How Many Fires Has the US Had In 2026?

How many fires has the US had in 2026? A family guide to this year’s wildfires. If you’ve been watching the news this summer, you already know 2026 has been a rough year for wildfires. As of the middle of August, the National Interagency Fire Center reports that firefighters across the country have responded to more than 46,600 wildfires that have burned over 6.4 million acres. That is about 154 percent of the 10-year average for acres burned at this point in the year, and the country is at National Preparedness Level 5, the highest level. More than 29,000 firefighters and support personnel are currently assigned to these fires nationwide.

How many fires has the US had in 2026?

Where the Fires Are Burning

The Pacific Northwest is the hardest-hit region right now, with dozens of large, uncontained fires burning across Washington and Oregon. Here are some of the bigger ones as of mid-August.

In Washington, the Sinlahekin Fire near Tonasket in Okanogan County has burned about 151,850 acres and is 42 percent contained. The Ptarmigan Fire, burning in the Pasayten Wilderness north of the Methow Valley, has burned about 24,500 acres and is 13 percent contained. The Little Giant Fire, spreading across Chelan and Okanogan counties near Lake Chelan, has burned about 128,000 acres and is only 7 percent contained. The good news is the Modrite Fire, at almost 57,700 acres, is 80 percent contained, and the Autumn Lane Fire, at about 5,764 acres, is 97 percent contained.

Oregon: The Wrights Spring Fire near Altamont has burned over 33,000 acres and remains in the very early stages of containment.

Nevada: The Bug and Stallion Fire complex near Cold Springs has burned about 122,000 acres and is 15 percent contained.

Montana: Several fires are burning across the western and central part of the state. The Sand Creek Fire in Beaverhead County is the largest, at about 27,700 acres, and remains at 0 percent contained. The Bobcat Lakes Fire, also in Beaverhead County, has burned about 9,680 acres and is 6 percent contained.

In Utah, the Widemouth 2 Fire near Fillmore has burned nearly 118,000 acres and is 50 percent contained.

In Florida, the South Canal Fire has been one of the more active incidents in the Southeast this year, with wind-driven fire runs threatening nearby communities.

California has had a comparatively quieter year so far, with about 1,720 fires burning roughly 54,000 acres statewide, including the Springs Fire in Riverside County, which forced evacuations near Moreno Valley.

Are These Fires Started by Storms or by People?

Both. Nationally, fire officials estimate that about 85 percent of wildfires in the United States are started by people, whether through unattended campfires, dragging trailer chains that throw sparks, downed power lines, equipment use, or debris burning. That’s why fire officials keep reminding everyone to check trailer chains, follow local burn restrictions, and fully extinguish campfires.

That said, many of the largest and most remote fires this year, especially the huge ones burning in the wilderness areas of Washington, Nevada, and Montana, were sparked by lightning during dry summer thunderstorms. Lightning-caused fires tend to start in hard-to-reach terrain, which is part of why some of the fires above have such low containment numbers even after burning for a couple of weeks.

How Much Water Does It Take to Fight These Fires?

This is a question I get asked a lot, and I want to be honest with you. There is no single published number that tells us exactly how many gallons of water have been used to fight all of the fires burning across the country this year. Water use isn’t tracked and added up nationally the way acreage and fire counts are.

What we do know is that water use varies enormously depending on the fire. A single air tanker drop can release several thousand gallons at once. A wildland water tender, the specialized trucks that haul water to the fire line, typically carries between 1,000 and 4,000 gallons per trip, and larger municipal tenders can carry 8,000 gallons or more. On a big fire with helicopters doing repeated bucket drops all day, the water used can add up to hundreds of thousands of gallons in a single day, and that’s before you count the engines and hose lines on the ground.

If you want to follow water use and firefighting resources for a specific fire near you, the best places to look are the National Interagency Fire Center’s InciWeb incident pages and your state forestry or fire agency’s dashboard. These sites post daily updates on personnel, aircraft, and containment, though they still don’t typically report an exact gallon count.

