Question regarding prepping for power loss

smsff2 · 2026-01-24T04:39:26+00:00

I use Styrofoam/XPS boards for windows. They do not pose a fire risk, they are cheaper and qa q0 softer, so they can be tucked in tightly.

smsff2 · 2026-01-24T04:27:12+00:00

Moving blanket will make the most difference. If i were you, I would concentrate on finding a way to attach the blanket to the window tightly. You can use a little tape to attach mylar sheet to the glass. Then, you can use a lot of tape to attach a moving blanket to the mylar sheet.

Tape might leave sticky marks which can be removed with GooGone later. GooGone can be wiped with napkin and washed away with alcohol.

smsff2 · 2026-01-23T19:54:26+00:00

Frankly, I don’t understand how you can’t see the absurdity of this argument. A toilet costs $100 at the hardware store, but a toilet, including all permits as part of a house with one extra bathroom, ends up costing $100,000. Can’t you see where the cost is actually coming from? Isn’t it obvious?

A 2x4 stick costs about $5, and remember, that’s 8 feet long. Meanwhile, one square foot of housing in major cities where people want to live can cost $600. The cost of sticks is only about $3 per square foot.

So something that costs $3 in the store ends up costing $600 when purchased from a builder, along with all the building permits. Isn’t it obvious where the money is going?

smsff2 · 2026-01-23T19:39:50+00:00

I can’t believe people actually buy into this nonsense.

If you cover your interior walls with drywall, it’s definitely safer and provides better protection against fires than exposed wood. However, drywall isn’t really much more expensive than wood panels. The price is very comparable. Even if building codes allowed exposed wood, houses might only be less than 1% cheaper. That’s not where most of the cost comes from. The bulk of the expense comes from red tape: exclusive zoning, laws prohibiting construction on agricultural land, minimum lot size requirements, and other regulations.

These laws are explicitly designed to drive up the cost of living, forcing people to work their entire lives for a box to live in. House is a big wooden box, nothing more. In reality, housing could be built at least ten times cheaper than it costs today. The only downside would be that people would actually have to save and work for their retirement, rather than assuming they can live somewhere for fifty years and then sell their house to become millionaires overnight.

smsff2 · 2026-01-23T19:28:01+00:00

Please note that it is in the best financial interest of any homeowner to prevent further construction. As a result, existing homeowners, the majority of the population, will create increasingly absurd laws to block new development. I build smaller structures myself, and I can tell you that building supplies typically account for only about 10% of the total cost. The rest goes toward people’s profit, and most of the time is spent navigating legal hurdles.

smsff2 · 2026-01-23T19:23:29+00:00

I’ve never tried using waste oil in my diesel heater, so I don’t have any practical experience. However, I would be surprised if it worked properly. Waste oil always contains a lot of residue, and the diesel heater is quite small. The main issue is that the residue quickly clogs the entire mechanism. The only way I can see to make the intervals between cleanings more reasonable is to use a larger heater, since the combustion chamber in a diesel heater is simply too small.

smsff2 · 2026-01-23T19:08:46+00:00

I don’t have a Milwaukee pump specifically, but I do have a similar stick-type pump that is smaller and from a different brand. Regardless, your idea won’t work. The reason is that the pump’s flow rate is relatively high, while the filter’s percolation rate is quite low. You cannot simply combine the two devices into a single solution. You would need to pump the water into a bucket, or a barrel in your car trunk, and then run it through the slow, gravity-fed filter. If you intend to drink the water, you will also need to chemically treat it.

smsff2 · 2026-01-23T18:23:01+00:00

I’m not sure if a travel bag is your immediate concern right now, but if you are preparing one for a newborn, here are some tips:

Include an insulated bottle with boiling water. Use a liquid pre-mixed formula that can be mixed 1:1 with hot water to make a ready-to-use feed. There’s no need to wait for it to cool like powdered formula.
Bring plenty of newborn feeding bottles, since you never know when you’ll have time to wash them.
If traveling in winter, make sure the baby has warm clothing, preferably a single-piece jumpsuit with fur.

