Current Events > So I'm doing some preparation just in case Texas has another freeze.

(+) Yeah! (+)

CableZL posted...

I've got some lessons learned from last winter and I'm trying to make sure I'm more prepared this time. I've got a heated coat and a heated skull cap. If we do have a freeze, I'm gonna break out the candles immediately to help keep warm.

Gonna also get a battery powered generator pretty soon.

What brand/model heated coat did you get?

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Rob Cesternino posted...

What brand/model heated coat did you get?

ITIEBO Heated Jacket with 12V/8500mAh Battery Pack 165/10hrs for Outdoors


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I'd recommend a good radio, too. I have several, and I'd say my CCrane Skywave SSB would be the one radio I'd keep if I had to get rid of all of them. Anytime I travel I take it with me. Has weather, AM/FM, air bands, shortwave, and SSB. I've used it here if we have any threat of severe weather, as you can set it up to receive alerts. Won't keep you warm, but you'll be informed (and entertained, hopefully).

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Just ordered a battery powered generator. Amazon doesn't have the 10Ah batteries, but a 3rd party seller does... And they'll only let me buy the batteries one at a time, lol... Oh well. I'll probably just get 1 every week or two until I have 4.

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JACKBUTTMOMMY posted...

I take it you don't have access to a fireplace or a firepit?

No, my house doesn't have a fireplace.

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if another deep freeze is forecasted i'm stocking up on cigs next time so i don't run out while the roads are frozen and everything's closed

also ordering multiple varieties of pizza

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Honestly but a wool sweater , that shit locks in body heat

CableZL posted...

I actually never owned any candles personally before that happened last year.

Candles barely produce any heat.

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spikethedevil posted...

Candles barely produce any heat.

Yeah, I know, but it's better than nothing when it's 6 degrees outside and also 6 degrees inside.

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CableZL posted...

Yeah, I know, but it's better than nothing when it's 6 degrees outside and also 6 degrees inside.

Barely better than nothing and the amount you would need would be a fire hazard. Candles are really not a good idea.

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spikethedevil posted...

Barely better than nothing and the amount you would need would be a fire hazard. Candles are really not a good idea.

Barely better than nothing is still better than nothing.

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CableZL posted...

Yeah, I know, but it's better than nothing when it's 6 degrees outside and also 6 degrees inside.

Nah if it's actually that cold it may very well be better to keep your hands wrapped up in mittens than expose them to the air to get them over the candle. Candle only project a tiny amount of heat directly above the flame. I've tried this before and it just doesn't work. I ended up going outside and using a charcoal barbeque grill instead.


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So youre cool with a fire hazard? You dont seem to be understanding how little heat a candle produces and how many you would need. Would you leave them burning over night? Candles are a stupid idea.

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spikethedevil posted...

So youre cool with a fire hazard? You dont seem to be understanding how little heat a candle produces and how many you would need. Would you leave them burning over night? Candles are a stupid idea.

This is the last time I'm going to say it because I've said it multiple times at this point

Barely better than nothing

is better than nothing

Last winter, I was without power for days. Meaning day and night. And then day and night. And then day and night.

Let it go.

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Captain_Qwark posted...

Turn on an electric blanked and sandwich it between your bed covers like 20 minutes before you go to bed.

Then when you hop in, it's like jumping into a toaster. Feels good, man.

I got fed up with electric blankets. The ones I had in previous years would stop working within hours to a couple weeks and I had to keep returning them. I'm hoping these heated clothing items don't do the same thing, lol.

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I would think if you're at least out of the elements a cold weather sleeping bag and some hand warmers would probably do well. Add a thicc blanket or two and you'd be damn near cozy.

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spikethedevil posted...

So youre cool with a fire hazard? You dont seem to be understanding how little heat a candle produces and how many you would need. Would you leave them burning over night? Candles are a stupid idea.

You know he's fuckin' with you, right?

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QwelzaarKane posted...

I would think if you're at least out of the elements a cold weather sleeping bag and some hand warmers would probably do well. Add a thicc blanket or two and you'd be damn near cozy.

Yeah, that's the plan... During the freeze, it got to the point where I was shivering so hard and blankets didn't help at all. I'll look into hand warmers, too.

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Heartomaton posted...

You know he's fuckin' with you, right?

I hope so because no one should be fine with a massive fire hazard.

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spikethedevil posted...

I hope so because no one should be fine with a massive fire hazard.

I mean, no one should be fine with Texas's shitty power grid, but our state politicians are, unfortunately. I can manage candles without burning the house down. Calm down.

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CableZL posted...

I mean, no one should be fine with Texas's shitty power grid, but our state politicians are, unfortunately. I can manage candles without burning the house down. Calm down.

I dont doubt you can but you seem to be refusing to understand how many you would need to produce any heat.

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spikethedevil posted...

So youre cool with a fire hazard? You dont seem to be understanding how little heat a candle produces and how many you would need. Would you leave them burning over night? Candles are a stupid idea.

TC just wants the place to smell nice.
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Just out of curiosity, do you have a list of stuff you have in preparation?

spikethedevil posted...

I dont doubt you can but you seem to be refusing to understand how many you would need to produce any heat.

I'm not expecting candles to be the be-all-end-all solution in an extended power outage. That's why I'm getting heated clothing items, a generator, etc.

However, in a situation where I have no more ways to power anything, I'll take the little bit of heat that candles would generate over nothing.

I'm hoping my solar roof gets installed and I get permission to turn it on before mid February, but I'm just getting all this stuff just in case that doesn't happen.

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CommonStar posted...

Just out of curiosity, do you have a list of stuff you have in preparation?