What This Means for Families in a Drought

This is the part that concerns me most as a mom who thinks about preparedness. The U.S. Drought Monitor has been tracking expanding dry conditions through the spring and summer of 2026, especially across the Southern Plains and parts of the interior West. When our lakes and reservoirs are already low, every gallon pulled for firefighting is a gallon that matters. Fire agencies do prioritize water for firefighting when it’s needed, but a drought year like this one is a good reminder for all of us to think about our own household water storage and our family’s wildfire evacuation plan, not just for fire season but for any emergency that strains local water supplies.

A few simple things you can do right now include keeping a defensible space around your home if you live near wildland areas, having a go bag ready with essentials, knowing two ways out of your neighborhood, and signing up for your county’s emergency alert system so you get evacuation notices the moment they’re issued.

How to Put Together Your Family’s Evacuation Grab and Go Kit

When an evacuation order comes, whether it’s for a wildfire, a flood, or any other emergency, you won’t have time to think. You’ll only have time to act. That’s why the best time to put together your grab-and-go kit is right now, while everything is calm and you can think clearly about what your family actually needs.

Start With a Container Everyone Can Carry

Choose a sturdy backpack or a duffel bag for each family member who is old enough to carry one. Keep everything packed and ready near your front door or in your vehicle, not scattered around the house where you’d have to hunt for it under pressure. If you have little ones, pack their items in your own bag or in a smaller bag they can help carry themselves so they feel included in the plan.

The Documents and Money You Can’t Replace Available on the Way Out

Keep copies of important documents in a waterproof pouch or a small, easy-to-grab fireproof lockbox. This includes identification for every family member, insurance policies, birth certificates, the deed or lease to your home, medical records, and a list of prescriptions with dosages. Add a small amount of cash in small bills, since power outages can mean card readers and ATMs aren’t working. It’s also smart to keep digital copies of these documents saved somewhere you can access from your phone.

Water and Food for the First Three Days

Pack at least 1 gallon of water per person per day for 3 days, along with easy-to-eat, shelf-stable food that doesn’t require cooking, such as protein bars, canned goods with pull-tab lids, peanut butter, and crackers. Don’t forget a manual can opener and enough food and water for any pets in your household. Yes, I still prefer 4 gallons per person per day. You decide how much you can deal with effectively.

A Basic First Aid and Health Kit

Include a first-aid kit, any regular medications your family takes, a spare pair of glasses or contacts (if needed), hand sanitizer, and a small supply of basic over-the-counter medicines for pain, allergies, and upset stomachs.

Clothing and Comfort Items

Pack a change of clothes for each person, sturdy closed-toe shoes, a warm layer, and a rain jacket, since you don’t know what weather you’ll be facing once you leave. For children, tuck in a small comfort item like a stuffed animal or a favorite small toy. It makes a real difference for a child’s sense of calm during a scary and confusing time.

Tools and Communication

Include a flashlight with extra batteries, a battery-powered or hand-crank radio, a portable phone charger, a whistle to signal for help, and a paper map of your area in case cell service goes down. Write out a family communication plan with an out-of-town contact everyone can check in with, and make sure every family member, including kids, knows the plan.

Don’t Forget Your Pets

Pack a leash, a carrier if needed, food, water, any medications, and a copy of vaccination records for each pet. If you have larger animals like horses or livestock, plan your evacuation route and destination well before fire season starts, since those decisions take longer to arrange under pressure.

Keep the Kit Fresh

Set a reminder every six months to check your kit. Rotate out food and water before they expire, update clothing sizes for growing kids, refresh any medications nearing their expiration dates, and make sure batteries and phone chargers still work.

Practice the Plan

A grab-and-go kit only helps if your family knows where it is and how to use it. Walk through your evacuation plan together once or twice a year, including two different routes out of your neighborhood in case one is blocked. Practicing takes the panic out of the moment if the day ever comes when you actually need to use it.

Wildfires Across America

Drought: How Will It Affect Our Food Prices?

