Firefight Y2K
Page 27
Soon after you detect a significant drop in performance of your accessories, unplug everything. Let the battery rest; it will regain some of its charge by itself. Or, if you’re sure the car will start with very little cranking, make one attempt to start the engine and let its alternator revive the battery. You could even re-attach a low-amperage accessory or two once the engine’s running. For that matter, there’s a plug-in gadget that reads your battery’s charge within broad limits and could let you monitor the drain you’ve laid on it. I use one, but I’m not sure it’s a better monitor than the brightness of an incandescent bulb.
Finally, there’s good news about the prices and the bulk of these accessories. Most accessories are priced right for a modest (even chintzy!) birthday or holiday gift. And they’re compact enough that you can store them all in an apple crate. That means you can store them in your car, in case you develop a problem on the road. For years, I’ve chosen such gadgets and bought a half-dozen of them every November-for each of my close kin with a car. One by one, usually in highway emergencies, most of ’em have experienced a problem which dissolved with the 12-volt solution.
MILLENNIAL
POSTSCRIPT
If you think you can’t even consider the idea of going without electricity for a week, good news: backup generators are now easier to come by. So are solar panels. Meanwhile, the reliable old car battery is still as good a backup as it was when I first wrote about the 12-volt solution. Keep an eye open for special applications of backup power. The South Africans have recently begun to market a clever windup radio-and-flashlight unit that might interest you. A full rewind of its husky coil spring will give you a half-hour of radio or reading light; no plug, no batteries, just elbow grease.
If you intend to store fuel, store it outside but not in thin polyethylene containers that let fuel sweat through tiny pores. Become familiar with all your neighbors, and draw a rough map that shows each dwelling with the appropriate names and telephone numbers. Each neighbor needs a copy. In my locale during this decade, sharp-eyed neighbors have averted trouble by calling others about a fire, a prowler, dog packs, and black ice on a steep street. For those of us who live close to others, a sense of community will alleviate some of our problems. It works best if we’ve given our future adequate forethought-which was the whole idea behind this new edition.