Is it better to buy gas fridge/freezers and your own generators, water tanks?

Ladybird

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As electricity is so expensive and unreliable and the water unsafe, is it better to be self sufficient as much as possible? and can you buy gas fridge/freezers, if so are they reliable. Barby
 

Robert

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Right now gas (LPG) is also becoming like "hens teeth". Read the news and you will see why this is happening and why LPG fridge/freezers might not be such a great idea right now.
 

Robert

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The either have backup power sources, eat it or throw it away.

Lots of threads on this message board talking about back up power sources, generators and invertors.
 

Ken

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"Back up" water is a good idea. Most hotels and apartment complexes have them, as do a great many homes. The are called tanakas here and come in varous capacities. Widely available.
 

Ladybird

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Robert, Ive searched the archives thanks. I cant find the news article about propane gas, (or hens teeth) where would I find this .
Ken hallo, nice Christmas I hope, how nice to speak to you as it has just turned into my birthday, Im 1 year younger. Where would I find more info on these tanakas, sizes and prices, Ive seen Micheal in classified that sells purifiers and Ive made contact but wonder which would be better. How do you manage in power cuts Ken? Barbara
 

Sandeep

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Hi Barby,

We were lucky and tapped in to a neighbours generator and well. To date, we have not been without water or electricity apart from one incident when the generator was down for repairs for 2 hrs.

Depending on where you live, you might need an invertor and/or generator (we have neither).

When you arrive, speak to your neighbours to see what they use....You might get lucky if they have a large power unit or you live close to a gated community / apartment block.

We pay 1,500 pesos per month for the maintenance on the generator and all the water we can use. At this price and in the current economic climate it does not make financial sense for us to buy a generator and maintain it. Bargain when I read through some of the horrible times other people go through.

As far as LPG goes, on a trip to Santiago last week, there were q's a mile long past every gas station. No chance of getting a look in. Next week I am going to drop the gardener off at 6am and pick him up at 6pm and see if we have got lucky.
 

Ladybird

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Sandeep, dont know if we have neighbours, yes Im bringing yr beans and some for us so we can all survive out there, if theres no power and now no gas, what on earths going on?? Get some gas for us if its that bad....

Thanks Robert I'll read it. Barby
 

Ken

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When you get here you can investigate the tanakas. They are easily obtained; stocked by many.

Our condo complex has a backup generator. However, if it didn't, we would at least have an inverter. Whether you can get by on an inverter or should have your own generator will depend on where you live and how the power situation is there. It is not the same everyplace.

Talk with people living in same area; that is best way of determining what you should do.

PS: a bit of advice. If you get yourself all worried now about power, etc., you will never make it here. Things almost always work out. Get here, talk with people living in area where you will be, then make your decisions with their input. Remember, they have already confronted and dealt with these problems. Their advice of more value to you than the general input we can give you on this message board.
 
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PJT

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ecandido said:
As electricity is so expensive and unreliable and the water unsafe, is it better to be self sufficient as much as possible? and can you buy gas fridge/freezers, if so are they reliable. Barby

It all depends upon where you are going to settle and the availability of resources on site and nearby.

Here are some examples.

If you are going to live in the countryside and depend on well water there should be sufficient supply for your washing and sanitary needs. However, you must have a dependable electric supply or backup to power the well pump. A tenaka holding reserve water gravity fed to the house would serve as a back-up should you have no auxiliary power during a blackout. Unless your well water tests OK buy bottled water for drinking.

If you settle in an area subject to blackouts you most certainly will want backup power using an inverter or generator.

Gas fridges/freezers are OK I guess. I do not find them readily available in the major stores, the market is for electrics. I do not know how reliable they are, one of the other posters may have reliability information. I am aware that the downside is if the appliances are kept within the kitchen they tend to keep a hot house hotter in the summer. If the kitchen is air conditioned and sealed, more energy is going to be used to cool the room and there is a danger of asphyxiation from an improperly operating appliance. The appliances are best suited in a covered area at the house exterior. Fuel availabilty is a real horror as mentioned by Robert. You should have an option of at least two nearby sources of gas. Buy and keep a reserve tank of gas. If local service is available, there are some gas companies that will fill your empty tank using a pick-up and delivery service.

