Useful gadgets for potential power cuts

[TameRacingDriver]

I'm giving some thought into what gadgets might be useful to have in the event of a power cut, in case this ends up being a thing this year.

The stuff I've already thought of is LED lanterns for light, big battery pack for power, keep laptops, phones, tablets and headphones topped up, but am wondering if anyone else has had any other ideas, or can recommend products?

Thanks in advance

[BoRED S2upid]

What are those things called. You set fire to them, they give light. Fancy gadget very useful;)

[TameRacingDriver]

Covered there as Mrs TRD has a candle obsession!

[h0b0]

Whole house generator. Power goes out, 30 seconds later and power comes back on.

[garythesign]

The most useful thing we have is a single ring gas stove.

We have also found it useful to fill a thermos of hot water to have at the ready

[Actual]

I have DeWalt power tools and hence have a good supply of DeWalt Li-ion batteries...

This takes care of the mobile phones...

DeWalt DCB090-XJ USB Charging XR Battery Adaptor
https://www.screwfix.com/p/dewalt-dcb090-xj-usb-ch...

These take care of the lights...

DeWalt DCL043-XJ 18V Li-Ion XR Cordless LED Spotlight Torch - Bare
https://www.screwfix.com/p/dewalt-dcl043-xj-18v-li...

DEWALT DCL079 18v LED site light
https://www.howetools.co.uk/dewalt-dcl079-18v-led-...

And (not DeWalt) this battery will run her computer and if I change the central heating from a fused spur to a 13A fused plug we can have central heating...

EF ECOFLOW 2016Wh Portable Power Station DELTA Max, Expandable Capacity, with 4 x 2400W (4600W Surge) AC Outlets
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B09J8K4759/ref=pe_2706...

I have a gas ring for a cup of tea...

ASAB Portable Camping Gas Cooker Single Burner Stove Automatic Ignition System Enamel Pan Holder Butane
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0743C58FY?pd_rd_i=B07...

[SlimJim16v]

I have a UPS which keeps my Internet going for about an hour. It can also be used to charge phones.
Several torches for light, and whisky for warmth. I think I also have an emergency stove somewhere.

[anonymous-user]

garythesign said:

The most useful thing we have is a single ring gas stove.

We have also found it useful to fill a thermos of hot water to have at the ready

I've just ended up with one of these for some reason
https://www.trekitt.co.uk/equipment/stoves-accesso...

At least I'll be able to make a brew hopefully

Maybe i shouldn't have binned off my camping stove

[Scabutz]

These popped up on Facebook

https://bluettipower.co.uk/pages/bluetti-power-wee...

No idea what they are liked, but they get pretty expensive quickly. No sure what I really need to maintain power for any great period of time for that justifies £3k.

[dapprman]

SlimJim16v said:

I have a UPS which keeps my Internet going for about an hour. It can also be used to charge phones.
Several torches for light, and whisky for warmth. I think I also have an emergency stove somewhere.

I had a power failure lunchtime week just gone. Got me thinking again about one of these, problem is I have two chains (year I know I shouldn't) so I would need a pair ...
Also was reminded that the battery part of my solar system is no use as it is grid side (you can't cross over the meter, probably to stop by-passing that). The idea is you can connect a circuit to the battery to power from there, the only caveat is if your battery empties and you're not topping it up quickly from solar/the grid, you lose what ever it is powering. Bigger issue for me would be the need to router power cables from outside the house on one side to an inside wall on the other, followed by the need to decorate (oh and all the inconvenience),

Oh, I also like candles

[BoRED S2upid]

TameRacingDriver said:

Covered there as Mrs TRD has a candle obsession!

Smelly ones I bet. For once they will have a use. We too have more candles than required seen as they aren’t used for light.

[darreni]

I’ve a couple of MSR camping stoves & half a dozen gas canisters in the garage. That’s coffee & food sorted.
Also have a few led camping lanterns & fishing head torches, they can be cha4ged off usb, so via the car if required.
We have a wood burner for heating too should the power be off for a while.

