Things we can learn from what’s happening in Texas

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Whoknows

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Interesting article about the collapse of Texas and what the rest of the country could learn from it.

Zerohedge

ZeroHedge - On a long enough timeline, the survival rate for everyone drops to zero
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bookmarked that thread. thanks. has some good experiences in there.
Wifey says I need to stop being "a hoarder"... and gets really mad at how often she needs XYZ in a hurry and i'm able to pull something out of a box to do the job.
Then again, we just moved from a place where we were prone to losing power without warning for 2 hours, 2 days, 2 weeks.. you could never tell. The 2nd time i lost a few hundred dollars in groceries was the LAST time.
 
Several posts on many sites talk about propane heaters and 20Lb tanks, we can't keep these inside the home, run the hose out the window.
 
Button Pusher said:
Several posts on many sites talk about propane heaters and 20Lb tanks, we can't keep these inside the home, run the hose out the window.
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Can't? Or shouldn't? Because can't isn't an issue when I'm trying to keep my family safe. I'll do what I have to do.
 
Button Pusher said:
Several posts on many sites talk about propane heaters and 20Lb tanks, we can't keep these inside the home, run the hose out the window.
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I have one and a couple tanks. Have never known how much CO these things generate. The modern home is pretty tightly sealed, so I’d be cautious if I had to use it. Also used to camp in sub-zero weather in a tent, a week of cold with no electricity in a home is gonna be easily survivable by most everyone, just gotta deal with the infirm and the babies/toddlers.
 
The only question mark is heat. Around here (or at least in Eastern NC) the vast majority of us are ready for power outages as we're in the hurricane belt.

Honestly, installing gas logs or a wood stove/fireplace pretty much does it for cold. We have gas logs upstairs and downstairs. Those and the generator running fans to circulate the heat will get it done.

As for food preservation during a power outage in cold weather..... uh..... take the food outside? Thaw it when you need to eat it?

Once again, some people being caught with their pants down is making peppers over think things.

The vast majority of you here are already more prepared than most of those Texans.
 
My wife and I can go into "camping mode" in roughly 30 minutes. And who doesn't like to camp? We have a gas stove in the kitchen with a 250 pound tank in the yard. And we have a generator to run the well and the freezers. We do better in ice storms since it's usually cold and that makes it easier on the freezers. As long as we have been without power is 10 days during one of the hurricanes. I can't recall which one? Too many to count. We found a lot of the issues are based on the wrong mindset. We simply go primitive camping for a week or two...either in the winter or the summer. Some people actually spend money travelling somewhere to camp! We do it at home. No power, no phone, no internet, just a pile of books we haven't had a chance to read. It's kind of an adventure! I recall one of the ice storms had knocked the power out for days. We were cooking on a wood stove (the smell of bacon and wood, awesome) and having a big time. When the power came back it was kind of sad in a way. 😉
 
Buy a couple of two man tents for you and kids. Extra blankets over the tent will allow you to keep body heat in the tent for sleeping. They can even fit on top of the beds.

The ideal situation would to own a small camper and a small generator. A couple 5gallon buckets with those toilet seats or pool noodles cut.

I have been thinking about buying a 14x7 enclosed trailer to design for a camper/emergency shelter/bugout home. But if I find a very small camper used that will be the option.
 
We could use a little more firewood. Supply is getting low but I have access to plenty. I have the home heat pump, wood heater, propane burner, kerosene heater, generators and electric heaters.
It’s 71 degrees in the house. I’m wearing shorts, flops and a tshirt. 29 degrees outside.
 
Tailhunter said:
With all the fees and taxes in Texas and all the money the state generates, their infrastructure should be the best in the world.

Somebody is pilfering the till.
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Start here:

Publicly available 2018 tax filings for ERCOT show multiple board members received five-figure and six-figure compensation despite dedicating between five and 15 hours a week to the agency. Magness was given total compensation of over $883,000 that year, the filings show.
 
two fingers said:
The only question mark is heat. Around here (or at least in Eastern NC) the vast majority of us are ready for power outages as we're in the hurricane belt.

Honestly, installing gas logs or a wood stove/fireplace pretty much does it for cold. We have gas logs upstairs and downstairs. Those and the generator running fans to circulate the heat will get it done.

As for food preservation during a power outage in cold weather..... uh..... take the food outside? Thaw it when you need to eat it?

Once again, some people being caught with their pants down is making peppers over think things.

The vast majority of you here are already more prepared than most of those Texans.
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My buddy has gas logs that he ran for 24 hours a day and his attic plumbing still broke and his ceiling fell.
I've told a lot of you that the weather here is nearly identical to Conway from where we came. Houses here are not built for the kind of weather we had this week. I'm guessing that my buddy's house was built in the late 70's or early 80's.
 
Windini said:
In CO in the 80's they added that and called it solar water heating. :)
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Our water lines here are in the attic. During the summer the cold tap water was very warm.
 
BlackGun said:
I have been thinking about buying a 14x7 enclosed trailer to design for a camper/emergency shelter/bugout home. But if I find a very small camper used that will be the option.
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you know...
a couple feet of dirt will stop everything short of a nuclear bomb... If somebody were to hide a trailer inside their shooting backstop... you could essentially have a couple feet of elevation to prevent flooding, earth insulation, tornado/wind protection, a bugout cabin that blends into the wild....
I need more land and some earth moving equipment.
 
