Post wants to talk about money spent and smart ways to prepare... and then goes and links the portable battery system used and it is a 4kwh battery+inverter+solar charger combo with a few 200W solar panels that costs... get this..
$4399.
These stupid 'home battery' units are just stupidly, stupidly marked up for what they do.
You can buy a ~5.2 kwh 48v battery for <$1000 these days, a hybrid solar charger inverter capable of a 6kw AC single phase output (same as the linked battery system) for ~$500, and a a load of used solar panels off any number of sites for next to nothing.
People are getting fleeced by these cutely packaged battery inverter charger boxes with fancy displays and USB-C chargers, all being pushed by youtubers. If you are even mildly technically minded, you can build a more capable system for 30% the cost of these things. They are relying on people just not knowing how much LiFePO4 storage batteries and hybrid solar inverters have come down in price and how easy they are to setup.
alnwlsn · 1h ago
I hadn't looked into those battery pack things before, but that price is ridiculous. Around here, you can get a generator which will power everything you need in an emergency for about 1/10th the price.
mindslight · 35m ago
For outages like this, you can't really beat the effectiveness of a gas generator.
Just beware of the "dual fuel" lure of thinking you only need propane. In the winter, the self-evaporation rate of a 20lb propane tank isn't nearly enough to even power my little 2500 watt inverter generator.
Solar panels and batteries are for if you're preparing for a really long outage when gasoline might not be available.
AStonesThrow · 2h ago
A few years ago, I purchased a "solar backpack" because I thought the idea was really rad, and I live in Phoenix, so the thought of trekking through the urban jungle with a solar panel on my back and perpetual, unlimited sun power to my laptop and two phones, that was irresistible!
So the reality was like this: really awesome power bank included with decent backpack. The power bank has plenty of connectors and adapters to plug into virtually anything. Power bank is juicy enough to power a laptop for a couple of hours, or a smartphone for all day long. Rugged construction there.
The backpack is kind of unwieldy but has some nice pockets and it's totally electronics-aware. You don't want to stash a drink or food anywhere in this thing. There are plenty of grommets for threading the cables you'll need.
The solar panel is like the worst feature of this "solar backpack". Of course, imagine the low surface area you'll get on a backpack. Now imagine how long it takes to charge a quite beefy power bank with that. It took me 3 weeks of all day long, in the clear winter sunlight, with a zero load, to go from zero to about 90%! Three weeks!
So clearly this solar power source is inadequate to keep a device going without discharging completely by dawn. But I certainly do appreciate the power bank, and I do keep this around for emergencies, and I basically just plug it into the wall until it's full, then I stash it away and I don't worry about it for several months.
The cost was also not terrible. I think the entire backpack set cost $300 or less. Not bad for a good durable backpack plus power bank, really; nevermind the solar component.
drekipus · 12m ago
I've seen backpacks with a fold out panel. You could probably imagine 3 panels = 90% charge in 1 week with no load.
But that pales in comparison to a phone getting depleted every second day
Animats · 14m ago
This is the new normal in the US. FEMA is being dismantled.[1]
Until a few years ago, being prepared for loss of services for 48 hours was considered sufficient. That's not enough any more, because there will be much less help coming from outside the area.
This all seems like an insane overreaction. I question what gets someone into this level of panic.
Just chill out for a couple of days and enjoy reading some books and have an adventure.
Unless you’ve got a medical emergency and need to have power for some devices just relax and wait for the power to be reconnected.
I get that there are emergencies in the world but not having power at home is an inconvenience.
nancyminusone · 50m ago
Am I alone in thinking it's a bit silly to be concerned about breathing in 6 extra days of naturally occuring radon, of all things?
It's cool that we can get these air sensors things, but they sure give people who worry about numbers some additional ones to worry about.
reillyse · 25m ago
I really wonder if there is something else at play here. None of this is normal behavior and it's very strange for it to be normalized.
Day 4 no more deliveries but we still have takeout! For real, you can still order food from your local restaurants and you are in a panic about things. Instead of spending $4,500 on a generator you'll never use again maybe just pack the kids in a car an go to the beach for the weekend. Seriously.
When I was a kid I enjoyed the days we lost power. Grab a candle and have a laugh in the dark. It was fun.
That said, I don't want to be mean. I do think there is a generalized anxiety that is very much enabled on the internet. Like this kind of behavior - basically prepping - is encouraged.
