watching waiting here i go again

??? Did I miss something?

Garrett

There is another storm coming for Florida, I assume the name to be frances.

Did you get hit by Charlie?

im on the east coast ft laud probaly miss but big enough to affect

Oh, she's beautiful isn't she?

Hurricane Frances Approaches

Well, from this side anyway

Oh, the reason I ask is that I was pretty close to Charlie (15 miles from the eye at the closest), and didn't think you were on this coast.

Looks like you're still gonna get nailed pretty badly. Things I missed after a while without power: (This might help you or others that are reading and getting ready at the last minute. It's pretty much too late to do too much anyways though)

Television, to actually see what's happening. (I've got radio's galore, but no batt powered tv)
Ice, lots of ice. I bought over 100lbs the day of the storm. Was down to one small cooler by day 4. Keep one cooler of just ice and never open it till you need it.
Ice, lots more ice. I froze about 4 gallon jugs of water. Should've froze another 4 to keep the stocks in the extra freezer nice and cold.
If you smoke, grab extra smokes. If you're like me and like a cold beer while doing endless hours of cleanup, buy extras. (They usually ban the sale of alcohol for days after the storm)
I had tons of bug spray, it wasn't needed until I was out helping clean up damage.
Make sure you're chainsaws are gassed, lubed, and sharp.
Make sure you've got lots of contractor grade trash bags.
Keep a BOB and case of water ready in case you need to GTFOD at the last minute. (Don't forget the earplugs if you have to sleep in a shelter, and expecially if you're part of ARES at a shelter)
Tarps, BIG tarps 50ft+. The more the better.
Make sure drills, etc are charged up.
If you think you might have to leave for whatever reason; storm surge, etc, plan on being gone for a week. That means make sure food will stay in the fridge. Disable things that could be damaged by power surges. Some people kick off the main breaker. Put frozen water jugs in the freezer and fridge so food doesn't rot by the time you get home.

Good luck, stay safe.

Oh yeah, don't forget to keep at least 4 cans of fix-a-flat in your car. I know 2, count em, 2 people who had all four tires go flat while helping after the storm. Noone had common tires.

Or if you drink something with caffiene in it, get that. I drink entirely too much Mt. Dew. Forgot to put ANY in the 'fridge for Charley. The first 2-3 days were spent with a really bad headache.

Not this time. :-)

For those of you playing along at home, I now have a generator, extra gas and a window A/C. Fridge is fully stocked (with an adequate 'Dew supply).

Why does my window air conditioner need a digital display and a remote control? I kid you not... it came with a remote control. You can start, stop, change fan speed, set the sleep timer (!), etc. with the remote.

Groo, I drink way too much diet Coke (instead of your Mountain Dew), but I think that *warm* diet Coke is really foul -- so I've got a bottle of No-Doz (for emergency caffeine replacement) in my BOB. Worked like a charm to ward off withdrawal headaches during last August's blackout here.

Agreed. Warm Dew is gross. I will definitely try the NoDoz idea. Tomorrow, if the stores are still open (if we have to go to a shelter, good bet there won't be Dew there).

Good Luck to you all who happen to live in FL. I went through Isabel in the fall. If you're in the path of Frances though, you'd better keep your head down. It's looks like a very dangerous storm. Stay safe and stay prepared!!!

i used to be a huge mt. dew junkie, but this year i made a big effort to cut down on sugar and (for awhile) totally gave up soda, and what not.

i like some diet sodas but aspartamine isnt healthy, from what ive read its a renamed version of nutra-sweet, which some proved caused health problems.

a survival guide i read once said to keep caffine pills in your first aid kit incase of finding someone lost/ hurt in the woods going through caffine withdrawl.

Two storms like this in one month? Rough. Good luck!

