Daily Routine Extreme Snow in situation

[katilea]

ok.. so you're completely snowed in, cars going nowhere (if you own one), no gas, no electric ..what's your plan?

[Brambles]

Keep solar panel clear of snow.
Bring in and fire up paraffin heaters.
Set up USB led lights in living room
Set up led lanterns in kitchen
fire up hurricane lantern in bathroom
Bring in gel fuel cooker and gas cooker.
Keep battery banks, batteries and all the little gizmos to make life comfortable charged via the solar panel

Finally, sit and toast me feet in front of the heater with a nice cup of tea whilst watching the commotion as everyone tries to get their cars out, maybe go and knock for the twins nextdoor for a snowball fight.
I live within walking distance to work so wellies and warm coat at the ready.

Check on the old dear up the road, Brambling at the ready if she needs the path cleared, make sure neighbours are OK.

Have to ask....what's with the snow obsession?

[MissAnpassad]

First I would heat up water och pour into my plastic fuel cans and put them into the chicken house as heating so the drinking water doesn't freeze (normally it runs on electricity). Then I would just light up the fireplace in the bedroom and place my soapstone around it so they store heat, there is no need to heat up the rest of the house.
I would open the fridge so in doesn't go mouldy and if it is a long power cut, I would get all the things out of the freezer and hang the food up in a tree.
I would empty the plumbing in the kitchen so it doesn't freeze also.

[poppypiesdad]

Clear doors , clear path to stables , dig out gates so they can be open , feed horses , muck horses out ,sort water troughs (break off ice layer), breakfast , check road conditions , see If the gritter made it , refill generator (must buy lpg adapter ) , walk over to grannies to check on her , walk back lunch , get horses in , lock gates , check road again , dinner , top off generator ( assuming again no power) , supper and last check of cuddies . Top up generator , Bed .


J

[Yorkshire Andy]

Have to ask....what's with the snow obsession?

From earlier discussions Katilea has mobility issues and needs to use a wheel chair to get about.....





Ive no real made plan as such but i have plenty of kit......


if it was a real biblical snow fall first thing i would be doing is keeping the drive as clear as possible (we are on a plough route) but if its left its a bugger to shift after its partially thawed and re frozen...

plenty of magic melt down as long as it lasts........


from then on in a no power / gas situation i'd lather the bath plug with silicone and plug it tightly and fill with water (no electic = no water pumping if its a big black out)


id fetch the mattress downstairs to our "bunker room" in that room there is one external window which would be blocked with the mattress (to keep the heat in) (yes it would be a bit dark and gloomy but warm)

If day time i would get the roll mats out (self inflating type) and set them to inflate and get the sleeping bags ready and give them a bloody good shake to loft them up.... and set to one side....

i would put the contents of the fridge in the back garden in really usefull boxes and bury them partially same for the freezer (these i would uncover at night as snow can actually insulate from the cold)

If i could be arsed i would set the generator up and watch "snowmangeddon live " on the BBC news channel for a bit of "entertainment"


pair of ski stappolettes and a down jacket on and sit in my arm chair with a book


Cooking would be done one way or another with the bountifull selection of stoves i have

viewtopic.php?f=21&t=8740


If it got really chilly i would get the calor heater out the workshop and toast my toes ...


lighting would initally be done with battery lanterns if it went on for a while i would have the coleman dual fuel lantern lit on a big metal tray (just in case)


from then on the bath sink tap would be left trickling away but half an eye kept on it (to prevent water freezing in the pipes through out the house and the heating water valves closed (old back boiler set up)

so if a pipe burst there would only be a small leak ...


would have the radio running for some music / news/ entertainment

and probably round the day off with a nice tot before retiring into the 5 season sleeping bag (and probably sweating my gonads off after half an hour) unzip it and throw a wool blanket over me instead



as for hot drinks well i err might have err treated myself to a kelly kettle last night i blame Katilea




this was december 2010 ^ even with this with snow tyres i always got my car out

[katilea]

Keep solar panel clear of snow.
Bring in and fire up paraffin heaters.
Set up USB led lights in living room
Set up led lanterns in kitchen
fire up hurricane lantern in bathroom
Bring in gel fuel cooker and gas cooker.
Keep battery banks, batteries and all the little gizmos to make life comfortable charged via the solar panel

Finally, sit and toast me feet in front of the heater with a nice cup of tea whilst watching the commotion as everyone tries to get their cars out, maybe go and knock for the twins nextdoor for a snowball fight.
I live within walking distance to work so wellies and warm coat at the ready.

Check on the old dear up the road, Brambling at the ready if she needs the path cleared, make sure neighbours are OK.

Have to ask....what's with the snow obsession?

It's a bit of a phobia after been snowed in 2 weeks solid back in 2010 when we had it really bad. It was my first time since I had been in a wheelchair that we'd had snow that bad and I've been totally unable to even leave the house to get the dog to the field. The food shop I had booked cancelled on me and with 8" of snow up the drive there was no way I was able to get to the shops myself. Compounded by the fact I think that everybody seemed to have forgotten about me not being able to get out at all and no-one thought to call in to see if I needed any help. Every winter since then, when I knew it was going to snow it triggered a panic attack, even though its never been as bad since and usually melted enough by next day to get out again.

