When the power goes out

[CrabbyJo]

Thought I'd start a thread since we all need tips on how to keep the crabs warm in the winter months when there's a power outage.

Last night I got to practice the drill lol.
The power went out at 1am, waking me, so I trundled into the living room where I had everything prepared (nasty wind storm, we figured the power would go out at least once) right next to the tank.

First, I turned off all my light switches in case the power came back on when I was asleep and I didnt wake up right away. Don't need hot lights on under blankets, fire hazard there.

I then wrapped the tank and iso (which are right next to each other, the iso placed near the end of the main tank) in big thick quilts. I wanted to trap any heat left over in the light hoods before it escaped. I also took my two sheets of styrofoam poster board (I still havent built a crabgloo, I need more board, and it's $4.50 a sheet!) and tucked them behind the 55 gallon between the tank and wall, sealing the airflow from behind the tank. I tucked the blankets tightly around the tanks, making sure there was nowhere for cold air to get in or warm air to escape.
I opened 5 packs of "Hotties" hand warmers (usually about 99cents a pack for two) and put them under the tank which is elevated about 1.5".
I then filled 4 soda bottles and two one-gallon milk jugs with hot water, tucking them under the blankets around the tanks as fast as I could.

As soon as I had that all done, the power came back on!

I decided that next time I'll wait until the very last to open the Hotties lol. Although I don't think it would have made much difference, the power came on about one minute after I was all done lol.

It was a good practice run! I also decided while I was wrapping the tank to grab more blankets, because the thicker the layers, the longer the heat will stay in.

With the wind blowing the way it is, even our furnace is not keeping the house up to temp. I came home and found the temp at 70, yet the thermostat set at 72. I think it would cool off much faster than if it were just a cold night with heavy snow causing power outages.

If anyone else has any other ideas for keeping crabs warm in a power outage, lets hear em!

[ladybug15057]

I had put together an article for Power outages on CSJ.

[CrabbyJo]

Wonderful, Marie! I hadn't thought to mention it but I was sure we'd get some good links, too, especially from you! I do believe that is the very same article that gave me the soda bottles full of hot water idea.

I like the idea on there of heating up rocks on the wood stove and putting into clay orchid pots in the tank.

I don't have a wood stove, but I do have a gas fireplace, and in a pinch I could stick some rocks in there to heat up if it were an extended power outage.

Great ideas!

[emmac350]

Now for me, this isn't as much of an issue (at the moment). Our apartment, without power in the winter, takes a long time to cool down too far - usually it'll go down to about 60 and stay there. Good ideas though - I like it.

Oh - one thing for you, CJ...if your windows let out too much heat, a cheap option to stopping that from happening is bubble wrap. It acts as insulation (just get the window a little damp and the bubbles will stick to it) and is really pretty decent at keeping the room from getting as cold as it would otherwise. I do this because our apartments have cheap single-pane windows and they condense water and leave puddles on our windowsills all the time.

[CrabbyJo]

What a good idea Emma! I have often noticed how insulating bubble wrap can feel.

Our windows really aren't a problem, it's this gusting wind! It just sucks any warm air away from the house. We have a chimney, and I imagine it's not air tight when we close the flu, although we don't feel any cold air coming in near the fireplace (gas fireplace), but I am sure that wind can suck any air right out when it blows like that!

My house has been making noises I have never heard it make, even in other bad windstorms!

I may get some bubble wrap to put on the bottom of the front door, though lol. We keep neglecting to replace the weather stripping on the inside corner, and you can see daylight! Probably where the wind is sucking out our warm air!

[Isaiahtb]

The winter months are comming up and power in homes are gonna start going out. I need to know what to do in the event of a powerout to keep them alive for at maximum 6 hours. Any ideas?

[ladybug15057]

Isaiahtb I typed "Power outage" in the search box in the upper right corner of the page and found this as the first and only thread about it. (please do use the search box)
But please read all the replies above and the embedded link. Some good ideas within it.
So if or when you get hermies this should help...

[CrabbyJo]

I agree, you should read this thread, it's exactly what you were looking for. I'm suspecting you saw the title and just posted with out reading >.<

[Isaiahtb]

Oh I just typed power out. I used the search but I sorta failed. Sorry for being stupid.

[ladybug15057]

by Isaiahtb on November 8th, 2010, 7:24 pm
Oh I just typed power out. I used the search but I sorta failed. Sorry for being stupid.

Surprising, this search feature at HCParadise is really good. I tried the search you said you typed, "Power Out" and it also brought up this thread.... But I clicked onto the results the search brought up to see the info within the thread......