So far:

• Heated coat
• 2 heated skull caps (I ordered one months ago and thought USPS lost it. Then I ordered another one. Then weeks after USPS said they delivered the 1st one, the 1st one came in.)
• Just ordered an Ego power station and 1 10Ah battery. I have other Ego lawn care tools that also came with batteries that I could use with this, but they're smaller batteries. I currently have 1 7.5Ah battery and 2 5Ah (I think) batteries. I want to have 4 10Ah batteries for the power station.
• Solar roof + 3 powerwall order in process(may or may not get installed and may or may not get permission to turn it on in time)

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Looks good so far.

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My car will also provide heat for a semi-decent amount of time, but if the battery gets drained, then my car is stuck until power is restored and I can charge it for a few hours. I just get nervous about letting the battery get too low, so I'm gonna try to not rely on it as much.

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We picked up a portable butane stove a while back for emergencies.

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Don't forget to get reusable water jugs, I bought 2 5-gallon ones.

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Scintillant posted...

Don't forget to get reusable water jugs, I bought 2 5-gallon ones.

Yeah, I have a bunch of water jugs from when I worked at Yeti. 3 or 4 64oz jugs, a bunch of 32-oz jugs, and a number of smaller ones.

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I would recommend a portable butane gas stove. It was a life saver for me when the power went out in my area for an entire week during winter. It was a cold week in california but not to the extend of the snow storm.

Also cat litter is good to have around as it can help your tires get traction if stranded in snow, ice, or mud. The plain cheap stuff is good enough.

Also in regards to the candle, it may not provide much heat, but I've heard it's enough to keep you from freezing to death and also can provide a little bit of comfort psychologically.

Hopefully you get your solar roof going.

Maybe you could sleep outside in your car with it running, but I suppose that could be an issue of recharging your car if there was no electricity.

If you had a vehicle that ran on gas that wouldn't be an issue, except you'd probably use a tank of gas doing so over the course of a few days. But $30-$50 to refuel sure doesn't sound like a bad deal if it keeps you warm.

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The_Dan_Haren posted...

The best way to prepare for anything in Texas is just move to California permanently.

This. Be sure to take Beto with you when you do, as the poor guy keeps on embarrassing the absolute heck outta himself with every single attempt at securing himself a vaunted political position, just sayin.

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Houston posted...

Maybe you could sleep outside in your car with it running, but I suppose that could be an issue of recharging your car if there was no electricity.

If you had a vehicle that ran on gas that wouldn't be an issue, except you'd probably use a tank of gas doing so over the course of a few days. But $30-$50 to refuel sure doesn't sound like a bad deal if it keeps you warm.

The car doesn't emit any CO, so there's no concern about leaving it running inside the garage. I did that on and off last year. Just kinda sucked living in an apartment and having to go outside and downstairs to get to the garage.

I should be in a better spot with the house having the garage connected.

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Houston posted...

Maybe you could sleep outside in your car with it running, but I suppose that could be an issue of recharging your car if there was no electricity. How long would your battery last on idle? I'd imagine it'd probably be quite awhile.

If you had a vehicle that ran on gas that wouldn't be an issue, except you'd probably use a tank of gas doing so over the course of a few days. But $30-$50 to refuel sure doesn't sound like a bad deal if it keeps you warm.

Hi, this is a way to kill people. Don't fucking do that.

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The_Hat posted...

Hi, this is a way to kill people. Don't f***ing do that.

Do what?

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Houston posted...

How long would your battery last on idle? I'd imagine it'd probably be quite awhile.

I haven't tested just leaving it idle for an extended period of time, but it would maybe lose about 1% of range per day depending on how many times I open the app, which tells it to wake up. Also, sentry mode being turned on would also use more battery. The max range on mine is about 402 miles.

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JACKBUTTMOMMY posted...

That won't kill people in an open space/cracked windows but then again cracked windows means less efficiency. TC has a Tesla though iirc.

Yeah... There's really no concern about leaving it running. It stays on in sleep mode all the time any way.

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The_Hat posted...

Hi, this is a way to kill people. Don't fucking do that.

Would a car running outside be a threat? I specifically said outside. And even acknowledged he has a battery powered car to begin with.

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CableZL posted...

I haven't tested just leaving it idle for an extended period of time, but it would maybe lose about 1% of range per day depending on how many times I open the app, which tells it to wake up. Also, sentry mode being turned on would also use more battery. The max range on mine is about 402 miles.

I don't know much about Teslas, but that sounds to me like your battery would last a long time if left idle.

What would your generator do that you bought? I also don't know much about generators. Could that run your house heater? Or maybe just a store bought heater for a single room at the very least? If you get a store bought heater, just be sure it is one that can safely be used overnight without monitoring it.

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Houston posted...

I don't know much about Teslas, but that sounds to me like your battery would last a long time if left idle.

What would your generator do that you bought? I also don't know much about generators. Could that run your house heater? Or maybe just a store bought heater for a single room at the very least?

If it's just sitting idle, it'll last probably a few months at least. The heater will drain the battery much faster, though.

Nah, it couldn't run the heater. I wouldn't have a way to power it with that. I'd also want to keep my internet working so I could work. And I could use it to run my refrigerator here and there to keep my food cold.

Speaking of heater, I had a space heater last winter, but I don't think I've seen it since I moved. I need to find it.

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ClunkerSlim posted...

Well this dude is a dead man.
Candles will not keep you warm.

CableZL posted...

I'm not expecting candles to be the be-all-end-all solution in an extended power outage. That's why I'm getting heated clothing items, a generator, etc.

However, in a situation where I have no more ways to power anything, I'll take the little bit of heat that candles would generate over nothing.

I'm hoping my solar roof gets installed and I get permission to turn it on before mid February, but I'm just getting all this stuff just in case that doesn't happen.

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