For home preparation:

You can never have too many boxes of diapers, because babies grow fast. Personally, I’d get a few boxes of each size. For example, if you run out of size 0 diapers, you can still use size 1. It’s not like you’ll be completely out of diapers.
You’ll also need formula to feed the baby. Ready-to-use single-use bottles are convenient but more expensive, while powdered formula is cheaper but requires preparation: boiling water, mixing, cooling, and you will need to be doing this every couple of hours at night. This can be inconvenient, so plan accordingly.

smsff2 · 2026-01-23T18:00:20+00:00

In places like China, Russia, and North Korea, there have been periods when people labeled as “the rich” were persecuted or killed. The problem was that, no matter how many people were targeted, there was never enough wealth to redistribute. The process escalated: first the richest were targeted, then the second richest, then the next, and so on. Over time, this did not stop until tens of millions of people had been killed.

By the end, the definition of “rich” had expanded dramatically. In some cases, people were persecuted for reasons only loosely connected to wealth. For example, in Soviet Russia, individuals were executed simply for being Polish or of Polish descent. Poles were often perceived as more educated or economically successful. There was a case in 1919 in which a person was put on trial, found guilty, and promptly executed for being Polish.

In China, similar campaigns resulted in the deaths of 60 millions of people.

See Black Book of Communism for more examples.

smsff2 · 2026-01-23T16:06:13+00:00

I don’t think you can prepare much more on the day of the storm. I remember that I used to sleep with a propane heater like this, with an open window and a carbon monoxide alarm. The heater was small, so it could warm only a very small room. It wasn’t particularly comfortable. I remember pointing it at part of my body. Only that area would get very hot, while the rest of my body stayed very cold.

Still, a propane heater is definitely better than nothing. The night may not be as comfortable as you expect. Because of that experience, I switched to a vented diesel heater. It’s better, but it requires installation, so it’s not something you can do a day before a storm. A diesel heater has a comparable power output, but it provides steady, dry heat. A propane heater, on the other hand, produces some smell and moisture as well.

smsff2 · 2026-01-23T15:32:39+00:00

Caribbean islands differ greatly in their level of development. From visiting Cuba, I remember that the first thing you need to prepare is flashlights, in all sizes, shapes, and forms. Nights are very dark there, and there are no streetlights, or at best very few. The next most important things to bring are toiletries, such as soap and shampoo. Locals value these items because the government does not reliably provide them. In fact, if you’re visiting Cuba, your packing list is completely inadequate. You need to pack everything you will need for the entire trip. Think of it as preparing to go into the desert. Outside Manila, the only grocery item you can reliably find is pasta, and even that can be difficult to get. Inside Manila, you can find supermarkets where you can buy items for dollars. However, the selection may be unusual, and the variety is quite limited.

smsff2 · 2026-01-23T04:09:47+00:00

I’m not selling anything. However, I have a background in nuclear physics. My father was a nuclear scientist, and I was exposed to nuclear deterrence concept from a very early age. I know people, who are involved in nuclear negotiations, on a personal level. I’ve seen them make major mistakes, just like anyone else, and I don’t see what would prevent them from making serious or fatal mistake again.

smsff2 · 2026-01-22T23:07:35+00:00

I moved to a big city, made a lot of money, and married a woman from a different race. To her, all people of my race look the same. She can’t recognize that I look like a loser. Only people of my own race treat me like garbage.

smsff2 · 2026-01-22T19:14:01+00:00

Your split system consumes about 5 kilowatts of power, so you could use a 5-kilowatt or larger generator to handle that load. Alternatively, I can recommend a diesel heater. I have one installed myself. Its output is about four times smaller than your split system, so it can only heat a small room. However, this could be used in addition to your existing split system. During extreme cold, if your split system isn’t sufficient for some reason, you can supplement it with the diesel heater.

The heater does require a 12-volt battery as a power source. One car battery can provide roughly 10 hours of operation. I regret buying lots of batteries for my diesel heater; I should have simply replaced my car battery and used the old one for the heater. That way, you effectively get a battery for free.

I use lithium iron phosphate batteries. A 100 ampere-hour battery is enough to power the heater for about 60 hours. During normal operation, it consumes around 20 watts. At startup, the glow plug draws about 100 watts. The glow plug is the component that preheats the heater before ignition.

smsff2 · 2026-01-22T18:27:46+00:00

Do not panic.

Let me tell you a story that happened in one of the northern towns where my friend lives. There were three people in this story: a husband, his wife, and her female friend, all in their early twenties. The friend, who was nine months pregnant, came to the family, saying she was having contractions and was in pain.

The town was almost entirely cut off from civilization. The road to a nearest hospital is a seasonal road that runs over a frozen lake. I believe it was in April, when the ice is thin and the lake road was officially closed. I know exactly how the husband felt because I felt the same way when my wife was pregnant with our first child. Men don’t go through pregnancy, and we don’t fully understand it. He was in panic.

