Power cuts - are you prepped?

Think that this whole gas shortage build up is one of those stories similar to that old Millenium one of planes falling out of the sky etc.

Whereas, it is always wise to be a little prepared any and every winter for an occasional outage, I am amazed that people have spare money (at the moment) to spend on special items in case of such an outage.

No special purchasers for me. I have, for very many year ,had a wind-up radio and wind-up lantern, and those , along with a couple of powerful battery operated lanterns are where I can get to them easily. Honestly - even it does happen ( and it is unlikely it will), do you really need something special for cooking, etc.? Surely, you can manage those three hours curled up under a blanket, reading or knitting or even just resting, etc.

Bet the camping goods manufacturers are loving all this hysteria!!!!

Thanks to Fanny Cornforth. I definitely will not be wasting my money on these small heaters after reading the link you gave me.

Depends on the builder. Ours are wonderful

Having read newspaper reports about the numerous dangerous defects in some new properties, and having bought new builds in the past that had dangerous defects, I would have no confidence about anything in a new house

Yes gas leaks are extremely dangerous and no-one should light a match or switch electricity on or off. Poorly maintained equipment including underground piping and un serviced appliances abound in some areas

Here in a new build everything has been signed off by gas safe and we are spaced apart.

No explosion for us, thank goodness, but sorting it out brought one large busy town in the South East ( I am not saying which.) to a complete stand still.

We lived close to a key junction in the town. Two roads went into town. The main one was closed temporarily for road works, and the traffic was being funnelled into the secondary road, past our house. So traffic ina nd out from the east was already under pressure. The leaking gas main was in the centre of the secondary road, so that blocked that road off as well.

The resulting traffic jam hit the national papers and tv and was talked about for weeks.

During that day, I stood in my bedroom looking out of the window over the stationary traffic that spread for miles in all directions, saying to myself 'I caused all this chaos with one phone cal to British Gas' The feeling of the surge of power that engulfed me was sensational!!

That’s exactly what happened when we had the explosion on our street, Monica.

Our poor neighbours had reported to the Council the day before that there was a smell of sewage in the cellar - apparently that’s what a slow leak under the house can smell like. They weren’t at fault in any way. One of them ended up in hospital for weeks and three houses were wiped out.

It doesn't follow that because your gas boiler has been serviced you will not have a gas leek.

When we hada strong smell of gas in the house, the leak was in the road outside, but the gas was percolating through the soil and venting into our house through the cellar drains.

You will also have pipes going from the meter to your boiler, then, if you have a gas or dual fuel cooker, that is more pipes then qquite a number of us with older houses have pipes going from the meter to redundant gas fire and light points, that we no longer use.

Unfortunately, there were still nearly 1000 fires in England alone caused by candles last year - 11 people lost their lives.

www.zurich.co.uk/media-centre/candle-fires

maggiemaybe, many of us know how to handle and position lit candles safely. They are excellent in well insulated houses, for warmth and ambience. We also get our gas boilers serviced and are issued with safety certificates. No gas leaks here, hence no danger from candles.

It’s looking increasingly likely that power cuts will happen.
news.sky.com/story/prepare-for-blackouts-on-cold-weekday-evenings-national-grid-chief-warns-12723349

SIL brought me a camping stove and lantern at the weekend and I bought a basic telephone that just plugs into the bt socket and does not need electricity.

Well we’ve already got several torches, a gas fire, a gas cooker and the wind up radio DH keeps in his greenhouse. And a powerbank, if I can remember where I put it.

I think that’s us sorted, though I might see what our friendly local B & M have in by way of battery operated lamps, probably avoiding the animated Christmas ones for the sake of our mental health.

Why are people buying candles when there are so many safe alternatives? We had a full day power cut on our street once following a gas explosion, and a neighbour managed to set fire to the kitchen curtains with a candle to top off a perfect day. Fortunately for her the fire brigade was already on site, but there was still a lot of damage done in just a few minutes.

That’s a good idea Karmalady heating one room is much easier, especially if everything you need is in it.

We’ve agreed that if we have power outages MissOops, dog and Nephew will all come over to us, better that we pay for the heating here, rather than them try to keep warm in their chilly Rental property. Especially as their enormous Kitchen, dining room and sitting room is all open plan(and already cold, even though it’s been quite mild) our ageing bungalow is well insulated and they are all here at the moment anyway, so it isn’t a big deal and the more people in a room the warmer it will be.
Fingers crossed though, that it won’t happen.

I am thinking worst case scenario after yesterday, I now believe triple lock is in jeopardy and was speaking to an astute ex-businessman neighbour who is convinced that our gas streams are very vulnerable to putin henchmen. We will have both cost and supply to deal with

My worst case prepping will be to fill flasks with hot water when I can and set my candles in big jars, for safety and de-camp upstairs to a very small bedroom. I am thinking and rembering, the freezing cold days that we have had in the uk

That is where, next month, I will store my makita radio, batteries and a worklight. Keeping a small room warm is key, rather than trying to keep several areas warm

Starlily here is the thread
www.gransnet.com/forums/house_and_home/1316220-Mini-heaters-Any-good

starlily106

May I ask if anyone has bought the ceramic heaters that are being advertised on the internet ? Do they work, and are they as good as the claims made about them?

Hello. There was recently a thread about this and I’m pretty certain that the general consensus was that they are rubbish and a bit of a scam. They do seem to go overboard with their claims.
The reviews on Amazon are very poor for pretty much all of them.

This house has no cavity walls so we have no insulation. Its freezing in the winter, and there is no radiator in the bathroom or kitchen, so I'm dreading the cost of the fuel bills....
I must admit I have not thought about candles or torches or anything else that people have mentioned, must get out tomorrow and get some essentials

May I ask if anyone has bought the ceramic heaters that are being advertised on the internet ? Do they work, and are they as good as the claims made about them?

That's brilliant, Daisymae. It didn't occur to me that i might have to end up cooking on them

I think I will just tuck myself up in bed.

Put candles or other light forms in front of mirrors to increase the brightness. It really helps.

As long as you have batteries you should be fine!

"Preparation is fine. Predicting Armageddon, less so." Exactly.

The line between sensible preparation and pessimistic expectation of Armageddon is something that will never get a universal definition. Each of us does the level of preparation that suits our temperament and our pockets.

Using the term "prepped" in the title is reminiscent of the "preppers" in the States who have underground shelters filled with supplies and equipment prepared for surviving global anarchy and warfare. That is the modern interpretation of Armageddon. Being ready for a possible 3-hour rolling power cut, happening after a previous public warning, warrants the term "preparation" rather than "prepping"

henetha

Yesterday I bought a pretty little tea-light holder and a pack of 20 scented tea-lights. Total cost £4.25.

In YouTube I saw a tip, a circle of tea lights under a hob. They managed to fry an egg in the pan over it! Obviously let's hope that it doesn't come to that but I have a huge bag if them if it does.