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I know a lot of people have a solar set up at their homes or cabins already. Do you have a back up set or parts incase of EMP type events? Is it even a concern of yours?
I myself do not have one yet but I plan to get one simply so I don't have to worry about not having any. I only really need it for Freezer capabilities.
(In other words I'm prepared to go forward without even one piece of modern, EMP-sensitive, technology.)
That is the best way to do it, not need any at all. I can function without any as well but would be nice to have a freezer for summer. I may try an ice house.
That is the best way to do it, not need any at all. I can function without any as well but would be nice to have a freezer for summer. I may try an ice house.
have a LP walk in freezer, fridge. if an emp hits the USA, not planning on doing much at all. just sit back and watch the midnight sky.
have a LP walk in freezer, fridge. if an emp hits the USA, not planning on doing much at all. just sit back and watch the midnight sky.
Nope, not worried about an EMP event. Whatever will be, will be.
I do have a couple of LP fridges in the campers that are still parked out near the driveway of the property, getting overgrown with brush. They may come in handy!
Regarding an icehouse, anybody have an opinion as to whether you can use frozen water inside plastic bottles (of which we have hundreds) placed below ground and insulated? Say I froze a hundred bottles this winter outside, and stacked them underground with an insulated cover. Would they stay frozen through summer? Would the bottles cause them to melt faster than ice blocks?
I might have just found myself a project for this winter!
Regarding an icehouse, anybody have an opinion as to whether you can use frozen water inside plastic bottles (of which we have hundreds) placed below ground and insulated? Say I froze a hundred bottles this winter outside, and stacked them underground with an insulated cover. Would they stay frozen through summer? Would the bottles cause them to melt faster than ice blocks?
I might have just found myself a project for this winter!
It's irrelevant as far as the heat of transformation is concerned; that's always 333 kJ (kilojoules) per kg. However, ice in bottles has a far greater surface area than large blocks of ice so heat would reach the ice more quickly. The amount of insulation also determines the rate of melting for the same reason.
A hundred gallons of water in one gallon bottles is a tiny amount that would melt quickly. Packing the space between the bottles with sawdust or other insulating material would retard the melting, but the amount is still small. A block 2' x 2' x 3' would contain roughly 96 gallons of ice but have far less surface area for the weight of ice so would take longer to melt. Additionally, it would be necessary to fill the bottles with water below the full point as ice is less dense than liquid water. Air in the bottle would hasten melting. So the frozen water in the bottles would melt more quickly.
A meaningful experiment would require at least a thousand gallons, more than four tons, of a solid block of ice or a number of blocks packed closely. This isn't hard to do, but it requires preparing a storage area as well as a means of getting water to it. Without a water supply it would be necessary to cut and haul the ice. Railroads in cooperation with fruit shippers once dug ponds next to rivers and allowed them to fill through seepage. During the winter the railroads would cut the ice and store it in adjacent ice houses. They used the ice cool reefers in the summer. The following describes the icing station at Evanston, Wyoming.
''Icing Station
From about 1897 through the 1920s, a distinctive feature of the Evanston landscape was the icing station. It was created as a joint venture between the Union Pacific Railroad and the Pacific Fruit Express Company of California. By 1914, the icing station included two large ponds and nine wooden ice houses located along the railroad tracks.
''Station Operations
Many of the icing station's workers were single men from Greece and Turkey who lived in small shacks that surrounded the ice ponds. These workers harvested ice in the winter and stored it in the ice houses.
''When produce cars arrived at the station, ice blocks were delivered via conveyor to a long shed next to the railroad tracks. Men used tongs to carry and drop blocks of ice into hatches at either end of the produce cars. By the early 1920s, faster trains and electric refrigeration made the icing station obsolete.''
Scroll down to the bottom of the following link to see the pictures with captions. Historic Evanston Photos
The ice needed to be replenished. Reefers containing milk couldn't be allowed to warm so they were attached to passenger trains, hence the term milk train.
A meaningful experiment would require at least a thousand gallons, more than four tons, of a solid block of ice or a number of blocks packed closely. This isn't hard to do, but it requires preparing a storage area as well as a means of getting water to it. Without a water supply it would be necessary to cut and haul the ice.
Thanks for the great post, HIW. And I can see immediately what you mean by surface area hastening the melting process. My only problem is with having to "cut and haul the ice", as I would have to do it all by myself, most of the time. But then I started to think...why not use a larger container? I could bury something, say a bunch of hard plastic kiddie pools, which hold a few hundred gallons each. I could wait for a group of them to freeze, then insulate them and place the next layer on top.
My point being, from December right through ice-out in March, everything is pretty well solidly frozen around here. It is just as frozen where I am as it is at any nearby lake, and my water would freeze just as quickly. Getting water to an insulated storage area is not a problem. I have also considered the use of the 275 gal IBC "totes", although they may have to be removed from the metal frames. Any other ideas, I'm all ears.
Thanks for the great post, HIW. And I can see immediately what you mean by surface area hastening the melting process. My only problem is with having to "cut and haul the ice", as I would have to do it all by myself, most of the time. But then I started to think...why not use a larger container? I could bury something, say a bunch of hard plastic kiddie pools, which hold a few hundred gallons each. I could wait for a group of them to freeze, then insulate them and place the next layer on top.
My point being, from December right through ice-out in March, everything is pretty well solidly frozen around here. It is just as frozen where I am as it is at any nearby lake, and my water would freeze just as quickly. Getting water to an insulated storage area is not a problem. I have also considered the use of the 275 gal IBC "totes", although they may have to be removed from the metal frames. Any other ideas, I'm all ears.
The hard kiddie pools crack. Guess how I know this?
I use Rubbermaid tote bins stacked to the ceiling of my underground ice house. They're flexible and haven't cracked yet. I just leave the ice in them but do drain and refill them at the end of the summer if the ice in them has melted. Most of the ice never melts. I do have sunken troughs (ditches) inside the ice house that work well for me because I have good drainage.
The IBC ''totes'' are unfamiliar to me. Get one now and fill it so you can see how it holds ups. I'd leave it in the cage for support. Metal troughs would definitely work, but they're not cheap. I just looked at the IBC prices. Clean 55 gallon drums might work. It's worth an experiment.
If you're really worried about blowing or melting some of your rectifiers etc., You could protect your system with a Faraday Cage.
The panels themselves wouldn't be an issue from EMP, and unless you have a LOT of wire connecting your system to the panels, that shouldn't be much of an issue either.
All you would really need to worry about would be the switching, voltage regulators, any coils, any digital controls, basically the equipment to store and distribute the power which if it's in a small area, a faraday cage would provide all the protection you would need to weather the storm.
We are researching a fuelless generator that is charged by AC, solar crank. It's a second
generation with a lithium battery. Jim Bakker Show I believe is the only source.$2500.00.
Has USB, AC cell phone ports. Well run large appliance for hours ,lamps all day. There is
a farday bag to protect it from a nuke or sun flare EMP. There are other ways to skin this
cat like purchasing a solar panel like Sportmans Guide or anyone of a number of power
packs that have great amp output. We are presently unable to afford a $2500.00 unit but
we in rural Wisconsin could use it.
Last edited by openmike; 11-06-2014 at 10:51 PM..
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Guess how I know this? 