I read analysis that suggested that prepping behavior is a way of coping with feelings of inadequacy by imagining a future world where all the person's capabilities will be fully appreciated. "All my guns and dried rice and my underground bunker will make me the most relevant person in the future". Most prepper's visions of the future are unique to them and focus on their skills. E.g. one of us tech types might think we could create a connected network and support wifi for a region and be a source of knowledge or something. Obviously if something did happen all of this would go to shit in seconds but that isn't the point..
Maybe it's all just a fantasy of feeling relevant.
rconti · 13m ago
And $600 to rent a pickup (!!) to haul a generator that looks like it would fit in the back seat of a Civic.
aryehof · 14m ago
My immediate reaction was that I would look to adapt to the new circumstances, rather than try to maintain one’s former ways.
Candles, books, single gas burner, board and card games, water and non-perishable food, is all that is required?
nancyminusone · 1h ago
It seems so strange to me to remember that seemly most people don't have a generator. Of course,where I live, everyone is on a well, so no power means no water, which means you can't flush the toilet. There's so many generators around that our current generator is one someone else threw out in the trash.
I was watching 8-bit guy on youtube cover his experience through the Texas snowstorm a few years back, when he offhandedly mentioned that before that, he pretty much had no power interruptions at all within the last decade.
I was stunned. 10 years? We're lucky to make it 10 months.
rconti · 11m ago
Yeah. Most people don't have a generator because they're on the grid, and no power is not life and death for them.
If it _is_ life and death, sure, get a generator.
roxolotl · 1h ago
I’ve spent multiple separate weeks without electricity in my life and never really had that hard of a time. You accept that you lose your frozen foods that you don’t eat in the first day, go to your friends that are on city water, I was always on a well when we lost power, for cold showers and to fill water bottles, and cook food on a grill. If no one has city water you get used to the smell and buy bottled water. Nowadays I have a 40W panel for charging phones.
Of course there are some for whom a power outage is life and death because their health is tied to power. Also tornados are terrifying. I don’t mean to trivialize extended power outages. But sometimes accepting the situation and just riding with it is the way to go.
don-code · 2h ago
A few years ago, I had a three-day power outage. Unfortunately, at the time I worked for an e-commerce company, and Black Friday was in two weeks - not the time for me to be off work. (Mind you, this was 2021, and temporarily returning to the office was questionable at best at that time).
Most of my neighbors seemed to have up and left. The immediate neighborhood was quiet. I ventured out and saw what had happened: a large tree had come down, taking the power lines and the road with it. So I assumed the recovery process would be something like:
1. Remove the tree - one company on one schedule
2. Re-pave the road - another company on another schedule
3. Put the telephone pole back up - the phone company (the poles are owned by Verizon in my area)
4. Restore electrical cables - the power company
And I realized that this would not be a quick process.
I threw a 100-foot extension cord out my second floor window, and hooked it up to the 400-watt inverter in my car. (Yes, I know this is terrible for my engine. The silver lining was that somehow the folks at BMW made an engine that got up to operating temperature while idling.) The other end got plugged into the three monitors and laptop on my desk. I hotspotted my phone, and... just kept going at Black Friday readiness.
At one point, I got an interesting sideways glance from the CEO on a Zoom call, as if to say - "Why are you wearing a jacket and fingerless gloves indoors? Do we pay you enough?" I'm just glad the smell of not showering wasn't transmissible through Zoom.
Although I lost most of the contents of my fridge, and I ended up eating a lot of peanut-butter-and-jelly and protein bars, I did find some ways to keep it interesting during the day. I put my moka pot on the charcoal grill for coffee in the morning, and at one point I made a grilled-ish cheese on top of the engine block.
I used a handheld flashlight and an LED lantern for light after the sun went down. And I did treat myself to dinner with friends all three nights, charging up two UPSes at their homes while we went out, so that I could in turn run some other appliances without running the car. I seem to recall at one point watching the 10:00 news on TV thanks to those UPSes.
I would not have wanted this experience with a family like this person did, for sure, but I actually found it somewhat fun and interesting.
01HNNWZ0MV43FF · 1h ago
Could you tell me more about why the car shouldn't be used as a generator, why an engine might not warm up at idle, and how you kept jelly at room temperature? Thanks
reillyse · 1h ago
Jam is generally shelf stable. The sugar is really good at killing bacteria (deprives them of water iirc).
throwaway43271 · 2h ago
>>> “Shortly after the 2024 presidential election - many people from all backgrounds were in a state of “what do we do when this all hits the fan?” As a black man in America fathering black children, you have to do everything within your power to be prepared for all possible scenarios.”
Have we gone so far in the US with fear mongering that it comes to this? Why would a black man fear for his life when a former president runs for a second term and ends up getting 20% black male vote overall (up from the 13% in 2016) , and 47% of Latino men , greater than any republican before him?