Final Word

As mentioned, an evacuation order is one of those moments when there’s no time to think, only time to act. The families who get through those moments with the least stress are almost always the ones who think ahead. Building this kit this weekend, even a little at a time, is one of the most loving things you can do for the people who depend on you. Wildfire season in 2026 has been one for the record books, and while most of the news is about acreage and containment percentages, the real story is about the families near these fires and the crews working to protect them. Whether a fire starts with a lightning strike or a spark from a trailer chain, the response is the same: it takes water, personnel, and preparation to bring it under control. Please take this as a gentle nudge to check your family’s food and water storage and evacuation plan this week, whether there is a drought or not. May God bless this world, Linda

Copyright Images: Wildfire Smoke from a wildfire rises in the sky above the forest Depositphotos_676867234_S, Huge flames burning coniferous trees in the forests of the Rocky Mountains Depositphotos_340088138_S,

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from Food Storage Moms

Water: Are We Running Out Of It?

Water: Are we running out of it? Every morning I turn on my kitchen tap without a second thought, and I would bet you do the same thing. Water just comes out. It’s easy to forget that clean water is not something we’re guaranteed forever. As a family that believes in being prepared, I think it’s worth pausing to ask some honest questions. Do we have a water shortage? Are we wasting water? Is water scarcity real? The answers may surprise you, and they’re worth thinking about the next time you turn on that tap.

Only a Sliver of Our Water Is Actually Usable

Here’s a fact that stopped me in my tracks. Only 3 percent of all water on the planet is freshwater, and of that small fraction, about 2.5 percent is locked away in glaciers, ice caps, and underground aquifers, leaving roughly 0.5 percent of the Earth’s total water as accessible freshwater in lakes, rivers, wetlands, and shallow groundwater. That’s an incredibly small slice of the planet’s water supply that all of humanity, animals, and crops depend on.

Undrinkable Water Is a Daily Reality for Many

It’s easy to assume clean water is something everyone has access to, but that’s far from true. Around one in four people worldwide lack access to safely managed drinking water, meaning their water isn’t reliably safe, available at home, or free from contamination. In parts of the world, families walk miles for water that would never pass a basic safety test in our own kitchens. That’s something worth contemplating, and worth teaching our children to be grateful for.

Empty Aquifers Are a Slow-Motion Crisis

Aquifers are underground layers of rock and soil that store groundwater, and many of us rely on them without ever thinking about where our well or municipal water actually comes from. The world’s thirty largest aquifers supply about 40 percent of global groundwater use, and 60 percent of them are being drained faster than they can naturally refill. Groundwater depletion rates have climbed by 50 percent since 1990, and about 2.1 billion people depend on groundwater for their drinking water. These underground reserves took centuries, sometimes millennia, to fill. Once they’re gone, they don’t completely come back quickly, if ever.

Leaking Pipes Waste More Than We Realize

Water waste isn’t only about long showers or watering the lawn at noon with the water quickly evaporating. A huge amount of treated, drinkable water never even reaches a faucet because it leaks out of aging pipes long before it gets there, and here in the United States, the numbers are hard to believe. The nation’s drinking water system relies on more than 2.2 million miles of underground pipes, and much of it was laid down 50 or more years ago, right after World War II. In some older cities, water mainlines are pushing a century old.

Because of that aging network, the country loses nearly 20 percent of its treated water before it ever reaches a home or business. That works out to somewhere between 2 trillion and 2.1 trillion gallons of clean, already treated water lost every single year, which experts say is enough to supply more than 30 million households for an entire year. On an average day, that’s nearly 6.75 billion gallons slipping away underground, unseen and unused. Somewhere in the country, a water main breaks roughly every two minutes, and there are an estimated 240,000 water main breaks every year nationwide. All of that lost water costs utilities, and ultimately customers, more than six billion dollars annually.

It is a quiet kind of waste. Nobody sees a puddle forming in their yard when a pipe cracks three feet underground on a street a mile away, but it adds up to a staggering amount of clean water lost every single day, water that was already pumped, filtered, and treated before it disappeared into the ground.

Rivers Are Being Shared by Too Many Hands

Rivers don’t respect state lines or country borders, and that’s part of the problem. Of the world’s 30 largest rivers, which supply water to about 4 billion people, roughly a quarter are now experiencing declining flows. Two-thirds of the world’s largest rivers are no longer free-flowing. When farms, cities, and industries upstream all draw from the same river, there’s simply less left for the communities downstream. This is already causing real tension between states and even between countries.

