backup generator

Reasons Why Every Household Must Have a Backup Generator

Reasons Why Every Household Must Have a Backup Generator
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black-outIn the recent past, we’ve witnessed extreme weather-related calamities that have caused immense destruction regarding property damage and loss of human lives.

Scientists are warning that massive disasters are not only currently occurring at an increased rate but also increasing in magnitude.

To ensure your family stays safe all the time, you must invest in a good electric generator. An electric generator, other than supporting your lighting systems, will support important appliances in your home, among very many other functions. Loss of electric power brings about many difficulties to homes, more so, households with persons with disabilities.

A generator provides an exceptional way of cautioning your family members against sudden lose electricity.

Typical uses of a generator in a household

  • Backup during Power outages

campingAny urban resident already knows how often power outages occur of late. You simply can’t leave the use of all household appliances in the mercy of unpredictable utility power. A generator will reliably power your major home appliances, including electric heater, lights and air conditioners. A good generator, therefore, will help you maintain the comfort of your loved ones at all times.

  • Recreational use: Camping, tailgating or RV power

Are you a fan of outdoor camping? Then you need a portable generator. With a portable generator, you will be able to transform your camping expedition into an unforgettable event. Your family members will still enjoy all the luxuries of the city in a countryside setting. It will power security lights and hence secure your surroundings. The generator will also enable you to watch your TV, charge your phones, helping you maintain your connection to the outside world among, other purposes.

  • Construction Projects

Since most constructions projects take place in regions where there is no electricity supply, you cannot depend on electricity from your utility company. That there have been widespread power blackouts lately implies that utility power is unpredictable. So, even if power is available, to predict with certainty how long it’ll take to complete the project, a reliable energy source is crucial. One such trusted source is a generator. Your choice of the type of generator to go for depends entirely on the magnitude of your project.

 Types of generators to consider

  • Standby Generators: This genset is large, typically runs on natural gas or liquid propane and mostly stationed outside far from the house. Due to their immense outputs power, it can power all the appliances in your home during a power outage. It also costs a lot to buy, install (which is usually done by skilled personnel) and connect to your household’s consumer unit. However, once installed, a standby generator runs for a very long time without necessitating refueling, servicing or maintenance. One outstanding feature of this generator type has to be its ability to start automatically, supplying your house with power even when you are away, and there is no one around.
  • Portable Generators: They are smaller generators that can be moved around with a lot of ease. Besides their smaller fuel tanks, portable generators are either attached to a trailer or fitted with wheels for increased mobility. Smaller fuel tanks present one minor challenge; the generators have to be often refueled, especially when they’re used for extended periods of time. They are, however, suitable for smaller families who probably need a generator they can use while camping outdoors, among other purposes. On account of their low outputs, portable generators tend to be cheaper that standby generators and do not need expert installation. From the best portable generator reviews, you will learn more on what to look for when buying portable generators, typical output ranges, among many other crucial aspects
  • Solar Generators: Supply green energy that is safe to use and entirely renewable. Persons who live in places with hot and regular sunshine and have sufficient initial capital will find this generator type ideal. Solar generators deliver totally quiet operations, require minimum repairs and maintenance and do not require refueling since they convert solar energy to electrical energy. Initially, the cost is high thanks to the fact that a solar generator unit requires other components including an inverter, a battery pack, and solar panels. You may also have to hire the services of a trained installer.

During a blackout follow these electrical safety tips

  • Switch off and unplug unnecessary electrical appliances, including sensitive devices
  • Disconnect any equipment, appliance or electronics that were being used before the power went out When power returns, spikes or surges can damage the appliances
  • Leave one light bulb on so that when the power comes back, you will know
  • Eliminate all unnecessary travels, particularly by car because traffic lights will not be on
  • Connect the appliance you wish to power with a generator directly to the generator outlet.

A backup generator is a must-have for all households. Regardless of whether you need insurance during emergencies or your do not want to sustain the comfort of your family members, a generator is all you need. Find out your electric power needs, buy a suitable generator and enjoy your life to the fullest.

About the author: Victor Hill is the founder of Trustworthy Power, a website that provides expert generator reviews, click here to find out more. He is a graduate in Mechatronics and currently works as a Quality Assurance Engineer at DENSO. He has a passion for generators and also loves helping users get value for their investment while shopping for generators.

How to Build a Wine Bottle Torch

How to Build a Wine Bottle Torch

DIY: Wine Bottle Torch
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Lighting is very important for Preppers, campers, and honestly everybody else.

Today’s article will show how to make a lamp out of an old wine bottle.

This works well as a tiki torch, and can be used outside with citronella oil to repel bugs.

Besides being a source of light and a way to repel bugs, this is a classy piece of decoration as well as an excuse to buy more wine.

Of course if you don’t want to buy more wine you can always make some homemade wine.