Your real ticket of self-sufficiency is to maintain a positive attitude and to make ready. Regards, PJT
 

Ladybird

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Thank you Ken.
Thank you PJ, excellent advice from you, we have a very positive attitude, we lived in the desert in Saudi Arabia for years, our son was born there, we're used to power cuts and heat. However this is a new country and we want to research as much as poss before we arrive as we have so much to do all at once, (we havent even got a bed! we'll cope. Why is there such a rush on LPG?
You all have been most helpful, nothing will deter us> Barby
 

Sandeep

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Not sure if my understanding of the gas shortage is accurate, but... the DR imports all of it's gas / petroleum. The gas is part subsidised by the Govt. and it seems that they have not been paying the bills to the suppliers. Hence the shortages.

I suspect that there has been a lot of panic buying / storage as occurred in the UK during the truck drivers campaign to blockade the refineries.

If you are still interested in gas powered fridge / freezers they are available in Refripartis in Puerto Plata, but they do come at a premuim.

mmmm......Heinz Baked Beans. Can't wait.
 

jsizemore

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what about kerosene

are kerosene refers easy to obtain? Also a two burner kerosene stove may not be a bad shot for back up to the back to the back up. Sorry just the boyscout in me.
John
 

Adrian Bye

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btw, you don't have to do it all the hard way.

I found an apartment for US $500/month in Santiago which includes:

- 24hr electric backup
- building water reserve + pump
- piped natural gas to all apartments

Basically its protected against all the infrastructure problems. We're going to negotiate the price down, but be aware there are places like this, and compared to US/UK rental they're a great deal.
 

XanaduRanch

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PJT said:
If you settle in an area subject to blackouts you most certainly will want backup power using an inverter or generator.
IE: The Dominican Republic.

Unless and until the Dominican government gets out of the subsidy business, or strikes oil on the scale of Saudia Arabia to pay for them, the shortages of electricity, propane, and to some extent water will continue indefinitely. Just factor into your living costs money for an inverter, or small generator and inverter. If the area you wind in has fairly good service and you don't need it, you're money ahead. If it has poor service you're self-sufficient.

Considering the problems with Propane, propane appliances make no sense right now. It's easy to generate your own electricity. Pretty hard to make your own propane. When I finally get back to rebuilding our kitchen I have decided to buy all electric appliances, including the ovens, grill, cooktops, etc. We have a genrator now and all the electricity we could want, so eliminating the two-three day hassle of searching for propane once a month is a no-brainer.

Tom (aka XR)
 

Ladybird

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QQ I read yr thread, thank you so much Ive just gone off gas appliances.

Tom, yes I think we'll get our own generator and all elect appliances, any ideas where the best prices/discounts would be for all appliances and beds tv's etc in Sosua Pop. Ive read the great advice about Japanese goods being good to stand power cuts, and we'll follow advice for water. Barby only 2 weeks to go....
 

XanaduRanch

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Barby,

All electric appliances are fine, but keep in mind that the stove is a real energy hog.

An electric range can take 6KW to run all by itself, which is more juice than most small gasoline 'emergency' generators. Our little gas generator is a 6.5KW so we'd have to dedicate it just to the oven! We're able to do it now because we just installed a 45KW diesel brute so we have plenty of extra capacity - and we intend to use it. But the planta alone set us back between US$7,000 and US$8,000 depending on how you calculate the exchange rate.

So, if you're going to go to electric cooking, be sure you're going to have the juice available to do it before investing in the appliance.

Tom (aka XR)

P.S.
The other electric appliances, like refrigerators, freezers, microwave ovens, etc., won't cause any big drain on a small gasolina planta or inverter though. It's just the range that's a problem.

P.P.S.
Skip Puerto Plata and Sosua for appliances, go directly to Santiago. La Sirena, both locations have a wide selection, but are lacking in electric cooking appliances. PriceMart occasionally has a few things but their appliance selection is pretty spartan. For an electric range I would definitely go to Ochoa. They have the fridges and stoves that I plan on installing here. Good American brands too like Amana, Maytag, etc.
 
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