Prepping for Winter

[pet_snake_78]

I've been lucky that I've not had to deal with any power outages for a long time but since we're heading into winter, I thought I'd share what my plans are should that happen.

1) First line of defense is to do nothing and see what happens. Some of my reptiles are reasonably cold tolerant so they'll be OK or even down for the winter anyway and I have bags, shipping boxes, and heat packs I could use to further insulate the few that are highly cold sensitive.

2)If the temperature drops low enough where I have more than a few herps to worry about, bagging them up isn't going to be too practical so I ordered a 22,000 BTU DuraHeat which I have several gallons of fuel for stored in the garage. I think it has plenty of power to heat the rooms I have my reptiles in and another room to keep me warm, too! This would be my lifeline just to keep everyone warm enough to get by for 24 hours.

3) If after 24 hours, I am still using the heater to get by, I will fire up the generator which should have plenty of power to run the heat tapes. I'd really hate to do this because I don't know how clean the power is from the cheapie models I can afford. Anyone know if there's something I can plug in between the generator and my tstats to get clean power... I'd rather waste some power than get dirty power and screw stuff up.

[pet_snake_78]

The other thing I've stocked up on are flashlights and fire extinguishers, I have one in every room that has herps in an easy to grab spot even in total darkness and spare batteries that are also easy to get to.

[EL Ziggy]

Sounds like a good survival kit!

[trailblazer295]

I'm always interested in others power failure plans. Luckily I have a gas fireplace so in the event of a power outage for long time I can move the couple of herps into the living room. But eventually I plan to buy and setup a natural gas powered generator and wire into the electrical panel to run my furnace and fridge. We had an ice storm 2 years ago and some people were without power for a week or longer. We happened to be lucky and only out for 12hrs. But family and friends were down a long time. During the winter it's not hard to keep food fresh if you put frozen things outside when it's well below freezing but middle of summer is different.

[Jim Smith]

If you do decide to go with the fuel powered heater, remember to vent it properly to the outside or you will almost certainly kill your snakes and very possibly yourself/family. Every year here in Georgia, there are stories of people that use fuel powered heaters or generators and they don't ventilate them properly and it always ends in tragedy. Please be careful whichever way you choose to go.

[pet_snake_78]

Hi Jim,

Ya that's why I didn't get a little unit, I would hate to open a window directly in a reptile room so my plan is to heat the entire floor they are are and open the hallway window to ventilate with the doors remaining open to all rooms during that time. I am hoping it doesn't get to that point where I ever need to do this lol

[trailblazer295]

If you do decide to go with the fuel powered heater, remember to vent it properly to the outside or you will almost certainly kill your snakes and very possibly yourself/family. Every year here in Georgia, there are stories of people that use fuel powered heaters or generators and they don't ventilate them properly and it always ends in tragedy. Please be careful whichever way you choose to go.

No worries I'm an hvac mechanic so I know all about CO. The plan is to use the quick disconnect for my BBQ and run the power line into the house. So the generator would be sitting in the backyard and run power into the house. The reason for natural gas is I'd have a unlimited fuel supply as opposed to gasoline run or even propane. Which if you're without power for long times you need it. I'd have a hard wired line into a sub panel by the main panel feeding it and simply plug my generator into the outlet outside and probably 10/3 wire into a sub panel. Then just turn off all none essential circuits in the house. If it's winter the fridge and furnace are main things.

But you're right during that ice storm there was plenty of news stories of people using their BBQ to heat the house inside and of course CO poisoning. I won't be repeating their mistakes. A gas fired fireplace won't put any CO into the house so I can keep them warm without worry. Heats the living room up pretty damn well.

[Wingbeats]

My power outage plan is to bring my two snakes to work, haha.

The office at work is a constant 70 degrees, which is fine for rainbow boas. I have two travel tubs prepped, and I could plop a hide and water dish in those and keep them in my office until the power returns.

My office is all bird biologists, so they don't mind weird animals being securely kept around haha!

[Zelg]

I've also wondered about this, more so since I got my white lipped python recently. It doesnt snow here but outside can hit 40 at night, sometimes lower. If the power went out my house would probably get pretty chilly.

I dont love the idea of a generator running, are there battery systems you can use or do the heaters and lights use too much power for batteries? I think I saw someone once talk about a car battery setup but I dont know how practical it was.

[Lefitte]

Living in a SoCal desert, the heat is more dangerous than the cold, especially for my rainboa. We lose power in summer way more often than winter but it IS currently 39 degrees out as I type this. So I have those hand warmers. I know they get dangerously hot but I put them under the cage just to keep the chill off. Probably wont work with my new pvc cage though so I might have to rethink things. We also have a wood fireplace if need be. For summer, I also have emergency ice pack kits for them too but I'm still testing that out. It's rare that we lose power but if we have a rolling black out and its 120 outside... My rainboa is definitely gone without help.

[travesty]

I dont love the idea of a generator running, are there battery systems you can use or do the heaters and lights use too much power for batteries? I think I saw someone once talk about a car battery setup but I dont know how practical it was.

If it only gets down to 40 at night I don't think you have too much to worry about.
Old car batteries and an inverter can be used but you won't get much out of them. You need a true deep cycle battery for it to last awhile, and some electronic thermostats still might not work correctly, even with a pure sine wave inverter. I built all my own thermostats and I had to make changes to make them work with an inverter, ymmv. I've never tried a generator so I don't know if they have the same problem. I do know that I can run my ball python's setup for almost a week so it's a small piece of mind. My other snakes I don't worry about as much since they're native. The best thing I've heard is to not feed right before a storm.

