# Prepper Test Series



## Prepadoodle (May 28, 2013)

I found an interesting series of videos on YouTube that might be of some interest. It's by a guy named LDSPrepper, who decides to shut off his city water, gas, and electric for a week to test his preps. He's not a crazy Rambo type, but I did notice some targets on the wall in one scene, so he obviously has weapons even though he hasn't mentioned them as of day 3 of his experiment.

It's an interesting look at some of the problems he faces and the ways he overcomes them, and going through a 'dress rehearsal' is something I hadn't even considered. He does a different video for each day, here's a link to the first one...


----------



## Seneca (Nov 16, 2012)

I think people who enjoy camping fare better at these things. 
I read a book some time ago, I no longer have the book so I can't remember the title or the author. Yet he chronicled a chapter where he did basically the same thing. I'm not sure if the author meant it to be humorous yet I found it that way. Probably why I remember it. 
I see no harm in testing preps this way, it's camping without leaving home.


----------



## Prepadoodle (May 28, 2013)

Yeah, I agree. This guy had lots of stuff, but seriously underestimated some of his needs. Testing it like that showed him areas where he was weak. It seems worth doing.


----------



## jesstheshow (Nov 18, 2013)

I like MainPrepper from Youtube, I'd check him out


----------



## BetrayedAmerican (Jan 8, 2013)

Thats funny he is on my subscription list... Southernprepper1 is another awesome source if you are into his kinda prepping.. You can learn a LOT from him.


----------



## Prepadoodle (May 28, 2013)

Yeah Southernprepper is good. He's more tactical, with LP/OP bunkers and all, but offers what I consider mostly sound advice.


----------



## BetrayedAmerican (Jan 8, 2013)

The thing is with him is he is a BUG IN, Homesteader, and he and Engineer557 are community leaders in the fact that if and when SHTF they will come together on their property and defend it so the bunkers and the way he goes about it are excellent again IMO.


----------



## hayden (Apr 30, 2012)

I have watched all of southernprepper1 video's. He is really good. A week ago Saturday I didn't turn on the tv or lights only a battery powered radio and my wireless router was on battery power. I used my laptop sparingly so never had to switch out to my extra battery. Lit a couple hurricane lamps in the evening. My back porch light was on for security and my furnace did kick on a few times so I wasn't totally grid down. I was fine just listening to the radio but if all the radio stations were down would have been bored.


----------



## indie (Sep 7, 2013)

I think it would definitely be an interesting experiment; every plan probably has several holes in it and testing is the only way to find them. I don't feel like I'm at the point where I could get by well but might try a couple small adventures. Cooking on the wood stove is definitely high on the list. I'm a country bumpkin though - had no idea you city folks can't even close your garage doors without power! O.O


----------



## sargedog (Nov 12, 2012)

One day a while back I am usually up before my wife and daughter, so I decided to flip the main breaker and shut the water off just to see how they would react. When they got up they were like oh well the power is out, then they realized the water was off. They were more concerned about the water than the lights, we got the Coleman stove out and fixed dinner and played board games during the day. When night time came we lit our oil lamps and just sat and talked. I really enjoyed the day and realized that they aren't as reliable on power and stuff as I thought (well my daughter is) After they went to bed I turned everything back on and they were none the wiser.


----------



## Seneca (Nov 16, 2012)

I've been without power for three days, wasn't a planned thing either. As I recall it wasn't all that tough, I was a bit worried about the food in the freezer so I cycled it on the generator. Lighting was provided by candles and gas lamps, cooking was done with propane camp stove. I was already into being prepared soI had it covered and boredom was the biggest thing to contend with. I caught up on some reading played some cards and went to bed a bit earlier than I normally would. 

It is a good experience to have and I think if one wants to test their three day plan to see if there are any holes in it, it's a worth while test, not to mention you'll clip three days off the power bill.


----------



## PaulS (Mar 11, 2013)

I went for over a week without power in temps near 20F. I heated with oil at the time so we had no heat and no electricity. I pulled the generator out and went around to the neighbors to let them use it to get their freezers cold. I put my freezer and refrigerator on it to keep their temps down but after three days I took the food from the freezer and set it in a box outside. That kept it frozen. We froze water in milk jugs to keep the fridge cool but if we had had any snow I would have put the food outside under the snow to keep it at 35F. We cooked on a Coleman two burner stove outside and sealed up the living room and heated it with the fireplace and used candles and alcohol lamps for lighting. I made trips to all the neighbors each day to see that they were all right and let them know that if they needed a warm meal to let us know. 

When the crew from the electric company showed up I took them fresh coffee and some doughnuts I made on the Coleman stove just to say "thank you" for the work they had been doing. Those crews were working long hours for over a week to get the power back on. At about 3pm on the eighth day the power was back on and life went back to "normal". We never had any problem because we were prepared - not everyone on the block was and we helped where we could. We knew this was a temporary thing and most of the city got power back in less than 72 hours but there were spots like our neighborhood that were out a bit longer. We shared meals with a couple of families from the block and I know that they started preparing as soon as the lights went back on. We didn't have any broken pipes or any other related problems but some did.

I have been a "survivalist/prepper" since the mid seventies and have used the preparations several times in earthquakes, ice storms and even when Mt. saint Helens blew its top.


----------