Hope this clears it up. The changes that Republicans are proposing are going to be a disaster for anyone who is not basically a white straight Christian man who doesn't watch porn.
It's shaping up to be a very bad 4 years for people like me and I encourage everyone to vote Democrat in every election they can legally vote in.
If you don't believe me ask around and any friends you have who are queer or care about abortion will tell you things are very looking grim for us.
In short it is a consolidation of absolute power in the hands of a few rich bullies who are wanting to torment minorities as a distraction while they steal from as many Americans as they can
mindslight · 41m ago
Fear mongering? This kind of postmodern trolling lost its plausibility on January 21st. We've now got a concentration camp, a blockade preventing imports of necessary supplies, government institutions being destroyed and parted out to the coziest briber, other government institutions turned into skull crackers for a wanna-be king, and a deep breakdown in the rule of law as courts' sternly worded letters are simply ignored.
If at this point you're really still in post-reality denial that our country isn't in the process of being destroyed by a mentally ill mobster autocrat backed by an anti-constitutional corporate totalitarian movement, then you're the one that needs help. Serious help. We can defend our country together, but first you've got to join the rest of us in reality.
mock-possum · 3h ago
I’d be curious to hear what his wife’s daily blogs would look like - especially as he’s talking about ‘dad-mode, protector, provider’ - what roles did she feel compelled to occupy? If he felt like he had to step up to shield her from stress, what did she feel in turn for his sake?
(Honestly it’d be interesting to hear from the kids too)
thuanao · 2h ago
> Whatever you think you need to have saved, know you probably need more. I quickly blew through my rainy-day funds.
Huh!? Forget canned food and go-bags. If you only have a few days worth of savings that is an emergency. I hope I’m misunderstanding what you mean by “rainy day funds”
ianburrell · 1h ago
Maybe he means cash. It is good to have some cash ($100-1000) for outages of credit cards, or just needing cash.
$4399.
These stupid 'home battery' units are just stupidly, stupidly marked up for what they do.
You can buy a ~5.2 kwh 48v battery for <$1000 these days, a hybrid solar charger inverter capable of a 6kw AC single phase output (same as the linked battery system) for ~$500, and a a load of used solar panels off any number of sites for next to nothing.
People are getting fleeced by these cutely packaged battery inverter charger boxes with fancy displays and USB-C chargers, all being pushed by youtubers. If you are even mildly technically minded, you can build a more capable system for 30% the cost of these things. They are relying on people just not knowing how much LiFePO4 storage batteries and hybrid solar inverters have come down in price and how easy they are to setup.
Just beware of the "dual fuel" lure of thinking you only need propane. In the winter, the self-evaporation rate of a 20lb propane tank isn't nearly enough to even power my little 2500 watt inverter generator.
Solar panels and batteries are for if you're preparing for a really long outage when gasoline might not be available.
So the reality was like this: really awesome power bank included with decent backpack. The power bank has plenty of connectors and adapters to plug into virtually anything. Power bank is juicy enough to power a laptop for a couple of hours, or a smartphone for all day long. Rugged construction there.
The backpack is kind of unwieldy but has some nice pockets and it's totally electronics-aware. You don't want to stash a drink or food anywhere in this thing. There are plenty of grommets for threading the cables you'll need.
The solar panel is like the worst feature of this "solar backpack". Of course, imagine the low surface area you'll get on a backpack. Now imagine how long it takes to charge a quite beefy power bank with that. It took me 3 weeks of all day long, in the clear winter sunlight, with a zero load, to go from zero to about 90%! Three weeks!
So clearly this solar power source is inadequate to keep a device going without discharging completely by dawn. But I certainly do appreciate the power bank, and I do keep this around for emergencies, and I basically just plug it into the wall until it's full, then I stash it away and I don't worry about it for several months.
The cost was also not terrible. I think the entire backpack set cost $300 or less. Not bad for a good durable backpack plus power bank, really; nevermind the solar component.
But that pales in comparison to a phone getting depleted every second day
Until a few years ago, being prepared for loss of services for 48 hours was considered sufficient. That's not enough any more, because there will be much less help coming from outside the area.
[1] https://www.cnn.com/2025/03/26/politics/fema-payments-staffi...
Just chill out for a couple of days and enjoy reading some books and have an adventure.
Unless you’ve got a medical emergency and need to have power for some devices just relax and wait for the power to be reconnected.
I get that there are emergencies in the world but not having power at home is an inconvenience.
