Moving Forward

After work I’m planning to go over to Lowe’s to see if they have power and to see if a fresh truckload of things like lamp oil might have come in.  I would be very surprised if they still had any of their stock from before we started with all this fun.  While I’m there I also plan on looking at prices for the components to build a Mother Earth News style passive solar heater.  I’ve decided where I can mount one (or two or three) at home and I’d like to get the planning stages started.  One thing I might buy while I’m there is a better transfer pump to give me easier access to my kerosene.

After that hopefully the Gouge Station – I mean Gas Station – will still have some (way over priced) regular unleaded in stock.  Galileo has gotten much lower than I usually let him.  Timing is everything!  * eyeroll *

So among other things this little practice run has reminded me of is that I really need to get going on my back-up power system. 

I actually have a generator.  I bought it used at a yard sale.  I was told that there was an issue with the engine not wanting to run at a constant speed.  I’ve been meaning to check into that but haven’t gotten ‘round to it. 

A couple of weeks ago I picked up, for very short money at another yard sale, a pair of good sized storage batteries that would work well with an inverter – if I had a way to charge them.  I even have an inverter around somewhere!  Come to think of it, it’s probably over in storage with all of the stuff I pulled out of the van when I was getting ready to sell it.

Another thing I want to set up is a photovoltaic system that can, among other things, be used to charge those batteries.  Harbor Freight has just such a system, though they are almost certainly out of stock.  (Assuming the store has power and is actually open…)

One small thing I can do without purchasing anything else is to continue putting up the plastic over the windows.  Mum may not realize it (until she reads this) but I am deliberately holding off on that to allow some air exchange into the house so we don’t croak from smoke inhalation what with R2 acting up a bit at the moment.

I have also decided that the black plastic shelf just outside the door in the pantry part of our enclosed porch is going to have all of the storage junk removed and boxed to go to storage to make room for fuel storage.  Both 5 gallon kerosene cans will be filled and put on the bottom shelf along with one can of gasoline.  The next shelf up will house our cash of fuel for our oil lamps along with some citronella torch fuel and lighter fluid..  There will be a box or tote of oil lamp parts.  I have quite a bit of that sort of thing scattered around various cabinets and boxes and such.  It all needs to be gathered in one place.

I have a barrel on hand just waiting for me to set up my rain water catchment system.  That’s another of those projects that’s been waiting for me to have the time to actually decide how I want to implement.

So I have a pile of work around the house to get to – much of which will have to wait for the power to come back on.  I’ll try to make a point of documenting each of these projects and post updates as things progress.  So check in from time to time to see how (if?) things are going.  I can use all the encouragement I can get as well as your suggestions for better ways to accomplish the stuff that needs doing.