If you own a backup generator or even think of buying one… this may be the most important thing you read this year.
The vulnerability of our grid has become a constant fear for the millions of Americans who are getting sick and tired of being left without electricity for days or even weeks at a time.
From hurricanes, to wildfires, winter storms to civil unrest… Even if you haven’t experienced these events firsthand, chances are, you probably know someone who has and can tell you just how terrifying they can be.
If you’re still relying on the grid, to help you survive any disaster, you’re making a big mistake…because the Grid is a disaster waiting to happen.
When the Grid Collapses Like a House of Cards
The 2003 Northeast Blackout is a perfect example of that. It left over 50 million people across eight states in the dark for more than two days. All it took was an old tree’s branches making contact with power lines.
Human error played a part in it too.
The power-flow operating tool managed by the regional grid coordinator, the Midwest Independent Transmission System Operator (MISO), gets disabled due to faulty data. A technician fixes the issue, shuts down the program… but forgets to reboot the monitoring tool and doesn’t let any of the other operators know about what he had done.
It only takes one technician to lack proper training… and it can all fall down like dominoes.
Most recently, it was the extreme winter weather that exposed the grid’s vulnerability during Snovid 21. Gas, the resource Texas relies on most, froze in those plunging temperatures (−2 °F), leaving millions without electricity for days on end. And that’s because even though power companies received a warning beforehand that they needed to winterize their systems, they ignored it… until it was too late to do anything about it.
Related: How to “Winterize” Your Pipes and Prevent Damage
This would have never happened if authorities had encouraged people to get a reliable power backup. One that could have helped them use a heater for extra warmth or charge their phones to call for help… One that wouldn’t kill them with CO.
Now, I want to tell you what happened to one of my friends, Mike, about a decade ago.
He doesn’t want any other families to go through what he did, so he’s allowed me to recount his experience here.
This is the true story of Mike’s wife, Eleanor. A vibrant personality, she could light up any room she entered. She was always there to lend a helping hand. Could brighten anyone’s day with her infectious laughter.
Eleanor faced any challenge head-on with a courage that inspired anyone. I’ve never seen anything like it. She had a knack for knowing exactly what to do in emergencies and her calming demeanor could reassure everyone in her presence.
But, despite her strength and kindness, tragedy struck.
***
One Tuesday night, as Eleanor was cooking dinner for her husband, all power suddenly went out in her neighborhood.
This didn’t surprise her. Because of the harsh Wyoming winter, they had regular power outages in their small town, so she knew what she had to do in those kinds of situations.
They even had the backup generator set up in their tiny backyard. So, she fired up the engine and headed back into the kitchen.
She wanted her husband to come back to a hot meal after his night shift. The blizzard pummelled through their small town with victims overloading hospital beds. Mike had his work cut out for him, so the least she could do was surprise him with his favorite meal the following morning.
But later that night, when she was watching TV, the power went out again.
And this time, for good.
She went out into the cold to check the generator and noticed it had shut down.
The level gauges showed there was plenty of fuel in the generator. She tried firing it up again, but to no avail. The wind and the blistering cold got to her, so Eleanor went back inside…where the same cold started to creep in.
She draped herself in layers of clothing and blankets and called for help.
She tried her husband first but got no reply.
Then she tried 911 – but all lines were busy, and they put her on hold.
Eventually, her cell phone died, so she gave up and drifted off to sleep.
Even though their house was well insulated, indoor temperature still dropped below freezing as the on the hours went by.
The following morning, my friend returned from his long shift at the hospital, exhausted and drained from dealing with the consequences of the blizzard.
As he stepped into his home, the cold air sent shivers down his spine.
Why was it that cold? Why wasn’t Eleanor in the kitchen, waiting for him while sipping on her hot coffee? Where was she?
The pot roast she had made the night before lay frozen on the kitchen table.
With a sense of unease gnawing at his gut, he hurried to check each room, all the while shouting her name.
Eleanor, where are you?
He found her buried under clothes and blankets, not moving. Her breath was no longer visible in the cold air.
***
When the authorities inspected their generator, they made a shocking discovery.
The level gauges showed there was still plenty of fuel in the generator.
But the generator had malfunctioned. The gauge was stuck in its full position, showing there was enough fuel even though the generator was empty.
Unfortunately, now it was too late.
In the dead silence of the night, all alone, Eleanor took her last breath, a victim of an aging, out-of-date grid, and a faulty generator.
Portable generators might work for a while after major snowstorms when the grid fails. But those who rely solely on them to keep themselves alive might do more harm than good.
Eleanor was one of the people who passed away because her generator was not operating properly. Between 2005 and 2017, about 81% of all CO-related deaths were linked to generators alone.
And each time a crisis occurs, these percentages go up.