Re: Ham Radio.
Two frequencies to listen to if you have a shortwave receiver. Both are SSB USB (Single Side Band Upper Side band).
14.325 US Weather Bureau, National Hurricane Center, in Miami. The Hurricane net (WX4NHC). This is a closed net. Meaning they will talk to only specific stations. These are stations providing measured weather data from the affected area. They give updates every 15 minutes or so. Very helpful if you want to know where the storm is and how powerful. The reports are usually from station directly in front of the hurricane or stations coming back on the air just after the hurricane passes.

14.235,SATURN. This is a net for health and welfare traffic. As Charlie hit shore, I tracked the damage reports. I heard stations just before and just after the hurricane passed thru their area. Excellent damage reports were provided. Folks outside the area that were concerned about family within the affected area could get first hand reports. In many cases I heard reports like “I am standing here with your grandfather and although his carport was blown away and the vehicle was damaged, he and his wife suffered no injury. They are being relocated to the high school for temporary shelter as there is no power or phones in this area.” For days, 24 hours a day, on this and many other nets, personalized health and welfare traffic flowed in and out of the affected area. They have a web site and will take inquiries on the web site and try to get information from the affected area. Check the frames area to the left of the page.

SATURN Health and Welfare Net.

There was much ham radio involvement during Charle and I have been trying to put together a posting about it. However my friends in Florida don't seem to have much time to chat at the moment. We have wintered in florida for the past several years and I have family and friends there. Ham Radio has really helped me keep track of the situation. More to follow..Look for a post later in the campfire section..

RE: ham radio error.
the SATURN frequency is 14.265. But as all frequencies are shared, they may move around a bit to find a clear spot.

Groo,

All excellent "disaster upgrades"

I wish I could get a window A/C unit for my computer room, but alas, I have casement windows...no place to mount the thing.

Anybody have any ideas?

Panz

Well, here's what I'd try. It's only temporary, it's less than ideal, I haven't tried it, etc...

An AC gets cold on one side, hot on the other. The cold side needs to be in the room to be cooled. The hot side just needs to be outside the room, not necessarily outside the house. I think I'd try setting the AC in the door (on a table or stool) and build a cardboard "door" around the AC unit (you could just cut an AC-sized hole in the door, but that's messy and kinda permanent). The heat the AC removes from the computer room would then be dumped into the rest of the house. If you open the windows, it's practically outside. :-) Put a bucket under the AC to catch the condensation.

Yeah, it's a hack. OTOH, "Brute force has an elegance all its own."

Note that just setting the AC in the door without blocking the rest of the room entrance won't work. The hot and cold air will mix. Instead of cardboard, you could use blankets, tarp, plastic, etc.

Groo:

Good idea, but you have to have the window A/C condensor cooling air intakes boxed so that they draw air from the outside. On standard window A/C's the condensor air intakes are on the side of the window unit. On "through the wall" mount A/C units, the air intake is usually about 1/3 of the outside face of the unit and the discharge is about 2/3 of the outside face of the unit.

They make room A/C's that have flexible duct work that can be hung out of a window or any opening, but they are expensive, obstructive to the living area, and noisy since all the working parts are inside the house.

You can buy casement window A/C's but they usually cost 2 or more times what a regular window A/C costs, and they are only available in 7,500 BTU's and larger. They are also a pain in the butt to install because they stand tall.

If you can, remove the sliding portion of the casement window, measure the opening, and place the largest standard window A/C unit you can fit in there. You could also remove the whole window and use plexiglas where the A/C ends. Because of the way you will have to mount it, be sure it has support on the outside so it doesn't tip out and fall. If you need an extension cord to plug to your outlet, buy those specifically made for heavy use and buy the shortest cord that will work. You will be suprised how hot the plug portion gets when using an extension cord. I have a 9 foot 14 gage for my bedroom A/C and it gets really warm, but not hot where the A/C is plugged into it.

I do not recommend anything smaller than 14 gage wire and nothing longer than 9 feet. If you have to go longer for a window A/C with an extension cord, go to the hardware store and have them make one up (Only as long as necessary.) for you using three-wire 12 gage and heavy duty 20 amp plug and receptacles at the ends.

