Could you survive a winter power outage? Not without these! | Ice storm | Dark winter 2023

Baby It's Cold Outside if the power goes out do you know how to keep yourself and your family from freezing to death [Music] hey guys it's Jara with Wicked prepared today I'm going to talk about ways to survive a winter power outage in terms of preps you should have to keep yourself and your family who depends on you from freezing to death when the heat goes out there's all sorts of reasons that we could be left in the cold without power living in Maine we have a fair amount of experience in this area you may have seen our video about the great ice storm of 98 that left many mainers without power for up to a month if you haven't seen that one I will link it down in the description box so that you can check it out after this video that was hopefully a once in a lifetime experience but it's entirely Not Unusual for ice or heavy snow to leave people in our area without power for upwards of a week or two during the winter but even if you live in a warmer climate where you think you'll never have to face this problem I implore you to humor me and give this video a listen and take at least some basic precautions because if there's one thing we've learned it's that we have to expect the unexpected our weather patterns are becoming more and more unpredictable and time after time we've seen a deep freeze or an ice storm strike an area we would never expect and honestly that's when it's the most dangerous because people are wholly unprepared and the consequences can be deadly so just remember it's far better to be prepared for a situation that you never find yourself in than to find yourself in a situation that you're unprepared for one of the most important things you can have on hand as part of your emergency plan is a way to warm your home or at least an area of it in the event that your power and or your usual means of heating goes out and keep in mind this doesn't only have to mean storms and other disasters but this could even just be say your furnace dying on the coldest night of the year it could be a much more personal level emergency now probably the most Surefire way to be prepared for a winter power outage or other loss of heating is to have some form of wood heat in your home because really in preparedness we need to break things down into short term or long-term emergencies short-term situations are far more common and something that most everyone will face at some point in their life usually weather events that leave you without power and other resources for a few hours a few days or even up to a week or two but we also can't Overlook the possibility of something more long-term this could be a total grid failure due to an EMP or a CME or a breakdown of systems and infrastructure due to something like a war on our soil or a true equal economic collapse if you find yourself in a longer term situation everything changes your short-term preparations may keep you going for the first few weeks but eventually your stored fuels will run out and with no way to replenish them something more natural sustainable and readily available like wood will be the only viable option so if you have a source of wood heat that's the best possible scenario of course not everyone has this or even has the possibility to have this but if it's within your means it's worth considering both Heating and cooking can be achieved with a wood stove or a fireplace so if it's possible to have a wood stove installed in your home if you don't already have one I would make that a priority and if you're in the market for a new home maybe move wood heating up on the priority list as you look at properties if you do have a wood stove you're going to want to make sure you have a fan like this to move the warm air when the power goes out most wood stoves nowadays rely on electric blowers to move the heated air and of course that won't work in a power outage so a fan like this will help with that it's activated by the heat itself to move the fan blades another thing that's nice to have are small battery operated fans like this one that we have of course I do realize that wood heat is not going to be an option for everyone so I will go into some other heating options something that we have as part of our preparedness plan is a dual fuel generator that's large enough to keep our furnace running it's basically large enough to almost run our whole home with a few exceptions so if a gas fuel generator is something that you can afford and that is a viable option for your home and something that you're capable of operating then that's something that can keep your heat going as long as you have things wired up properly to allow the furnace to run off the generator and you have fuel and that's a big key right there as long as you have fuel that's why it's a good idea to have a dual fuel or even a tri-fuel generator if you can oftentimes in an emergency one kind of fuel may be unavailable but maybe another type is easier to get your hands on so having options can be very important it's also easier and safer to store propane than gasoline and it's also better and less maintenance for the generator itself I'll link the generator that we have Down Below in the description or as close as I can find because we've had ours for quite a while but just like wood heat it's just not going to be an option for some people either because of finances or because of the type of home that they live in so I'm going to go over a couple other off-grid ways to heat that are safe for indoors and a little bit more budget friendly and even apartment friendly first and foremost though I want to stress a few safety items that I always like to remind people of please please have a carbon monoxide detector a smoke alarm and a fire extinguisher are preferably more than one fire extinguisher these are items that you should always have in your home anyways but even more important when there's an emergency situation where you may be using alternate fuels you may be operating appliances that you don't often use and Emergency Services may not be available to you either because they're just not available period or they can't or won't get to you or because they're so overwhelmed that there's a backlog so have these items and make sure that the smoke and carbon monoxide detectors have a battery backup we keep a battery operated carbon monoxide detector with a digital readout right with our emergency gear so that we can have it ready right nearby and be able to constantly monitor those levels so next alternative Pizza sources the first one is a