I think all the stuff in press about snow coming early and 38 days of snow and power being disrupted. (I use mobility scooter/electric wheelchair to get round which need charging every night) makes me feel panicky! .. I'm deaf too so can't just pick up a mobile and ring someone for help if I can't get out of the house, especially in a powercut as my minicom (special phone for deaf) only works plugged in to mains, so I'm kind of dependent on electrical/powered assistive tech to independently get about and communicate too!

I'm hoping preparing for the worst snow I can imagine will help with the panic attacks, if it really does get so bad I'm snowed-in for a couple of weeks again

[katilea]

First I would heat up water och pour into my plastic fuel cans and put them into the chicken house as heating so the drinking water doesn't freeze (normally it runs on electricity). Then I would just light up the fireplace in the bedroom and place my soapstone around it so they store heat, there is no need to heat up the rest of the house.
I would open the fridge so in doesn't go mouldy and if it is a long power cut, I would get all the things out of the freezer and hang the food up in a tree.
I would empty the plumbing in the kitchen so it doesn't freeze also.

I always thought you weren't meant to open the fridge/freezer door too much so it would stay frozen longer if power went off and keep the food for longer?

Not sure what to say about hanging food from tree's!..lol! won't the birds eat it or is that the idea as you'd be unable to use it?

[katilea]

Have to ask....what's with the snow obsession?

From earlier discussions Katilea has mobility issues and needs to use a wheel chair to get about.....





Ive no real made plan as such but i have plenty of kit......


if it was a real biblical snow fall first thing i would be doing is keeping the drive as clear as possible (we are on a plough route) but if its left its a bugger to shift after its partially thawed and re frozen...

plenty of magic melt down as long as it lasts........


from then on in a no power / gas situation i'd lather the bath plug with silicone and plug it tightly and fill with water (no electic = no water pumping if its a big black out)


id fetch the mattress downstairs to our "bunker room" in that room there is one external window which would be blocked with the mattress (to keep the heat in) (yes it would be a bit dark and gloomy but warm)

If day time i would get the roll mats out (self inflating type) and set them to inflate and get the sleeping bags ready and give them a bloody good shake to loft them up.... and set to one side....

i would put the contents of the fridge in the back garden in really usefull boxes and bury them partially same for the freezer (these i would uncover at night as snow can actually insulate from the cold)

If i could be arsed i would set the generator up and watch "snowmangeddon live " on the BBC news channel for a bit of "entertainment"


pair of ski stappolettes and a down jacket on and sit in my arm chair with a book


Cooking would be done one way or another with the bountifull selection of stoves i have

viewtopic.php?f=21&t=8740


If it got really chilly i would get the calor heater out the workshop and toast my toes ...


lighting would initally be done with battery lanterns if it went on for a while i would have the coleman dual fuel lantern lit on a big metal tray (just in case)


from then on the bath sink tap would be left trickling away but half an eye kept on it (to prevent water freezing in the pipes through out the house and the heating water valves closed (old back boiler set up)

so if a pipe burst there would only be a small leak ...


would have the radio running for some music / news/ entertainment

and probably round the day off with a nice tot before retiring into the 5 season sleeping bag (and probably sweating my gonads off after half an hour) unzip it and throw a wool blanket over me instead



as for hot drinks well i err might have err treated myself to a kelly kettle last night i blame Katilea




this was december 2010 ^ even with this with snow tyres i always got my car out

lol! .. I decided to go with a small one and get a camping gaz bistro 300 for powercuts doing food on the bistro and use kelly kettle (with free fuel) for boiling water.

[Yorkshire Andy]

Think its more down to once the fridge has thawed out leaving the doors open stops mould growing...



Hows the stocking up going? Take it your going to be getting aquainted with cup a soups, instant noodles, and the like


seen these:

http://www.lookwhatwefound.co.uk/faq

(point 8)

thinking put food pouch in a plastic tub laid on a blanket fill tub with boiling water and cover for 5 mins to warm the food) whilst you boil water for instant rice or boil some pasta up on a stove

they are "only" 1.69 a pouch at tesco

http://www.tesco.com/groceries/product/ ... t+we+found

i get these as i use them in the summer when camping and replace through the autumn for winter stocks and they aint half bad add a portion of instant rice and its a nice meal


this is the kettle i got

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/like/STORM-Ke ... RTM2108002


saw it on here a bit ago


and this is the wood gas stove i mentioned in your other thread and on pm

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Wood-Gas-Alco ... SwstxVYvKJ




Have you got a local scout / guides group? Some might be happy to help in bad weather never harms to find out who the leaders are especially if you have any skills / knowlage you might be able to share with them such as sign language or been a "test pilot" for them pushing your wheel chair

https://members.scouts.org.uk/supportre ... oduleID=10

[MissAnpassad]

I always thought you weren't meant to open the fridge/freezer door too much so it would stay frozen longer if power went off and keep the food for longer?

Not sure what to say about hanging food from tree's!..lol! won't the birds eat it or is that the idea as you'd be unable to use it?

I live in a very cold climate and the kitchen is a modern (lousy) add on to a old log cabin, so the temperature in that room drops rapidly if there is no heating, it will be a lot colder than what the fridge temperature normally is. If you live in a house that keeps the temperature for a long time or if the power cut is during warmer months, then you are better off keeping it closed or hanging it out the window if it s below 8 degrees Celsius outside.

I rather see the birds picking at my food than Mr Fox or Mr Wolf running away with it. And if it is "Snow Armageddon" here, then the temperature will be below freezing. So my frozen food will be perfectly fine.