Good luck!

Bountyhunter

I've seen LARGE window units mounted in a hole specifically cut for them, then trimmed in...not exactly portable any more, and I've never done it myself, but it does work, and with a little silicone and a handy trim carpenter, it doesn't look as goofy as it sounds.

I misunderstand. For me, a "Casement" window is one that swings open via a crank. I don't know of any sliding portion.



An interesting idea. Removal of the window however is problematic. The option I was looking for was merely breaking out one pane of the casement window (an 11" x 23" rectangle) and trying to fit a tiny unit in there, or at least duct to that opening from the condenser side.



Noted and agreed. I'd usually run 12-guage to a major appliance anyway, which I'd classify an A/C unit as. Is there significant loss to using larger wire?

Anyway, Frances is now twenty miles from my doorstep and closing, so I'm going to end this post before I lose cable.

Three wire 12 guage is what I'll probably go with, as you recommended. I'm just wondering about the 11" x 23" space issue..do they make an A/C unit small enough to fit one of those?

Panz

Try three. Look at Hurricane Ivan, already a Cat 3, headed for the Caribbean.

We're looking to have an active hurricane season this year, yup yup.

Panz

Pardon me for butting in... could you mean, an awning type window. You know you crank, crank, crank, four or five separate panes of glass swing out.

Just my 2¢

Panzerboy:

You are right about casement windows, I was thinking of sideways sliding windows that used to be all the rage.

Crank windows are a pain for conversion. I would go with leaving them cranked open and making a modified plexiglas window with a cutout for mounting the A/C unit, unless there is a high wind or security consideration.

Larger wire means LESS resistance. Multi-strand copper wire is better than solid wire because it offers less resistance. An electrician hereabouts said the current flows on the outside of each wire so multiple strands mean less resistance. Doesn't sound right to me, but he has the electricians license and I don't.

Regarding window A/C size, I don't know about your neck of the woods, so take a tape measure to the local store and see if the size is available. Menard's home improvement center up here in Milwaukee, Wisconsin was clearing out 5,000 BTU window A/C's for $59.99 last week when I was in there.

Good luck!

Bountyhunter

(P.S. My brother called from Florida to tell me he, the wife, and their daughter are bugging out and that they will check back in with me when they do come home.)

That doesn't sound quite right to me either. I work on aircraft communication and navigation equipment so I had to learn some theory about RF (Radio Frequency) energy. It is true that alternating current will travel on the outside of the line. However this effect is almost negligible at 60 Hz, it is only important when dealing with the MHz range and above. Also, whether the wire has multiple strands or not shouldn't matter.

Robert

So how many of us are still convinced there's no such thing as "global warming"?

(Whatever scientist coined the term "global warming" should be shot. They should have called it "global thermal climate destabilisation" or something - anything - that didn't sound so warm and fuzzy.) <img src="/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />

I like the moniker, Panzerboy.

WJW's Hard Wired? Classic, 2 copies on hand, one hard.

Many moons ago, when giants roamed the earth, I ran a BBS named the Gentleman Loser.

PL

This evening, I heard on french radio Ivan is now a class 4, and should hit Ste Lucy Island within the next 48hrs.

Absolutely correct. Big fan of WJW. Actually wrote to him and got two responses back before he told me to politely take a long walk off a short pier.

I also used to run "The Mail" (Armored Car Driver/Jumper) and was "in it for the ride, not for the cargo"...

BTW, we're back up and running here. Net just came up an hour ago. Had to transfer power back from the genny to the Grid.

Bounty, about those 5000 BTU units...you think one of them would fit those dimensions? And where? I bet they'll be on clearance after the storm as people aren't going to give a RAT's BUTT about air conditioning when they're repairing their houses...at least, I don't think.

