Prepping for cold weather... how to prepare

[jgradyc]

It's forecast to be -8 degrees in Nashville Wednesday night. I've checked the antifreeze in my vehicles. I plan to leave the faucets on a drip in the bathrooms. I've topped off the gas tank in my car. 

 

I anticipate a power outage, but we have propane heat.

 

What else do I need to think about? 

[nightrunner]

Food and a way to prepare it.

[Fourtyfive]

Insulate your outdoor faucets , seal crawl space vents , some people bag roof turbines.

[VERO1]

Or do like me. Get in car and drve south for a long time. Seriously though I hate to leave my family alone during this cold snap. For us the primary concern is a back up heat source. We do have a kerosine heater and fuel for it. Hopefully it won't be needed.

[Dustbuster]

Tray of meatballs
4 loaves of bread
4 cases of Stella Artois
4 850s of crown
12 frozen pizzas
Case of cokes
Weapons checked
2 off duty strippers to talk to in case of power outage

Pls distribute as needed!

[hipower]

Divorced...are we?

[10-Ring]

That's it, I'm going to Dustbuster's house!

[Wyldk2]

Jgrady, and anyone else out in the weather. You need to keep a cold-weather kit in your vehicle if possible.

 

I have a kit in mine which includes:

 

Several packets of hand warmers/toe warmers of various sizes

First-Aid kit

Ice scraper

De-icer

Fleece blanket

Snack food( peanut butter and crackers)

Water

Flashlight w/batteries

Tow rope

spare warm clothes

 

I would advise something like the above to keep in your vehicle.

 

Also make sure you have a full tank of fuel before you head out in bad weather.

 

Make sure your fluids are topped off and your vehicle is in good condition.

 

I have my bug-out/survival kit in my vehicle at all times anyways, but i'm usually over-prepared.

 

Better to have and not need than to need and not have.

[Sam1]

-8 holy crap it was 80 degrees here today

[Dustbuster]

Divorced ? Yes. Prepared? Yes strippers at house? Not yet. Need at least 4" of snow to engage.

[Parrothead]

Ive got a box in the truck that contains the following;

 

Tow strap

Axe and hatchet

Sleeping bag

Matches

Two LED flashlights and batteries

Ratchet Set

Basic tools (hammer, screw drivers, wrenches, pliers)

Fuse set

Multi size hitches/balls

First Aid Kit

(2) 25# bags of salt

Jumper Cables

Coleman Lantern and Fuel

Newspaper (kindling)

Firestater bricks

Flare gun/ flares

Protein Bars

Water Filtration System

DC to AC power converter

Ratchet strap

Rope

Other things i forgot........but i'm not a "prepper" :ugh:

Edited February 16, 2015 by Parrothead

[peejman]

The usual precautions against pipes freezing.  Last time it got really cold (single digits), I went into my crawlspace and found the temp to be in the 40's. 

 

A couple days worth of food and water in the house.  More depending on where you live and how long you could be stuck. 

 

A way to cook said food without electricity.

 

A kit in the vehicle to help make walking a couple miles home in the snow/ice a little less miserable. 

[10-Ring]

What really bothers me whenever we get weather like this is the amount of people that rush to the grocery store.  What that tells me is that all of these people do no keep a couple of days worth of food on hand.  These are the people that will kill you for your food if we have a SHTF situation. 

[FUJIMO]

What really bothers me whenever we get weather like this is the amount of people that rush to the grocery store.  What that tells me is that all of these people do no keep a couple of days worth of food on hand.  These are the people that you will have to kill when they try to take your food if we have a SHTF situation. 

 

 

Fixed it for you :woohoo:

 

Besides, if they have no more forethought than that about food what are they going to come at me with, a selfie stick and an app on their smart phone ???

Edited February 16, 2015 by FUJIMO

[Dirtshooter]

Will the styrofoam covers for outside faucet be enough protection for -9? Would additional insulation be wise? Been a long time since I have put a minus in front of an expected temperature that I was to be in. I thought that was reserved primarily for the folks north of the mason-dixon line. :woohoo:

[eRay]

My electricity went off for about 2 hours tonight. When it came back on the gas central unit downstairs did not come back on. Luckily the upstairs unit is working so I can sleep up there tonight. Can't get the fan to blow either, so I am hoping it just blew a fuse outside and I can replace it tomorrow. These problems always crop up at the coldest times. And it is a fairly new unit. 3 years old. My 20 year old unit upstairs is still working.

[Wyldk2]

parrothead, You win.

 

Seriously, My bug out kit ( survival kit) has what i may need during an any weather situation(aside from freezing weather), the kit i mentioned i added just for wintery weather.