Waterborne Diseases Still Threaten Families

Clean water isn’t just about convenience. It’s about health and survival. About 1.8 billion people drink water from sources contaminated with human waste, significantly increasing the risk of waterborne disease. Illnesses like cholera, dysentery, and typhoid spread quickly through contaminated water, especially among young children and older adults. This is one more reason why having a reliable, safe source of water at home, along with a backup plan, matters so much for our families.

So, Are We Running Out of Water?

The honest answer is complicated. We aren’t running out of water in the sense that the Earth’s water simply disappears. Water moves through a cycle. But we’re absolutely running out of easily accessible, clean, affordable freshwater in many regions, and that shortage is growing. By 2050, nearly five billion people are expected to live in areas facing high water stress. Three billion people already live in areas where total water storage is declining, and more than half of the world’s food is produced in those same stressed regions. That’s not a distant problem for someone else to solve. That’s a real and growing concern for our children and grandchildren.

Simple Ways Our Families Can Be Part of the Solution

We may not be able to fix aquifers or rivers on our own, but there’s still plenty we can do at home. Fix that dripping faucet instead of letting it run for months. Store water properly for emergencies so a boil water notice or a broken pipe doesn’t catch you off guard. Water your garden in the early morning or evening rather than during the heat of the day. Teach your children why turning off the tap while brushing their teeth actually matters. Small habits, repeated across millions of homes, genuinely add up.

Your Family Water Storage Checklist

Since so much of this comes back to having your own safe water supply on hand, here’s a simple checklist to get your family started or to check up on what you already have stored.

Store at least one gallon of water per person per day, and plan for a minimum of two weeks per person if you have the space. You know my thoughts: I tell my readers that 4 gallons per person per day is a more realistic goal when prepping for emergencies. I get thirsty thinking of just one gallon of water per day. We need water for proper hydration, cooking our food, basic personal hygiene, and limited laundry chores.

Don’t forget your pets. They need water too, and it’s easy to overlook them when you’re planning. We just found out Stella, our Shih Tzu, has gained too much weight. She’s now on a diet. Every pet needs water: Dogs need one ounce of water per pound per day. So hefty, Stella now needs 14 ounces of water each day.

Use food-grade water storage containers, and avoid reusing containers that once held milk or juice, since they’re hard to fully clean.

Keep stored water away from direct sunlight and away from harsh chemicals, gasoline, or cleaning supplies.

Rotate your water supply roughly every six months to a year if you’re storing plain tap water in containers, or check the expiration date if you’re using commercially bottled water.

Have a way to purify water on hand as a backup, such as water purification tablets, a reliable filter, or the ability to safely boil water. I have both Big Berkey and PortaWell water filtering systems. They’re great if you feel the water might be questionable and needs to be filtered effectively. You can check out my posts on how to properly filter and store water for emergencies.

Keep a few cases of bottled water in your vehicle or car trunk, especially if you travel through rural areas or during extreme heat.

Label your containers with the date you filled them so you always know when it’s time to rotate your supply.

Lake Powell and Lake Mead: Water and Power Crisis

Is There a Water Shortage Where You Live?

Final Word

Water is one of those blessings we so easily take for granted until it’s not there. I believe part of being a prepared family isn’t living in fear, but living with awareness and gratitude, and taking small, steady steps to be good stewards of what we’ve been given. The next time you turn on your tap, I hope you’ll pause for just a moment and remember how precious that simple stream of clean water really is. May God bless this world, Linda

Copyright Images: Filling Glass Of Tap Water Depositphotos_4466899_S, Water With Water Jug Depositphotos_221729546_S

The post Water: Are We Running Out Of It? appeared first on Food Storage Moms.

from Food Storage Moms

How to Store Cornmeal to Prevent Spoilage

Cornmeal is one of the most versatile kitchen staples that you probably have right now. Whether you’re making cornbread, some kind of casserole, cookies, polenta, porridge, or anything else, it is a nutritious and filling ingredient. I go through tons of the stuff, and accordingly, I keep a lot of it on hand in storage. ... Read more

How to Store Cornmeal to Prevent Spoilage can be read in full at New Life On A Homestead- Be sure to check it out!

from New Life On A Homestead

Faraday Cages Don’t Work the Way Most Prepper Articles Claim

Spend an evening reading survival blogs and you will come away convinced that a galvanized trash can, a roll of aluminum tape, and a sheet of cardboard are all that stand between your radio collection and the end of the world. The advice gets repeated so often that it has hardened into folklore. Line the ... Read more...

from Prepper's Will

How to Make a Power Bank from Car Batteries

Estimated reading time: 19 minutes

In a Pinch, a Car Battery Can Do More Than Start a Car.

