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Keeping warm

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Stormin Mormon - 04 Nov 2006 03:40 GMT
With a snow storm, and the power off for two weeks, how to stay warm?

The furnace has gas, but there is no electric. The stove is electric,
and the portable space heater is electric. So, the house gets cold in
one day.

What to do now?

Signature

Christopher A. Young
 You can't shout down a troll.
 You have to starve them.
.

Cheryl - 04 Nov 2006 03:55 GMT
> With a snow storm, and the power off for two weeks, how to stay
> warm?
[quoted text clipped - 4 lines]
>
> What to do now?

Been there a couple of times. Thing is, the power wasn't out as
long as they predicted. They have to tell you weeks, even if it can
be back within a week.

Peanut butter, bread, cold meals of things like chicken salad if
you have chicken in the freezer (that you'll need to use) and can
cook on the grill if you have one.

You'll need to have a cooler and ice. With a snow storm, you can
probably store perishables outside - make sure they're not
accessible to animals.

The thing that got to me the most when I went without power for so
long was no hot water. No hot showers and no hot water to wash
dishes, or even wash out the sink, really got to me. I'd go to a
hotel with power if you can.  Or family or friends. Even for a
single night will lift your spirits and give you strength for
another day of no power.

Signature

Cheryl

John F. Eldredge - 04 Nov 2006 05:13 GMT
>> With a snow storm, and the power off for two weeks, how to stay
>> warm?
[quoted text clipped - 23 lines]
>single night will lift your spirits and give you strength for
>another day of no power.

If you won't be able to wrap up enough to be sure of avoiding
hypothermia while you sleep, go to a hotel, or to the home of someone
with a backup heat source, instead of taking a chance at freezing to
death in your sleep.

Signature

John F. Eldredge -- john@jfeldredge.com
PGP key available from http://pgp.mit.edu
"Reserve your right to think, for even to think wrongly is better
than not to think at all." -- Hypatia of Alexandria

Enfilade - 04 Nov 2006 12:56 GMT
> >> With a snow storm, and the power off for two weeks, how to stay
> >> warm?
> >>
> >> The furnace has gas, but there is no electric. The stove is
> >> electric, and the portable space heater is electric. So, the
> >> house gets cold in one day.

Outdoor survivalist here, slept outside without a tent in 40 below
winter weather.

Do you have outdoor sleeping bags?  If not, the best thing to do is
build your own "cocoon" out of as many layers of cloth as you can find.
Sheets, blankets, even towels, make yourself a nest and sleep in that.

Clothing:  Again, layers is the key.  A sweater will not keep you as
warm as a sweater over a turtleneck over 2 t-shirts.  Wear a hat, even
to bed--you lose body heat through your head.  One note on this:  If
you find yourself sweating, take a layer off.  If you sweat, then the
sweat will cool at night and chill you.

Heat Sources:  If you have any heat sources, like a grill or camp
stove, hang tarps around an area to keep the heat in, and sleep there.
I did this once...caught outside in snow, we got into a cabin, put
tarps up all around the kitchen area, turned on the stove, and used
that as a heat source.  The tarps stopped the heat from escaping into
the rest of the cabin.

Be extremely careful with open flame indoors.  Don't fall asleep with a
camp stove still on.  Let it warm up the room, then turn it off before
you go to bed.

Good luck,

--Fil
Stormin Mormon - 04 Nov 2006 17:38 GMT
I was hoping there was a survivalist out there. Greetings. From a
fellow survie.

You touched on a couple really great points. Have a backup heat
source. Warm a smaller area. Use clothing and sleeping bags.

A couple to add. High calorie food is good -- calorie is a measure of
heat. Working water heater is priceless, a hot shower or tub is a
great way to start and end a day.

Signature

Christopher A. Young
 You can't shout down a troll.
 You have to starve them.
.

Outdoor survivalist here, slept outside without a tent in 40 below
winter weather.

Do you have outdoor sleeping bags?  If not, the best thing to do is
build your own "cocoon" out of as many layers of cloth as you can
find.
Sheets, blankets, even towels, make yourself a nest and sleep in
that.

Clothing:  Again, layers is the key.  A sweater will not keep you as
warm as a sweater over a turtleneck over 2 t-shirts.  Wear a hat, even
to bed--you lose body heat through your head.  One note on this:  If
you find yourself sweating, take a layer off.  If you sweat, then the
sweat will cool at night and chill you.

Heat Sources:  If you have any heat sources, like a grill or camp
stove, hang tarps around an area to keep the heat in, and sleep there.
I did this once...caught outside in snow, we got into a cabin, put
tarps up all around the kitchen area, turned on the stove, and used
that as a heat source.  The tarps stopped the heat from escaping into
the rest of the cabin.