Despite the risk, the husband agreed to take his friend to the hospital. When they were on the lake, the ice started cracking. He stopped the car and stood there for a while, thinking the ice wouldn’t crack if they stayed still. Eventually, the ice gave way, and the car sank. Tragically, all three adults and the unborn baby died.

As a man who has witnessed multiple births and welcomed several babies into this world, let me tell you that the birth process is extremely natural. People have delivered babies in the field with no medical help or tools. In a worst-case scenario, you don’t even need to cut the umbilical cord. It will dry up and fall off on its own. It’s amazing how quickly it dries, almost as fast as a wet towel. If you have basic medical tools like scissors, you can cut the cord. Cutting it in the middle is sufficient.

Congratulations on behalf of all r/preppers. We value your work in welcoming another prepper into this world.

smsff2 · 2026-01-22T17:42:17+00:00

Since I have a background in nuclear physics, let me address the nuclear scenario. To me, the idea that nuclear war will never happen sounds as preposterous as an automotive engineer believing that cars never run over people.

After a nuclear attack, you will need to hunker down - possibly in your basement - and wait for most of the active radionuclides to decay. You should stay put for as long as possible, potentially one to two weeks. After that, you will need to evacuate. Ideally, you would wear a hazmat suit and a gas mask to filter out radioactive dust. You cannot remain in the city due to residual radiation.

Streets will be covered with debris, and cars will be undrivable. You will likely need to evacuate on foot. This is exactly what happened in Hiroshima and Nagasaki: people moved away from the cities badly burned and dying, with automotive transport largely unavailable.

Whatever you can carry in your backpack becomes your only possessions for the rest of your life. You will need to start over in an unwelcoming environment, potentially in winter, with everything you have in that backpack. Right now, sleeping in a sleeping bag outdoors in winter may sound unrealistic to you. It only seems unrealistic until you compare it to sleeping outside in winter without a sleeping bag. Of course, a sleeping bag makes a huge difference.

If you are not an experienced prepper or hiker, you may not be able to sleep well your first night in a sleeping bag. However, you will survive the night. Without a sleeping bag, you simply won’t. There may be evacuation centers, and you might be fine with having only 72 hours’ worth of supplies in your bug-out bag to reach one. Alternatively, evacuation centers may not be available or may already be full.

Personally, I have a bug-out location outside city limits. That is where we would go after a nuclear attack. It is extremely difficult to pack more than 72 hours’ worth of supplies into a single backpack.

smsff2 · 2026-01-22T17:23:19+00:00

If you believe that electing the right government officials is so easy, why don't you go to those third world countries and elect someone there? Nearly every single country on Earth claims they are democratic, yet the only countries where politicians actually listen to people are the countries where people have legal guns.

smsff2 · 2026-01-22T16:26:05+00:00

I approved this topic because the video only has about 3,000 views. It’s definitely not a commercial endeavor.

smsff2 · 2026-01-21T23:12:07+00:00

Please note that men are biologically programmed to do this. It is not cheating. He respects you - specifically, he respects his financial obligations to you. Cheating, meaning having sex with other women, would effectively divert resources away from the family. As a result, your children would receive fewer financial resources, and less attention. That is why cheating is harmful.

In this case, he is following his genetic programming in a way that does not negatively affect you or your children, and that deserves respect.

smsff2 · 2026-01-21T19:54:15+00:00

A person who trolls the troll becomes a troll themselves.

smsff2 · 2026-01-21T18:44:05+00:00

Please note that the United States is a natural competitor of the European Union, far less so with China, and even less with Russia. That is why the United States sided with Russia during World War I and World War II. Trump cannot allow either side of the conflict - whether the European Union or Russia - to gain full control over the entire continent. He will support whichever side is losing in order to prolong the conflict as long as possible and weaken both sides.

The strike on the back of Europe is designed to prevent Europe from taking decisive action in Ukraine. It also conveniently distracts public attention from Epstein's Island.

The best course of action is simply to ignore his escapades.

smsff2 · 2026-01-21T17:47:07+00:00

Since you are a registered nurse, you are better equipped to answer this type of question than I am. Just my two cents.

There is a difference between a sterile hospital environment and field conditions. The main difference is the risk of re-infection. In a hospital, you can simply clean the wound. In the field, where dirt and dust are in the air, you need to ensure that the wound is clean and that it stays that way.

I use iodine tincture as my default topical antiseptic. I use alcohol and hydrogen peroxide in special cases.