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DrScaryGuy said:
you know...
a couple feet of dirt will stop everything short of a nuclear bomb... If somebody were to hide a trailer inside their shooting backstop... you could essentially have a couple feet of elevation to prevent flooding, earth insulation, tornado/wind protection, a bugout cabin that blends into the wild....
I need more land and some earth moving equipment.
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Excellent idea. If I had a hill on property I could cut out a section to back a trailer in. No better insulation than couple feet of ground if you can block the front.
 
BlackGun said:
Why? People need to continue to use the toilet and cook. If I had kids at home I would take my chance by continually running faucets.
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fill containers for water (water heater and toilet tanks have fresh water), and use a 5gal bucket to take a dump in. thats a way better alternative than thousands of dollars in damages
 
Geezer said:
Our water lines here are in the attic. During the summer the cold tap water was very warm.
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As you know around here they put them all in the slab. Little better for cold weather protection But Hell when there's a problem. My brother calls slab house "shops with walls". We had this conversation here a while back. Nobody here can remember anybody building a slab house before about 1970. I'm 3 feet off the ground and if I was doing it again I'd be 6.
 
I've watched a few TX happening compilation videos, and these houses with ceilings collapsing... Do people not know to shut the water off at the valve and open a few lines to keep the pressure down?

NVM. These are the same folks I've worked with that don't know which side of a hammer drives the nail.

Main lesson I've learned here is that about 72 hours into some societal collapse, I'll have plenty of free junk to scavenge from dumbass city dwellers. These folks are absolutely helpless, and it seems their only recourse is to cry for more help.

Anybody else remember when .gov officials rode in to save the day after Hugo? Me neither.

ETA: I do hate it for the elderly and infirmed that didn't have the means to help themselves. Shame on their families if they didn't come help. And I'm glad Geezer is doing okay.
 
Also, a little purposefully obtuse, but "I've lost power and and everything in the fridge will go bad because it is a 7 degree, snow covered wasteland outside" seems a little derpy to me.

I remember losing power a few times in Boone, and each time the MO was bury the Miller and milk in the snow, eat the block of cheese now. Granted, that was bachelor living....
 
You can get 20-30 toilet flushes from the amount of water that fits in your bathtub.

You can buy a soft bladder that fits in your tub if you want to use that space for drinking water.

An oil burning hurricane lantern kept my master bath 10F warmer than my bedroom, and kept my half-bath 25F warmer than my hallway.
 
My buddy kept a stream of water running from every faucet, except for the washing machine, and didn't realize there was a problem until he went to the bedroom with a flashlight. He saw the ceiling wet and starting to sag. By then, it was too late.
 
Another thing folks may want to consider during power outtages that last a few days...

A camp shower / solar shower. Basically, it’s a 5 gallon bladder with a hose/spray nozzle on it. Heat your water on a grill/camp stove, fill the bladder up and you’ve got yourself a hot shower.

No, it ain’t gonna be the same as a regular shower or a bath, but in a pinch, it’ll work.

Some folks may say, “The power is out; a shower/bath is just a ‘luxury’.”

Well...the ability to take a hot shower may help with patience levels and keep attitudes on an even keel.
 
All this crisis stuff has me on a mission to add to my current emergency items. I have enough heaters, candles, flashlights, buckets, gas cans, tents, blankets, can goods, drop cords, 3500 generator, etc..

I have a very small water storage. I need a bladder of some sort. I would also like to find a exterior barrel size container for gas. Illegal or not- I want it.
 
Geezer said:
My buddy has gas logs that he ran for 24 hours a day and his attic plumbing still broke and his ceiling fell.
I've told a lot of you that the weather here is nearly identical to Conway from where we came. Houses here are not built for the kind of weather we had this week. I'm guessing that my buddy's house was built in the late 70's or early 80's.
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i completely agree. The stuff they are saying about Texas being a failed state is a bunch of crap designed to make conservative leadership seem lacking.

The bottom line is that nobody builds infrastructure and power grids to withstand such extreme and rare weather shifts.

Let Alaska have a week of 110 degree temps and see what happens there.
 
Diablos said:
im scratching my head and wondering why people didnt drain their water lines
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My buddy out there is doing odd jobs as a home repair guy. They pay him to put up and take down lights. Do you think they know how to turn off and drain pipes?

Talking to my wife last night and we would at least do that overnight when we didn't need water. But we've been fine down to about 15 degrees here.

We do week long camping trips and have gone a week without power. So we don't have plans as much as we just have experience. And a few cases of backpacking meals. I've got a lot of non potable water around. And a decent amount that should still be potable. lol Might need to check that.
 
chiefjason said:
My buddy out there is doing odd jobs as a home repair guy. They pay him to put up and take down lights. Do you think they know how to turn off and drain pipes?

Talking to my wife last night and we would at least do that overnight when we didn't need water. But we've been fine down to about 15 degrees here.

We do week long camping trips and have gone a week without power. So we don't have plans as much as we just have experience. And a few cases of backpacking meals. I've got a lot of non potable water around. And a decent amount that should still be potable. lol Might need to check that.
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every homeowner needs to know where their water main is, i guess the alternative is dealing with cascade falls in their kitchen
 
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