Are we being programmed not to have books?

[Tamara]

....... Book reading programs use very little power. I have kept my tablet on for over 10 hours book reading and still had over 50% left on the battery.

It's day three of a power outage due to a major storm. Your well has sprung a leak. Your generator is supplying power to your refrigerator/freezer. Do you really want to use what available power you do have to power up your "library" or would you rather pull out the repair book and get fixing?

As it is, I lived at Clark AFB in the 70's, in MACV housing (at the far end of the base where the perimeter fence/gate is that led down to water purification plant (I think)) and I know what it is to be a week without power until the Air Force got emergency generators up there. I have a girlfriend, another ranch woman, come home, find her well spraying water, so those disasters happen, too!

Others might be all comfortable that their electronics will work all the time, but not me. I buy every "Popular Mechanics" home repair book I can (and clean out going out of business hardware stores of as much supplies as I can afford which includes pipe repair gear). That's what people have taught me, so far, about homesteading. When it breaks, you have to figure out a way to fix it on your own.

Life has rather taught me that it is not about one button to push.

[Gun Grape]

It's day three of a power outage due to a major storm. Your well has sprung a leak. Your generator is supplying power to your refrigerator/freezer. Do you really want to use what available power you do have to power up your "library" or would you rather pull out the repair book and get fixing?

If your waiting till something is broke to learn how to fix it, your in trouble. Get the book out now and practice all those "Home Repairs" while nothing is really broke.

Get a 3 ft section of PVC pipe, some fittings (glue on/compression/quick connect), cutter, primer and glue and play.Same with copper pipe. Section of pipe, cutter fittings and torch and have fun with it.

Locate the gas and water line cut offs. The cut them off to the house. Just so you know where they are and what tools you will need when the time comes to do it for real.

Cut the power at the main breaker in the panel box. Then change out a breaker.
Kill the power to a room and change out a light switch/ receptacle.
(have someone present that is knowledgeable the first few times you do this. Don't die practicing)

Clean the spark plug/Change the spark plug (set the gap) on your generator. Then see if it runs. Same with fuel lines.And the rope pull cord. Those things dry rot quick.

Run your generator under the load you expect it to have when SHTF. See if it can actually handle that load , and how long a tank of gas under load will last.

Also a good time to see if the drop cord that you are using from the gen to the freezer can handle the load. Is it long enough? Is it sized right? How much voltage drop are you getting? (quick way to burn up the freezer)


The time to learn how to make a fire is not when you are on the side of a lake, soaking wet in 20deg temp with no shelter.

The time to learn how to fix a broke pipe is not when you see water is shooting 10ft in the air as you look out the bathroom window wondering why there is no water coming out of the shower head and you can't rinse the shampoo out of your hair.

(end of rant)


Would I use my charger to recharge/use my tablet. Yes The amps(1 to 2) that it draws will not be noticed by the generator. A 5 watt charger draws nothing on a 500-750 Watt gen.

I live in a hurricane zone. I know what its like being without power for a week. I also know that things break normally on cold rainy nights (when the batteries in your flashlight are dead )