Does Anyone Here Prep for if the grid goes down or a cyberattack?
- Thread starter TomFord1980
- Start date
and @Ponderling
I used to swear by fuel stabilizer too. But then I watched this Project Farm video and seems its not as effective as I thought. Big takeaway is the damage from ethanol gas. Fucked up my 15 HP Honda outboard years ago and I've never allowed ethanol in my small engines since.
Also, even non-ethanol gas goes bad. So that's why I mentioned the rotation and using it through your car before it goes bad. Add the five gallons to a half fulll tank on your car/truck so it is diluted.
All great practices and advice! The old single cylinder B&S engines are bulletproof. Never had good luck with Tecumseh... especially with snowblower
Seafoam is good. So is Marvel Mystery Oil. I do something similar with Rust Check spray to fog the cylinder just as she dies out. Cottage standby generator (Briggs on propane) does an Auto run every Monday but I would shut down completely for the winter so I always fog it and then pull the plugs (2 cylinder Briggs Vanguard- bulletproof) and put some straight 30W in and turn it over a few revolutions to hopefully keep the rust off the cylinders.
The Honda and another 3500 Briggs I do as you do and as I describeed earlier.
Just checked and it seems that ethanol free gas has pretty much been discontinued since May 2023. But I swear I bought some from an Etobicoke Shell in January for the Honda 2000
Here is a crowdsourced website with some locations. Seems to only show places outside the GTA
Pure-gas.org - ethanol-free gasoline in the U.S. and Canada
Pure-gas.org is the definitive web site listing stations that sell pure gasoline in the U.S. and Canada.
Just remembered seeing something for the Honda and found it. Gas, propane or Nat Gas. Might be an alternative to storing gasoline in the city. Just hook it up to a natural gas BBQ connection. I wonder if the power output is lower with the Nat gas having less energy than gasoline?
www.hutchmountain.com
Honda EU2000i Propane, Natural Gas & Gasoline Generator Tri-Fuel Kit
Kit Options Essential Kit: The Essential Kit gives you everything you need to convert and run your little Honda generator on a standard 20/30lb propane tank. Pro Kit: The Pro Kit gives you an additional hose and bracket that allows you to run your Honda generator on natural gas or directly to...
www.hutchmountain.com
That's why I mentioned the Nat gas conversion kit. And also becuz of the hassle of gas and no more ethanol-free gas.
Living where I do it’s a necessity and fact of life. High winds and more frequently knock down power lines. Worst yet has been close to 72 hours.
wont get into too much or too detailed, just the basics and redundancy.
A duel fuel generator that can power the house ( start up/run loads). I have 60 pounds ( 2x30) of dedicated propane, I simply don’t touch until needed. plus 20 pound tanks I use for BBQ. I start with the 20s. So I always have roughly 100 pounds of propane on hand and can quickly get more if I think it might last and the 20s run dry. Propane that doesn’t go stale, or gum up carburetors. Last thing you want is a genny that won’t start.
If all my propane runs out, and I can’t get refills because gas stations are down too, or I can’t buy new pre filled 20s… I always have lots of gas too that I have on hand for boat, cars lawn tractor, other stuff, that’s always fairly fresh. But so far, haven’t needed to use gas in it.
The genny hooks up to my hydro meter. Plug it in, turn it on, and all is good.
Total cost, genny plus meter link ( back then
) about $2,500. Compared to Generacs and standbys. I can buy 4 or more new gennys If I ever need to replace the genny. So figure I’m good for 20 or more years. I always test it in Oct.
Orher than that. Cash in the house to buy 20pound propane from corner stores or who ever doesn’t need their 20s and neighbors that might like to warm their hands or a warm bed for a night. In the cold cellar about 20 litres of water and some dry food /canned stuff.
Plus my guns, bows, and fishing equipment, incase it’s armegeddon, or zombies or Someone tries to steal my genny
wont get into too much or too detailed, just the basics and redundancy.
A duel fuel generator that can power the house ( start up/run loads). I have 60 pounds ( 2x30) of dedicated propane, I simply don’t touch until needed. plus 20 pound tanks I use for BBQ. I start with the 20s. So I always have roughly 100 pounds of propane on hand and can quickly get more if I think it might last and the 20s run dry. Propane that doesn’t go stale, or gum up carburetors. Last thing you want is a genny that won’t start.
If all my propane runs out, and I can’t get refills because gas stations are down too, or I can’t buy new pre filled 20s… I always have lots of gas too that I have on hand for boat, cars lawn tractor, other stuff, that’s always fairly fresh. But so far, haven’t needed to use gas in it.
The genny hooks up to my hydro meter. Plug it in, turn it on, and all is good.
Total cost, genny plus meter link ( back then
) about $2,500. Compared to Generacs and standbys. I can buy 4 or more new gennys If I ever need to replace the genny. So figure I’m good for 20 or more years. I always test it in Oct.Orher than that. Cash in the house to buy 20pound propane from corner stores or who ever doesn’t need their 20s and neighbors that might like to warm their hands or a warm bed for a night. In the cold cellar about 20 litres of water and some dry food /canned stuff.