 

I really don't plan on being out in this crap for a long time,but if i have to i plan accordingly.

 

Anyone who accuses you of being a "prepper" dosen't know what a "prepper" really is. It's these darn shows on TVthat make us who like to be prepared for the worst, into crazed lunatics.

 

I for one, Am not crazy. I'm just prepared.

[seez52]

open the cabinet doors on any faucet thats on an outside wall.

[jgradyc]

I didn't anticipate my car being completely coated in ice this morning. Tomorrow, I'll de-ice it and put an old sleeping bag over the windshield and drivers side door to keep it from icing over again. I don't need to go anywhere, so I don't plan on driving, but I want the car ready to go in case I need to get out for some reason. 

 

The power hasn't gone out yet, but I anticipate that will happen once the temps drop into the single digits. 

[TNWNGR]

Of all the emergency or disaster prepping you may do a well prepared mind and a can do attitude is what counts the most. In this winter mix we're currently experiencing supplement heat and means of cooking are more crucial then a power genset. Always keep some dried and canned food staples on hand. In a vehicle the basic tool set and a means of getting unstuck are always a good thing. Overall in vehicle or home a good 72 hour emergency kit in a pack or duffle is good insurance. Power Bar's, drink mix, dried fruit and nuts last a long time and work.

[glowdotGlock]

My power has been of for about 3 hours now. Everything in my home is electric. I have a "Big Buddy" heater. It can go up to 18,000 btu. I have it on in the kitchen now on the medium setting and it's keeping it about 66° in here. Just right for me. I had it on high but was too much heat. I have it hooked to a 20 lb propane tank. It will run continuous on medium for around 30-34 hours. I have 4 full tanks in the shop. Hopefully it will be back on before this tank empties though. Edited February 17, 2015 by glowdotGlock

[rugerla1]

Glad you had that heater GDG!

[peejman]

My power has been of for about 3 hours now. Everything in my home is electric. I have a "Big Buddy" heater. It can go up to 18,000 btu. I have it on in the kitchen now on the medium setting and it's keeping it about 66° in here. Just right for me. I had it on high but was too much heat. I have it hooked to a 20 lb propane tank. It will run continuous on medium for around 30-34 hours. I have 4 full tanks in the shop. Hopefully it will be back on before this tank empties though.

 

 

I have the same heater and the adapter for a 20lb tank, but haven't used it with the bigger tank.  So it works pretty well that way?  I think I remember there being a bunch of warnings about using it indoors with a 20lb tank...

[glowdotGlock]

I have the same heater and the adapter for a 20lb tank, but haven't used it with the bigger tank. So it works pretty well that way? I think I remember there being a bunch of warnings about using it indoors with a 20lb tank...

It works extremely well. There is one caution though. I would sit the tank just outside a door and run the house in the house unless the propane tank is already room temperature. If you bring in a cold tank and it warms rapidly the purge valve will bleed gas into the air as it expands in the tank.

[peejman]

It works extremely well. There is one caution though. I would sit the tank just outside a door and run the house in the house unless the propane tank is already room temperature. If you bring in a cold tank and it warms rapidly the purge valve will bleed gas into the air as it expands in the tank.

 

 

I figured that was the biggest risk and I have prior experience with such things.... probably the scariest 2 minutes of my life....

 

In college I worked in a test lab at Maytag in Cleveland.  We ran all manner of tests and did development work on every sort of cooking appliance.  As you might guess, we had lots of the big 200 lb gas bottles full of propane and butane.  One winter day the truck had come to refill our empties.  A couple bottles got put up against the wall adjacent to our "endurance lab" which had a handful of ranges (gas & electric) running wide open at the same time.  It stayed about 150 deg in that room. 

 

My workspace was about 20 ft away from the endurance lab.  I recall hearing BANG, WHOOSH, BOOM followed by the strong smell of gas.  The next moment was me and the guy in the space next to me saying "WTF was that?... You smell that?... S__T!  Turn everything off!!"  We both had gas ranges running and scrambled to shut the gas valves off.  It was lunch time and no one else was around so we didn't pull the fire alarm, though in hindsight we probably should have and then run for our lives.  We figured that if there was enough gas in the air for an explosion, we'd already be dead since there were open flames all over the place. 

 

Our investigation showed that a butane bottle had been set with it's relief valve pointed toward an open door.  The tank warmed up, the relief valve opened, and the gas exiting the bottle slammed the door shut.  Thankfully it only blew down for about a second and didn't release that much gas.  That could've been really bad.