What’s so heartbreaking about stories like this one is that generators lead to 2800 cases of carbon monoxide poisoning a year. Believe it or not, generators are one of the deadliest products on the market.
How to Power Every Single Device in Your Home Without Being Connected to the Grid
With that in mind, I want to let you know about the first freeze-proof and poisoning-proof device I’ve tested that’s so much better than any conventional generator. And it’s stronger and more reliable than the grid too.
It’s been developed by Ron Melchiore, a self-sufficient expert who’s been living off-grid for over 40 years.
During that time, he developed and used this ingenious design that gave him all the electricity he needed.
The Modular Backyard Power Plant is a reliable 24/7 power source that you can have in your own backyard that will help you and your family outlive any long-term blackout.
The Modular Backyard Power Plant VS Generator
Now let’s look at some of the stark differences between a regular generator that most of us would have in our homes VERSUS the Modular Backyard Power Plant:
- Regular generators emit carbon monoxide – as much as 450 cars. If you don’t properly ventilate your home, all the gas can accumulate in there and breathing it in can lead to severe illness and even death. Using one indoors during a winter storm, for example, can put both you and your family at great risk. The Modular Backyard Power Plant doesn’t emit carbon monoxide… it doesn’t emit anything at all. Sometimes people die even when they run them outside, but close to an open window.
- Fuel, gasoline and propane – generators run on these highly flammable substances which can pose a serious fire hazard in the snowy and wet conditions of a winter storm. The same thing can happen if you’re not familiar with the correct usage of your own generator. You can overload it and seriously damage appliances around your home and, worse, pose electrocution risks. On the other hand, The Modular Backyard Power Plant doesn’t run on anything but the power of the sun and thanks to its modular quality, it can never overload and malfunction.
During hurricanes or severe winter storms, roads will probably be blocked, and fuel stations closed. The chances of you being able to stock up on fuel are slim, so once you’ll run out, your generator becomes useless, and you’ll be left with no power or heat. Most generators also need regular maintenance to function properly, so the harsh winter conditions can greatly affect its performance and even break it down. Where will you go to repair it during a hurricane to fix it? Probably one of my favorite features of the Modular Power Plant is that it needs 0 maintenance. Once you set it up, the system takes care of itself. It’s basically impossible to break.
This is what The Modular Backyard Power Plant can power:
- 2 Chest Freezers
- Desktop Computer
- Fridge
- Water Pump
- Radio
- Fan
- Light Bulbs
- Satellite TV
- Microwave
- Oven
- Medical Devices
What about an EMP strike? The easiest way you can protect it is by using the EMP Cloth. This is made from a very special material, pretty hard and expensive to make, that blocks all electromagnetic waves.
Anything you wrap in it will be protected from an EMP, including your modular power plant. This way, you ensure it survives an event the grid could never stand a chance to. See how easy you can wrap it around your devices here.
And not just that, but also other electronic devices that would get zapped by an EMP attack like radios, air conditioning units, washing machines, fridges, freezers, or electric tools, just to name a few.
Overall, The Modular Backyard Power Plant can be a total lifesaver, the way conventional generators are not. My friend now uses it in his own household and built some more units for his friends. He finally feels safe in his own home.
Finally, both he and I feel like we have something to rely on. I’m done worrying about it making noise that could attract looters, unlike regular gas generators. I’m done second guessing my old one that could blow up in flames if I’m not careful enough. I’m done worrying I’d have to pay thousands of dollars to get it fixed or, worse, replaced.
If you want energy independence and not having to rely on the grid or a dangerous backup fuel run generator will never be able to guarantee, you should read more about The Modular Backyard Power Plant here.
***Eleanor and Mike’s names have been changed to protect the privacy of their family.
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what a crazy world we live in. places like home depot willingly sell this sh!t to people who don’t even know how to operate it or want to learn to do so. i would never endanger my family like that ESPECIALLY if I’m not at home to operate it myself
Prepping for the obvious of the so called “SHTF” day, will be your final test of what you have been planning for all this time.
Some will survive, some will not. Those who don’t survive will leave their preps for others to enjoy for those who have to survive.
More than likely, they don’t know either. I see people 18-20 years old who were checkers at the grocery store now at Lowes or Home Depot. Research it yourself before buying. Talk to someone who has what you are wanting and see if they say, I wish I had… What? Bought two? Some better brand or not at all?…
Good story, however, gasoline generators produce CO not CO2.
Screw the climate BS trip, it won’t matter anymore. You will end up either in a FEMA Camp or a Freedom Fighter to the very end.
