We live in the pine forest of Western Washington. In the winter time there are hurricanes. Seriously, and the trees fall down
on the power lines. Two weeks ago we had an ice storm and the power grid for the entire region was down. We were out
for six days. After eight years here we are wise to it. We've installed propane space heaters that do not need electricity. Ovens
imported from Italy can be lit with a match (American ovens use glow bars). We are equipped with dietz kerosene lanterns
and a coleman propane tree set up with a propane lamp complete with lampshade.
Though we did lose the contents of our fridge, my sweet wife canned the meat when it thawed. We are wired for a generator
but only ran it two hours a day to pump water for showers and to replenish drinking water in the house
How does this save money? We buy propane once a year at the end of July when it is cheapest. Several years ago when the batteries on our solar array went south (long story) we spent 200 bucks on some kerosene and lanterns rather than spend
a thousand bucks to replace the deep cycle batteries. Miles Stair of the End Times Report is the kerosene expert. Learning
from him we scored an old 300 gallon heating oil tank and pressed it into service for #1 stove oil or Kerosene. It worked so
well we've never looked back. I bought 265 gallons of kero last year at $2.39 per gallon. It will keep forever. Used for
heating it is a 2-3 year supply. Used for lighting only that is a thirty year supply.
Generators are great but the wisdom is buy the best you can afford and use them as little as possible. Gasoline goes bad,
diesel is the way to go. If the power in your region is out no one is able to pump gasoline into your tank. So it is a really
GOOD idea to keep a 55 gallon tank full of kerosene and or diesel. We are currently using a gasoline generator and we
were caught without gasoline when the storm hit. I spent a fair amount of time driving about looking for a station that had
power and gasoline to sell before I scored 5 gallons. Lesson learned is to switch all vehicles over to diesel, buy a used
diesel tractor for chores and a pto generator for power out emergencies. Then add another 300 gallon tank for diesel
storage. The kerosene may also be used to run the engines if the lubricity is increased with an appropriate additive. In a
pinch this increases the fuel stored to 600 gallons. Enough to get through any winter before resorting to cutting trees.
You can do some permutation of this in your neighborhood inside city limits. 55 gallon drums fit nicely in a storage shed.
The fire hazard is minimal compared to gasoline or propane. (hold a match to a spoonful of kero and it will go out)
One of the really nice features of a kerosene lantern is you hold it with a wire handle and your hand is still free unlike a flashlight. Your light goes with you, you are never in the dark, not even in the back pasture where there is no power service.
And it will last way longer that my ball cap with the led lights built into the bill.
That's my story and I'm sticking to it.