Electricity out but still here

[Stonehead]

The cold winter winds I mentioned yesterday continued to pick up last night with gust in excess of 90mph.

The electricity went just after 7pm so we fell back to cooking on the open Victorian range with oil lamps, paraffin lanterns, and candle lanterns for light.

The electricity is still not back on, but the generator is giving enough power to energise the electric fence, run the biggest freezer and power the internet router.

The boys loved breakfast with porridge cooked over the open fire, then toast made over the coals. As so much of Scotland has been hit and we're rural, we've been warned it could be Sunday before the electricity is restored.

I'll post a few photos later, but am powering down again now so we can do a few other things with the electricity. (I feel sorry for the people with all-electric modern houses and no self-sufficientish, survivalist nutters like me in the house! As the OH said this morning, "In case of emergency break glass and activate Pioneer Pa". )

[pskipper]

Hmm, just about to leave for a holiday in the cairngorms! Hope the power returns soon!

[Andy Hamilton]

We have had a few power cuts round here recently too, I think due to the fact that hinkley point nuclear power station has closed due to cracks in the reactor. - On top of that someone growing a housefull of dope had tapped into the mains to power up their hydroponics. - although I am not sure that the latter would make much difference.

We make do with candles when we get cuts, but as the oven is electric and we have no turbines we are dependent on the grid. I hope that changes one day. I must get a wick and some paraffin for my lamp.

I have images of you and your family during the inforced blackout and you have made it sound like more of an adventure than a hinderance.

[Stonehead]

I have images of you and your family during the inforced blackout and you have made it sound like more of an adventure than a hinderance.

Not really a hindrance for us - just a test of our post Peak Oil preparedness! Main problem for us is that we're down to one-pot meals and baking, plus no central heating or showers. We've just had toasted cheese sarnies with chips for lunch, and will have casserole for dinner.

However, the farmer across the road can't water his cattle - electric pump and no generator. I offered him my Lister diesel (veg oil) water pump but he prefers to try to find a generator for now.

But me, I'll be slightly disappointed when the power comes back on even if life gets more convenient again!

[Stonehead]

We're back in the 21st century again with the electricity restored.

But, as is typical of the OH and myself, when the lights suddenly came back on we were rather disappointed! "Oh," she said, "I was looking forward to another night cooking on the open fire and eating in the snug."

I guess I'm gradually turning her into a backwoods gal!

The three main things that we've had reinforced by the experience of 20 hours without electricity are that:

1. The previous owners of the house, who ripped out a perfectly good solid fuel Rayburn (with hot water and central heating) to put in an oil boiler that needs electricity to operate, should be dunked repeatedly in cold water - at the very least.

2. We must get the alternator on the Lister rewound. While it does generate electricity, the voltage fluctuates far too much for most modern electrical equipment. Either that, or we find a new 1500rpm, 3.5kva alternator to replace it (although the old one has an electric starter built in).

3. We can not only cope without mains electricity - we can be reasonably comfortable as we are and would be very comfortable if we had a solid fuel Rayburn with hot water and central heating. The only problem is, where to beg, buy or scrounge one with minimal outlay?

Oh, pics on my blog. I've run out of time to post them here as it's dinner time.

[Shirley]

We had a couple of short powercuts... that's all.

We are not as prepared as you with regards to heat etc... we've got candles but other than that we are all electric and haven't yet got a generator.. I was wondering about the alternatives to a diesel one... any ideas anyone?? I thought wind.. but then what if it's not windy... maybe biodiesel...

We would be without water in a powercut too - and the heating needs electrickery to make it work (oil fired ch)

[Martin]

for Stoney!
http://www.volvoxengineering.com/Obsole ... nators.htm

[Stonehead]

for Stoney!
http://www.volvoxengineering.com/Obsole ... nators.htm

I'll have to be careful how I phrase this. Volvox couldn't meet their orders earlier this year (but now claim to have the problems sorted); there was a huge spat between some people involved with Volvox on a mailing list I used to subscribe to (and withdrew from as a result); and the last I saw, their buy on-line facility had been withdrawn. It doesn't give me a lot of confidence.

Thanks anyway.

[Martin]

I knew there's been supply problems, but hope he's got his act together now!
Must admit, the disappearance of the price list doesn't inspire confidence!
For Shirlz - I can't claim it as being particularly "green", but you can use cheap UPS systems to keep things like central heating pumps going during a power cut - if you add a substantial battery or two to them, they can power them for a couple or three days

[Stonehead]

For Shirlz - I can't claim it as being particularly "green", but you can use cheap UPS systems to keep things like central heating pumps going during a power cut - if you add a substantial battery or two to them, they can power them for a couple or three days

Duh! I should have thought of that - not least because I've used UPS systems for other back-up jobs. Must add that to my list of things to do.

Funny how you can have an obvious solution right under your nose and not see it.

[PurpleDragon]

We lost our power here at about 7.30 on Thursday evening, and didn't get it back till midday-ish on Friday.

Unfortunately, unlike Stoney, we are like babes without electricity. We had nothing at all. I have a stash of candles, but Himself smokes and keeps nicking my matches/lighters, and on this occasion, he wasn't my fave person (he being in Inverness and me in Aberdeenshire!).

After cracking my head of a door and lossening two teeth in the process, I managed to find a lighter. Fortunately I had already fed the children, and after a while we quit waiting for the power to be restored and all ended up snugged up in my bed. Three small children generate mega-watts of warm.

That gale highlighted our reliance on electricity, and out helplessness without it. No central heating (oil fired central heating and no other form of heating at all); electric cooker; electric shower; no way to heat water.

My big worry was the freezer, after having collected the lamb from Stoney, that it was all ruin, but it was okay. Whew!

[Stonehead]

And to put our power loss in perspective, the farm we bought our boar from had the electricity off for a week only a couple of years back. And they're just down the road from a stinking great nuclear power station.

Mind you, they've kept their gravity fed, wick burner Rayburn; have a river for water (and fishing, lucky sods), and generators.