The Flashaholic's Dream come true

POAD - Nope that's not a new Ultimate flashlight - that's Power Outage after dark! Our area here in Colorado was without power just after dark for a couple hours. As much as I consider myself one of the very prepared it was interesting to find out what was not as ready as I would have liked it to be. The first thing I found was the emergency/weather radio with battery backup had dead batteries. The computer UPS held up fine until I got Windows shut down but in trying to find out what happened to the power in our area later that night I found I had no Internet access. I guess Qwest doesn't have UPS systems While I've got a generator I realized I did not have a power cord finished to easily hook it up to the house. While very dangerous I have in the past used a power cord with a plug on both ends to power a house from a generator. You need to turn off your Main breakers to do this and really need to be careful with such a setup - not recommended unless you really know what your are doing. Then I went out to the RV to try out the TV there. My usual thoughts when there is a power outage are along the lines of making sure it is just a local outage and that the entire country is not down due to UFO invasion or the like :tinfoil: Unfortunately I could not get the TV to come on even though the RV inverter seemed to be running. Next I decided to look for an AM radio and found the first one with dead batteries. I knew I could go listen in the car but decided instead to I try the multi-band Ham Radio which I fortunately had just charged the day before (was totally dead). At that point it appeared there was no news so I assumed no news is good news and that this was just a local problem. I used my HDS U60 as a candle on mid-power throughout the couple hours and it didn't dim a bit. Before the light came back on I counted 6 flashlights on me So I guess it's a good thing to have a little trial run like this come up or to imagine one and go through the steps from time to time to see what might be missing. As they say better to be prepared and have everything and not need it than to need it and not have it.

Was this the blackout of the recent major snowstorm? I also lost power for a few hours but the power was restored by the time I got home from work.:thumbsdow Darn it I was hoping to get some solid use of my toys. I always look for unique ways to use my lights as well as ways to justify having my toys to my wife. I always make sure I have lots of batteries on hand and that my lights are in good working order. We have things put aside that are edible without electricity.


I did find a very good justification to not look silly for carrying a light with me 24/7. After that snowstorm I slipped on some black ice beside my truck when I went to warm it up the morning after. Later when me and my wife headed out to the truck to go to work I made sure I brought my flashlight. She said, "Ok honey, I understand". Maybe I've convinced her why its always important to have a light source. Hopefully she won't look at me funny for bringing a light with me everywhere I go from now on. I really bruised up my whole body from that dramatic fall and I don't plan on that happening again. Proper lighting can help avoid these hazards.

The more I think about it, the more I think that the best combination of lights for a Blackout is a headlamp for each family member, an LED personal light for each member (about the size of a 2AA Mini-Maglite) and at least 2 or 3 lanterns to light up the larger rooms in the house. A spotlight could come in handy. Also a rechargeable that could be plugged into the car's cigarette lighter..... And a large amount of batteries.

What do you guys think?

matrixshaman said:

While I've got a generator I realized I did not have a power cord finished to easily hook it up to the house. While very dangerous I have in the past used a power cord with a plug on both ends to power a house from a generator.

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Just a reminder... backfeeding your house circuit from a portable generator is dangerous and illegal. People get killed this way. You really need a mechanically interlocked transfer switch to prevent someone from accidentally closing the main breakers before your "cheater cord" is unplugged. What you've suggested is a violation of electric code in nearly every jurisdiction in the US.

Transfer switches may be less expensive than you think. I've seen small 30 amp switches for about $55. They use them for RV applications. Try looking up the IOTA Transfer Switches (ITS).

I'm not trying to stir up a debate, or make accusations. I just don't want people to get hurt.

My ultimate blackout light is a 2D Maglite with a NiteIze LED drop in. This will run for 75hrs, which is about 1 week's worth of light on a set of batteries. The key is having lots of runtime so that battery changes are kept to a minimum. I have a few really bright lights in case the situation warrants. I figure the 2D Mag with LED will put out light long enough to get me by. For right now its just me and my wife so we don't need as many lights.

Man i want the power to go out. For me ive got plenty of 123s along with aa and aaa. My main light would be my EOS and then the L1. I would also have have fun with all my other lights as well.

It is good that you have pointed this out but I did not 'suggest doing this' as you have implied below rather I said it was 'very dangerous' and 'not recommended' and I know it is not legal but a lot of things aren't legal that people may do in an emergency. I am NOT recommending that anyone do this but I have done this and would do it if I needed to do so to stay alive - as in it's freezing cold and I have no means to heat a house but there is a generator sitting there. If you have or can get a transfer switch than that's the route to go. I had until recently a whole house power backup system using a Trace Inverter. I don't think we have any disagreement here ... there are just some situations where a little 'McGyver' used right way might be a saving grace. Thank you for bringing this up though as I would not want anyone getting hurt either and your message just emphasizes the importance of this.

Ty_Bower said:

Just a reminder... backfeeding your house circuit from a portable generator is dangerous and illegal. People get killed this way. You really need a mechanically interlocked transfer switch to prevent someone from accidentally closing the main breakers before your "cheater cord" is unplugged. What you've suggested is a violation of electric code in nearly every jurisdiction in the US.

Transfer switches may be less expensive than you think. I've seen small 30 amp switches for about $55. They use them for RV applications. Try looking up the IOTA Transfer Switches (ITS).

I'm not trying to stir up a debate, or make accusations. I just don't want people to get hurt.

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strat1080 - nothing to do with the snowstorm - we barely got hit here. This was a mysterious 'no explanation' in the newspaper other than a "systemwide transmission failure" - no reason why. And good reasons why to always have a light on you - hope you don't encounter any more falls like that.

Monocrom - headlights are very nice to have for such situations - I've worked many hours at a time in places which had no light using just an LED headlamp. I've got 3 of them and some will run for at least 20-30 hours on a set of batteries. Depending on the situation and flashlight I'd rather not use a car to recharge batteries. A couple very small batteries might be charged this way but again depending on the situation you don't want to risk running down your car battery and not be able to start your car. I believe in multiple backup systems and have some solar for recharging, a lot of spare batteries, a hand crank light (this is the kind that will last 30 minutes or so on something like one minute of cranking), a generator that puts out 12 volt DC and 120 volt AC and some flashlights like the Eternalight that can run thousands of hours on the lowest power settings. There are other new lights that also can achieve very long run times on the lowest power setting. I've even got a cheapy Solar light I got from Big Lots that can be recharged during daylight and used at night. It's an ugly funny looking light but in a worst case scenario might become the most beautiful of lights

By the way speaking of dangers of generators. Don't ever make the mistake of putting a generator inside a house for fear that someone might steal it while its running. Even putting it in the garage can be dangerous depending on whether your garage is separated or not and how well insulated your house is from garage fumes. A generator puts out deadly Carbon Monoxide just like a car and the effects are additive - going out for a breath of fresh air won't clear it from your system. Of course if you find yourself in a place full of CO definitely get to fresh air as fast as possible.
I think the best possible solution for power backup though is a Trace/Xantrex true sine wave inverter system if you can afford one. They aren't that expensive if you can hook one up yourself. Solar panels are finally starting to get a bit more affordable and even a few Marine type batteries can keep the mission critical things running for quite a while. Only downside of course is that the wife will ask 'why do you need all those flashlights now that we can't loose power?' :thinking: Be prepared now with some creative answers