BE Prepared , this Season

[Stoat muldoon]

I've posted this on others boards , you can shout at me later . Yesterday there was a massive black out in one of the US's main cities , trapping people in lifts and buildings, This was a major electrical black out . This has been predicted for he UK as well . I know I'm probably telling grandma how to suck eggs here . But listen up folks , be ready have a plan especially if you have young kids as I do . Watch the video below , I know your probably not thinking in these terms at this moment in time . You know the saying " Plan for the worst hope for the best " . Stay safe

The second video was uploade 2013 .

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UpoeanRXk2Y

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pKmx8Io3dVo

[mojo]

Yes, thank you, getting ready is essential. Sony got hacked recently and theres much more that we dont know going on behind the scenes.

[Spiral]

Good point Stoat, it's the time of year for doing a bit of prepping, as things are getting more & more unpredictable.

A few boxes of candles & a gas camping stove is a good idea, batteries & torches too.

Don't forget that even if you have gas or oil central heating it won't work in a blackout, all the controls & pumps are electric ! So if you can afford it a portable bottled gas or paraffin heater might be a good investment.

Don't forget your car too !

Make sure its got what it needs (antifreeze, snowchains etc) & keep an old coat, wellies & a spade in the boot / trunk

[777]

keep an old coat, wellies & a spade in the boot / trunk

I always wondered about you....

Seriously though, very good advice all of you and thanks for the heads up. I've been getting a bit too festive and let my guard down a tad too far.

Much appreciated.

[Mark]

Your central heating is useful in that you can survive by drinking the water as your tap water will not be working either.

[norman]

If you have a gas cooker, it probably WILL work in an electrical blackout. I have a stove kettle that's not been put back in it's stash location for a couple of months because we've had something like a dozen shortish power cuts here in that time. 2 or 3 of them were for several hours. It's getting like Baghdad around here.

I'm thinking of making a LED light that runs off the telephone land line ( free power ! [?]). A LED light won't draw much current. Does anyone know much about such a hack, or has experience of trying it? Obviously, if the power outage is over a very wide area, the landline could go dead too, but I find the phone is usually still 'purring' in my ear even when the power is off.

[ don't try this at home, folks ]


A funny thing is, I have a fairly modern condensing gas boiler. It was 'state of the art' 5 years ago. The first really cold snap of winter weather stopped it working. What a laugh ! A fancy boiler that can't cope with sub zero weather.

The problem was/IS! , it has a condensation drain outlet that goes out through the external wall where it freezes up. Because it's only a tiny trickle of moisture, it completely builds up to a full blockage of solid ice within a 24 hour period or even less. Once that happens, the fancy electronic controls sense the failure of fresh condensate to escape from the chamber and shuts the whole thing down dead.

The first time it happened I was faffing around with it for a day in a hell of a panic. A neighbor gave me a friendly plumber's mobile number and he was so rushed off his feet fixing the exact same problem all over the region that he couldn't come to my home but he simple asked me 2 questions and diagnosed the problem. He told me to go outside with a few kettles of hot water and pour it down the condensate drain pipe until some water came out of the bottom of it. I did that. It worked. I fired up the boiler and everything was back to normal again.

Until it froze again !.

I bought a £15 steam gun and rigged up an extension cable with water-proofing around the connections and practiced my method for keeping the boiler working through the coldest weather.

It's completely nuts, but I manage to get through freeze-ups ok this way. What a joke. Whoever invented the 'condensing boiler' was an idiot of the first order.

[Calabash]

Good point Stoat, it's the time of year for doing a bit of prepping, as things are getting more & more unpredictable.

A few boxes of candles & a gas camping stove is a good idea, batteries & torches too.

Don't forget that even if you have gas or oil central heating it won't work in a blackout, all the controls & pumps are electric ! So if you can afford it a portable bottled gas or paraffin heater might be a good investment.

Don't forget your car too !

Make sure its got what it needs (antifreeze, snowchains etc) & keep an old coat, wellies & a spade in the boot / trunk

Good idea Spiral - thanks for the tips.

BTW, I like the boots but you could do with a little less festive cheer going by that tum (looks like mine!)

PS: Geez Spiral, now that you've changed your avatar again my comments above just look plain RUDE - lol . . . . .

[Stoat muldoon]

If you have a gas cooker, it probably WILL work in an electrical blackout. I have a stove kettle that's not been put back in it's stash location for a couple of months because we've had something like a dozen shortish power cuts here in that time. 2 or 3 of them were for several hours. It's getting like Baghdad around here.

I'm thinking of making a LED light that runs off the telephone land line ( free power ! [?]). A LED light won't draw much current. Does anyone know much about such a hack, or has experience of trying it? Obviously, if the power outage is over a very wide area, the landline could go dead too, but I find the phone is usually still 'purring' in my ear even when the power is off.

[ don't try this at home, folks ]


A funny thing is, I have a fairly modern condensing gas boiler. It was 'state of the art' 5 years ago. The first really cold snap of winter weather stopped it working. What a laugh ! A fancy boiler that can't cope with sub zero weather.

The problem was/IS! , it has a condensation drain outlet that goes out through the external wall where it freezes up. Because it's only a tiny trickle of moisture, it completely builds up to a full blockage of solid ice within a 24 hour period or even less. Once that happens, the fancy electronic controls sense the failure of fresh condensate to escape from the chamber and shuts the whole thing down dead.