The power is out, and you have no idea how long it will be before it returns. Hopefully, you have a lights out box and know how to survive a power outage. But did you know your car's battery can supply you with quick access to power?

In fact, if the power is out for a long period of time, you could join together multiple car batteries to create a power bank. But you’ll have to do a little homework and some advance planning first.

Off-Grid Power Alternatives

There’s no lack of off-grid power options. Many people rely on solar power, some combine that with wind, and a few use the current from a creek or river. But all of those installations are complex and expensive projects. This is about pulling together an improvised power backup for as little cost as possible with a reasonable amount of work.

However, recharging your improvised power bank during a power outage may require alternative energy sources like solar or wind or even hand-cranked or foot pedaled power generation, so you’re not out of the solar woods yet.

Before You Yank That Battery Out of Your Car…

Stop and think about what you’re trying to do. If it’s a simple, short-term task, you may be better off leaving the battery under the hood. Your car is designed to recharge your battery every time you start it.

If you just want to recharge a cell phone or computer battery, many cars have built-in USB ports or at the least a cigarette lighter plugin. This assumes you have the USB cable or lighter plugin, but as long as there’s gas in the tank, your car could be your charging station. Better yet, almost every car has a radio, so you can keep up on the news while you recharge.

Vehicle AC Inverter

If you need to power something like a tool or appliance with alternating current, you could attach a small AC inverter under the hood or your cigarette lighter plug and use your appliance on a bench or table next to your vehicle. This assumes smaller, simpler, short-term use. If it looks like you’re out of power for the long haul, you may need to consider the next step.

From a Single Battery to a Power Bank

A power bank is two or more car batteries linked together with cables to hold more power in reserve and to boost the power. Creating a power bank is a little complicated, but if you understand the fundamental dynamics of what you’re doing, you should be able to master it in a day or two.

A Remote Power Option

If you have a remote cabin, barn, or shed without power and it's too far away for an extension cord, you could also consider a car battery power bank as a power source. You could recharge the batteries at home or use your vehicle as a remote charging station for your remote battery bank, that way you can use power tools or anything else that requires electricity.

Then again, a couple of solar panels on the roof or a generator alone would do the trick, but they’re still somewhat expensive.

It’s a Low-Cost Power Option

It’s somewhat easy to salvage batteries from junkyards, and that’s a good place to start. You may have to add dilute sulfuric acid and they’ll probably need to be cleaned up, but if you can find some car batteries on the cheap, you’re more than halfway to an emergency power bank. Just make sure you do some research on reconditioning car batteries before you hit the junkyard.

Lead-Acid Batteries 101

A battery is an electrochemical energy storage device that uses chemistry to store potential energy measured in volts. The first lead-acid battery was invented by French physicist Gaston Plante in 1859. The same technology is still used today. The basic design of a standard 12-volt lead-acid car battery consists of six lead galvanic cells connected in series and housed within a battery case.

An acidic electrolyte is added as a diluted solution of sulfuric acid. Concentrations vary but are generally less than or equal to 40%. The acid solution creates negatively charged sulfate ions and positively charged hydrogen ions that interact with the lead plates to hold an electric charge.

Before You Buy a Lead-Acid Battery from the Junk Yard…

Before you yank a battery out of the junkyard it’s a good idea to assess the condition of the battery. Whenever doing any testing or maintenance on a car battery wear protective eyewear, thick gloves, and a long sleeve shirt. Sulfuric acid is not user-friendly stuff and lead’s not much better.

Voltmeter

You’ll also need a voltmeter to measure the current charge (if any) and a hydrometer to assess the sulfuric acid concentration in the dilution. Both testing tools come with instructions on how to assess a battery’s condition.

If the battery checks out you’re good to go and load it up for further work at home, although some junkyard batteries show little or no charge if they have been in the junkyard for a long time.

