just starting out

[Yorkshire Andy]

Also ,something rarely mentioned on a domestic level: a battery radio,so that you can keep informed of what is going on if it is a widespread emergency. Don’t forget spare batteries,and to keep them rotated.

Can't beat a decent wireless

Most of the "emergency" radios are just not worth the money...

I've got a raddy emergency radio and to be fair it's not worth the money it sounds like a cheap radio the solar panel just about keeps it topped up on storage on a east facing window sill and the tuner knob is not lined up with the frequency / is very jerky ......

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Upgraded-Emerg ... B0893V1YY4


The humble Lidl cheap battery radio sounds better and lasts an age on aa batteries


Ps when did a basic FM / am / SW battery radio cost £20+ think I paid that for my Lidl dab special

I have a couple of little Sony jobs.AA batteries ( rechargeable) that can be powered via your original Lidl style solar set up.Thats working a treat by the way.

Which AA charger did you get in the end?

[jansman]

Can't beat a decent wireless

Most of the "emergency" radios are just not worth the money...

I've got a raddy emergency radio and to be fair it's not worth the money it sounds like a cheap radio the solar panel just about keeps it topped up on storage on a east facing window sill and the tuner knob is not lined up with the frequency / is very jerky ......

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Upgraded-Emerg ... B0893V1YY4


The humble Lidl cheap battery radio sounds better and lasts an age on aa batteries


Ps when did a basic FM / am / SW battery radio cost £20+ think I paid that for my Lidl dab special

I have a couple of little Sony jobs.AA batteries ( rechargeable) that can be powered via your original Lidl style solar set up.Thats working a treat by the way.

Which AA charger did you get in the end?

The cheap e bay job you linked to me.

[Frnc]

Personally I wouldn't bother with rainwater, it's stagnant and gets legionaire's disease (95% chance apparently!). Better to just concentrate on getting a few 10 litre containers full. Even these need to be changed every 6 months or a year. Wash and steralise first. Of course you could use rain water to irrigate crops if you have any. I don't know if it would be safe for washing without boiling.
Regarding emergency pantry, I would mainly just stock up on stuff you normally eat that has a 1-2 year shelf life and rotate it. I put all the new stuff on one shelf and stuff I need to use up in the next few months on another.
Keep a spreadsheet for dates of batteries if you can, it's easier than to keep looking at them. Same for first aid kit dates and any freeze dried meals you keep in a bugout bag (these can have 7 years on them). Reseach lithium batteries, they are a fire risk and there are various schools of thought on how best to store them. Most say 50-70% full, but I like to keep my phone 70-90%.
A bag of little tealight candles is a good idea, and a decent head-torch is vital. I keep my main head torch (Black Diamond Storm 375) on the bed post where I can reach it in the night if need be. I also have another (ancient '80s Petzl, still works!) on the cellar door, where the water stop tap, electricity, gas and boiler are. And a tiny Petzl E+Lite headtorch in my bugout bag. The batteries for that one can be left in it for 10 years.
Bugout bag, start with day to day stuff eg I heep my wallet, keys and important docs in a shoulder bag on my bedroom door. Also a few bits of clothing, some I wear, some just for emergency. Later you can build a bag that contains more stuff like a smalll first aid kit, water fiter etc. Mine even has a little tent.
Some people have EDC kit - everyday carry, eg Swiss Army knife. Note that most Leathermans won't be legal carry unless you are a plumber or something.

[Frnc]

Welcome to the forum I deleted your duplicate post your first few posts need moderator approval it keeps the crazies and spammers in check


The what do you need in a power cut box torches torches and more torches you can never have enough torches

If your going to use candles something safe to burn them in / on is a must ideally in little lanterns / deep jars to contact any spill / fire ...

A British standard fire blanket is always handy to have in the house but is also handy for candle fires as they do flare like a chip pan if you try water to put them out if they set the wax puddle alight ...



As for water some storage be it 5l supermarket bottles

Purification takes many means but filtration and puritabs are a good start

Good point about candles. I bought a stainless steel tray for if I ever need to use a little wood burning stove I have (which would probably only be outdoors), but it would do for candles as well. I just have a bag of tea light candles. Re the fire blanket. I nearly used mine recently, set a frying fan on fire! I blew it out, but that might not be the best idea! This was caused by adding some wet veg to hot fat, I believe. I also have a small fire extinguisher or two. Hmm, I should see if they have expiry dates.

[Yorkshire Andy]

Bugout bag, start with day to day stuff eg I heep my wallet, keys and important docs in a shoulder bag on my bedroom door. Also a few bits of clothing, some I wear, some just for emergency. Later you can build a bag that contains more stuff like a smalll first aid kit, water fiter etc. Mine even has a little tent.
Some people have EDC kit - everyday carry, eg Swiss Army knife. Note that most Leathermans won't be legal carry unless you are a plumber or something.

A run for the hills big out bag isn't on many people's radar in this country granted I made one when I first joined but then you realise that it's not the be all and end all .. most would be better of making a hospital / evacuation bag..

Be it taken ill and rushed to hospital to been evacuated due to a gas leak / local nutter threatening to blow the street up if the police go near his house, to a flood finding yourself in a hospital on a ward to a hotel or local sports / church hall or mates sofa depending on the situation..