Be extremely careful with open flame indoors.  Don't fall asleep with
a
camp stove still on.  Let it warm up the room, then turn it off before
you go to bed.

Good luck,

--Fil
Nomen Nescio - 04 Nov 2006 19:40 GMT
-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----

From: "Enfilade" <decepticoncommand@hotmail.com>

>Outdoor survivalist here, slept outside without a tent in 40 below
>winter weather.

No tent?
40 below is damned cold WITH a tent.
I would assume that you, at least, built a shelter and a fire.

>Do you have outdoor sleeping bags?  If not, the best thing to do is
>build your own "cocoon" out of as many layers of cloth as you can find.
> Sheets, blankets, even towels, make yourself a nest and sleep in that.

I'm surprised you didn't take this opportunity to debunk the myth of
"freezing to death in your sleep".
Anyway, don't worry folks. You will NOT freeze to death in your sleep.
You'll wake up, shiver, warm yourself up, and go back to sleep.
Not to be confused with freezing to death where you will NOT warm up,
you'll stop shivering, then start feeling warm and drowsy. Go to sleep, then,
and you won't wake up. But if you go to sleep in relative comfort, you will
wake up if you get cold.
Actually, in a survival situation, sleep is good. It conserves energy and keeps
you alert so you don't start making stupid mistakes that WILL kill you.

Been there, done that, got the frostbite.
Enfilade - 05 Nov 2006 01:17 GMT
> >Outdoor survivalist here, slept outside without a tent in 40 below
> >winter weather.
>
> No tent?
> 40 below is damned cold WITH a tent.
> I would assume that you, at least, built a shelter and a fire.

We built quinces (snow shelters).  You only need a candle in a quince.
A fire just produces water, chills you, and brings on hypothermia.  A
candle melts just enough to create a crust on the inside which helps
keep the heat in.

We did have a big outdoor fire to cook, though, and we kept it burning
through the night just in case anyone got too chilled (unlikely to
happen in the quince, but if a poorly built quince caved in, or if
somone got turned around in the woods and spent too long wandering
around on her/his own...)

Also, I had an emergency van, so if anyone ever DID become seriously
hypothermic or otherwise injured, we could evac them back to
civilization.

--Fil
Stormin Mormon - 04 Nov 2006 17:43 GMT
Some people did bug out. I heard of some folks who left their home
about the time the trees came down -- glad to be out, the roads were
blocked for days.

So far, no one has mentioned a generator to power the furnace. I'm a
bit surprised.

Signature

Christopher A. Young
 You can't shout down a troll.
 You have to starve them.
.

If you won't be able to wrap up enough to be sure of avoiding
hypothermia while you sleep, go to a hotel, or to the home of someone
with a backup heat source, instead of taking a chance at freezing to
death in your sleep.

Signature

John F. Eldredge -- john@jfeldredge.com
PGP key available from http://pgp.mit.edu
"Reserve your right to think, for even to think wrongly is better
than not to think at all." -- Hypatia of Alexandria

jmcquown - 05 Nov 2006 03:47 GMT
> Some people did bug out. I heard of some folks who left their home
> about the time the trees came down -- glad to be out, the roads were
> blocked for days.
>
> So far, no one has mentioned a generator to power the furnace. I'm a
> bit surprised.

I mentioned a generator in my reply.  It can power everything, even your
microwave if you must have one to live by :)  Just don't run a gas generator
in an enclosed space.  That's an easy way to kill yourself.

Jill
Stormin Mormon - 04 Nov 2006 17:38 GMT
Electric water heater? Not good. The folks I was thinking about have
gas water  heater, but the knob got bumped some how. They didn't know
that hot water was available.

Signature

Christopher A. Young
 You can't shout down a troll.
 You have to starve them.
.

The thing that got to me the most when I went without power for so
long was no hot water. No hot showers and no hot water to wash
dishes, or even wash out the sink, really got to me. I'd go to a
hotel with power if you can.  Or family or friends. Even for a
single night will lift your spirits and give you strength for
another day of no power.

Signature

Cheryl

Jo Firey - 04 Nov 2006 23:20 GMT
> With a snow storm, and the power off for two weeks, how to stay warm?
>
[quoted text clipped - 3 lines]
>
> What to do now?

If someone were in that situation, and didn't have any back-up means of
heating the house, it would make more sense to spend nights in a heated
shelter.  Surely they would be opened in those circumstances.

For planning purposes you always have alternative plans for heating and
cooking if you are without electricity in a climate like that.

Jo
 
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