[Scabutz]

Come on people. This is PH. When the lights go out I'll be lighting a 90 quid Goop Gwenth Paltrow fanny candle in every room. No fanny by the gaslight, fanny by the fanny light .

fk knows what the peasants will do. Not my issue.

[Turn7]

BoRED S2upid said:

What are those things called. You set fire to them, they give light. Fancy gadget very useful;)

Fork Handles ?

[jimmyjimjim]

UPS for the router + modem etc, to keep the internet up. Assuming of course you have a laptop, or a PC on its own UPS. And that the infrastructure is up.
Surge protectors for your electronics so they don't get damaged by power spikes as the power comes back.
Generator to run everything longer term?
It's worth looking at things like heating - my dad has bought a small generator to provide electricity to run the gas heating(yes, it does make sense). A UPS just for the heating electronics would also work....but his intent is that shorter power cuts are handled by the UPS's. Losing heat for an hour or two, no big deal. If the power looks like being off longer, the generator is powered up, keeps the electronics for the heating going so the house is kept warm. They have rechargeable lanterns so the generator takes care of heat, light, entertainment (laptops and internet!). It'll also keep the fridge and freezer going, and they've got camping gas for cooking. So they should be good there with only having to run extension cables to the kitchen (heating, fridge, freezer) and back office (IT kit).

[anonymous-user]

If the power goes down in a reasonable sized area won't that take the phone masts with it rendering mobiles useless And your router etc.

I used to keep a wirrd plug in phone handy in the old days, as soon as the power went down so did the cordless handsets.

[Captain_Morgan]

speedyguy said:

If the power goes down in a reasonable sized area won't that take the phone masts with it rendering mobiles useless And your router etc.

I used to keep a wirrd plug in phone handy in the old days, as soon as the power went down so did the cordless handsets.

Why did the old wired phone still work then?

Perhaps the centralised infrastructure had battery backups & generators?

I wonder if the mobile providers and isp’s have considered this?

[OutInTheShed]

Captain_Morgan said:

speedyguy said:

If the power goes down in a reasonable sized area won't that take the phone masts with it rendering mobiles useless And your router etc.

I used to keep a wirrd plug in phone handy in the old days, as soon as the power went down so did the cordless handsets.

Why did the old wired phone still work then?

Perhaps the centralised infrastructure had battery backups & generators?

I wonder if the mobile providers and isp’s have considered this?

Phone exchanges tend to have big stacks of batteries in them.
It will be interesting to see what keeps working, with all the power requirements of street cabinets these days.

[Alorotom]

BBQ and the pizza oven - no cold beans here!

[Actual]

speedyguy said:

If the power goes down in a reasonable sized area won't that take the phone masts with it rendering mobiles useless And your router etc.

I used to keep a wirrd plug in phone handy in the old days, as soon as the power went down so did the cordless handsets.

As far as I know telephone exchanges and mobile phone masts have a battery backup capability so hopefully phones and more importantly internet will continue to work during an area wide power cut as long as it doesn't go on for too long.

If there is a rolling load shedding of the electrical supply then I am expecting it to be for just a few hours maybe at peak evening time.

My notebook computers tablets and portable batteries and even my PHEV will be able to recharge from the mains supply during the day ready for the next power outage.

My DeWalt battery powered site lights are so bright that the light spill over gives some light in most rooms of the house.

I have a some gas camping rings for cooking and hot drinks.

My central heating uses a gas boiler and only uses minimal electrical supply for command and control so I should be able to use my battery to power the central heating and keep the heating on.

I don't expect the power cuts to be so long that I need to worry about the fridge and freezer and even the heating may not be a priority.

Overall I just want to maintain some home comforts of heat, light and entertainment. I expect to have internet to be able to use streaming services but just in case I will download a few Netflix box sets to my Surface Pro.