Panz

…and now that Frances has gone, the shepple are whining and [censored] because civilization has not been put back exactly the way it was within 24 hours. Was listening to NPR this morning and a woman was complaining that she couldn’t buy food, because she had no cash, because the ATMs weren’t working, AND she had had to stand in line to get bottled water and ice. Hello! You’re living in a part of the world that the hurricane god has painted a big bull’s eye on! If you don’t want to be prepared to deal with it, move.

I'm sure some people can't afford to prepare as well as others. Money definitely makes a difference in situations like this.

But there are a lot of people waiting in the various lines with nice clothes and nice cars. Those people don't have much of an excuse. Days before Frances hit, my car already had a full tank of gas. I mean, come on... if you learned nothing else from Charley, you learned this. Fill up your car! Go buy some groceries. Stock the fridge. Get some cash. None of this requires special equipment or spending money you wouldn't have anyway.

Arrrg.

Panzerboy:

I'll try to get to Menard's tomorrow and see if they have any left and what the dimensions are.

I don't know if you would save any money by having me ship you the units, so find out the bottom line for what you need and see if the total price you pay down there would be close to cost and shipping from here.

Like I said earlier, the price was low a while ago and they may have sold out. If not I'll let you know.

Bountyhunter

While we have heard and discussed all of the hurricane prep that can be done. There is one thing that i have not seen mentioned, laundry. Didn't do it before charlie and a couple of days after i am looking for someone with power to do the wash. Waiting a couple of hours for the wash to get done in the AC was a terrible thing. And yes i have a generator but it will not run the washing machine and the pump at the same time.

I thought of this before but I didn't think to mention it. I guess since I'm still new to survival/preparedness I figure you guys have allready come up with anything I think of. I usually do my laundry about 1-2 days before the storm hits. However I have been lucky here in the panhandle and not gotten much bad weather so far.

Back to the topic at hand. I found this at the Lehman's site.

Robert

Heheheh. Nice. A little paracord for a clothes line, and yer set. :-)

I know it's snivelware, but anyone ever use one of those solar shower things? Black plastic bag you hang in sunlight for a while, then take a shower with the warm(er) water?

RE: Solar Shower.
Yep, use one all the time. We live in a RV and solar heating of water is a common practice. Be aware that the water can get VERY hot. Much too hot for a shower.

There are several brands, some better than others. Look for thicker plastic and a built in temperature indicator.

Otherwise works great and we use it a lot.

Ditto - I haven't been camping in several years, but the last time I went I took one along (1 liter, maybe 1.5-liter size?) and it worked really well...when you're camping and sweaty, just a bit of warm water really feels like luxury, and as long as you take care to leave in reserve enough to rinse out well after using the soap.
Dave

Take a look at one of these:

http://www.cyberbrands.com/pub/powerwashanddry.html

There are a number of comapnies that carry the product, just run a search. We have used ours for small loads and find it does the job. Pete

RayW:

If you know anyone that plays exotic instruments, you could always borrow their washboard.

One other highly overlooked device is a clean toilet plunger. Put your clothes in a large tub with water and detergent and plunge away. You end up with a double stroke if you go all the way to the bottom and force compression of the plunger so that on the way up, it pulls water and clothes up as the bellows snaps back.

If you wash by hand, a good way to use less rinse water is to hang your detergent laden clothes up to dry. After the clothes dry, beat them on something or with a rug beater to knock off a lot of the dried up detergent. You can then put them in rinse water to remove more detergent, and you will use less rinse water.

Bountyhunter

Groo:

Save your hard earned money and buy a large inner tube.

You can use it for swimming and as a solar shower with very small modifications.

Bountyhunter

Thanks for all of the replies, and bounty the plunger washer is one i have not heard. BTW i own a couple of washboards, brass and galv, didn't manage to keep one of the glass ones when i closed the hardware store.

And i have a non electric gas water heater so hot water isn't a problem. I might be able to do solar heat if we get another storm, won't have any shade trees left.