should be start preparing for the worst? (Houston, Howe: credit card, how much)

[mojo101]

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/re...=mw_latestnews
may be I should get a portable generator?
I want to make sure my waterpipes in the attic do not freeze.
I have plenty of candles,dry,canned goods,transister radio,plenty of batteries(Energizer is having a sale,buy $15 worth of batteries and get $5 back),tap water,blankets and rags for wrapping anything which need to be wrapped.

[Raider Scott]

That story highlights weather in the Pacific NW and CA...not near TX.


I would not worry right now, as temps are maybe going to hit upper 40s at night for a few days...if that.


But yes, living along the Gulf Coast, where we DO get odd weather events...you SHOULD keep some supplies on hand and be prepared if we lose power for a few days.


However in the next few weeks, I doubt that will happen.

[Ghost Town]

Enjoy 80s in Houston!
It is going to drop to 50s this weekend, but it's not even close to Oregon weather.

[mojo101]

I am not worry about the near future,but late December,and Jan,Feb of 2022.
Try getting a portable generator by then is too late.
Many of us have suffered huge losses during URI,ceiling collapsed due to water pipes in attic burst ,we have no heat,no electricity,no water,no phone just natural gas.
We shopped for grocery in the dark,the store would only let 10 shoppers in at a time but they manage to accept credit cards,some stores cannot.
try getting a plumber !!!!!

[Driver 47]

Originally Posted by mojo101

may be I should get a portable generator?

<snip>

Perhaps you should. Don't forget several five gallon cans of gas. checl your local laws to see what the fire regulations say about how much gasoline you can store. Many people believe FEMA will come riding in on a unicorn moments after a disaster to save them. Yeah, right. News flash; the gubbermint don't give a flyin' flamin' rat's patootie about you. They'll be sheltered in place warm, dry & happy at your expense.

One thing about prepping, you can't prepare for every scenario. It's best to pick the most likely disaster which could affect you and prepare for that. Don't want your pipes to freeze ? Start by wrapping heat tape on the most exposed sections and insulating them. Canned goods are ok for short term and consider home canning along with a five gallon bucket of rice, a couple pounds of dried beans could sustain two folks for more than a month, and be sure of an auxillary heat source along with a CO detector which runs on batteries.

That'd get you started. Good luck

[Raider Scott]

If we here in Houston ARE going to have a hard freeze that might take out power...it is going to happen in Jan or Feb and probably not now.


First, learn how to drain the water from your pipes and leave faucets open during the night, to allow room for expansion as water freezes. Yes, it is a slight pain to do this at night before a freeze, but WAY better than dealing with burst pipes and the garbage that goes along with that.


Second, plan for a few days without power and maybe no water. Buy some collapsible water storage cubes from Amazon and plan on filling them and leaving them in the bathtub the day before a big freeze is forecast. Now you have water to drink, flush toilets and cook with. I have seven 20gal containers and that lasted me for 4 days without running water.


Third, find a way to cook/prepare hot meals with no power. I have a propane grill on my porch and a propane stove burner set, used for camping and four propane tanks in the garage. We had 4 days with no power but we ate hot food everyday and had hot coffee and coco and did not go hungry or eat junk during the outage. Propane canisters are not expensive and my 2 burner stove ran me maybe 100 bucks on Amazon.


Fourth, plan a way to have workable light in your home for the dark portions of the day. I have four Deitz oil burning lanterns that can run anything from kerosene to paraffin oil to olive oil. I keep a few bottles of paraffin oil to burn in them. The oil is about 14 bucks a bottle on Amazon and one fill of a lamp lasts 4-6 hours and illuminates a room pretty well, so you can move around and cook, eat and do simple tasks. Deitz lanterns run about 25 bucks apiece.


Fifth, go to the Goodwill or clothing re-sale shops and buy some super thick and warm jackets and blankets. That way, you stay warm while sleeping and you can store them in a plastic tote in a closet when not in use. I got a military-styled parka at our Goodwill that ran me maybe 15 dollars. Kept me warm when we had no heat for 4 days.


Sixth, order a power inverter from Amazon. They run maybe 70-80 bucks and we were able to re-charge phones and laptops several times off one charge. I leave ours in our study, plugged in and fully charged. They have lots of USB ports and you can re-charge your phones/tablets several times before it goes dead. Totally worth the cost!



You need to start planning NOW....you still have time and keep these things for future use. We forgot about a gas powered generator. They are expensive, loud and burn tons of gasoline. Not worth it if you ask me.

[houston-nomad]

We have a generator but haven't put in a transfer switch. Can't see how the generator is going to do much good in a freeze unless we either get a transfer switch or a small space heater. Any thoughts on the most useful/least costly approach?

[groovamos]

I have a 6000 watt generator ($275 from a pawn shop) which kept my gas central heat, lights, fridge, and internet going during last Feb deep freeze. Don't know why anyone in Houston would be without a generator. You can find someone knowledgeable to come over and show how to connect it so that your central heat will power on. With a transfer switch/40 amp receptacle you can get the important stuff powered. I don't even use the transfer switch, I place the main breaker is the off position and then hook up to the receptacle and flip on a couple of 40 amp breakers to back feed into the panel. Electric hot water must be off at the panel or the generator breakers will interrupt. Kept me going for 15 days outage in the 2008 hurricane Ike event. I even back then fed power to my across the street neighbor for his fridge and lights until he came up with a generator his daughter borrowed.

[mojo101]

Don't want your pipes to freeze ? Start by wrapping heat tape on the most exposed sections and insulating them
------------
what kind of heat tape can be used if there is no electricity to keep them heated?
I have insulation tapes,but it does not generate heat?

[mojo101]

A 6000 watts generator is probably too expensive and overkill for many of us,most just want to watch some TV,run the fridge ,cook and go online .
The most important prevention is the water pipes in the attic