Are you prepared? Trying to be more self sufficient

When mine crapped out last time, I bought one with a built in battery backup. Never had to use it before i sold the house. It was more for my ex wife because the hurricane rated garage door was heavy as hell.

 

I don't even have a garage door opener... other than me!

 

Almost all new garage door openers come with battery backup. And is some states it’s a legal requirement they have battery backup.

 

Mine has this. I prefer just using the disco and manually operating the door.

 

Been mucking around with the local meshtastic (900mhz mesh) and AREDN networks.

 

I think we have a meshtastic thread around here somewhere...

AH! Here it is.
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/meshtastic.756369/#post-29735260

I've got a 16 foot insulated garage door. Not the heaviest out there but heavy. It has two torsion springs that go along an axle above the garage door and cables that go down the side to the bottom set of track wheels. Recently one of the springs snapped for no apparent reason other than age (20ish years old). Upon trying to lift the door with only one spring that has also seen the same number of cycles, it broke too.

A battery backup is nice (and we've got one) but replacing the springs before they break is an even better idea and something no one thinks about. Given the criticality of your garage door to the safety and security of your home, and the amount of preps and equipment that come and go through the garage, I absolutely recommend getting a garage door inspection and tune up by a professional ASAP. I know it could cost between $800 and $1200. But that week and a half it took them to get out and service me was a very inconvenient period. If that had happened during a disaster (Murphy's Law) we would have been in a pickle.

 

Sure. Me too. But a 5 foot one 120lb girl cant lift a hurricane door.

Yeah, the springs assist, but you still have to get it started.

 

Most garage door openers will not open a door without the spring assist. Having springs is very important.

I'm not sure how old mine is, I don't think it came with a battery backup - I would rather use my own UPS than deal with the care and feeding of ANOTHER battery.

I have an APC BackUPS1000 that I run my 3D printer off of in the garage shop. There are extension cords within 10 feet, with which I can run the trash pump or the garage door opener in only as long as it takes to plug them in. I have tested the pump on the UPS, I guess I should test the door opener - better yet, I'll put the Kill-o-watt on there to see if it will run on the 400 watt output of the Taco.

During Helene, I discovered that a perfectly placed acorn can plug the adapter to garden hose on the output of the trash pump. I now have a 50 foot 1.5" PVC rollup firehose looking output.

 

Our office admin lady is now sending "updates" of which retail stores have bottled water.

I was talking with another guy who is about my age and grew up in FL. Neither of us remembered ever seeing the idiotic bottled-water-hurricane thing when were kids. It's like some sort of genetic mutation happened. I wish it would stop.

Also, lets talk about sand bags. People here are waiting in line for 8 hours to get 5 or 6 sand bags to put in the back of their prius. I'm a biologist, not a hydrologist, but if you are in a situation where you think you need 5 or 6 sandbags to stave off catastrophe, you should be working on that situation more than a day before a huricane. And, rather than sit in line for 8 hours for sand you could drive to the beach in 40 minutes.

That's all

 

There are times and places where you can get by with just 5 or 6 but it's rare.

We lived in a home that had a front yard with a gentle slope down to the street and just a tiny one man front covered stoop. We never needed bags but the people that bought our house did. Water never made it to their door but it got close. Then as the Bro-Dozer Truck Crew would drive down the street at speeds too fast for flooding, it would push a water wake up into the homes. Their pre-emptive bags and caulking the brick weep holes closed on the front kept the wake-water out.

But then again. Limited and small examples of that working.

 

But that shopping cart full of TP will save the day...

 

TP has a high insulation value, do not knock TP.

 

AKA Mountain money!! hahaha

 

New to me, but thinking this through.....

I live on a hill where there is no risk of floods or slides (earthquake/winds/tornado/etc.. though). House is primary powered by electric, but I have propane fireplace and range. My backup power is a kubota diesel generator (best 1 for 1 power ratio). My tractor is also kubota and uses diesel. I hunt, fish, preserve, garden....have a well and septic system. I can pick and choose what I want to power in my fuse box so power doesn't go to waste. I have hand tools as well as power tools, so I have a fall back. My boat is literally 6 minutes away at my local marina and I have full access to the Potomac river where I can crab, fish, and wash if need be. I'm not a prepper, but I do have enough ammo (mainly 4-5 calibers) to last me. The big thing for me would be how to feed my pets! They do like dried venison though.....hmmm.
My mom and dad went through the Korean war as young adults and they always told me stories of how they survived. Lessons I'll never forget and I experienced some things that validated it during my 20 years in the Corps.

 

Table scraps... Have you ever looked at what is in the most expensive dog food, the stuff in the coolers? It's basically table scraps in a plastic tube.

 

Lol

 

This is a great thread, full of experience, tip and techniques. So glad @Casper66 started it. Thank you to all of you that have shared your knowledge. Sorry I don’t have anything yet to share.

 

Sorry yall I’ve been pretty busy. Harvest time at a winery is exhausting and apparently TW decided not to give me alerts about postings in my own thread lol. I read through tomorrow and see what I’ve missed

 

^^^ THIS!!! ALL OF THIS! ^^^

My great grand parents came up on the farm. All of their furniture was furniture they built. All of the food they ate was food they raised or what wandered onto the farm. I have an old 410 Single Shot hanging over my desk that my grandfather used and they called it "the grocery store." This way of life used to be called "having your shit together" then it became "being self reliant" and somewhere along the way it turned into "whackadoo prepping crazy people." Probably because of the discovery channel.

FEMA started out saying you should keep 24 hours of supplies. Then they said 48 hours. Then 72 hours. Now they don't specify anymore. FEMA recommends "several days..." Folks it takes 72 hours for the government to BEGIN to mobilize aid. Those wheels turn slow. You and your neighbors are your BEST shot at taking care of business.

I know enough from Katrina, Rita, Ike, Hugo, The Texas Ice-mageddon and now what we have learned form these last two that everyone had better get their stuff together and fast. Disasters and Calamities happen. Be your first responder.