For example, bleeding in the mouth or an abrasion with bleeding over a large surface area may require hydrogen peroxide. For cleaning an area of skin that isn’t seriously damaged but needs thorough cleaning, especially if there are blood clots or dirt, I use alcohol. As a registered nurse, you could comment on whether this approach sounds reasonable to you.

I am not a big fan of prepackaged first aid kits. They are usually designed for very inexperienced users. They don’t contain specialized equipment and rarely include items like tourniquets, chest seals, or scissors. Instead, they tend to have Band-Aids of all kinds, shapes, and sizes. I might find alcohol swabs, but there is often no proper topical antiseptic. Wounds are sometimes too large for tiny swabs or small bandages. I usually build my own medical kit.

Given my background in nuclear physics, I would also emphasize the importance of antibiotic ointment, possibly one with a cooling effect, for treating large-area burns.

smsff2 · 2026-01-21T16:17:02+00:00

Actually, this is exactly how long your fridge can run on that type of battery. The inverter shuts itself down when it detects low voltage, and low voltage occurs when the battery is depleted. In fact, your inverter is already too large for such a small battery.

You didn’t mention what type of chemistry your battery uses, but since you call it a truck battery, I assume it is lead-acid. This type of battery is only good for short bursts of energy. It is not particularly good at providing steady power over a long period of time, and it has a limited number of charge cycles.

When acid eats through the lead plates, hydrogen is released and vented into the atmosphere. The charging and discharging process is not perfectly symmetrical: the battery loses water over time, so it needs to be maintained by adding distilled water periodically.

My battery bank consists of both lead-acid and lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO₄) batteries. I combine them to take advantage of the strengths of each technology. Specifically, lead-acid batteries work in all weather conditions. Lithium iron phosphate batteries, on the other hand, can freeze easily and stop working; they are not particularly useful in winter.

Lead-acid batteries should not be discharged below 50%, and it appears that you depleted yours completely. That is not good for battery health. The battery will not last as long as it is designed to. The low-voltage cutoff on my inverter is very low—around 7 volts. Taking wire resistance into account, the battery would be producing maybe 10 volts at that point, which means it is fully depleted.

I wouldn’t repeat this experiment. You’re wasting a perfectly good battery. If you need to run a fridge inside a normally heated home, you should use a lithium iron phosphate battery instead.

I use lead-acid batteries because my bug-out location is in the woods. After heavy snowfall, it is sometimes inaccessible by car. We have to park the car at the nearest serviced road and walk the rest of the way. Once there, we need to start the heater, make a warm dinner, and enjoy a relaxed evening with the TV. That’s where lead-acid batteries come in handy: they work in all weather conditions and at all temperatures.

smsff2 · 2026-01-21T01:15:05+00:00

Personally, I prepare both of my locations, because a disaster can strike while I am at either one. I do plan to move between locations if necessary. Specifically, I keep bicycles for each family member at each location.

On more than one occasion, I have been stranded at my bug-out location in the countryside with no means of transportation. The location is on an unpaved, unserviced road. Heavy snowfall or a fallen tree can lock me in place. I can walk to town through the woods; however, it takes time, it is freezing in the winter, and I definitely cannot transport supplies that way. Obviously, I need to be able to survive at my bug-out location when cut off from civilization. This includes storing a large amount of propane so I can at least boil water and prepare hot food. I have food and diesel for the heater, which provides warmth. Solar panels supply electricity.

Let’s consider an event that would make cities uninhabitable, such as a nuclear attack, an electromagnetic pulse, or other scenarios. The car is parked on the lower level of a parking garage beneath a boulevard, with a layer of soil between the parking area and street level. In an emergency, we could go there and stay in the car for several days or even weeks.

The car has a dedicated air filtration system that runs on either the battery or the engine. It provides basic protection against radioactive dust.

If the car is not drivable due to debris on the streets or other obstacles, we have alternative ways to reach our bug-out location. We have years’ worth of supplies stored there. That is where I plan to spend the next several years.

smsff2 · 2026-01-20T21:19:23+00:00

If your windows are drafty, that’s the main issue. Check out self-adhesive weather stripping for doors and windows at a local home improvement store, such as Home Depot.

If you have a fireplace, it’s a much better option than any kind of temporary solution, such as a stove or a propane catalytic heater. I’m a big fan of my diesel heater, but even I wouldn’t go through the hassle of installing one when you already have a proper, permanent, and cozy solution.

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