How will YOU keep warm on cold winter nights?

[Peppypreppy]

Hey all, so let's assume there has been a complete society meltdown. The grid is out, water isn't running from taps and winter is coming, How will you keep yourself and your family warm in our cold climate?

[pseudonym]

An axe, a bow saw and my woodburner.

[Peppypreppy]

Now I assume this fuel source is straight from the tree? Would it need to be Dried out for a season before burning properly or is it possible to burn slightly "wet" (on the inside) wood?

[pseudonym]

Now I assume this fuel source is straight from the tree? Would it need to be Dried out for a season before burning properly or is it possible to burn slightly "wet" (on the inside) wood?

I already have a seasons worth that is dried, so you cut and prep the following years wood.

[Peppypreppy]

Ah I see, I think many people would be out to find firewood and if you live in an urban areas like I do the trees would not last long. I think I should start collecting soon. The more the better!

[Deeps]

Hey all, so let's assume there has been a complete society meltdown. The grid is out, water isn't running from taps and winter is coming, How will you keep yourself and your family warm in our cold climate?

Another question going by your scenario would be how will you provide safe water for you and your family. Another one would be how are you going to feed them, another one would be how are you going to keep them safe, you say you live in an urban area, that will mean a lot of neighbours who will be cold, thirsty, hungry and pissed off.

[izzy_mack]

With difficulty! We live in a rented house with oil central heating and no other heat. I have a mobile gas fire and a lpg cooker with at least 2 spare cylinders at any time but that's not going to last long in a cold highland winter. I have been looking into wood burning camping stoves, the kind for bell tents or yurts and might buy one but i'm not sure where I can use it in a house, might be warmer in a tent with a stove than a house without! Actually I've been trying to "harden " myself - sleeping with the window well open, my bedroom is frequently now quite cold but I'm fine with my hot water bottle! I seem to sleep better too.

[Deeps]

With difficulty! We live in a rented house with oil central heating and no other heat. I have a mobile gas fire and a lpg cooker with at least 2 spare cylinders at any time but that's not going to last long in a cold highland winter. I have been looking into wood burning camping stoves, the kind for bell tents or yurts and might buy one but i'm not sure where I can use it in a house, might be warmer in a tent with a stove than a house without! Actually I've been trying to "harden " myself - sleeping with the window well open, my bedroom is frequently now quite cold but I'm fine with my hot water bottle! I seem to sleep better too.

Have you thought of something like this Izzy ?

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B01 ... UTF8&psc=1

There are other types too but they might be a bit smokey for indoor use. I think for warmth its going to be lots of clothes and blankets/duvets for a lot of us and any cooking will have to be done outdoors.

[Jamesey1981]

Your body produces its own heat, so before even thinking about heating your house, think about how to stop the heat that your body produces from escaping, a warm dwelling is a modern luxury, and one that even the best prepared of us will soon have to do without if fuel becomes scarce.
Even those with wood burners, although better off than most will still need to use fuel carefully so as to still be able to cook and make water safe to drink.
Fuel will become scarce in your scenario, Britain was a lot less populated back before everyone had central heating, and we still needed coal, and if society has collapsed there won't be much mining going on, I doubt there's enough trees left on our little collection of overcrowded islands to keep everyone warm for more than one winter, and even that is sketchy in my view.

Before working on a wood pile (unless you already need one) make sure you have properly warm clothing and plenty of blankets, you can happily survive in a makeshift shelter pretty comfortably with no external sources of heat if you have enough insulation to retain your own body heat and enough calories to produce it in the first place, then external heat becomes a luxury you can do without if you have to, it would certainly be a good luxury to have, but you won't freeze to death without it.

You don't need to spend a fortune on brand new Hudson's Bay Company point wool blankets, they were made in Witney in Oxfordshire, and there were many companies making blankets there of equal quality, one of them makes the Hudsons's bay ones and also sells them under their own name, I forget which one, but if you don't mind your blankets being pink you can get them secondhand and in good condition for not a lot of money on eBay, some army surplus ones are good, lots are a 70/30 or 80/20 mix, and some are 100% wool, I have a few of each, and I also have a load of pink 100% wool blankets, none of which cost me more than fifteen quid and some considerably less, and one of them has a Harrods label on it and is so soft you'd think it was cashmere. Keep a look out in charity shops and at boot sales too.

I've slept out under a tarp with nothing but wool blankets in temperatures well below freezing and been toasty warm!

There are obviously modern equivalents such as sleeping bags etc, but the advantages they have are outweighed by the disadvantages if you're not going to have to carry them, wool blankets are much heavier, but they'll last longer, cost you less and still provide some insulation even if they're damp or dirty.

[Briggs 2.0]

I had a little chuckle to myself at this topic because if I didn't laugh, I'd probably, well, I don't know what.

We have been off-grid since February and this morning my wife and I were discussing our plans for this winter just in case we remain off-grid. We will still be living in the shipping container through the winter into 2018 but there is a chance we may not have mains power connected before December and I can definitely say from experience that mains power will be a huge boost, not just for ease of living but also for morale. We have got by with 2 x 100watt solar panels, powering a battery array of deep cycle batteries. This system worked well through the summer months but now the daylight hours are shorter, and we are using more power for lights, it's not keeping up with demand. Our demand is very low, approximately 15w for three hours a day.

Our water comes out of a hole in the ground and to get it out we need power. We have generators, only the 8hp 4Kva one has enough grunt to get the water out, otherwise it's by hand.

For the first six weeks of living in a woodland, it rained constantly for three. I mentioned morale earlier and there's nothing more morale sapping than cold, mud encrusted footwear, no matter how good it is, where the tread pattern is slick by more mud and you slip and slide everywhere. It's not only the cold that debilitates, it's the dampness that really saps morale. Wrapping up warm is a must, but fighting the damp is critical and i would say key to having positive morale. Without that, one is stuffed. In our situation, when we'd had enough, we found we couldn't be arsed to do even the basics such as prepare dry firewood or filter water. We use a British Berky which under normal circumstances is a fill and forget system but when morale is so low you can't muster the chutzpah to even fill it, that's when you're in trouble.

How will I keep warm this winter? Priority number one for me is to make sure my wife is comfortable because without her onside, this house-build project will collapse. She has an arctic grade, military sleeping system. Me, I am on the lookout for hammock under quilts.

Fortunately, having been outdoorsy types with a prepared mind, we are well equipped with warm outdoor clothing and footwear plus the usual compliment of tools and gadgets that make this sort of living possible. If I had to choose one item of kit that is worth its cost ten times over, it's a JetBoil and I'd say it well worth investing in. Hexamine is great, and wood stoves are handy, but there's nothing like having a litre of hot water and/or a hot meal in minutes. Pricey, but well worth it.

I'm on a pretty low ebb at the moment and I can't lift myself out of it. The mud around me is really peeing me off and the rain is coming sideways into my shelter. Heaven knows how my wife is coping, she should be on this forum because not many can do eight months off-grid and still be chipper at the prospect of another six.