Oops, all U.S. banks closed. Electrical Grid Down. Watcha Gonna Do???

[Magyars]

Scenarios such as the one the OP envisions are why many prep.
My AO has enough prepared households that we would be OK at least at the start.....down the rd, too many variables to speculate

 

[KellyinAvon]

Might be time to dig up the coffee can in the back yard where I keep all my bitcoins.

Lucius Clay 2.0?

 

[Gingerbeardman]

Our power went out over the weekend for about an hour. It's amazing how fast you realize-my well won't run, can't get fuel, don't have cash on hand, not even sure if my gas furnace uses electricity to turn on. I do have some gas and a small generator. I spend ten-12 hours a day working, and don't have the skillset currently to preserve food. I'm pretty much cannon fodder!

 

[cosermann]

… not even sure if my gas furnace uses electricity to turn on. I do have some gas and a small generator. …

Yes, it does. And it’s needed to run the blower that circulates the hot air around the house. Even a small generator should do the trick. Now is the time to figure out how to make it work.

 

[purdue98]

My wife and I will do our very best to secure our residence(nothing is impregnable). Body armor and ballistic helmet (in theory) will help me stay in the fight a bit longer defending my wife and residence.
My faith in God's grace is my default. I understand that my citizenship is in heaven with my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Will I put up the best fight I can give while on this earth? YES.

I never forget that even "good nature" people can become aggressive when their survival is at risk. Couple this fact with the BLM/ANTIFA mentality that is pervasive today. It's going to be MAD MAX environment.

 

[indyblue]

Watch’a gonna buy?? Where you gonna buy it??

Thanks for telling the www where you’re cash, coins are.

The money's probably worth way less than the rest of the contents of the safe.

 

[stocknup]

This scenario can easily fit into this thread ( Link attached ) ..............( Not bashing or anything , just stating that when someone asks these questions , there are so many variables to cover . All one can do is prepare for as many of them as you can )
A lot of the same answers ............vvv

How long before things go south if the SHTF?

Play along with me. Say tomorrow the SHTF nation wide, how long do you think you have before life gets crazy. We are not nuked and it is not a comet strike. Several of the books I have recently read the whole country goes mad max in one or two days and even travel from just 200 miles away to...

www.indianagunowners.com

 

[Leadeye]

Was stuck on the ridge for two weeks year before last due to ice. No issues.

 

[SheepDog4Life]

This particular scenario falls in with several others under the "green tips first" designation...

The money's probably worth way less than the rest of the contents of the safe.

True dat! Especially in this or similar scenarios.

 

[spencer rifle]

Anything paper will be good for wiping your butt eventually. Anything electronic won't even be good for that.

Get skills - they weigh nothing and take up no space.

Hedge on people's addictions:
Alcohol (for the drunks and for sterilization)
Cigarettes (for those addicted to nicotine) - though I understand these have a limited shelf life
Antibiotics and ammo (for those addicted to living)

PMs? Maybe eventually.

 

[armalitesheepdog]

I will be fine. For I have planed ahead.
I'm good for 6 months probably

 

[foszoe]

Might be time to dig up the coffee can in the back yard where I keep all my bitcoins.

What you gonna do with an empty can?

 

[bwframe]

Was stuck on the ridge for two weeks year before last due to ice. No issues.

View attachment 318368

That's the way it should be.

Maybe a little inconvenient without power, but not a huge deal. You don't get there without a plan for it though.

 

[Mij]

My wife and I will do our very best to secure our residence(nothing is impregnable). Body armor and ballistic helmet (in theory) will help me stay in the fight a bit longer defending my wife and residence.
My faith in God's grace is my default. I understand that my citizenship is in heaven with my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Will I put up the best fight I can give while on this earth? YES.

I never forget that even "good nature" people can become aggressive when their survival is at risk. Couple this fact with the BLM/ANTIFA mentality that is pervasive today. It's going to be MAD MAX environment.

When the time comes to build your forever home, checkout how Jeff Cooper built his. Just a thought.

 

[lrdudley]

Our power went out over the weekend for about an hour. It's amazing how fast you realize-my well won't run, can't get fuel, don't have cash on hand, not even sure if my gas furnace uses electricity to turn on. I do have some gas and a small generator. I spend ten-12 hours a day working, and don't have the skillset currently to preserve food. I'm pretty much cannon fodder!