Skivvy roll or 2,
Phone charger,
Change for vending machines,
Cash stash for a taxi ride home,
Pack of mints
Pack of biscuits
Small sleeping bag
Book to read
Jacket

List of important numbers / insurance policy numbers / next of kins details / local hotel phone numbers .
A Rambo knife (or anything more aggressive than a SAK is not going to be looked on fondly by hospital staff or a church Warden in the local church hall

[Bijela]

I have my little rucksack I take to work and usually chucked in the car if we going out beyond popping to the shop. This contains spare wallet containing some cash and cards. A pricey powerbank and cables to our devices. Then I have my full size backpack containing passports and a change of clothes. Its not full as I didn't want to store the gas stove and cans in it. But, they just in the cuboard next to the tv where everyone knows. Then it would be if we have time to top it up.

I do wonder about taking pictures of passports e.t.c. and putting on Onedrive or Google drive. Onedrive does have the vault thing.

[jansman]

Personally I wouldn't bother with rainwater, it's stagnant and gets legionaire's disease (95% chance apparently!). Better to just concentrate on getting a few 10 litre containers full. Even these need to be changed every 6 months or a year. Wash and steralise first. Of course you could use rain water to irrigate crops if you have any. I don't know if it would be safe for washing without boiling.
Regarding emergency pantry, I would mainly just stock up on stuff you normally eat that has a 1-2 year shelf life and rotate it. I put all the new stuff on one shelf and stuff I need to use up in the next few months on another.
Keep a spreadsheet for dates of batteries if you can, it's easier than to keep looking at them. Same for first aid kit dates and any freeze dried meals you keep in a bugout bag (these can have 7 years on them). Reseach lithium batteries, they are a fire risk and there are various schools of thought on how best to store them. Most say 50-70% full, but I like to keep my phone 70-90%.
A bag of little tealight candles is a good idea, and a decent head-torch is vital. I keep my main head torch (Black Diamond Storm 375) on the bed post where I can reach it in the night if need be. I also have another (ancient '80s Petzl, still works!) on the cellar door, where the water stop tap, electricity, gas and boiler are. And a tiny Petzl E+Lite headtorch in my bugout bag. The batteries for that one can be left in it for 10 years.
Bugout bag, start with day to day stuff eg I heep my wallet, keys and important docs in a shoulder bag on my bedroom door. Also a few bits of clothing, some I wear, some just for emergency. Later you can build a bag that contains more stuff like a smalll first aid kit, water fiter etc. Mine even has a little tent.
Some people have EDC kit - everyday carry, eg Swiss Army knife. Note that most Leathermans won't be legal carry unless you are a plumber or something.

So where do you think tap water comes from? Sainsburys? It’s drawn from reservoirs and rivers that are constantly replenished by RAIN. A “ few 10 litre containers “ ain’t gonna cut it here! I store rainwater on an industrial level, with disinfectant capability to match. 10 litres is the minimum recommended amount of water for two people for ONE day.

[jennyjj01]

Personally I wouldn't bother with rainwater, it's stagnant and gets legionaire's disease (95% chance apparently!). Better to just concentrate on getting a few 10 litre containers full. Even these need to be changed every 6 months or a year. Wash and steralise first.

So where do you think tap water comes from? Sainsburys? It’s drawn from reservoirs and rivers that are constantly replenished by RAIN. A “ few 10 litre containers “ ain’t gonna cut it here! I store rainwater on an industrial level, with disinfectant capability to match. 10 litres is the minimum recommended amount of water for two people for ONE day.

I think we are all just considering different degrees of water restriction.
Funny really that after Jansman pulled me up on my Wheelie bin thoughts, that I have to side with him. I think FRNC grossly overstates the impurity of rainwater. Legionaires is an issue with water that has been allowed to stand, such as captured in a paddling pool. Easy to deal with by sterilising. Short of a war situation rainwater is very pure. Only the means to harvest it might pollute it, such as bird poo on the roof. Harvesting with a tarp or from my quite clean garage roof is my preference to drawing from a dodgy stream.
Yorkshire Andy, if I recall, suggests refilling larger 25l water carriers. I'm of the opinion that that is not as good as simply stocking a decent number of sealed 5L bought full bottles. Once we refill them, we potentially contaminate them.
Frnc did say 'a few' 10L bottles. I think we all agree that 1 x 10L is far far less than a minimal stash. Half a dozen 5 L bottles is more my idea of absolute minimal. And even that only if space restricted.

[Yorkshire Andy]

[
Yorkshire Andy, if I recall, suggests refilling larger 25l water carriers. I'm of the opinion that that is not as good as simply stocking a decent number of sealed 5L bought full bottles. Once we refill them, we potentially contaminate them.
Frnc did say 'a few' 10L bottles. I think we all agree that 1 x 10L is far far less than a minimal stash. Half a dozen 5 L bottles is more my idea of absolute minimal. And even that only if space restricted.

On top of the 75l I've got in iso 25l I've got 40l in Morrison 5l bottles (Morrisons 5l are square so they stack nicely ). Plus 24l in 2l bottles ... That's before we get onto rain water the 2000+ l I have on the allotment (1x1000l Ibc and 5 or so 240l butts ..

We hit ground water here about 2ft down so that's another option if needed


Then we also have water from a ancient and natural source.......

images (3).jpeg (7.78 KiB) Viewed 666 times

So we have water covered.. the larger Kelly kettle also gives a fuel efficient way of boiling anything remotely suspect

[jansman]

Our rain catchment is linked,so there is a constant through flow of water. I can appreciate the idea that rainwater is stagnant,but it is not so with this system. I appreciate that many people have space limitations,it’s the modern way of living.Some stored water is very prudent,but you have to have Plan B ready to go when that stored water runs out.