propane heater like this Mr Heater big buddy that we have this particular unit here puts off up to 18 000 BTUs and has some really good safety features it will automatically shut off if it's tipped over if the pilot light goes out or if it detects low oxygen levels in the room one thing to note is that this type of heater may not work at high altitudes above 7000 feet this one right here is the biggest unit that they make as far as heat output as far as I know I will heat the largest area but they do have several different size models as well like like I said they do run on propane which is a relatively safe fuel to store and easy to get it's available at Walmart at sporting goods stores places like that if you have propane appliances like this one another good thing to have is an adapter hose for your propane most of these appliances are set up to take a small propane tank like this one but an adapter hose will allow you to use your larger grill tank we keep several Grill tanks full and ready to go at all times now this unit actually does take two propane tanks two of the small tanks because it is so big it would just burn through one of them much too fast I think and that's another reason that we do like to adapt it to our larger tank but it takes two small of the small tanks of propane it has one here and one here and then it has a battery compartment now these batteries are to make the fan blow to move the heat I'm a little bit more efficiently it's not necessary to use the batteries and the fan though with this particular heater but it is a nice thing to have and it looks like it even has a little Keyhole mounts if you wanted to mount this on the wall I'll have to ask Mr Wicked prepared if that's what that's all about I never even noticed that before a second type of heat source that is safe for use indoors is a kerosene heater like this one these heaters are going to take up a bit more space to store but they produce a good heat kerosene is a bit more economical to use than propane but it's not as easy to store so you have to weigh the pros and cons of each type of heater for your situation as well as the other uses that you may have in your life for one or the other because like anything else I think it's better if you can use the things you store rather than just putting them away for just in case you'll be more familiar and comfortable with using them you'll have a good idea of how much fuel you'll go through become aware of any issues and have a chance to fix them and just in general feel better about spending the money on something if you know you're going to use it even in the absence of any emergency some people use kerosene heaters as supplemental heat in their homes or to heat specific or unheated areas and the propane heaters are often used for camping hunting ice fishing and similar outdoor recreational activities so take all of these things into consideration when deciding on a purchase such as this and whatever type you choose make sure to store as much fuel as you can be it wood propane or kerosene those heat sources are only going to do you any good as long as the fuel lasts if you aren't able to get more there are a few other items that can provide some heat on a small scale and they're even less expensive than the propane or kerosene heaters candles if you keep these in your emergency gear they can provide a bit of heat in addition to light I'm not a huge fan of candles because of the added fire risk but I do like these yuco candle lanterns they provide a bit more safety keeping the candles enclosed behind glass they also have a heat plate on the top that you can use to capture some of the heat that the candles put off to warm some food or drink now this one here is just a small mini size one that I use in my vehicle for your home I would definitely recommend getting the full-size candle lantern which contains three candles and has a much larger heating plate another small inexpensive item are these gel fuel cans that are also sometimes referred to as Canned Heat you can pick these up lots of places Walmart you can get them at Dollar Tree I tend to find the best deal when I buy them in bulk packages either at the warehouse club or sometimes Amazon they're very inexpensive and they are safe to use indoors so keep an eye out for these they're also small and easy to store and finally there are even items that you may have lying around your home that you can pull into action for an emergency heat Source it can be as simple as an empty food can a roll of toilet paper and some rubbing alcohol I'll get a video out soon on making an emergency heater like this honestly there's a million and one different ways that you can do this when you jump down that rabbit hole I totally geek out on that kind of stuff so those are some more options for creating Heat if you're in extreme conditions every little bit counts also keep in mind that you may have more than one area you need to heat and may want to get more than one heater or type of heater or source of heat Because unless you live in a very small cabin none of these heaters are going to be capable of heating your entire home which leads me to my next subject which is microclimates you're going to want to create a microclimate within your home and all that means basically is enclosing a smaller area to keep heated and to retain the heat that you create as well as body heat that you your family and your pets produce one good way to do this is with blankets for emergency purposes it's a good idea to keep a good amount of extra blankets and quilts on hand both the layer on your body for warmth and to hang up to block doorways and openings this doesn't have to cost you a lot of money anytime we upgrade our betting if the old bedding is still usable we keep it and stash it away to have for situations like this if you need to buy blankets you can find them at thrift stores and places like that for a lot less than buying them new another good item to have for sectioning off a microclimate area are moving blankets that you can get from Harbor Freight Amazon U-Haul maybe you have some left over from a move these heavy blankets are great for hanging in doorways and openings to create your micro climate and use your bedding blankets to layer up over yourself but definitely keep a good supply of blankets on hand another way to create a micro climate is with tents having a small to medium-sized tent or two is a good idea and yes you can bring it right in the house you can set up a tent within your micro climate area you can even set a tent up right on top of the mattress of your bed and pack as