Preparing for heatwaves

Discussion in 'General Discussion' started by Motomom34, Jun 25, 2017.


Tags:
  1. Motomom34

    Motomom34 Monkey+++

    I have always prepped for winter. That has always been my focus, staying warm. But the past weeks of seeing temperatures: Arizona 120+, Oregon high 90's and Colorado was hitting 100. Many states are having extreme temperatures. I heard on the news that they were encouraging people to conserve energy and officials were worried about power failures in AZ. Planes can't fly, mailboxes are melting so as a prepared person I thought what if......

    What if things breakdown and we have no services: power, water etc.... and there is a heat wave. I really have not thought this one through. I wonder how one preps for extreme temperatures. Has anyone prepared for this?
     
  2. oil pan 4

    oil pan 4 Monkey+++

    In installed a 2 ton inverter split unit in my 500 to 700 square foot living areally then put a 3/4 ton inverter split in the bed room.
    If the power goes out I have 2 generators, multiple large pure sine inverters, a few hundred watts of solar, an Ice maker, brand new expensive ass inverter based 2 zone refrigerator also with ice maker.
    For water I have my hot tub and a few 5 gallon containers of air conditioner condensate.
     
    Seepalaces and Motomom34 like this.
  3. M118LR

    M118LR Caution: Does not play well with others.

    I,m living it right here in Florida since the Tornado took out my A/C. 4 weeks for the warranted part to arrive from Texas, what did they strap it to an eastbound armadillo? Better already have the hand pump on a deep water well during a heat wave without the power grid. Shade and a breeze with minimal daytime activity ain't to hard to come by, children might get a little pruney spending all day in the pool (Gator free ponds are a bit hard to find round here) but they love it...... JMHO.
     
    sec_monkey, Seepalaces and Motomom34 like this.
  4. Altoidfishfins

    Altoidfishfins Monkey+++ Site Supporter+

    Seems as if the only way to prep for such a situation is with a backup propane or nat gas generator and a transfer switch. The generator would have to have sufficient capacity to run the central air conditioning.

    Alternatively, a separate air conditioner (from the central unit) installed in one room could be run with a smaller generator, and that room could be closed off from the rest of the house.
     
    sec_monkey, Seepalaces and Motomom34 like this.
  5. M118LR

    M118LR Caution: Does not play well with others.

    My goodness, what would our forefathers think of all these high tech solutions. Ever heard of a spring house? Y'all act like it would be the end of the world if you didn't have electricity! Mankind has spent more years without it than with it, it's do-able.
     
    sec_monkey, 3M-TA3 and Motomom34 like this.
  6. Motomom34

    Motomom34 Monkey+++

    For some reason I have always thought of winter as being brutal if SHTF but heat can kill also. Hypothermia goes both ways. Heat stroke is not something that goes away quickly.
     
    Seepalaces, Legion489 and M118LR like this.
  7. tacmotusn

    tacmotusn RIP 1/13/21

    MM34 yours is a dry heat is it not (at least most of the time). If so get 2 or 3 portable swamp coolers. these are the size of portable infared room heaters i like so much, except are basically fans with a water reservoir and a mesh wick of some sort, the fan blows thru the water saturated wick and the evaporation effect cools things 20 degrees or so. can use inside or out.
     
    sec_monkey, Seepalaces and Motomom34 like this.
  8. M118LR

    M118LR Caution: Does not play well with others.

    I've spent a little time in both the arctic & antarctic, there always seems to be another something you can layer up with to get warmer, but there comes a time in life when the neighbors are going to call the blight comity if your laying around the dog run naked. LOL At least make sure you put your false teeth in..LOL LOL
    A dog run is the covered area between the main house & the carriage house usually used to hang meat while curing. (Find that on google, better yet just ask an Old Texican)
     
    Last edited: Jun 25, 2017
  9. tacmotusn

    tacmotusn RIP 1/13/21

    me, shade, easy chair that doesn't mind getting wet. pump on genny. sprinkler or mist/rain nozzle selection on water hose .... and just sit there in the shade and the gentle rain
     
  10. AxesAreBetter

    AxesAreBetter Monkey+++

    Wet bandana popped a few times cools 40 odd degrees...gets really cold. Foot baths also work. And siestas. Combo up is how reenactors do it.
     
