Power Outages - Keep calm part 1

Last weekend we had a power outage that lasted 9 hours here at Wicked Raven Farm.   We were not thrown off by it at all, but my neighbor had all her kids home, including a brand new baby, and a teenager who felt he needed a shower as soon as the power went out!  (He was going to see his girlfriend and wanted to make sure he showered before the water was cold)!

Normally there is enough water in the system to at least have a couple of toilet flushes during a power outage, but if someone takes a shower it uses all the water and leaves you high and dry.  If you have prepared for outages the way that we do here you will not have a problem (remember my first blog advising you to keep your teakettle full)!  In light of the outage we had and the issues the neighbor had I thought I woud give you a few pointers on how you can be prepared for any length of outage.

In addition to keeping your tea kettle full, you should have additional water on standby.  An easy way to do this is to use empty milk jugs.  Rinse them out and fill with water to the shoulder.   We store these on top of our freezer, but sometimes we store them in the freezer and then you can use them to keep the fridge cold if the outage is longer than about 12 hours.We generally have about 10 gallons stored in milk jugs and then we have two of the blue water storage jugs that are 5 gallons each.

The other thing that we just recently found are lifesaving items to have are these "rocket stoves".  These are super portable little stove burners that can be attached to almost any of the cansiter fuels and can rapidly heat water/melt snow and ice, or can cook a meal without any electricity.

They fold up and come off of the canister (which can be reused multiple times) and are easy to store because of the small size.  The above model has a wider burner but no igniter so it has to be lit with a lighter or match.  This one is fairly safe for older children to use with some supervision.

This model is the "pocket rocket" stove and folds up and fits into the little orange box behind it.  It is great for camping gear and extreme emergencies.  This one has an igniter so does not require lighting  but the burner is very small as well and should not be used by children at all in my opinion. 

Keep two or three canisters of fuel and one of these rocket stoves and you will be set up for heat and eat during any outage or emergency!  You can get the fuel cansiters and the burners at any outdoor supply store - Cabellas, Sportsmans Warehouse, or a number of online sources.