Can I ask how you occupied your time during the later days?

You say it got dark around 5:30 - what time did you go to bed? (I'm a curious about how many hours of artificial light you needed.)

Thanks for clarifying, but you can identify brand names here. It may tip us to a light we aren't familiar with and it may help someone looking to buy make a choice. LED lights running on CR123 batteries are becoming common and it would be nice to know the specific model since it seems to have worked well for you. I'm always in the market for a better light.

As for a second generator -- things break. It might be good to keep spare parts, learn maintenance etc and having two of the same is very beneficial in that regard. Unless you don't like the EU2000. Also, if you buy a different model, you lose the ability to synch them. FWIW, $.02, YMMV

Something I did for a camp stove was buy a camp grill. Mine is a Grill 2 Go We had a regular backyard grill and lack of space in the garage made me store it outside and something built a nest in side one of the burners and I didn't know it and it caught fire. Instead of rebuilding it or replacing it with a normal grill we bought this little one and I store it in the garage on a shelf. I have some of those little 1lv tanks and one 1lb tank will last about 6 meals cooking steak. Then I bought the adapter hose and use the 20lb tank from our old grill so we have many months worth of propane for it. Since its small it cooks pretty efficiently. If we loose power I just sit the grill out on the back porch and we cook out. I've cooked out in the rain or snow by sitting the grill under the overhang in front of the garage door and stood inside the garage while it cooked. Every now and then we stick it in the back of the truck and go to a park and cook out too.

Good choice on the Honda. They are pricey, but pretty small, and much quieter than many gens. As for the gas storage, go to an RV supply store, or probably even the automotive section in Wally World, and get a bottle of Sta-bil , you put some (directions on the bottle) into your gas can and it will store for a long long time. And be sure to chain that Honda to a tree or something. I am sure you heard during the outage of gens walking away from their owners...

Arney, after reading your post concerning the lack of local radio news and the utilization of a radio covering the TV-audio frequencies to keep tabs on local events, I just wanted to mention that you might consider acquiring a scanner (scanning receiver) capable of monitoring the local Police, Fire and Public Services in your area.

As a practical matter, the cost of a suitable scanner for your area will depend upon whether the local Public Service in your communications where you live are based around traditional fixed frequencies (ie. Police always at 145.3 MHz) or utilize the newer "trunking" technologies (of which there are two flavors -- analog or digital). In a trunked radio system, several agencies share the same set of "channels" in the 800 Mhz public service band. You can't efficiently monitor a trunked system with a traditional scanner since the conversation will jump from channel-to-channel with each transmission. A decent scanner that can monitor fixed frequencies can be had for around $ 150 new. An analog "trunk tracking" scanner for around $ 250 (ie. Bearcat Br330t) new -- and lastly, a "digital" trunk tracker for between $ 400 and $ 500(ie. Bearcat 396D or Radio-Shack Pro 96).. Yes, the scanner can be expensive, but like anything else, you'll get a jump on everyone -- including the local TV stations regarding events as they unfold.

The reason I've come upon all this technical information is that I've been researching the purchase of a new scanner for my own use as the Public Service agencies where I live have switched over to an analog "trunked" radio system -- so I thought I'd share some of the insights I've gained with the group.

One other thought -- with regard to TV audio via radio, I believe it may be the case that when broadcast-TV is switched exclusively to "digital" mode -- none of the current generation of radios which receive TV-audio will work anymore.

Best of luck to you in your efforts to stay informed in the face of adverse conditions.

jds, you make an excellent point about the transition of broadcast TV to digital-only. When that time comes, though, I'm hoping that there will be inexpensive portable radios that will also pick up the new digital signals. However, I'm not holding my breath. Digital HD radio transmissions have been available for a while now, and the prices on the few models available are still very high. There will probably even be less demand for inexpensive digital TV receivers when the analog signals are finally turned off, so I'm not hopeful that affordable options will be available then.

I have thought about getting a scanner. I'm no expert on this topic and have never been into scanning before, but my area has a county-wide 800 Mhz digital trunked system. I don't think it's fully implemented countywide yet so there are still some agencies using analog, but at least in my immediate area, all law enforcement channels are encrypted, so that greatly limits a scanner's usefuless for me. Besides, just in general, the cost of scanners required for such a system seemed too high for me when I last did some research into it. I'm not even sure if scanners that can work on this particular system are available to the public.

Nice run down SwedishChef.

Our experience was somewhat similar, but we more or less had sufficient batteries, radios, gas fireplaces, gas stove and phone (old style hardwire) along with gas water heater, so only the lack of lights and central fan forced heat presented any challenges.

