"Liz" wrote in message
...

"Andy Dingley" wrote in message
wrote:

What is the power cut season?

The season when power cuts are dark and annoying, rather than merely
annoying.

This is a really good question. Other than getting a generator, what
other
ways are there that we can get organised now, rather than wait for it to
happen. After last years fiasco I'd rather be really well prepared. In
my
case I was grateful for an open fire with back boiler. Although it
only heats one radiator and hot water, I was very glad I had it. I could
at
least have a bath and go to work refreshed and clean! I've also acquired
a
toasting fork so can live off beans on toast for a few days. Lighting is
the main difficulty without a generator.

Anyone got any ingenious ideas to prepare for power cut season? the more
Heath Robinson the better!


We live in an isolated area and suffer power cuts several times a year.
About 10 years ago I made a 500W 12V to 230V ac invertor and together with a
large 130AH 12V battery which I keep fully charged normally keeps us out of
trouble. Using a string of low energy bulbs (11W equiv 60W incandescent) I
can illuminate the whole house and still have power left to run the central
heating pump (solid fuel boiler) and a radio for over 3 hours which is
normally sufficient.
Last year was an exception and we were cut off for just over 2 days.
Fortunately we always keep the two cars pretty full of petrol in case of
emergencies and last year used them to charge up the spare battery and keep
the backup system running for heating. Obviously we have the usual camping
stoves etc available for cooking so managed to survive without too much
inconvenience other than the loss of the freezer contents (which was insured
anyway).

I believe that you can now buy 150W and 300W converters for under £50 now,
ready made and ready to run. This works out much cheaper as a standby than
buying a dedicated petrol generator which you may never need if you live in
London or other big city.

Dave