Prepping for power cuts

[ian]

We used to have paraffin heaters in the school portacabin classrooms. I remember even fewer of those lessons. They were used to pacify us when we had substitute teachers.

[Tim Hall]

I have an epic collection of gin. Somewhat less tonic.

I'm prepped.

You need to sort out the tonic issue.
Pronto.
Small cans as opposed to big bottles.
Who wants flat tonic?

Only ever have the small cans, bottles are heretical. One can makes two double G&Ts. Once we run out, there's always neat gin. There are worse fates.

One morning in a fit of pique,
Sing rickety-tickety-tin,
One morning in a fit of pique,
She drowned her father in the creek.
The water tasted bad for a week,
And we had to make do with gin, with gin,
We had to make do with gin.

That sort of thing?

[andrewc]

I have an epic collection of gin. Somewhat less tonic.

I'm prepped.

You need to sort out the tonic issue.
Pronto.
Small cans as opposed to big bottles.
Who wants flat tonic?

Only ever have the small cans, bottles are heretical. One can makes two double G&Ts. Once we run out, there's always neat gin. There are worse fates.

One morning in a fit of pique,
Sing rickety-tickety-tin,
One morning in a fit of pique,
She drowned her father in the creek.
The water tasted bad for a week,
And we had to make do with gin, with gin,
We had to make do with gin.

That sort of thing?

Gin..... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XFZcO_YhxFY

[Kim]

All this talk of vintage gas and paraffin heaters make me think we're going to see an a rise in fires and carbon monoxide poisoning, as people resort to sketchy methods of heating and lighting.  Probably less of the Texan phenomenon of running vehicle engines in garages as a way to keep warm or provide electrons, if only due to the price of petril.

As someone who's too young to remember rolling power cuts^[1], I'd assume they'd be limited to an hour or two at a time, which should minimise the effect on public health (food spoiling, impact on space heating, within the battery capacity of essential medical devices^[2], etc.)?  Would we get advanced notice?  Would that lead to a surge in demand?  Who knows?^[3]


_{[1] I was in ABROAD, where the power cuts were spontaneous.
[2] Barakta's tales of being thrown in the car to drive to the howling wastelands of Stoke in search of electrons for the snot-sucking machine are surely a product of 1970s battery technology.
[3] Presumably not the Prime Minister, on account of him being habitually absent from such meetings.}

[Tim Hall]

Pull up a sandbag, swing the (parrafin) lamp...

In the 70s three day week times, we garnered infomation about when our power cut was likely to be by walking down the road to the Electricity Board Showrooms and reading the schedule sellotaped to their window.

My Dad molished an inverter that ran off a car battery to keep the central heating alive, as Bad Things were likely if Mum got too cold.

[Cudzoziemiec]

_{[1] I was in ABROAD, where the power cuts were spontaneous.}

Did you get water cuts too? I suppose the answer is likely to depend on which of the ABROADS and when. Maybe you had your own borehole?

[Kim]

_{[1] I was in ABROAD, where the power cuts were spontaneous.}

Did you get water cuts too? I suppose the answer is likely to depend on which of the ABROADS and when. Maybe you had your own borehole?

I don't actually remember.  We lived on the MRC^[1] compound in Fajara, which would likely have had its own borehole and chlorination (and presumably enough stored water to ride out the power cuts, unless it was pumped with the backup electrons that ran the lab freezers).  It's hard to do SCIENCE if you can't wash things in un-contaminated water.

Our house itself had the usual stored water arrangement, with thermal solar heating of the hot tank.  The gardener playing worst ladder with an upended wheelbarrow to clean the panels is a vivid memory.

I do remember having fizzy drinks arguments with my parents when away from home (I didn't learn to tolerate the pain until I was much older).  Presumably the municipal water supply was Not To Be Trusted, as is normal for much of Africa.  (Coca-cola products are molished to western standards, and therefore safe to drink.)


_{[1] Interesting to see that they're still going, under the auspices of LHSTM.  I wouldn't be surprised if they're a substantial source of tax revenue for the Gambian government, as well as healthcare.}

[ian]

Generally, the advice in many African capitals is to have two ATM cards, on account that you can't guarantee the machine will have power long enough to complete your transaction and don't bargain on getting your card back any time soon.

[Kim]

Generally, the advice in many African capitals is to have two ATM cards, on account that you can't guarantee the machine will have power long enough to complete your transaction and don't bargain on getting your card back any time soon.