I used my manual coffee grinder to good effect to prevent my most harrowing of situations....lack of caffeine <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

One thing that I was just amazed at was the constant references on the radio about checking their websites for additional information...things like shelter locations should not be placed on a web site....that was simply stupid.

My wife and I volunteered to man the local shelter, but only one family showed up....how was anyone to hear about it?, so we just chatted a while then went back to our 48 degree house.

I do think things like this minor event can have positive outcomes if folks look carefully at their prep and make some changes.

Contact your local fire department and ask how they would want to see gasoline stored. I would suggest a location detached from your main residence as safest, perhaps a properly set up storage shed with good ventilation. Better to lose gasoline than your life and home.

Secure your Honda to a poured concrete slab. Trees can be cut down. <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Welcome Amigo. Darned good post. Having been through one similar while living in Puyallup back in the 70's and a lifetime of experience since, let me respond to your lessons:

Lesson #1: I keep a pair of two way business band portable radios at home programmed with municipal emergency frequencies. If I need to contact a local unit in an emergency, I am not all to concerned about violating an FCC regulation or two while doing it (incidentally, I went ahead and acquired an FCC GRT license, good for life, which I use as a pretense to access goverment service radio all the time).

Lesson #2: As a general rule, when the nasty comes, I find it best to stay in place and not take unnecessary risks. See Lesson 1 for keeping informed.
Lesson 3: Pay attention to the local surroundings a bit more now. If the broadcast groups aren't reliable for your area, find a source that is that you can contact in an emergency. See response to Lesson 1.

Lesson 4: I bought a couple of those wind up am/fm/siren/led light products up at Costco and keep one handy wherever I rest my head these days. I also got one of those crank up Grundig models with shortwave capability, just for giggles. No worries about batteries or light bulbs anymore.

Lesson 5: A car is a poor but expedient replacement for a small generator in some cases. Now that you own a generator, you won't have to worry about using your car for something other than to bug out.

Lesson 6: Making fire at home ought to be vastly improved over making fire on the move. Logistically, it would be really inexpensive to stock excellent firemaking items at home without any undue encumberance. Still, learning the skills is always the first priority.

Lesson 7: Sounds like a warm week at elk camp, except with all the amenities of home (a shower even...). Having the ability to function without modern utiltiy conveniences, like when I spend a week or two at elk camp, has given me the mindset to always have that provision ready to go. I keep my grub boxes packed, my propane tanks filled, and my water jugs topped off, when I am home. When I am TDY, as I am now, well, I come up with alternatives. Finding a companion that will tolerate my lifestyle choices? Well, that is the challenge of a lifetime ain't it? or it ought to be I reckon. When cold, the little dog will find the warmest blanket in the house, usually the one I am under, and snuggle down in it.

I view generators as a luxury in such events. Ultimately you'd be better off if you could find a way to do without, but it sounds like you made the right choice here. I prefer diesel to gas, but finding a small gen made for diesel is an exercise in futility. Generators are handy for keeping the refrigerator and freezer functional so you don't lose food supplies, so I reckon that is worthy enough considering how hard I work for my elk meat.

Lesson 9: Due to the type of work I do now, I find that those little microlight keychain type LED flashlights are EDC compared to when I was a working tech and could belt loop a mini mag. I still keep those hand crank LED flashlights handy at home, as well as a couple LED pop up type portable lanterns. For emergency lighting at home, I have about a dozen oil lamps spread out over the house. They aren't the brightest lightsource, but they are there when I need them. I have a few lamps that have kept the same oil in them for 5 years on the mantle, and they light just as nice and make good light to function by at night, and add a few hundred btus to the mix. Did I mention how cheap they were? Maybe I spent a hundred bucks for all 12. The oil is cheap and most lamps will last a week on one fill with regular nightly use.

Lesson 10: I used to muck around with coleman stoves at camp. Then I got smart and bought a big camp chef HD propane stove. Three 25,000 btu burners produce enough heat to do all my kitchen work at elk camp for a full week on one 20 lb tank. With that and my dutch ovens and occasionally a charcoal or wood fire, I can crank out a pile of some of the best food I can make. A good camp dutch oven or two (the type with a lip around the top of the lid for holding embers on top) will work well in the fireplace for heating, baking, roasting, boiling, frying. They were made for using with a wood fire at camp, and ought to adapt well to fireplace use, depending on the room you have. Contrary to popular belief, they are also quite easy to maintain and clean. There's been a few times where my 4 quart recipe of beef stroganoff sure made a big difference in my outlook on the day.

Lesson 11: See lesson 7. Pets at home are smart and a lot more tolerant than us humans.