How to test your survival skills

[Gettysburg Bill]

There is a simple way to test your survival skills and get a real understanding of how prepared you are.

Get up one Saturday or Sunday morning, go to your circuit braker box, and throw the main braker.
The time limit is all up to you, but 12 to 24 hours would be a good test.

Lighting, cooking, commuication, sanitary conditions, heating, (hopefully defense will not be tested) would all come into play.

Give it a try and give us the feedback or just general feedback.

~BEST~
BILL--------------------------->

 

[aluminator]

The fish in my aquarium would die and all my food would ruin including a small freezer full of venison and pork.It would be a good test though.

 

[Tucker's Mom]

Bill...the family and I had experienced this and more first time when lightning hit our house a few years ago. We had no electricity and our family room and most of downstairs were all in a mess because of the firemen hosing the fire. We survived with what we have in the pantry and in the basement and I have to cook on my portable Coleman we use for camping. The second time was when we decided to have our floors done. I didn't have a dishwasher, no stove...and hubby refused to buy takeaway. both incidents took days, at least over a week before we went back to normal. We are still alive to tell the tale. We go camping each year at Wisconsin when we attend the EAA Airventure. It is the same as having nothing yet being able to survive. This year I asked for an RV, at least because I am tired of being treated like a maid. Hubby booked us a hotel instead because we are flying our plane to the site, then renting a car. Well it ain't gonna be the parking lot of the Hilton but I feel better for it for finally recognizing my effort.

Guys, marriage is a teamwork. You just can't go in and out of the house and expect meals to be ready when you are...the animals' been fed, the house clean and the laundry done. For us wives, it is the survival of the fittest. Glad my husband finally woke up. :biggrin:

 

[Dale64]

You mean go 24 hours without checking comments here on this forum???
Thats just crazy talk!

On a serious note, if you have never been without power for an extended period of time then you can not imagine what its like.
We have become totally dependent on the power grid.
Living in Florida I have been thru 2 hurricanes that knocked out power. One of them for 3 days and the other for 5 days.
We figured out how to do things by candle light and took cold showers.
By the way, if you are very conservative the hot water in the water heater can last a few days.
We cooked our food on the grill, first cooking all the meats in the freezer knowing it was going to spoil anyway.
Once cooked we put everything in ziplock bags and put them in a cooler. I was able to get some ice from the grocery store, they were giving it away.
They had generators to keep power to most of the vital things like freezers and refigeration units.

It was quite an experience, one which I am never looking forward to ever again!
The hardest part was getting thru the boredom. Its amazing what its like not having our electronic gadgets.
Thank goodness for a radio with a handcrank generator!

 

[Teluch82]

I must say a couple winters back when all power was out the family survived pretty good without power luckily we used the snow to keep food cold and I had a campin stove to keep grub going since that though I have stocked propane tanks cause 1 pounders go quick

 

[Bozz]

We went 3 days once without power after the rash of hurricanes here in Florida... it is doable. Used the gas grills to cook and lots of ice to keep food from spoiling. The next time, we had a generator and the house wired to plug it in. The hum of the generator gets old quick, and so does supplying it with fuel for a few days.

Usually before hurricane season I load up with batteries, and prepare to run out early and get fuel for the generator, it makes life much more livable -- it will run everything if you use lights and appliances sparingly. It won't run the central a/c though, which is a nice creature comfort during the hot hurricane months here.

 

[kevnrm]

2 weeks in SC after hurricane Hugo and countless times for a day or three during thunder storms and ice storms. Every thing runs on our electricity so no water, heat, or a/c; cooked on a grill and camping stove. Survival mode sucks, but we do what we have too.

 

[golddigger14s]

To easy, nature was nice enough to turn my power off for a whole week in January. We moved into our "BOB", my camper. The only time I ran the generator was to watch a movie or two each night, and charge the batteries.

 

[SCrid2000]

Or just go camping
If you really want to test your survival skills you should practice without a house and a bed.

 

[BigSlick]

We were without power for 8 days after a snowstorm. We had kerosene heaters and plenty of fuel for the generator. Water still worked but we would heat some water on top of the heaters for a quick sponge bath which was better than a cold shower. The gas grill and a camping stove really saved the day. I really want one of those camping propane water heaters.

 

[Mainewoods]

Living in Maine that happens a few times each winter--it's not to bad to deal with.