What preps are you going to do after Coruna?

[diamond lil]

I'm going for things we can eat without having to bother with freezers. I think that's easier in the long run. That and keep more money..

[hobo]

Ultimately, Freezing food carries a big risk of failure.

Recommendations?

Seems wise to spread out our preps to include frozen food, tinned, pickled, dried and home-grown if possible.

[cbp125]

We need to get electricity into the garage so that I can put a huge freezer in there.

Freezers and loss of electricity to them are what keeps me awake at night. Oh, how I wish I had a home suited to solar panels.
I might actually invest in some sort of generator, but noise and fuel would be a long term worry. Ultimately, Freezing food carries a big risk of failure.

Recommendations?

Solar power would struggle to run freezers. It is possible but it would require some large panels, quite a few large leasure batteries and a high amp power inverter. The panels on the roof connected do not work with the grid down so you would need a switch or a seperate system. You could use camping freezers but these would most likily be to small for you. It would be safer to dehyrate, I have a 9 tray excaliber and that will shrink my allotment produce very quickly. They are easy to use and the dried food stores electric free for quite some time.

[jansman]

I'm going for things we can eat without having to bother with freezers. I think that's easier in the long run. That and keep more money..

Very wise.I totally agree.

Looking back at the supermarkets being stripped a month and a half ago,we have a good idea now as to what goes first...everything! We didn't have gaps as such,more ' not as much as we could have', to enable us to stay put.I have started making lists to put that right,and diamond lil's idea of leaning towards shelf stable foods is on my radar too.It's been good using a lot of the stored stuff and being creative with it.

Also,I am keeping a list of consumables in the workshop that need urgent replacement.I have been catching up all those repair/ improvement jobs.Now I am low on timber,sand ( cannot get sand for love nor money round here), 1 1/2 inch pozi screws,milliput,paraffin etc.I did manage to get 2x 16" oregon chains for the saws by post,but everything takes so long... A simple item like an innertube for my newly resurrected Brompton folding bike took multiple phone calls yesterday as I want to use the bike for errands instead of burning juice.I could have got one sent from Edinburgh Bicycles,but I really needed it quicker than a week.Got one ,and the only one,at a local bike shop,as it is an acky tacky size!

The other thing to address is animal medication.Namely ,flea,tick and worm treatment.We have dealt with it now,but a trip to The Vet was worse than Tesco in terms of time,social distance and complexity.Also,our elderly dog can only handle one type of food - and that raised a concern at one point.

[cbp125]

https://www.cpa-horticulture.co.uk/aggr ... quine-sand

I know this might not be the right type of sand, but it is in stock if it helps??

And yes it has been interesting to see the gaps we had, pet related stuff especially.

[jennyjj01]

Solar ...The panels on the roof connected do not work with the grid down so you would need a switch or a seperate system.

WHAT? Seriously? They are only useful if the mains grid is up? I never knew that. That's a game changer.

I have a 9 tray excaliber...
the dried food stores electric free for quite some time.

Me too. I have some dried veg. My freezers are almost exclusively full of meat. I'm going to try dehydrating meat soon.

[jansman]

https://www.cpa-horticulture.co.uk/aggr ... quine-sand

I know this might not be the right type of sand, but it is in stock if it helps??

And yes it has been interesting to see the gaps we had, pet related stuff especially.

Thanks for the link. They sell some interesting stuff.

[Arzosah]

Solar ...The panels on the roof connected do not work with the grid down so you would need a switch or a seperate system.

WHAT? Seriously? They are only useful if the mains grid is up? I never knew that. That's a game changer.

The ones that are sold to the public under the government funding scheme, yes? If you buy them off your own bat, thats a different kettle of fish.

[cbp125]

Solar ...The panels on the roof connected do not work with the grid down so you would need a switch or a seperate system.

WHAT? Seriously? They are only useful if the mains grid is up? I never knew that. That's a game changer.

I have a 9 tray excaliber...
the dried food stores electric free for quite some time.

Me too. I have some dried veg. My freezers are almost exclusively full of meat. I'm going to try dehydrating meat soon.

Any solar panel connected to the grid will not work during power outages as a protection for workers up the line who may be repairing faults. They do not want to isolate a pylon to repair it to find it still live by someones panels or they would get quite a shock.

The 2 options are having a grid isolating switch, that you manually turn in the event of power outages or go for a fully seperate system, ie your own solar panel on your shed roof, charge controler then fed into your own leasure batteries. I will be going for the final option and I am gradually changing most of my house to 12v. There are other options depending on your electrical knowledge.

I have dehydrated beef mince quite a bit and it turned out very well, I went for low fat mince and boiled it to reduce the fat even more. It is very tasty. I also tried to dehydrate chicken chuncks. This worked but I was a bit hesitant about its colour and rather than take a chance my dog ate it instead but it did dry and last well.

[omega man]

Hi cbp/jenny,
In reality most solar systems have and have had for a good while now, many options for both DC + AC. (makes upgrade/maintenance easier)
Usually from install but don't forget a certified sparky will make light work of rigging the system to suit your needs (not an expensive task either)
Hope that's an help,
OM