.
2) Crank the fridge and freezer to lower temps. I did not even think of this.
3) Crank up the hot water heater. Since I have city water, my tank supplied usable hot water until this morning. Had I set it higher I would have been ok for a few more days. Showers of cold water and a 15 second hot water rinse aren't that unreasonable, except for the undesired physiological reactions. It really sheds light on how many resources are wasted solely because they can be.
4) Have a good supply of laundered items. Did some loads in a plastic storage bin on the lowered tailgate of the B2300. Dried, thankfully, in the sun.
5) A network makes the experience easier. Lots of people at work showering @ friend's houses. I was bringing water over to a friends, 28 gallons @ a time.
All in all, since it was summer, the whole experience enabled me to create a virtually infinitely sustainable style of living that really wasn't that big of an imposition and it was a good dry run for testing one's own preparations. The town's people appeared to keep their good nature and no one seemed to panic, even when after 4 days, the center of town was still dark and no one had seen a utility truck.
I'm surprised at how resourceful and frugal one can become if necessary. I went to work, Monday, in the Groton/New London area (30 miles away) and my work place had power. I brought along a gas can to get fuel for my friend's generator. It was touch and go for two days since nothing within 20 miles of the house had power. Most of the people showed up for work the whole week although MOST had no power at home.
The tidbits I learned are:
1) fuel up ALL vehicles. My friend tanked up her Saturn only to have the gearbox seal blow and render the car unusable. She did not have to work all week since her workplace is without power.
2) Crank the fridge and freezer to lower temps. I did not even think of this.
3) Crank up the hot water heater. Since I have city water, my tank supplied usable hot water until this morning. Had I set it higher I would have been ok for a few more days. Showers of cold water and a 15 second hot water rinse aren't that unreasonable, except for the undesired physiological reactions. It really sheds light on how many resources are wasted solely because they can be.
4) Have a good supply of laundered items. Did some loads in a plastic storage bin on the lowered tailgate of the B2300. Dried, thankfully, in the sun.
5) A network makes the experience easier. Lots of people at work showering @ friend's houses. I was bringing water over to a friends, 28 gallons @ a time.
All in all, since it was summer, the whole experience enabled me to create a virtually infinitely sustainable style of living that really wasn't that big of an imposition and it was a good dry run for testing one's own preparations. The town's people appeared to keep their good nature and no one seemed to panic, even when after 4 days, the center of town was still dark and no one had seen a utility truck.
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