[trailblazer295]

I've also wondered about this, more so since I got my white lipped python recently. It doesnt snow here but outside can hit 40 at night, sometimes lower. If the power went out my house would probably get pretty chilly.

I dont love the idea of a generator running, are there battery systems you can use or do the heaters and lights use too much power for batteries? I think I saw someone once talk about a car battery setup but I dont know how practical it was.

A car battery will only last so long. How long depends on charge and draw but you're still talking hours or a few days depending how much. For a long outage pushing more then a day or two then this won't cut it. Unless you have a spare battery that's like your car and can use the alternator to charge the other up and keep rotating. For long outages you need some sort of generator or source of heat like a gas fireplace that won't run out. Until I get a generator I have the comfort in knowing that my fireplace will run without power and at least I can move the snakes into the living room in rubbermaid tubs and keep them warm. Won't really be hot side cold side as much but they will be okay like that for a few days until power comes back.

Just this week a wind storm knocked out power to some homes in my general area. Some were down for a couple days so with winter coming I'm thinking of it more and more. I'd rather have it and not need it then need it and not have it. I'm just OCD like that. The boy scout, always prepared haha

[pet_snake_78]

I help clients plan disaster recovery for their businesses. One thing I've learned is purchasing the equipment and having a plan are very good steps but running a drill makes sure you can actually use the equipment when you need it.

You don't want to be trying to figure out where the can of gas is or if the generator even works during an emergency. I would fire that thing up a couple of times a year to make sure it's still in good working order and that you can quickly, with no more than a flashlight, find everything you need to run it. Similarly, I don't want to be fumbling around trying to find my flashlights, heat packs, etc during a power outage. Organization is a big deal here.

[trailblazer295]

I help clients plan disaster recovery for their businesses. One thing I've learned is purchasing the equipment and having a plan are very good steps but running a drill makes sure you can actually use the equipment when you need it.

You don't want to be trying to figure out where the can of gas is or if the generator even works during an emergency. I would fire that thing up a couple of times a year to make sure it's still in good working order and that you can quickly, with no more than a flashlight, find everything you need to run it. Similarly, I don't want to be fumbling around trying to find my flashlights, heat packs, etc during a power outage. Organization is a big deal here.

What would you consider to be a basic requirement kit for someone who has cold winters and a more advanced kit? For a house and inhabitants.

[Tsubaki]

I have a gas heater that is always prepped and ready to go, can keep the entire attic (where all my snakes are) up to a comfortable temperature for 43 hours. If it takes longer than that, we have a wood burning heater downstairs. All the snakes would be moved into plastic totes and put in the living room. The tubs are filled with newspaper + water-bowl at all times, ready to go, stored behind the terrariums. Worst case scenario we have to leave the house, i will move all my pets into my moms house. The spiders i can just pick up their terrariums, as those are manageable sizes. I practice now and again, how fast i can get all my animal into the tubs. It really helps to have practiced it, I've gotten a lot faster. t.b.h. we have never had a power outage here, last one i can remember was back in 2002 and only lasted for 3 hours. (Also i cant remember when the last really harsh winter was here) lighting is no issue btw, we have flashlights that are easy to locate everywhere in the house, and battery lights that are remote controlled in the attic + living room.

I do want to note.. Every room i have has a fire extinguisher and smoke detectors that notify the emergency department (we get a call and if we don't pick up and reply units are dispatched, same with out burglary alarm), please people.. have extinguishers ready, make sure you have smoke detectors. You do not want to experience what it is like seeing your house burn knowing your animals are in it, it doesn't have to be your fault. We had a fire rampage that originated in my neighbors house who did not have any alarms. That is all really, hope nobody ever experiences anything like that.

[pet_snake_78]

Trailblazer,

If you're really wanting to be prepared, I would say having an permanent generator wired directly to your electrical system and powerful enough to keep your heat on would be a good idea. For people in very warm climates, I imagine this or a basement would be the only ways to ensure your animals stay cool enough. Like you, I live in a very cold area and have a large basement, so I can move everything in the basement for summer if I really have to. Absent the expenses for that, either a portable generator strong enough to run a couple of oil radiant space heaters (you'll probably need around 4,000 watts of power) could keep a small room warm. There is maintenance, oil, and regular testing involved either way. Then there's what I opted for, the keroscene heater with at least 3-4 days worth of fuel in case the roads are not drivable. I think there's not too many parts to have a failure, but the wick should be replaced occasionally. Either way enough styrofoam boxes, bags, prepunched cups, and heat and cold packs should be on hand to facilitate moving to another location in the worse case.

[pet_snake_78]

Forgot to add, definitely have an axe, tree saw, or chain saw handy if trees can fall and block your driveway. If trees threaten your home, I would take em down. We all love our trees, but Im not willing to be impaled or lose my entire reptile collection over them.

[trailblazer295]

No trees near my home to be danger, few bushes in the backyard and small trees in neighbours yards so no danger there. I'm looking into a natural gas powererd portable generator as my small home wouldn't require a lot of power to run a fridge and will soon be a new high efficiency furnace with ECM blower motor. I'd plan to leave all lights off as I have several flashlights and batteries. My bbq, oven and fireplace are all gas so other then fridge and heat don't need power for anything else in an emergency. The minimal draw of my herps heaters wouldn't be an issue as the furnace, heaters and fridge cycle on and off.