Tropical storm Zeta passed through the southeast and left a line of destruction in its wake.
Many trees were down affecting travel and bringing down the infrastructure.
I went for a walk after the storm and it was quite the mess out there.
Helicopters were flying over checking out the damage. Seems it was quite widespread.
For the last 24 hours we have been without power. Just a short time ago it was restored. But during that time I made use of solar panels and kept our flashlights charged.
Using the battery and the solar panels I was able to keep our headlamps charged.
I also charged my electric toothbrush as it lost its charge during the outage. Also had a battery for my USB devices charged.
Just the one panel really helped out. We did not use alot of power charging the small things but it was more than enough.
Using thick ankler cables I was able to charge it quite fast.
It took about two hours to charge them and the panels had no trouble charging them.
Eventually they went green and we moved onto charging our phones as well.
Using my UPS I was able to charge other devices when the sun went down..
It lasted about 80 minutes, did not have much of a load on it.
To eat I made use of some MREs I had. I warmed them up on the stove using a match to start it..
Washing dishes got a little weird. Had to do them all by hand as the dish washing machine was down.
We put our refrigerator and freezer goods in some coolers we had. Got some ice to add to them.
We were ready for this to last alot longer but glad it did not take too long to get power restored.
Prepping pays off. It helps alot that you have a gas stove. We don't, but we do have a camping stove with several bottles of fuel for emergencies like yours (and the occasional camping trip).
Our gas stove was a recent purchase in the last few years and glad I have it now. Those camping stoves work great. Used one when I visited @makinstuff in Alabama.
In the past I'd use my natural gas BBQ when the power goes out. I have it hard wired into the gas line of the house.
Hi solominer,
Visit curiehive.com or join the Curie Discord community to learn more.
Always good to be prepared..
Yup sure is important.
Being prepared is so awesome.
Excellent job. Have a feeling a little more solar might end up your way.
And 2020 isn't done yet.
I'm just happy there isn't Oregon wildfires still.
Thank you.. yeah I am planning on expanding my solar one day. But for right now it runs my water pump fine and I am happy I could charge my headlamps.
Stay safe with those wildfires near by.
Actually thank God the weather has changed and there isn't any more wildfires until next season.
And personally I'm thinking about getting a battery isolator for my vehicle so I have extra charging power until the day that I finally get my solar mounted on my SUV.
Or maybe if I end up finding a really cool van hook it up with that
Wow what a description...
This here above reminds me so much of renewable energies and it's amazing impacts on Earth for a cleaner greener earth.
Well enlightening post. Well done!
Thanks alot glad I provided some inspiration.