That's good advice anyway, so you've still got the other one after you get robbed.

[rogerzilla]

Heating is fine (wood burner, can heat water on that or, rather more easily, on the gas hob).

If there is s powercut in work hours, I can go into the office, where there is generator backup.

The fridge/freezer is the biggie.  Oh, and pr0n will be really challenging.

[Cudzoziemiec]

Oh, and pr0n will be really challenging.

Nonesense. Traditional way of keeping warm and entertained, isn't it?

[Cudzoziemiec]

_{[1] I was in ABROAD, where the power cuts were spontaneous.}

Did you get water cuts too? I suppose the answer is likely to depend on which of the ABROADS and when. Maybe you had your own borehole?

I don't actually remember.  We lived on the MRC^[1] compound in Fajara, which would likely have had its own borehole and chlorination (and presumably enough stored water to ride out the power cuts, unless it was pumped with the backup electrons that ran the lab freezers).  It's hard to do SCIENCE if you can't wash things in un-contaminated water.

Our house itself had the usual stored water arrangement, with thermal solar heating of the hot tank.  The gardener playing worst ladder with an upended wheelbarrow to clean the panels is a vivid memory.

I do remember having fizzy drinks arguments with my parents when away from home (I didn't learn to tolerate the pain until I was much older).  Presumably the municipal water supply was Not To Be Trusted, as is normal for much of Africa.  (Coca-cola products are molished to western standards, and therefore safe to drink.)


_{[1] Interesting to see that they're still going, under the auspices of LHSTM.  I wouldn't be surprised if they're a substantial source of tax revenue for the Gambian government, as well as healthcare.}

Right. In India we had mains water which flowed three times a week, filling up a sump from where it was pumped by electrons to the roof tank. Water quality was fine for washing and cooking but definitely not for drinking unless boiled. All worked well except when they didn't open the mains stopcock, or when the ground floor people went away leaving a tap open.

Anyway, I followed that MRC Gambia link and saw the photos of cute little Gambian kids – "Gambinos!"

Now let's return to the winter is icumen in, oh laude.

[Wowbagger]

We are very vulnerable to power cuts. Induction cooker with electric ovens, air fryer etc. Gas CH but relying on electric gubbins/pumps etc. We have a solar panel for hot water, but that won't give us anything useful between November & February.

I think my go-to garment will be my Moonwrap, a very long hooded fleece-lined coat for donning when coming out of the sea on a cold day.

[Polar Bear]

I have been pondering whether to buy something like a Jackary to power the GCH boiler during power cuts as well as for other use of course.  It seems like a huge amount of overkill from one perspective but insanely sensible from another.

I think the money will be better spent in having the two gas fires serviced and keeping the extra for emergencies.

[rogerzilla]

I thought about a computer UPS to run the CH in the old house, where there was no fire as backup, but they are bulky and expensive, plus the batteries need replacing after a few years when they become tired.

If you already have a charger, a deep cycle lead-acid battery + inverter might be doable, only hooking it up when needed via a 3 pin plug.  I would guess you'd need about 100-150W, so a 60Ah battery should be ok for an evening.

[Kim]

Right. In India we had mains water which flowed three times a week, filling up a sump from where it was pumped by electrons to the roof tank. Water quality was fine for washing and cooking but definitely not for drinking unless boiled. All worked well except when they didn't open the mains stopcock, or when the ground floor people went away leaving a tap open.

Interesting.  I suppose it's one way to reduce losses due to leaks.

(AIUI leaks are the main reason that you can't trust intermittent water supplies - as soon as positive pressure isn't maintained, the nasties can get in through the holes, even if the water treatment itself is perfectly adequate.)

[LittleWheelsandBig]

When I worked for a water company years ago, the bigger potable water reservoirs would be cleaned out (of sand and suchlike) with little front end loaders. Residual chlorination is very useful.

[rogerzilla]

This house was built when 1976 was still a fairly recent memory, so has a vast cold water cistern in the loft.  There was a trend for builders to fit bigger ones until the 90s.  Mine didn't have a lid but I drained it, dried it, gave it a good scrub out and found a tarpaulin to fit.  The proper clip-on lid is unobtainium for a 1989 tank.

There's a lot to be said for a conventional vented hot water system, not least the nice airing cupboard.  Combis are an evolutionary dead end now anyway, unless hydrogen boilers come on stream.