It doesn't take a very large generator to run a gas furnace. The electricity powers the blower motor, circuit board and the thermostat. But it is not something you will want to deal with after the power is out. Most furnaces have a switch in a metal box located on the side. This is a service switch to shut the power off for the service technicians. I replaced the switch with a single outlet. The furnace wires that were connect to the switch were connected to a power cord then plugged into the outlet and the furnace worked as normal. If a technician needs to cut power to the furnace for service, they only have to unplug the cord. If we have a power failure all I have to do to get the furnace back in operation is to unplug the power cord from the box on the furnace and connect it to the generator. When the power comes back on just plug it back into the box on the side of the furnace.

 

[Tomahawkman]

Electrical grid going down nationwide is likely to be a catastrophic event for todays society in terms of civility and order.. Whatever Ive got in the bank isnt going to help me now.

No electricity = no security systems = little to no risk of consequences/risk of getting in trouble for looting = wide spread looting = wide spread unrest = widespread drain on government resources with little ability to communicate with the public... it goes on and on and on.

Now its time to lock up or bug out or whatever your plan may be and hope for the best.

 

[Mij]

It doesn't take a very large generator to run a gas furnace. The electricity powers the blower motor, circuit board and the thermostat. But it is not something you will want to deal with after the power is out. Most furnaces have a switch in a metal box located on the side. This is a service switch to shut the power off for the service technicians. I replaced the switch with a single outlet. The furnace wires that were connect to the switch were connected to a power cord then plugged into the outlet and the furnace worked as normal. If a technician needs to cut power to the furnace for service, they only have to unplug the cord. If we have a power failure all I have to do to get the furnace back in operation is to unplug the power cord from the box on the furnace and connect it to the generator. When the power comes back on just plug it back into the box on the side of the furnace.

View attachment 318465

A good electrician can hook you up a plug in that will allow you to run your whole fuse box. You can choose which circuits to turn on or off and when. A thought.

 

[Cynical]

My wife and I will do our very best to secure our residence(nothing is impregnable). Body armor and ballistic helmet (in theory) will help me stay in the fight a bit longer defending my wife and residence.
My faith in God's grace is my default. I understand that my citizenship is in heaven with my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Will I put up the best fight I can give while on this earth? YES.

I never forget that even "good nature" people can become aggressive when their survival is at risk. Couple this fact with the BLM/ANTIFA mentality that is pervasive today. It's going to be MAD MAX environment.

All you can do is your best, and good natured people WILL become aggressive when they're starving or looking for shelter for themselves or their family. I think a mad max environment might be understated. If/when it happens it’s probably going to be worse than we can imagine. I don’t relish the thought but I will fight till my last breath to protect my family. As a dad and husband that’s my only priority.

 

[Cynical]

A good electrician can hook you up a plug in that will allow you to run your whole fuse box. You can choose which circuits to turn on or off and when. A thought.

Yep, we do them a lot at work. If you have a small Genny. An interlock kit and some sjo with a cord end will fit the bill. You shut off all the breakers you don’t or can’t use depending on the size of the unit and you’re in business. The recept. is the wild card here. Depending on where your load center is located in your house it may require some extra wire to get it to where the genny is. An interlock kit is only a hundred bucks or so. Wire is whatever the market is at the time and the size depending on your amperage needs. Still a lot cheaper than a transfer switch.

 

[firecadet613]

Yep, we do them a lot at work. If you have a small Genny. An interlock kit and some sjo with a cord end will fit the bill. You shut off all the breakers you don’t or can’t use depending on the size of the unit and you’re in business. The recept. is the wild card here. Depending on where your load center is located in your house it may require some extra wire to get it to where the genny is. An interlock kit is only a hundred bucks or so. Wire is whatever the market is at the time and the size depending on your amperage needs. Still a lot cheaper than a transfer switch.

Really just a 50a inlet with an interlock on the panel is all you need, I run my whole house off a 13,000w generator...

It doesn't take a very large generator to run a gas furnace. The electricity powers the blower motor, circuit board and the thermostat. But it is not something you will want to deal with after the power is out. Most furnaces have a switch in a metal box located on the side. This is a service switch to shut the power off for the service technicians. I replaced the switch with a single outlet. The furnace wires that were connect to the switch were connected to a power cord then plugged into the outlet and the furnace worked as normal. If a technician needs to cut power to the furnace for service, they only have to unplug the cord. If we have a power failure all I have to do to get the furnace back in operation is to unplug the power cord from the box on the furnace and connect it to the generator. When the power comes back on just plug it back into the box on the side of the furnace.

View attachment 318465

I did just this until I went big and bought a generator that'd run the whole house...for the few minutes this took to wire up, it worked well!