So,

Who here could easily go off grid/natural gas/phones etc..

I'm willing to say, no...

I've got water, I've got food, some power, etc...

I have a 200 gallon bulk tank of fuel that has a minimum of 100 gallons in it...

I have a 5000 generator, another 2500 watt on my zero turn..

Thats is good to pump water and essentials...fridge etc...

But running for a month off grid, I don't think I'd be able to do it...

My house is big and is a heat hog...tall ceilings and large open staircase...

So, I don't know if I'd have the heat required...that's my concern...

I have thought about a few ideas...maybe wood boiler etc...but not done yet.

How's everyone's self assement ?

Bret

I'm in Miami, in a condo, so it was nice knowing you.

Chris

I have a much smaller house, (I think) and I planned my power outage plan on supplemental heat, not running genny to run furnace. Several buddy/big buddy heaters, and lots of propane

I ran a week in cold/moderate temperatures after Halloween storm a year ago. I was comfortable. With those temperatures I could do a month without issues. I would not be loaning out heaters/propane like I did last time though. A hard freeze below zero would likely cut my run time I half, so only two weeks.  To me, that is realistic, because I will be changing plans if it goes that long- drain pipes and heat one room, etc.

As long as you have guns and ammo you can take whatever you need,  I live in TX so cold is no big deal, I guess when all hell breaks loose everyone will head south .I myself am not ready to go off the grid. My guess would be FUEL would be the biggest thing you would need and that would run out in days if the tanker trucks stop moving. Now you got me thinking.

Haha

Try that with my stuff

How embarassing.
He cannot be a Native Texan.

OP, if you are thinking of living a normal lifestyle off-grid for anmy length of time with a fuel generator....  that is most likely not going to happen.

At home no, at the BOL is another story. Simple but labor intensive. Setup the BOL to run on Propane. Propane lights, propane fridge, propane everything except heat. Get a woodstove. Wire in 12v lights and run to one main connection setup for a car battery. Drive hand pump wells through the floor in the kitchen and bathroom so you can have fresh water. The car battery should run the place for about 4 or 5 days before it needs to be recharged unless you use a lot of electricity. Use a jump box with a cigarette lighter plug and 110 plug to recharge your portable electronics. Recharge the jump box at the same time you run the small generator to recharge the car battery that is powering your lights. Conservatively a 20 pound propane tank will run the place for a week to 10 days including fridge.

Well,

Some good ideas,

I can run the essentials on my genny for a while...but heat in mn is a big deal... -20 is a norm a few times every year.

For a week...should be ok...it will take many days to even start to cool my place...I heat thousands of cubic feet of cement and I've seen how long it takes to cool down...

In fact my heating system uses forecasted temps for the next ten days for heating...

And if like today it warmed up quicker and more than for cast...certain area of the house are too warm...was running the ac in the theater today...

But after a week.,..then I'm getting nervous...

My place has lots of cubic feet to heat...I don't have the specs in my head...but I have a total of three heating systems just to cover the entire house...

I'm thinking of running a outside water boiler to my in floor heating systems...that my be enough to keep the house live able

Bret

My plan is to move in to a smaller room for living, preferably the master bedroom.  Build a rocket stove out of firebrick (I currently use them as the bottom shelf for my SHTF shelving to conserve space).  Have enough ducting and sheetmetal, along with flange and weatherproofing, to properly vent.  I plan on going mostly horizontal and placing some heatsink fins on the duct work (layer thermal epoxy between contact points, JB weld for strength/lower cost) to maximize thermal transfer and give a place to hang something like a towel, clothes or blanket to help prevent more waste heat.  This also should help minimize the weather proofing needed if I had gone through the roof.

If need be, I have a small fan setup (with spares) that will run off of solar power/deep cell, but if done properly, convection should be sufficient past initial light.

Still trying to figure out the best way to cook off of something like this without making the stove top too massive.  Small dutch over is the best I have so far for versatility (can make breads, soups, porridges).