Hydrometer

Maintaining Lead-Acid Batteries

Some car batteries are maintenance-free. Others aren’t. The simple fact is that most lead-acid batteries require regular maintenance. The primary thing you want to assess is the fluid in the battery and corrosion on the terminals.

• To remove any corrosion, mix up a paste of baking soda and water and coat the terminal. Use a metal brush to remove the corrosion. Wear all of your safety gear.
• The fluid level should be over the top of the lead plates. You usually add distilled water because the sulfuric acid tends to remain in the dilution. Often there are marks on the battery case indicating ideal fluid level. It’s the water that evaporates. However, it’s a good time to use your hydrometer to assess the sulfuric acid dilution and if it’s low, add sulfuric acid. Carefully. Measure your water/acid dilution with the hydrometer as you go.
• Inspect the battery case. The batteries should always be kept dry and show no signs of cracks or fissures. If it does, leave it in the junkyard. If you already own it, take it to a store that sells batteries and they’ll recycle it. They may charge you a fee, but it’s illegal to simply throw any lead-acid battery away.

DC Versus AC

DC stands for “direct current.” AC stands for “alternating current.” They are not compatible and anything you plug into a wall with a standard plug will not run on direct current. Direct current is low voltage compared to alternating current.

Most car batteries run at 12 volts, although other batteries produce voltage (V) at a range from 1.5V, 3.7V, 6V, 9V, 12V, 24V, and up. Alternating current runs at 110 or 220 volts.

Most things in our homes that plug into an electrical outlet are running at 110 volts. Large appliances and equipment like ovens and well pumps run on 220 volts. Don’t even think about powering an oven or well pump with an improvised car battery power bank. Even a whole-house solar installation is challenged with that level of power demand.

The advantages and disadvantages are complex, but the telegram is that something designed to work on DC will not work with AC unless it is stepped down with a DC converter. That thing you plug into the wall when recharging your cell phone with a USB cable is a DC converter that reduces the high AC voltage to DC to recharge your phone or laptop.

On the other hand, lights and appliances that plug into a wall outlet won’t work when connected directly to DC power. In that instance, you need an AC inverter. It steps up the voltage to 110 volts to power lights and anything else designed for AC.

AC Inverters

AC Inverter

Based on the assumption that you’re going to be using your battery power bank to run tools, lighting, and other standard electrical equipment, you’ll need to buy a serious AC inverter. They’re sold at hardware stores and on the Internet and are relatively inexpensive.

They all feature standard outlet plugs and most are designed to provide 110 volts. Some even have a USB outlet for direct connection to DC power for recharging small batteries in electronics.

The important thing to look for on an AC inverter is that it is designed as a “12-volt to 110-volt converter.” Inverters are designed for a range of voltage, and a standard car battery runs at 12-volts.

You also want the option of cable clamps to clamp directly to the battery terminals in addition to a plug-in connector for the cigarette lighter jack and a USB port so you can directly plug in phone and laptop recharging cables.

Keep an eye on the wattage rating as well. It makes sense to get an AC inverter rated for up to 1,000 watts. Running anything at that wattage for any period of time will put a fast drain on your batteries, but at least you have the option. In fact, if you run too much power from the batteries they can overheat and possibly explode.

Be aware that AC inverters are rated on peak output and continuous output. The continuous output is the most important measure. Peak output is designed to run for minutes or less while a motor gets up to speed. Unfortunately, some manufacturers only feature the peak output in their product descriptions. Also, make sure you read the inverter instructions carefully before hooking it up.

Volts, Amps, Ohms and What about Watts?

And now for some electrical rocket science. The­ three most basic units in electricity are voltage, current, and resistance. Voltage is measured in volts, current is measured in amps, and resistance is measured in ohms.

The easiest way to understand this is to think of a water pipe. The voltage is the water pressure. The current is the flow rate, and the resistance is caused by the pipe size. In electricity, this is how electric power is delivered over wires, and the total result is measured in wattage or “watts.”

The reason it’s important to understand those basic concepts is because of how they will affect the performance of your improvised power bank. It will affect decisions on what size wires you use to hook things together (the size of the pipe affecting resistance or ohms), how many batteries you’ll need in your bank (affecting the amount of power running from your system in volts), and the overall flow of electricity that results (how much electricity the system will deliver measured in amps).