many people into the tent as you can because what that's going to do is trap everyone's body heat and keep the sleeping area much warmer because that's going to typically be the most dangerous time temperature wise as the temperature will be dropping outside and you won't be physically moving to create more body heat like you would be during the day when you're awake sleeping bags meant for cold weather will do a good job of keeping you warm while sleeping if you have them another thing you can do when you're sleeping is to bring your clothes for the next day into the sleeping bag or under the blankets with you so that they'll be warm when you have to get into them in the morning a few more notes about your sleeping area if you move your sleeping area to a microclimate outside of your bedroom be mindful of how you set up the sleeping area air mattresses are not good for keeping you warm they're just not a good choice for sleeping in the cold they're okay for camping in the summer we use them but if it's cold they're just going to put another layer of cold air against your body a better choice would be some sort of foam padding or even dragging one of the regular bed mattresses from a bedroom into the microclimate area another thing you shouldn't Overlook is cardboard this is something that we probably all get for free if you get packages your neighbor gets packages your workplace gets packages you can probably get your hands on large pieces of cardboard for free and it's easy to store if you store it flat and it actually makes a decent insulating material you could lay a couple layers of cardboard down under your sleeping area or use it to block off cold drafty areas where the cold air is seeping in it's not pretty but it's only temporary and it's free another thing we get for free all the time when we get those packages that's a good insulator is bubble wrap save some bubble wrap not the large air pillow type but the actual bubble wrap you can cut that to the size of the glass in your windows stick it on with water and it will help insulate your windows once again not pretty but it works and you can probably get it for free so think about creating a micro climate within your home and think not only about which areas will be the easiest to enclose and heat but any other considerations such as pipes that you need to protect from freezing open up Cabinetry to expose the pipes to any warmth you are creating and consider whether it makes sense to make your main microclimate in in such an area like kitchen your base meant anywhere that there's pipes that also need to be protected this is also why I mentioned that there may be more than one area that you may wish to heat some other items that are good to have on hand to keep warm during a winter power outage one is going to be a hot water bottle this is the old-fashioned answer to a heating pad in the olden days they may have heated baked potatoes or large stones on the Hearth and use those to provide warmth in cold beds or cold winter wagon rides but chances are you don't have a hearth we sometimes use socks filled with rice or dry feed corn to warm in the microwave but once again no power no microwave so a good off-grid solution is a hot water bottle like this one of course you'll need a way to heat the water to put inside of it a butane stove like this one is our choice for indoor use you can usually get a good one for 20 to 25 dollars this is one of the top preps that I recommend people have another thing that's good to have on hand are hand and foot warmers like these these are not very expensive once again you can get these at Walmart and Dollar Tree but I still find buying these in big bulk packages is the cheapest way to go usually they are inexpensive they'll provide several hours of warmth that they can be tucked into your shoes your socks your slippers your pockets or a pair of mittens they even have body warmers or even just tucking a pair of hand warmers into the interior pockets of a fleece or the breast pocket of a men's shirt will provide some warmth for your body if you saw the video about our blackout box you might remember inside that box I included personal pouches for each family member the blackout box is the first thing that gets pulled out in a power outage and those pouches give each person some things they might need immediately to keep them happy and comfortable while we get all the big stuff set up and figured out I'll link that video down below in case you haven't seen it and you want to check it out but I do include a set of hand and foot warmers in those pouches as well as a pair of thermal socks a pair of mittens and a warm hat proper clothing will also go a long way towards keeping you warm and protecting you from hypothermia if you're stuck without heat dressing in layers is so important the best base layers are something like Merino wool or silk but once again those can be expensive something like these cuddle Duds that they have right at Walmart or cotton thermals can be more budget friendly and will do the trick anything is better than nothing A couple more layers of cotton fleece or wool will trap warmth and body heat and don't be afraid to put on your winter jacket to top it off even when you're indoors if you have to venture outside add a water and windproof final layer keeping your extremities warm is also very important thermal socks for your feet we are long time fans of the heat holders brand they work very well but I'm sure there's others that work well also a warm hat for your head will help preserve your body heat so have at least one for each family member make sure to put that hat on your head even when you're going to sleep it will help and the thermal socks as well but be sure to change into dry socks just before bed even if your feet don't feel wet or damp they do have some dampness from perspiration that just happens during the day whether you feel it or not so put on a dry pair right before bed mittens and or gloves for your hands are important too mittens will keep hands warmer and allow for the insertion of hand warmers but sometimes you need the use of your fingers so either flip top mittens or gloves are okay too like anything else it's not a bad idea to have several options these are all things that you can keep an eye out for at secondhand stores online marketplaces if you don't have much room in your budget or if your climate or lifestyle means that these things won't get used often and you don't want to spend a lot of money wash them well and if you ever need them you won't care that they're second hand you'll just be glad to have them another