Originally Posted By: UpstateTom
Appologies if it's already been discussed, I didn't see it. What about electrical power or fuel? Are you already independent in that area? In addition to the obvious of cooking and heating, power/fuel makes cleaning people, clothes, and dishes a lot easier.


We have a generator (2 actually), I want to get a propane conversion, and within a year add a 3rd, the Honda EU2000i.

We can run our entire house minus the dryer on an EU2000i, and our well can run on one of the other generators. Fuel is the biggest issue for generators thus the desire to get propane conversion. In a long-term emergency the fridge would probably be fazed out, and power would be used for essentials only and it would last a very long time.

We have 250g propane tank and use it only for cooking and hot water (on-demand system), so it will last 2-3 years full. It's been almost a year since it was filled and I think it may have gone down 15%. We also have 2 33g tanks, and 2 13g tanks as well as a couple 5g tanks.

Our hot water heater can run on any generator, or even a battery backup.

In the end, our home is setup in such a way that electricity is ultimately a luxury. It's used for cloth drying, washing, lighting, and other luxury items like a microwave, toaster oven and fridge/freezer (combo). Ultimately the ONLY thing we need power for is to get water from our well, and I have the wire, adapters, plugs, etc, so that we can do this with our generator.

We plan to add a 2600g water tank and another pressure tank within a year too so our water supply will be much larger w/out the need to run the well itself... the pressurizing pump will not be 220v, and the tiny generator could then run it. 2600g + 80g + water in the lines would last the 2 of us a very long time, especially if we were conserving it.
This also doesn't count the water we have in 5g containers or the fact that we live near a stream, and a river a little walk away.

Thanks for the comment smile

Ultimately we'd love to go solar but since our electric bill never really tops $60 a month it's just not cost affective right now, and in itself a luxury. To maintain our exact lifestyle in an emergency it would be essential but we can survive w/out electricity a lot easier than most. (No real need for AC in summer, and wood stove for heat.)
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