20 Veteran Blackout Tricks That Make High-Tech Prepper Gear Look Ridiculous

My books are on sale now 📖 Do or Die, and the set of three. Grab them here: https://doughaskett.com In the February 2021 freeze, more than 4.5 million Texas homes lost power, and 19 of the state's 246 storm-related deaths were carbon monoxide. This October a 1,070 watt-hour battery station posts at $559, and a plug-in heater draws about 1,200 watts, so it runs one for under an hour. A whole-home standby generator is $8,000 to $16,000 installed by its maker's own page. Doug priced 12 pieces of blackout gear at about $2,383 and set each one beside a habit that costs little or nothing. Three times, the gear wins. Subscribe to the channel: @doughaskett In this video, we talk about 20 blackout tricks against the gear sold for the same job, including why a garage with the door up isn't outside, the flower pot candle heater, the $30 carbon monoxide alarm nothing replaces, charging phones from the truck in the drive, a generator sized to two things against a standby, one shut room against a battery running a heater, wool against a heated vest, a tent in the warm room, texting against a satellite messenger, the crank weather radio, a power bank topped up before dark against a folding solar panel, the battery bank that earns its place, a $15 headlamp against a $265 flashlight, a gallon jug lantern, a dial thermometer against a Wi-Fi fridge sensor, frozen jugs in the freezer, the coin-in-the-cup trick an extension service calls risky, the garage door's manual release, half a tank and small bills, and drill night with the main off. 🔔 Subscribe so the next blackout list reaches you before the first hard freeze does. 💬 Comment where you're watching from and how many minutes your house lasted with the main off before the first thing went wrong. 📢 Send this to the one who just bought a big battery and never took it out of the box, on Facebook, Reddit or the family group chat. You're why this channel keeps going. Chapters: 00:00 Opening 03:13 The flower pot heater stays out 08:21 Two things on the generator 12:20 Wool from your head to your feet 15:15 Text, don't call 19:42 The battery that earns its place 22:43 A gallon jug makes a lantern 25:30 Fill the gaps in the freezer 29:47 Half a tank and small bills 32:23 Find your number this weekend Sources: FoodSafety.gov, Food Safety in a Disaster or Emergency https://www.foodsafety.gov/keep-food-safe/food-safety-in-disaster-or-emergency FCC, Tips for Communicating in an Emergency https://www.fcc.gov/reports-research/guides/tips-communicating-emergency CDC, Carbon Monoxide Poisoning Basics https://www.cdc.gov/carbon-monoxide/about/index.html US Fire Administration, Candle Fire Safety https://www.usfa.fema.gov/prevention/home-fires/prevent-fires/candle/ Ready PA, What To Do When the Power Goes Out https://www.pa.gov/agencies/ready/get-prepared/power-outages NC State Extension, Coin In the Cup: RISKY https://brunswick.ces.ncsu.edu/2025/06/coin-in-the-cup-risky DISCLAIMER: Educational content from one man's experience. Prices and methods are real and researched, and prices vary by store, region and season. Nothing here is instruction in first aid, firearms, self-defence, hunting, or any gas or electrical repair; take the class and call the licensed man. Nothing here replaces an order, a warning or an alert from your county or the National Weather Service. When they say leave, leave. #DougHaskett #WinterBlackout #PowerOutage #BlackoutTips #Prepping #Prepper #EmergencyPreparedness #TexasFreeze #HillCountry #Texas #CarbonMonoxide #COAlarm #Generator #PortablePowerStation #WattHours #EmergencyLighting #FoodSafety #FreezerTips #GarageDoor #WinterStorm #StayWarm #DrillNight