The first time it happened I was faffing around with it for a day in a hell of a panic. A neighbor gave me a friendly plumber's mobile number and he was so rushed off his feet fixing the exact same problem all over the region that he couldn't come to my home but he simple asked me 2 questions and diagnosed the problem. He told me to go outside with a few kettles of hot water and pour it down the condensate drain pipe until some water came out of the bottom of it. I did that. It worked. I fired up the boiler and everything was back to normal again.

Until it froze again !.

I bought a £15 steam gun and rigged up an extension cable with water-proofing around the connections and practiced my method for keeping the boiler working through the coldest weather.

It's completely nuts, but I manage to get through freeze-ups ok this way. What a joke. Whoever invented the 'condensing boiler' was an idiot of the first order.

Hi Norman , you can get power from you land line phone outlet when the power is down , allegedly . I believe it's a DC voltage , but you'll have to check it with a meter to see how much you are getting . The outlet from you boiler can be lagged quite easily and stops the problem of freezing up .

[Spiral]

Your central heating is useful in that you can survive by drinking the water as your tap water will not be working either.

Just keep a couple of packs of bottled water in, DO NOT drink the black oil tainted toxic sludge that you will find in your central heating system !

In the UK the hot water system is a gravity fed one, meaning there is a header tank in the loft, that would be drinkable if there isn't a dead pigeon in there.....




Norman, can't you re-route the condensation pipe into a bucket or an internal drainage pipe (like with a washing machine ) in the house ?

[Stoat muldoon]

Just keep a couple of packs of bottled water in, DO NOT drink the black oil tainted toxic sludge that you will find in your central heating system !

In the UK the hot water system is a gravity fed one, meaning there is a header tank in the loft, that would be drinkable if there isn't a dead pigeon in there.....




Norman, can't you re-route the condensation pipe into a bucket or an internal drainage pipe (like with a washing machine ) in the house ?

I wouldn't suggest drinking water from your radiators . They put a chemical in there to stop it rusting up the rads . You can drink water from most sources if you roll boil you water for 3 to 5 mins , obviously taking the dead pigeon out first

[norman]

The outlet from you boiler can be lagged quite easily and stops the problem of freezing up .

It could help a bit but in the case of this type drain pipe the problem is that a tiny trickle will freeze long before a full gushing water pipe will. The ice builds up inside the pipe just like an icicle builds up. the water never reaches the exit. Lagging will work in borderline cases, but a big freeze will nobble it whatever I do.

As for phone line power, I think there's a 6 or 9 or 12 volt DC supply with a huge impedance, meaning you can't draw much current out of it before the voltage collapses. A hundred milliamps would probably be ok and that's enough to run a pretty hefty LED.

[Stoat muldoon]

[QUOTE=norman;39123]It could help a bit but in the case of this type drain pipe the problem is that a tiny trickle will freeze long before a full gushing water pipe will. The ice builds up inside the pipe just like an icicle builds up. the water never reaches the exit. Lagging will work in borderline cases, but a big freeze will nobble it whatever I do.

As for phone line power, I think there's a 6 or 9 or 12 volt DC supply with a huge impedance, meaning you can't draw much current out of it before the voltage collapses. A hundred milliamps would probably be ok and that's enough to run a pretty hefty LED.[/QUOTE ]

My boiler like all condensing outlet pipes froze about 3 years ago when the country nearly ran out of road git . I did an error code search and came up with the answer . I used an hair drier to defrost it and reset the boiler , it worked . So I went and bought the thicker walled lagging and it's never frozen since. It beats standing in the freezing cold with a hair drier

[norman]

[QUOTE=Stoat muldoon;39129]

It could help a bit but in the case of this type drain pipe the problem is that a tiny trickle will freeze long before a full gushing water pipe will. The ice builds up inside the pipe just like an icicle builds up. the water never reaches the exit. Lagging will work in borderline cases, but a big freeze will nobble it whatever I do.

As for phone line power, I think there's a 6 or 9 or 12 volt DC supply with a huge impedance, meaning you can't draw much current out of it before the voltage collapses. A hundred milliamps would probably be ok and that's enough to run a pretty hefty LED.[/QUOTE ]

My boiler like all condensing outlet pipes froze about 3 years ago when the country nearly ran out of road git . I did an error code search and came up with the answer . I used an hair drier to defrost it and reset the boiler , it worked . So I went and bought the thicker walled lagging and it's never frozen since. It beats standing in the freezing cold with a hair drier :D

I think we are on the same page then. You used the hair dryer I used the steam gun. That was the same winter, too !

Truth is, we haven't had such a snappy cold spell since then to see if your lagging has done the trick. If we get deep frozen this winter, for a week or more, and your lagging holds out good, let me know, I'll do mine too.

[Stoat muldoon]

[QUOTE=norman;39131]

I think we are on the same page then. You used the hair dryer I used the steam gun. That was the same winter, too !

Truth is, we haven't had such a snappy cold spell since then to see if your lagging has done the trick. If we get deep frozen this winter, for a week or more, and your lagging holds out good, let me know, I'll do mine too.

Your right Norman , hasn't had a good test as yet . Lets hope we never have to go through another winter like that , it was a harsh one that's for sure