Those who caused the mess will get their just rewards.
knew someone just like Eleanor who died because of CO poisoning. he had placed his generator in his backyard, but still close to the kitchen door, even built a solid enclosure for it, and left the kitchen window open overnight… no need to tell you what happened next. i hate to even think that my friend and someone like eleanor are now just some statistics. so sorry for your friend OP, no one should ever go through that
We cannot fix stupid, you can protect yourself. – Yiannis Kalliantas Quote
way to talk about the dead
The Modular Backyard Power Plant might be able to power the devices on that list, but for how long? Truly a sad story shared, but a harsh sales tactic for a device that few people will understand. “Solar generators” are only as good as the batteries and volume of sunlight they have.
We worry too much of the electronic garbage we live with like smartphones.
Last century many of us grew up without that crap and lived a happy life regardless.
If people are trying to be like their old pioneer relatives, why do you care about wind and solar power?
Right on!
Because it makes things easier
We do have a generator, but when the electricity goes out here, we use wood for heating, water heating, and cooking. If electricity goes out in the winter, we put food that’s in our freezer outside to keep it cool. In the summer heat, we might use our generator for our refrigerator or put food in our 12-volt refrigerator (usually used for camping). It pays to have backups for any alternative energy system that we use.
Excellant article
a lot can be added , but great starting pt
Having a generator but no heating backup (wood stove, kerosene heater, propane heater etc. )
In Wyoming, it is hard to believe he left her with no resources of that nature. The generator can provide light and technology power but she would have survived if they had heat. This is what makes the story even more tragic. Tough lesson to learn.
The more I thought about this story, the more annoyed I got.
How is it that no one ever discusses the use of insulation as the first line of defense in such a situation? One room in the house should be so well insulated against cold that a candle or very small heat source (properly ventilated) would be able to help survive even the coldest conditions. (Ask Admiral Byrd how they did this in Antarctica!)
Adding to this horrendous story is the fact that no one stops to consider how people did survive the extreme cold before electricity or petroleum based fuels.
Depending on high tech resources in any long term (or even short term supply challenged situations) is foolhardy. None of these are ever built to withstand hard use for long periods of time, and when they break are usually not able to be repaired by the average household owner. So, while you might make it through a relatively short period of challenges, eventually the poor construction habits of the world’s manufacturing companies will reveal themselves in the form of material failures when you need it most.
The answer to this is not complicated. Stick to basic principles of design and use quality materials. If you’re not able to repair or replace an item, don’t invest a penny on it.
The use of high-tech for any reason, has “disaster” written all over it.
The Amish probably won’t notice that anything happened because they have learned to live without All the high tech luxuries we currently enjoy. We could benefit greatly from learning their approach before it’s too late.
can’t believe i’m saying this but sometimes i do feel like the amish are truly ahead of us when it comes to self-sufficiency
But look at what happens to those younger people who see the shinny flash of the outside world against their relative closed society.
The grass is not always greener on the other side of the coin.
Some people are born to live that way, others are always chasing that shinny object and forgetting their own roots, where they came from.
Learn the characteristics of Hot and cold enviornments
cold keeps the pressure down and therefore circulation of air flow decreases
Hot keeps the air pressure High and up so it circulates easily naturally
other factor is open areas with high trees around them create pockets and the smoke, carbonmonoxide and other fumes will stay in the pockets untill air from wind or warm air create a lift up .
look up , see the difference
seals create a barrier from the cold and hot enviornment s and therefore keep a little bit of foam, packing, or other items for use in there areas
remember use common sense , think it out before you do it so you dont create worst problems
exuast always has to be expelled thru a chimney or some sort , be creative even if you have to wrap sheet metal aroud the areas to create a up spout , so the exaust will travel up and not to the ground .
yeah no way to that emp cloth
I’d rather have a faraday cage
good luck finding one big enough for your generator and getting the funds for it
not to mention the rest of your belongings
@GrizZlyBear this is a completely sealed metal cage, not some cloth that’s probably coming from china. everhing that’s inside the cage is 100% safe against an EMP.
I have tried the cloth myself at home. It literally ships from the us and the material it’s made from is LITERALLY developed by US scientists. If Ihad the money to buy 50, I could literally transform my entire home and CAR and WIFE and TWO KIDS into walking faraday cages without paying thousands of dollars. the cloth does exactly what a faraday cage does, but I can just wrap it around my electronic devices instead of having to cram everything in the cage. it’s so much cheaper too, like crazy cheap. hope you have a fun time spending your bucks lol
Why are people talking generators when the fear is grid collapse? Not an outage but a hack or physical attack on the grid. Why aren’t people talking about insulation? Long term? Are you really going to use a computer during ah aww crap event? Stop! Think what happens when the generator craps out? It gets flooded or stolen? To me that’s where the thoughts should go. As far as long term, the Amish do have the advantage. It’s all in how much you are willing to do without and if what you are choosing is actually necessary to life. You have to have an honest internal argument.