    Seepalaces, Motomom34 and M118LR like this.
  11. techsar

    techsar Monkey+++

    That's part of why the well and a small ac (among other key items) are on solar/wind/genny system...augmented with the grid if it is available.

    This might sound like overkill, but with lows in the 80s with 90+ % humidity, tied in with a wife with asthma, It makes sense...in our case.

    But a good reminder for those that may not have considered it.
     
    Last edited: Jun 25, 2017
  12. M118LR

    M118LR Caution: Does not play well with others.

    Didn't folks used to store wine (maybe other spirits) at 55 degrees either underground or in a natural cave?
    If it's cold 55 degrees is warm, if it's warm 55 degrees is cool. Got to admit that there are more sink holes round here than natural caves. But they got some big ones in Western Kentucky. Might be a few out West also?
     
  13. Motomom34

    Motomom34 Monkey+++

    I know the root cellar thing but I cannot walk out in back of my town home and start digging without attracting attention. If you happen to be an urban dweller it gets real hot. When I was young, I used to lay up against the propane tank because it was really cool in the summer. If people do not have basements then they need to figure something if they live in zones that can have these killer heat waves.
     
  14. 3M-TA3

    3M-TA3 Cold Wet Monkey

    Open your windows and hang wet sheets. The evaporation will cause a cooling effect.
     
  15. M118LR

    M118LR Caution: Does not play well with others.

    The concrete jungle can be brutal, but sawdust & 50 lb blocks of ice are still available. Not to mention that most urban dwellings have a bathtub, water does wonders for dissipating unwanted heat. Perhaps an Old Fashioned Ice Box might be an off the power grid investment?????
     
  16. Yard Dart

    Yard Dart Vigilant Monkey Moderator

    You change your activities to take advantage of the cooler hours.... work at night, early morning and in the heat of the day you find a nice shady spot to stay.
     
  17. BTPost

    BTPost Stumpy Old Fart,Deadman Walking, Snow Monkey Moderator

    I prepared for such eventualities, by moving to Alaska back in '91.... Never gets above 80F, and rarely gets below 0F in the worst winters... We have NO SNAKES, few spiders, and our flying Bugs carry few, or no deseases... We do have Critters, of all sizes and varieties, but they are mostly just live out their lives, along side us humans, with little or no interaction...
     
  18. SB21

    SB21 Monkey+++

    I remember hearing quite a few years ago, up around Jersey and New York, there was a heat wave and power outages, and quite a few people died from the heat, mostly elderly folks if I recall correctly. So Motomom , your concerns are very real and possible.
     
    Gator 45/70, Meat and Motomom34 like this.
  19. azrancher

    azrancher Monkey +++

    I thought you were looking for a new homestead, how's that going?

    Rancher
     
    Motomom34 and sec_monkey like this.
  20. Andy the Aussie

    Andy the Aussie Monkey+++ Founding Member

    We suffer a little heat here in summer ;) Family's Cattle Station was in South West Qld and over summer most days hover 110-120F for big chunks of the day. You plan your work around it, out well before daylight get done what you can, drink lots of water and find shade in the worst of the day. Normally back at the house for the peak then back out again into the late afternoon evening. Staying hydrated is of course the most important thing. There was no line delivered electricity (or phones) there till till the mid-1990s so not much air conditioning. The houses have big wide gauzed in verandahs that end up being where most daytime siestas are taken and most nights spent. At least there it was still south enough not to have the humidity we got up in the NT.
     
    Gator 45/70, Motomom34 and sec_monkey like this.
  1. natshare
  2. Dunerunner
  3. Dunerunner
  4. Dunerunner
  5. Motomom34
  6. Gator 45/70
  7. Big Ron
  8. john316
  9. Motomom34
  10. Big Ron
  11. Motomom34
  12. oldman11
  13. HK_User
  14. Yard Dart
  15. Gator 45/70
  16. Motomom34
  17. Motomom34
  18. ditch witch
  19. Mindgrinder
  20. HK_User
survivalmonkey SSL seal        survivalmonkey.com warrant canary
17282WuJHksJ9798f34razfKbPATqTq9E7