All of these factors affect what kind of appliance you can power and how many. We’ll get into some equations that can help you calculate usage and the power needed, but it’s a good idea to look at some realistic uses for a car battery power bank.

Realistic Usage:

• Emergency medical equipment like a CPAP.
• Computer, modem, TV, DVD player, radio.
• Recharge most electronics including phones, computers, rechargeable flashlights, battery-powered tools, and other battery-powered/rechargeable electronic devices.
• Small appliances like a coffee maker/grinder, can opener, small microwave oven, blender, food processor, and other appliances with wattage in the low hundreds.
• Power tools like circular saws, drills, jigsaws, and others.

And Possibly…

Larger appliances tend to draw high wattage and do so over the long-term. They would also require a larger power bank with multiple batteries. You’ll really have to do some math and evaluate your priorities if you want to power any of these:

• Refrigerator/freezer (you might want to switch off one or the other to reduce the watts needed).
• Toaster/toaster oven. They may look small, but they draw a lot of wattage.
• Larger microwave ovens.

And Then There’s “Forget about it!”

There are some things that even the largest battery systems would find to be a challenge. This is in the category of some home equipment that runs on 220 volts. That’s why dedicated off-grid homes with even the most sophisticated off-grid power systems use high-efficiency alternatives to many home appliances and equipment.

Here are some to not even consider for an improvised car battery power bank:

• Oven
• Well pump
• Any other 220-volt appliance like an electric furnace
• Water Heater (high wattage)
• Washer and dryer (high wattage)

Setting Up a Car Battery Power Bank

Setting Up A Car Battery Power Bank

Step 1: Linking Batteries

The more batteries you use, the more power you can both store and have available. Each battery has a positive (+) and negative (-) post or connection. There are two ways to connect batteries depending on what you are trying to accomplish.

Connecting Batteries in a Series

Batteries in a Series

To boost voltage, you connect the negative terminal of one battery to the positive terminal of the second battery. This doubles the voltage of two 12 volt batteries to 24 volts. If you did this with a third battery, you would boost the voltage to 36 volts and so on.

We’re going to skip this step and connect batteries “parallel” to maintain 12 volts but boost amperage.

Connecting Batteries in Parallel

Batteries in Parallel

To connect batteries in parallel, connect the positive terminal from the first battery to the positive terminal on the second battery. Do the same with the negative terminals. Now you’ve essentially created a larger 12-volt battery. You maintain 12 volts, but if one car battery is providing 50 amps, the combination is now delivering 100 amps. Adding a third battery would boost the amperage to 150, and so on.

The benefit of boosting amperage is a boost in power. However, this is where the size of your connecting wires is important. Remember the plumbing analogy. A small wire is like a small pipe and the higher the energy or amps, the greater the friction in a small wire.

This could cause the wire to get hot, the plastic coating to melt, and the wire to arc with a spark. A 4 gauge wire is your best bet when boosting amps with a parallel connection. At least a 4 gauge wire is particularly important when you connect your battery bank to your AC inverter.

Step 2: Charging Batteries

When your battery bank is in a parallel series, you can charge the batteries by connecting the positive wire from your charging source to the positive post or terminal, and the negative charging wire to the negative terminal. The charge will travel across the wires to all of the batteries.

Electric Battery Charger

With An Electric Charger

• Flip the switch to 12 V. Some chargers have multiple volt settings so make sure you select the right setting.
• Choose the charge setting. Electric battery chargers vary so consult the instruction manual for proper usage.

Solar/Wind/Crank Charging

• Whole books have been written about natural energy resources. If you are using this form of power to recharge, consult the solar/wind/crank manuals for how to effectively recharge batteries.

Battery Charging Monitor

Monitoring The Charge

• Regardless of how you recharge, you need to monitor your progress. A battery recharging monitor can tell you when you've reached a full charge on your battery bank and track progress.

The 50% Rule

Ideally, lead-acid batteries should never go below a 50% charge. It rarely happens in a car because the car’s alternator automatically recharges the battery every time the car runs. Batteries that are consistently drained below 50% will eventually fail. No one said this would be easy.