It's cool that we can get these air sensors things, but they sure give people who worry about numbers some additional ones to worry about.
Day 4 no more deliveries but we still have takeout! For real, you can still order food from your local restaurants and you are in a panic about things. Instead of spending $4,500 on a generator you'll never use again maybe just pack the kids in a car an go to the beach for the weekend. Seriously.
When I was a kid I enjoyed the days we lost power. Grab a candle and have a laugh in the dark. It was fun.
That said, I don't want to be mean. I do think there is a generalized anxiety that is very much enabled on the internet. Like this kind of behavior - basically prepping - is encouraged.
I read analysis that suggested that prepping behavior is a way of coping with feelings of inadequacy by imagining a future world where all the person's capabilities will be fully appreciated. "All my guns and dried rice and my underground bunker will make me the most relevant person in the future". Most prepper's visions of the future are unique to them and focus on their skills. E.g. one of us tech types might think we could create a connected network and support wifi for a region and be a source of knowledge or something. Obviously if something did happen all of this would go to shit in seconds but that isn't the point..
Maybe it's all just a fantasy of feeling relevant.
Candles, books, single gas burner, board and card games, water and non-perishable food, is all that is required?
I was watching 8-bit guy on youtube cover his experience through the Texas snowstorm a few years back, when he offhandedly mentioned that before that, he pretty much had no power interruptions at all within the last decade.
I was stunned. 10 years? We're lucky to make it 10 months.
If it _is_ life and death, sure, get a generator.
Of course there are some for whom a power outage is life and death because their health is tied to power. Also tornados are terrifying. I don’t mean to trivialize extended power outages. But sometimes accepting the situation and just riding with it is the way to go.
Most of my neighbors seemed to have up and left. The immediate neighborhood was quiet. I ventured out and saw what had happened: a large tree had come down, taking the power lines and the road with it. So I assumed the recovery process would be something like:
1. Remove the tree - one company on one schedule
2. Re-pave the road - another company on another schedule
3. Put the telephone pole back up - the phone company (the poles are owned by Verizon in my area)
4. Restore electrical cables - the power company
And I realized that this would not be a quick process.
I threw a 100-foot extension cord out my second floor window, and hooked it up to the 400-watt inverter in my car. (Yes, I know this is terrible for my engine. The silver lining was that somehow the folks at BMW made an engine that got up to operating temperature while idling.) The other end got plugged into the three monitors and laptop on my desk. I hotspotted my phone, and... just kept going at Black Friday readiness.
At one point, I got an interesting sideways glance from the CEO on a Zoom call, as if to say - "Why are you wearing a jacket and fingerless gloves indoors? Do we pay you enough?" I'm just glad the smell of not showering wasn't transmissible through Zoom.
Although I lost most of the contents of my fridge, and I ended up eating a lot of peanut-butter-and-jelly and protein bars, I did find some ways to keep it interesting during the day. I put my moka pot on the charcoal grill for coffee in the morning, and at one point I made a grilled-ish cheese on top of the engine block.
I used a handheld flashlight and an LED lantern for light after the sun went down. And I did treat myself to dinner with friends all three nights, charging up two UPSes at their homes while we went out, so that I could in turn run some other appliances without running the car. I seem to recall at one point watching the 10:00 news on TV thanks to those UPSes.
I would not have wanted this experience with a family like this person did, for sure, but I actually found it somewhat fun and interesting.
Have we gone so far in the US with fear mongering that it comes to this? Why would a black man fear for his life when a former president runs for a second term and ends up getting 20% black male vote overall (up from the 13% in 2016) , and 47% of Latino men , greater than any republican before him?
Hope this clears it up. The changes that Republicans are proposing are going to be a disaster for anyone who is not basically a white straight Christian man who doesn't watch porn.
It's shaping up to be a very bad 4 years for people like me and I encourage everyone to vote Democrat in every election they can legally vote in.
If you don't believe me ask around and any friends you have who are queer or care about abortion will tell you things are very looking grim for us.
In short it is a consolidation of absolute power in the hands of a few rich bullies who are wanting to torment minorities as a distraction while they steal from as many Americans as they can
If at this point you're really still in post-reality denial that our country isn't in the process of being destroyed by a mentally ill mobster autocrat backed by an anti-constitutional corporate totalitarian movement, then you're the one that needs help. Serious help. We can defend our country together, but first you've got to join the rest of us in reality.
(Honestly it’d be interesting to hear from the kids too)
Huh!? Forget canned food and go-bags. If you only have a few days worth of savings that is an emergency. I hope I’m misunderstanding what you mean by “rainy day funds”