good thing to have for winter power outages is a good thermos or even more than one having a big thermos like this filled up will keep your beverage of choice hot for hours without having to keep running your emergency stove you could fill it with hot cocoa or soup you could even just fill it with hot water that you could have to make tea and to fill up your hot water bottles anything like that likewise having good mugs to keep your drink warm longer is important otherwise it will cool off really quickly in the cold space and you won't even get to enjoy it if you have a portable power station in your home there are a few other items that you may be able to take advantage of to keep warm something like a heated blanket like one of these or a heated mattress pad like this could be a wonderful thing to have even if you're only running it for a short time to warm up a bed or to help out someone who's having a hard time keeping their body temperature regulated or someone who comes in from spending time outside maybe they're cold and they're wet and they just can't warm up now this is going to constantly adjust and let us know how long we would be able to operate this depending on how much power it's drawing at the moment and another option that might be even more energy efficient is one of these electric blankets that's meant to go in your car portable power stations like this are great to have in a power outage of any kind for many reasons these are safe to operate indoors they don't put off any kind of fumes so they're great for something like this to bring into a bedroom or a sleeping area to power items like this they're also good for cpaps and things like that we love the two that we have I'll link the ones we have down in the description box but there are more and less powerful units depending on your needs and your budget but we decided it was ideal for us to have more than one rather than just one really huge one so that we could be using one while charging the other or using them in separate locations and things like that something that's fairly new that I don't yet have experience with is heated outerwear there's a lot of this on Amazon a Milwaukee brand makes a line and then there's a lot of you know Chinese no-name Brands I've heard from a few people who have these and like them a lot but I've never tried them out myself so let me know down in the comments if you've ever tried anything like this and how you liked it you would definitely want to have a portable power station or a generator if you were counting on something like that because it looks like they run for about three to eight hours depending on the setting and then you have to recharge the battery I guess you could also get extra batteries to keep charged and swap out as well another good thing to have on hand that you might not think about is a thermometer that works on batteries if you're anything like us we tell the temperature in our home on our thermostat which goes out when the power goes out so the last time our power went out we found that we didn't have any way of telling how cold it was getting deciding if we wanted to use some of our heat sources or not so we had to dig out a battery operated thermometer so having one of these on hand is definitely a good idea a couple other considerations in a situation like this pets if you have pets remember we always have to think about our furry family members as well now dogs and cats are a lot better equipped to deal with the cold than we are honestly they have fur and they have instincts to keep warm but nevertheless letting them cuddle up in our micro climate and our cozy blankets will do us both some good they'll be like fuzzy little heaters guinea pigs I know are much more susceptible to cold rabbits should be fine if you have more exotic pets especially something like reptiles or fish I know they're much more dependent upon electricity to maintain a safe environment for them with heat lamps or tank heaters pumps things like that so if you have any of those kind of pets you definitely want to have a plan a backup and probably be sure that you have a generator or a portable power station with some solar panels to keep it recharged we don't actually have any of those kind of pets so I don't have much experience here so if you do checking down in the comments and let us know how you prepare to care for those pets also if you have neighbors who maybe are elderly and live alone anyone who might be more vulnerable and have less resources think about if there's anyone that you might want to check in on and see if they're doing okay if they have everything they need if they're being able to keep warm how about your neighbors who might need it now just a couple of reminders this video has primarily been about ways to keep warm during a winter power outage obviously there are other preps that you might want to have in a power outage at any time of the year but those are going to be for another video this also deals primarily with things that you would need inside your home obviously during a winter storm or a winter power outage being within the shelter of your home is definitely your best bet so if you can stay there do so there might be other preps that you would want to have in your car at your office or your workplace other places like that in case you get caught in those places during the winter but once again those will be topics for another video in fact you might want to check out the video about our blackout box or our video on our emergency cooking kit for some more ideas thank you very much for Lending me your ear and your time and watching this video today I really hope that you got some helpful information out of it and now it's your turn let us know down in the comments have you ever experienced an extended winter power outage what was your experience like let us know your best tips for staying warm you guys are always great at mentioning things that I wanted to include but forgot as well as things that I never thought of don't forget to like share and subscribe and check out this video right up here in the corner for some more ideas on how to prepare for power outages if you made it all the way to the end of the video leave me an ice Emoji down in the comments I'm Jara with Wicked prepared survive today Thrive tomorrow we'll see you next time foreign [Music]

Channel: Wicked Prepared

Views: 136,960

Keywords: winter survival, power outage, winter power outage, how to stay warm, prepper, preppers, doomsday preppers, emergency preparedness

Id: APOlZdM8hoU

Length: 23min 6sec (1386 seconds)

Published: Sun Jan 15 2023