Step 3: Calculating and Measuring Charge

This is all about battery capacity, charging capacity, and how much power you’ll draw from your battery reserves to not only power something, but also how long you can power something. Additionally, it's about long you’ll need to recharge your battery bank. Be forewarned, it’s complicated.

When we recharge a dead battery to restart a car, we attach the charger and charge it until it starts. At that point, the car’s alternator takes over to further charge the battery. With a battery bank, there’s no alternator to step in and take over the final recharge while powering the car’s electrical systems.

Here again, you can use your battery recharging monitor to measure some of these factors, but it helps to understand the concept.

There are also meters on a car battery recharger that tell you when the battery is fully charged, but what if you’re using solar or wind power for recharging? Here are some ways to calculate this.

Battery Capacity

Car batteries are rated by something called “reserve current.” It identifies how much power the battery can store in amp hours. The average 12 volt car battery stores 50 amp hours. That means the battery will supply 1 amp for 50 hours.

You should know that reserve current varies across batteries. Deep cycle marine batteries have reserve currents in the 100’s, so take the time to look at the labels on the battery. They should clearly identify the amperage.

The typical amperage draw for small power tools (drill, sander, jigsaw, etc.) is 2 to 8 amps. Larger power tools (router, circular saw, table saw, cutoff saw, etc.), draw 6 to 16 amps. Some tools such as large air compressors may need even more power.

As a result, a power drill running at 2 amps should have sufficient power from a car battery for 25 hours (50 amp hours ÷ 2 amps = 25 hours). But there’s a catch. Car batteries should never be drained below 50% of their reserve current.

We don’t think about it when the battery is connected under the hood because, once again, the alternator steps in to top off the reserve current. But a free-standing battery in a battery bank has no alternator as a backup. That means you really only have 12.5 hours of power for your power drill before your battery dips below 50%.

Some of us may just run that drill until the battery quits and call it a day and recharge the batteries. That’s actually a bad idea. And if you are powering a piece of medical equipment like a CPAP or the simple electronics on a pellet stove in winter, you really want to know how long your battery power will safely last.

Battery Meter

Your best bet is to keep a battery meter attached to your battery bank and keep an eye on the battery charge. When you reach 50%, it's time to recharge.

Charging Capacity

This is about estimating how long it will take to recharge your battery bank. It’s all about the number of watts you are using to charge one battery. A standard plug-in battery charger runs at 100 watts. To determine how long it would take to fully charge a battery with a capacity of 200 amp hours, use this equation:

Number of watts ÷ 12 (volts) = amp hours

Here’s an example using a standard battery charger at 100 watts:

100 watts ÷ 12 = 8.33 hours to charge.

However, charge rates vary. In fact, a slower charge reserves battery life so you’re probably better off just monitoring your charge meter and figuring out your system as you go.

Step 4: Power Conservation

• If you’re not using something, shut it off.
• Use high-efficiency light bulbs if you’re using your power bank for any lighting.
• Take the time to determine the wattage and amps used by anything you’re plugging into your power bank.
• After every use of your power bank, check the charge remaining and recharge if needed.
• The next time you buy an appliance or tool, see if there’s an energy-efficient option.

Step 5: Safety Precautions

Lead-acid batteries are dangerous.

• When recharging, they give off hydrogen, a very flammable and explosive gas. Keep open flames, smoking, or any other fire or spark away from any lead-acid battery.
• They contain sulfuric acid that can burn you and blind you.
• They are filled with lead plates suspended in sulfuric acid that could also give you lead poisoning if the solution contacts the skin.
• Always wear safety protection around lead-acid batteries including gloves and eye protection.
• They are incredibly heavy. Carry them carefully or transport them on a cart or wagon.
• Never recharge in an enclosed living space and, even in a garage, provide some ventilation.

Is a Battery Bank a Good Idea?

Yes, if you take the proper precautions and take the time to understand the dynamics of handling and recharging lead-acid batteries.

If you don’t have the time or the inclination to stop and think about how you’re going to approach a battery bank project, you’re probably better off looking at other alternatives to emergency electric power.

Originally published on Urban Survival Site.

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