Why America Should NOT Be Driving on Natural Gas

A couple days ago I found the article, Why America Should Be Driving on Natural Gas via Survival Blog. The writing is on the wall for oil, and ethanol is currently a loser, so this caught my eye. Additionally, when I was a kid I worked summers for a farmer who ran one of his trucks on propane, and natural gas is a lot less expensive.

Sounds great:

Abundance is perhaps its most appealing advantage. The Potential Gas Committee (PGC) estimated that the U.S. had 1,836 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) of recoverable natural gas as of 2008, out of a total future natural gas resource base of 2,074 Tcf, which would meet the nation’s natural gas demand for about 100 years, based on the current consumption rate…. [In 2009 the U.S. consumed] 22.8 Tcf of natural gas.

A couple times in the article the author touts that natural gas will last for “100 years.” I guess that should be long enough for a breakthrough to the next source of energy, for those that don’t think we’ll collapse long before then. But there is an important qualifier, it’s based on “current consumption.” Problem number one: clearly if we shifted transportation to natural gas, we’d use it up several times faster that it’s currently being used. So 100 years could be 25.

Then I looked at the numbers. Again, the author talks about “100 years” of fuel, at current consumption rates. But if we have 1,836 Tcf recoverable and use around 22.8 Tcf per year, that’s about 81 years of natural gas, not 100. That’s problem number two.

My guess is electricity (via nuclear reactors) will be the replacement fuel for gasoline, assuming we don’t collapse. Clearly natural gas can’t fulfill anything more than a short gap.

Buying a Generator

Last winter the DC area was hit by a few snow storms that left tens of thousands without power for several days. From what I heard on news radio (WTOP 103.5 in the metro area), recent thunder storms have resulted in more days of lost power than the snow storms. Apparently blackouts are a growing problem in the U.S., with even “non-disaster related outages affecting at least 50,000 consumers” up 124 percent in the past two decades.

Although last winter’s blackouts didn’t affect my household, I’ve decided to invest in a generator in case we face an extended loss of power. I don’t see this as primarily for a TEOTWAWKI type event (i.e. total collapse), but more for localized disasters for short relatively short periods of time – days up to a couple of weeks. Anything beyond a couple of weeks and my guess is it’s nearing time to bug out.

There are a lot of different options to be aware of when searching for generators and what you need will depend on where you are and how you plan to use the generator:

• Purpose: Will it be a smaller portable unit, or a whole home installed generator? For running appliances directly, or charging batteries that power your home through an inverter?
• Capacity (wattage): What items will you need to power (at the same time) in your home, RV, or other location? Are the appliances you’ll need to use gas or electric?
• Fuel: Primary choices are gasoline, diesel, propane, and natural gas. What do you already have? What can you easily obtain and store?

I’ve decided on a portable option that will be able to power some lighting (high efficiency bulbs), communications (internet/phone), the fridge in warm weather, and a few small appliances at one time. Because we rent, I will not install a switchover box to power the entire home, which would also connect a lot more items that would be needed, putting more of a load on the generator.

Adding up the wattage of the items I’d normally want to power at one time comes to 1,500 watts or less. Occasionally I may want to run some devices that pull up to 2,000-2,500 watts. From what I’ve read, generators do better with a lower load, and even fuel consumptions list running times based on half capacity. So I need something at least in the 3,000-4,000 watt range.

I did consider planning for bare bones eclectically service – a few lights, and small appliances only – in the 1,000 watt or less range, but rejected this. For not much more money a lot more capacity can be had, and you can do a small job with a larger generator, but you can’t do a big job with a small one.

For fuel my options are gasoline and propane; diesel generators tend to be cost prohibitive, and I don’t know if my next location will have natural gas available. However, there are a lot more options for gasoline generators and (currently) gasoline is easier to obtain. If I want to use propane or natural gas later, there are tri-fuel conversion kits available.

I haven’t purchased one yet, but it’s on the short list. Reviews at Amazon.com have convinced me that I don’t want the cheapest one of a certain wattage, just not worth the hassle of oil/fuel leaks and other malfunctions. I’ve mostly been looking at Amazon, but recently found this site that has a good selection with similar prices and mostly free shipping.

If you’re considering alternative power sources, see this site for information on generators, another for bike powered devices, and a howto for converting a lawnmower engine into a small generator.

Power Inverters for Your Vehicle – Lessons Learned

I’ve always thought it was important to have portable power inverters for our vehicles, the type that plug into a 12 VDC cigarette lighter type outlet and provide 100-120 VAC power. In a G.O.O.D. situation, or just using power tools in the woods, their utility is great. For any prepper, they are essential gear.

Several months ago while in Wal-Mart I picked up a Black and Decker 400W PI400AB inverter that came with a cable for 12 VDC outlets in the vehicle as well as a cable to attach directly to the vehicle battery.

If you follow the link to Amazon and check out the ratings, you can tell I didn’t check out the ratings before buying. True to those ratings, the B&D PI400AB did not perform well.

When you buy a power inverter rated over 100 Watts, in most cases to get the higher power output it will need to be wired directly to the vehicle battery. 12 VDC outlets usually have a fuse that prevents more power from going through them.

The B&D 400W inverter was rated to only 80W via my trucks internal 12 VDC outlet – but my laptop with dead batter pulled about 90W while on a roadtrip where I needed it. The inverter was supposed to just show a fault and shut down, but then work (reset) when attached to the battery with a lower load. But pulling 90W pretty much killed it. [Update: Attempting to contact B&D warranty/repair is practically useless - I'll just have to write off this $45 as completely wasted. I strongly recommend against any B&D products since warranty/repair is near impossible.]

I did some research and purchased a Sears DieHard 400W inverter. The reviews were good, and in fact it worked like a champ. It has a display that shows exactly how much power is being pulled by what’s plugged in, and is able to go up to 120W without being wired to the battery.

The only thing I don’t like about the DieHard inverter is that the air intake is on the bottom, so it needs to be set so it can get air. I solved this with some double-sided tape and two pieces of wood trim.

I prefer no to wire it in, but if more power is needed on a camping trip, etc., it’s easy enough to pop the hood and connect directly to the battery with the included cable with battery clips.

Two lessons learned; 1) check reviews first, and 2) wire it up for full performance, if needed. Although I picked up a 400W model, probably a 750W or more would be a good idea for a survival scenario.