 

Materials

  • Empty Wine Bottle – Use any kind glass bottle with a 1” diameter neck
  • Teflon Tape
  • Copper Top Plate Connector (threaded for 3/8”-16 thread rod)
  • 1” Split Ring Hanger (threaded for 3/8”-16 thread rod)
  • 1/2” x 3/8” Copper Coupling
  • 1/2” Copper Cap
  • Two Hex Nuts (threaded for 3/8”-16 thread rod)
  • Two #10 x 1” Zinc Plated Wood Screws (if your mounting it to wood)
  • 3/8”-16 Zinc Plated Threaded Rod (a 3’ rod will cut down to 8, 4-1/2” rods)
  • Tiki Replacement Wick
  • Torch Fuel

Tools

  • Channel lock pliers
  • Adjustable wrench
  • Hacksaw
  • Screwdriver
  • Funnel

Procedure

Hanger

  1. Position the Top Plate Connector on your mounting surface and mark the holes for where the screws will go.
  2. Install Plate connector and screw in the 3/8”-16 Rod until it stops.
  3. Thread the two Hex Nuts on to the Rod and tighten one all the way down at the point where the Rod meets the Top Connector Plate. Leave the other Hex Nut at the front end so it can be used to secure the Split Ring Hanger.
  4. Thread on the Split Ring Hanger just enough so that the Rod is flush with the inside of the ring. Turn the 2nd Hex Nut counter-clockwise to snug it up against the Split Ring Hanger.

Torch

  1. Carefully and tightly wrap the 1/2” end of the Coupling with your Teflon Tape.
  2. Continue building up the tape until it fits very snugly into the opening of your bottle.
  3. Insert the Wick into the Coupling until it sticks out about 1/4”.
  4. The Tiki replacement wicks are about 3/8” in diameter so they fit well.
  5. Unscrew the Split Ring Hanger on one side and position the bottle neck into the ring.
  6. Flip the front half of the ring back into place and tighten down the Hanger evenly on both sides. You may need to loosen the other side to make sure both sides are an even tightness. (Don’t over tighten the Hanger. You don’t want to break the glass.)
  7. Use a funnel to fill the bottle with your favorite torch oil.
  8. Insert the Coupling & Wick into the top of the bottle and twist it snugly into place. Give the Wick a few minutes to absorb the oil before you try to light it.

Use the Copper Cap to keep the Wick dry when you’re not using your torch.

How to Fix Loose Micro-USB Cables

 

Can't Charge Your Cell Phone
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Every experience the frustration of when you phone port breaks and Can’t Charge Your Cell Phone unless you do all manner of acrobatics to hold the cable JUST RIGHT.

The video shows how I made a simple hack to fix the problem.

Well this does not exactly fix the problem, but it does give you extra time before you have to buy a new phone.  I have used this hack on my cheap streighttalk wireless phone to give me an extra six months between buying a new one.

All you need is a charging cable, a rubber band, and some tape.

The idea is that the metal band inside the charging port wears down so it does not hold the cable securely.  This is the reason why you can’t charge your cell phone.

A rubber band holds the cable tightly which reduces the need for the metal band.  You would think they would build a sturdier charging port, but I think it is planned obsolescence so you drop another couple hundred on a phone.  With as often as new phones come out and people trying to keep up with the Jones I would imagine a lot of people would not have the problem of wearing out your phone port.  However, I bet many of those reading this probably have.

How to Build a Tarp Shelter Using Canopy Fittings

 

Conduit Tarp Shelter
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I wanted a cheap solution to roofing my goat kennel, and since I had a lot of conduit left over from my geo-dome experiments and I have been thinking of roofing solutions using ferrocement, I decided to try using EMT conduit connectors to make a conduit tarp shelter.

This EMT conduit tarp shelter is simple, inexpensive, and easily put up in an afternoon.

I ordered about $60 dollars of connectors to fit together some EMT conduit, that and some rope, zip ties, and some tarp made a fairly decent shelter.

The connectors made this project go together much easier than it could have been.  It also made the project very strong.

I feel this is pretty strong, and using the connectors with shorter runs of pipe (3 feet or so instead of the 5 and 8 feet runs) with welded wire attached similar to how I did my Doomsday prepper dome (without a tv producer wanting me to make it ugly so it looks like a “rock”).

This setup can make a pretty cheap roof for a shed.  Especially If you use cloth and latex cement instead of a tarp.

I guess I need to add that project to my list.

Update:

We have used this for about 6 months and have had several heavy storms, including snow and it is working well.  My goats are happy under the shelter.

How to Start Spoon Carving

 

Basic Spoon Carving
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Spoon carving is one of those things that can be very elegant and skill intensive.  Alternatively, it can be simple and functional.

There are a lot of specialized tools available and much in the way of instructions online.

Today I just want to go into the basics of spoon carving.  I don’t have a lot of instructions here.  This is so that someone that is interested can start, but not be overwhelmed.

The tools needed are pretty simple and inexpensive as spoons have been hand carved for thousands of years.

As I showed in my 52 Prepper Project for Kids book, the depression can be burned out with coals.  However, most use hook knives.

You Do Not Need Much to Start

Simply purchase a curved hook knife like the one shown from amazon.  You will also need a simple knife, some sandpaper, and a little bit of edible oil.  That is all that is truly necessary if you are carving from a blank.

A pencil and a small axe are helpful.

Start by designing your spoon and drawing the rough outline on the blank.  I like to start with the bowl.  This is because I don’t want to spend time carving down the handle and then ruin the spoon during the depression carving.

Once the bowl is formed I carve around it to form the rounded spoon form.

The last carving step is to trim down the handle.  That is the simplest part.  Also, I like having the leverage of the thick wood blank as I form the spoon head.

Once the spoon is fully carved, sand down the spoon.  That is to remove the tool marks and make it smooth.

Let it dry slowly and then coat with an edible oil to protect it.

Do not use oils like olive oil as they go rancid with time.  Many like to use tung or walnut oil, but some are allergic to nut oil.  In the spoon pictured above I used normal canola oil from the grocery.