Do I need to consider bugging out?

Bluefoam

I'm in the process of taking my shed off the grid, purely because I currently have a cable trailing to it and want to tidy that up... So I'm getting an EcoFlow River 2 Max with 2 x 100w panels & hoping it will run my 450w power tools battery charger... I've no plug in tools & my lights are LED/USB/Battery... so my shed should be fairly self sufficient.

This whole thing has me thinking, how will I survive the imminent apocalypse What other items should I be running off the unit... I've never considered the apocalypse in much detail before, but I may be slightly better prepared than some... I have a set of UHF/VHF walkie talkies that I used to use in the Middle East for driving in the desert... I have a gas bbq & always have a full spare bottle, that can be portable... Radio is battery powered (to keep up with progress of societies demise)... What else should I be running off it?

Mech1

this?

The Continental Op

I've done something similar (solar power wise) and have given an impending "apocalypse" some thought.

With all these Survival things I consider two things, one survival until normality (or your version of it) is resumed and two carrying on with any apocalypse having as little effect on us as possible. If TEOTWAWKI happens then any and all plans are pretty worthless so better to plan for problems you can deal with.

With this in mind the primary use our solar system (approx 700Watts) is to charge batteries. Phones are an obvious one but as we have no coverage where we live so thats more a minor use but catered for anyway. The main use would be for recharging of tool batteries for my DeWalt tools. That sounds daft but I have a load of batteries and 3 quite powerful lanterns and a torch. So that would cover all our lighting needs. Hot water and cooking is covered by a wood or coal burning range that also heats the water.

I also have a decent inverter that will power anything up to 3KV for more than an hour off the batteries I have but thats more of an afterthought to the main plan. Our generator which will also run off Propane gas is another afterthought. It was a freebee so I grabbed it just in case to be sure to be sure.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120556800#Comment_120556800

Metal biscuit tins are fairly useless in a shed in Ireland because they rust. I put my pop-tarts and all other consumables in ziplock plastic bags and then into plastic boxes. I particularly like these Curver boxes as they are almost indestructible but have started using these Really Useful Boxes - 35l as they are a good size to handle with heavy stuff like cans in them. Note even cans go in a ziplock bag as it massively increases their shelf life in a shed.

Have I spent too long thinking about this - yes. But when Covid kicked off we just carried on as normal we no need to go to the shops for the first couple of weeks.

The Continental Op

As a follow up to the above and relevant to the OP's solar setup I'm going to get a 19inch 12V TV with a satellite connection for our kitchen.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Cello-ZRTMF0291-Traveller-Satellite-Model/dp/B0849F5Q78/

Its the simplest solution for me to provide my wife with her fix of Radio 4 (its on satellite) when Radio 4 LW is taken off air next year. The advantage is it will work fine in a power cut because the satellite tuner will power the LNB so no need to go messing around with other power supplies. Would be great in a shed ;-)

Another solution would obviously be an internet radio but with that a power cut would require some way of powering 3 wireless AP's (3 because of a wifi link) and a router.

Markcheese

Or just download the bbc sounds app on a phone or tablet , via 4 g or whatever if you can get a signal

The Continental Op

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120654299#Comment_120654299

Sounds so easy doesn't it. But its not. No mobile phone coverage at home, no terrestrial TV coverage and only Broadband comes from a neighbour 500m away (WiFi link but its a decent signal and get a 80Mpbs internet download speed). I'd run Ethernet through to the kitchen but its more of a pain than running in a satellite cable from outside. House walls are 60 cm thick, WiFi doesn't penetrate to the kitchen and home plugs have been problematic (tried several different brands). Then of course you didn't realise that while my wife has a decent smart phone and tablet she doesn't switch her phone on unless she is making a call and is the death of all IT systems.

Bluefoam

I'm not sure data or broadband services will be available during the zombie apocalypse. You'll just have to make up your own news...

The Continental Op

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120654619#Comment_120654619

I think Satellite transmissions are safe for a while, dammed clever zombie to get into space to knacker as Satellite. But eventually all the ground stations transmitting to the Satellites would get destroyed.

Bluefoam

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120654809#Comment_120654809

True, but with terrestrial signals depleted, RTE might have difficulty keeping broadcasters on the air for the seven individuals with satellite TVs... If anything you'll just get re-runs of Home & Away ad infinitum... you'll still need to produce your own news.

The Continental Op

But I'll still be able to watch my DVD collection as the end of the world approaches.