Plus my guns, bows, and fishing equipment, incase it’s armegeddon, or zombies or Someone tries to steal my genny
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Most of went onto my driveway, but I'm sure some of it ended up in my neighbour's basement. That's why I took advantage of the basement flooding rebate to install a sump pump as soon as it was available. I didn't want to be the only house on the street without any flood prevention devices.Mostly because you pump your basement water into your neighbour’s backyard
I've never had that problem. I use this fuel treatment year-round in my vintage car that sits during the winter months. It eliminates ethanol from the fuel. Give it a try in your outboard. All my friends also run it in their high-performance Merc outboards. Excellent stuff.
Uncle's a retired electrician so everything should be above board. I have a rotary switch inside the house similar to this:If you have a "suicide cord" electrical setup, know that is illegal and dangerous and its mere presence can invalidate your insurance even if it didn't have anything to do with a loss. . Lots of info on why etc but I'm sure you know it and I'm not going to change your mind. https://www.consumerreports.org/hom...extension-cords-are-so-dangerous-a1189731437/
Here is a proper Manual Transfer switch for $68 on Amazon.
I also have a Honda EU2000i that is 20 years old and had to replace the carb last year... just when I needed it most. Do what you want but fuel seals only last so long and the needle and seat in the carb only needs a little bit of shmutz or rubber gasket debris to cause the carb to flood or not deliver fuel.
No need for an OEM carb, this one for $50 worked like a charm. https://www.amazon.ca/Cnfaner-Carburetor-EU2000iK1-EU2000iT1-16100-Z0D-D03/dp/B08LPR79WS
Easy to change and LOTS of how-to video's on YouTube. Here is the first one that came up for me. Getting a small engine shop to change it probably takes a week or more and $300+. But again, no need to learn from my experience, suit yourself my friend
On the outside, I have a permanently mounted stanrdard 3 prong cord within a weather proof box. I connect the 3 prong cord to the gen only when I need it. Whether or not this setup is considered a "suicide cord" is beyond my area of expertise.
Me and my uncle are fairly meticulous when it comes to engine maintenance so we should be fine for now. Having said that, Murphy's Law will kick in at some point and something will fail at a bad time.
I appreciate the info and video you just shared though.
There's always going to be vulnerabilities somewhere in the system. Nat gas lines are unlikely to fail, but the pumping stations need backup generators that can fail or run out of fuel. There comes a point when the cost to have total redundancy is much higher than the chance of a signifcatn power failure that lasts a long time.
Those with a gun or two will do well. Many of us (myself included) are used to having food readily available. Imagine what happens if the grid goes down and you cant pay for food electronically. Heck, people scavenged for toilet paper during the pandemic. Replace that with food.I have neighbors
1×1 gif
Suicide cord means both ends are male. You should be safe as far as that goes.
The above is a proper transfer switch
It can even be set up for remote relay actuation!But I'll close by again suggesting you buy a new carb proactively. When I took mine into a small engine shop he said it was common once the old Honda's got to around 20 years. If yours is an EU 2200i (rather than an EU 2000i) then you're ok. The small engine shop also said he'd take 2-3 weeks plus ony uses OEM Honda parts because he is a Honda dealer. And the carb was backordered. When I said I could replace it myself he told me the Amazon one was just as good.
I am pretty familiar with various engine oil and fuel additives. I send oil to Blackstone Labs for analysis and became friends with the founder Howard Fenton decades ago.I've never had that problem. I use this fuel treatment year-round in my vintage car that sits during the winter months. It eliminates ethanol from the fuel. Give it a try in your outboard. All my friends also run it in their high-performance Merc outboards. Excellent stuff.
He calls most additives BSIAB- Bullshit In A Bottle. Most are just solvents. For example, if you read and decode the MSDS for the additive above you'll find it is various fractions of kerosene with some fragrance. It ostensibly works by leaving a bit of oily film on parts to help slow down waterborne corrosion. Some Jet Fuel additives (Like PRIST which is just Glycol Ether) ) contain an antimicrobial because jet fuel (which is also kerosene- which is just slightly more refined diesel) and diesel can host slime causing organisms which are bad news if the slime gets into the combustion chamber of your jet engine!
Marvel Mystery Oil, Seafoam etc... various solvents and lightweight mineral oils like Naptha etc. MMO does contain Tricrysal Phosphate which is good if you have an older engine without hardened valve seats. Leaded fuel used to cushion the valves and seats. But TCP can help.
FWIW
Exactly!
The point of prepping is to live independently for a few days or weeks while the problems are fixed or resources become available, so that you don’t have to fight other people at the store.
However, in the event of a more serious event, those with guns will be able to defend their stash, or, very likely, take from those without guns.
Prep away, brothers and sisters, but don’t tell anyone about it
Good to know that my setup is above board. Not that I had any doubts, but it's good to be triple-sure. I'm glad you mentioned the model number because I do have an EU2000i. It's about 10 years old now, but it's still a good idea to have a new carb like you said. Better to have it on hand instead of waiting until the next time water is pouring into the basement or I'm in the dark freezing my ass offSuicide cord means both ends are male. You should be safe as far as that goes.
The above is a proper transfer switch
But I'll close by again suggesting you buy a new carb proactively. When I took mine into a small engine shop he said it was common once the old Honda's got to around 20 years. If yours is an EU 2200i (rather than an EU 2000i) then you're ok. The small engine shop also said he'd take 2-3 weeks plus ony uses OEM Honda parts because he is a Honda dealer. And the carb was backordered. When I said I could replace it myself he told me the Amazon one was just as good.
Thanks again for the valuable tips.