Sticking to this subject as best I can:
1. Pushing the solar pacs as the only way to get through a power loss crises is really unfair to most of the uninformed population would feel that solar is the solve-all to their problems when the shit hits the fan. I don’t agree. Although the small solar setups are great for short term or immediate use, the solar system runs out of power when the batteries go down. I have yet to see anyway to recharge the units in the dark and of course if you have bad weather during the day, i.e. rain, snow, winds, heavy cloud cover, etc., the only way would be to use some sort of exterior generation, i.e. generators, vehicles, or at the very worst, removing the batteries out of any rolling stock. (cars, trucks, farm equipment). This should be a caution or really what would happen and is required. When the solar goes down, people could ‘freeze’ as noted above. And if we use the equipment list as shown above of what this solar power unit will handle, the question is how long will the batteries last depended upon what a user will think is critical.
2. I noticed that we have an individual that states that places like Home Depot should not sell generators without “training” or informing the purchaser of the dangers of CO, fuel storage, etc. Most, if not all purchasing operating generators, have a highly detailed manual that outlines the cautions of running generators. All a person has to do is READ THE DAMNED MANUAL!!
3. All members of my family are actually trained and follow through the operation and dangers of running any of our generations. I don’t just tell them what they must do, but have them actually operate the generators during our periodic test periods. TRAIN THE FAMILY AND ANYONE THAT WILL POSSIBLY RUN A GENERATOR.
4. Part of our procedure is to document the start and stop times, so that we don’t believe in any stuck fuel gauge reading. Training should include the approximate knowledge of the run time of each generator. And refuel as expected..
5. Sorry to say, anyone that dies from CO hasn’t been instructed properly and it turns out to be population control.
6 If SHTF occurs for a extended length of time – the death toll will be much greater than what we wee that happens during a few days or a week of outage. The people that read similar blogs like this one will at least have an idea what to do, or what they should have done.
I’m not really against any of the backup plans. We have a combination of generators, solar, wood stove, and other heat options, but we do understand the short comings of each system.
So I would recommend some sort of solar, but don’t dump your generator/s. Keep a back to your backup, and know how to use them!!!
Amen to that, we Americans got soft and got sold a bill of goods on wind an solar to be dependent on the Chinese CCP manufacturing military industrial complex!
Just like drug pushers do not use they sell the drugs.
So goes Biden, do you see wind mills and solar panels on his house, do you?
Wind mills and solar panels are a green energy pipe dream of Obama, remember Solyndra solar company, taxpayers took a bath in the bail out.
” the most important thig you will read this year” I don’t think so, what I see is a 1300 word promotion for a book. I can agree that solar can be a part of your options for extreme conditions but it is not a cure all. There is more appropriate and practical suggestions in the comments. Better insulation and alternate heat source could have prevented someone from freezing to death. Positioning ourselves to get thru a grid down situation is something we can and should do. But it entails having several options and backup plans that can be put in place. Just owning a solar panel isn’t going to cut it. I have different ways I can heat the house, have some light,and cook. I am accumulating hand tools and materials for repairs that may come up. I have a deep pantry, but I acknowledge that I will waste a lot what is in the freezer.
And to sum it all up, the most spot on comment: Some will survive, some won’t.
The story was a sales ad for products. Nothing more, nothing less.
It appears that someone consistently gives a thumbs down for some unknown reason, and I for one and others, would like to know why? They do not provide any comments?????
It would be appreciated to view their reason/s to give a thumbs down! Or are they just trolling?????
Its time we to think Amish and but in that wood heating stove to keep warm.
and to cook on. and lamps. and candles ..
I have done that, and it works really well.
Just be careful the kind of wood your burning,
And be careful you don’t have a chimney fire.
other then that , its a better back up and more reliable .
I grew up on a farm with a 5bedroom house and that’s
all we heated that big house with. .
Lots of woods on a 150 acer farm.
When the power goes out,
Ask the Amish .
And I bet they will say ,
Englishmen , How do you like the modern way.
And trot right on by you in there horse and buggy .
And one Amish will say to the other.
You know they are some really smart Englishmen.
we should invite them over for coffee.
AS of right now,
The weather is to warm for this time of year.
I am by no means a weatherman.
Put my opinion is that we are in for a vary hot summer coming,
Hay was short last year .
Not much to the acer.
The earth is warming up.
And changing fast,
Start preparing now, It should be in the 20s and 30 ,
It was in the 50s to day.
South west Wisconsin.
Food prices may go higher then they are now.
Gas is going back up as well.
And every thing that you really need,
Trucking prices to ship will also go up with the price of gas,
And passed on to the consumer as it always is.
Brace for impact,
The warm weather is due to El Nino, not because the world is warming up. A perfectly natural reoccurring event that happens every two to seven years.