Off-Grid Reality: Energy Conservation

We get quite a few inquiries about setting up off-grid power systems.  Now, designing a home power system isn’t rocket science but it is time consuming.  The first thing a person needs to do is figure up the amount of power that they need.

If you’re on grid power the easiest (and quickest) way is to look at your electric bill.  Each month the power company bills you for the power that you use.  Not having purchased electricity from the power company for a good many years I have no idea what the power consumption is for the average home so I did some research.  That yielded conflicting data depending upon the sources cited but the most reliable figures put it around 1,000 kWh per month.  Keep in mind that this is an average and does not reflect regional differences.  For example, those in the South use a lot more electricity (on average) than those in the north, (probably because there are few non-electric alternatives to cooling a house and many non-electric ways to heat one!). This puts the daily total around 32 kWh (kilo-watt-hours equal 1000 watts per hour).  That’s 32,000 watts per day.  That sounds like a lot (and it is), but keep in mind that the average air-conditioner uses 3,500 watts per hour (3.5 kWh).

What this means is that if you’re thinking about converting to solar power you’ll need to produce, on average, 32,000 watts of electricity per day to power your home.

Solar panels produce their maximum output in direct sunlight.  Unless you have a sun tracking system that means you’re going to get between five and six hours per day of maximum power from your solar panels.  Your solar panels will need to generate 32,000 watts of electricity in that six hour time span which translates into 5,3333 watts per hour.  Add another twenty-percent due to losses in the system and the total generating capacity required jumps to 6,400 watts. That’s thirty-two, 200 watt panels.  The best price I found on a quick internet search yielded a $7,000.00 price tag for those 32 panels.  (That, incidentally, is a very good deal.)

Remember, that’s for the solar panels only!  It doesn’t include mounting hardware, wiring, charge controllers, batteries, inverters, legal permits or the cost of installation.  It’s very easy to spend $25,000.00 or more on an off-grid power system for the average household.

Now, that’s the estimate for average energy use.  Off-grid systems must be able to handle the power needs during peak use and when solar power is at a minimum.  In our case we have long days of consistent summer sunshine but in the winter we have very short, often cloudy days.  We need power in the winter to run lights, laptops, television/VCR (we do most of our writing and watching movies during the winter season) and other electrical devices in the mornings and evenings at the time of year when we have the least amount of sun available.  Our system is sized to provide the power we need in the winter so in the summer our battery bank is often fully charged by 10:00 AM. 
When you plan for peak use or reduced outputs your initial investment often doubles or triples so that $25,000 system now cost upwards of fifty to seventy-five thousand dollars.

It is at this point (while the sticker shock takes hold!) that I learn how serious they are about living life off the grid.  People have a tendency to waste plentiful resources.  Grid power is virtually unlimited for most people so conserving electricity it isn’t something many seriously pursue.  In other words, the majority of households could greatly reduce their energy consumption if they put their mind to it.

The best way that I’m aware of to reduce energy consumption is to begin by conducting an energy inventory.  So … once they’ve recovered from the initial estimate for going off the grid, I recommend that they go through their home and write down the watt ratings on every electrical device in their homes and provide an estimate of how many hours it’s used.  Since these numbers are located on the back or bottom of most appliances this is going to take some effort.

Next, take a sheet of paper and divide it into five columns.  At the top of the first column write in “name” which means the name of the appliance.  On the second write “watts” which is the amount of power used by the appliance.  (Note: some will have the number of “amps” instead of watt rating.  Multiply the amps and volts to arrive at the number of watts an appliance uses.)  On the next column write, “hours used.”  In this column estimate the number of hours the unit in question is used per day.  If it’s only used three days a week then total the hours for those three days and divide that number by seven to get the number of hours it’s used per day. In the fourth column, record the “daily energy use” in watts, (multiply the number of watts by the hours used.)  In the fifth column write “notes.”  In this last column you can put down ways to cut the energy requirements of this appliance. This might include using the item less or purchasing an appliance that’s more energy efficient, etc.
For example, replacing four, sixty-watt, incandescent light bulbs with four LED lights that put out the same amount of light, may reduce your energy use from 240 watts to less than 30 watts (a ninety-percent reduction in energy use).  That’s a “savings” of 210 watts.  Think about that for a minute; that’s the potential output of one, 200 watt solar panel!

Check the power needs of your refrigerator, television, computer (and monitor), gaming systems (X-Box, Wii, etc.) water heater, hair dryers, washer, dryer, air conditioner and heating system, and everything else in your home that uses electricity.  Be aware of “ghost loads.”  Many appliances use power even when turned off.  We use outlet strips and shut power off completely to our television, Blue-Ray, Wii and other appliances when they aren’t being used.
Once you have an idea on where your electricity is being “spent” you can begin to work on an “energy budget.”  Just like trimming a financial budget, you begin by cutting out frivolous expenditures and reducing use whenever possible.  As big ticket items need replaced, replace them with energy efficient models.

When thinking about off-grid living I recommend that people use other energy sources like selling their electric range, water heater, dryer, etc. and purchasing replacements that use propane.  But even then a person should make his goal conserving resources rather than just switching to a different energy source. 

For example:  We use less than 100 pounds of propane per year running our propane cook stove and that includes many hours of pressure canning.  Some of the ways we accomplish this include putting only the amount of water we need in the teakettle before heating it up.  There’s no sense spending four times the energy needed to heat a quart of water when you only need one cup.  We shut off the pilot light to the top burners.  We light the burners as needed using a long reach butane lighter like those used to light charcoal grills.  When the lighter runs out of butane we can still light the burners using the spark at the tip.  We’ve used the same lighter for over a year that way.  We do a lot of cooking on the wood (heating) stove when it’s in use (which is a lot in our climate).  We use a solar cooker as much as possible. 

Note: You may not be able to use a solar cooker for every meal but if you can average one meal a day using it you’ve cut the energy used cooking by thirty-percent.

The clothes a person wears can reduce energy usage.  For example:  We wash all of our laundry by hand and it didn’t take long to realize that we could wash three pairs of shorts easier and in less water than one pair of blue jeans.  Ankle high socks are easier to wash than full length socks.  Sweaters are easier to wash than sweat shirts.  Some types of fabric are easier to wash as well.  What you accomplish is putting more changes of clothing in each load so you run the washer fewer times.  You save water, electricity, detergent, drying times, and your appliances last longer.

“Passive solar” energy used to be seen as a great way to tap into the sun’s power.  The problem is that in most cases passive solar can’t handle all of our energy needs.  For example, on cloudy days, passive solar water heaters don’t get the water temperature hot enough.  But even if passive solar water heaters can’t raise the water temperature as high as your hot water heater they raise it some and every degree the water entering the hot water heater is increased is one degree less the hot water heater needs to heat it. The same holds true for passive solar heating.  It may not keep your home toasty warm but if it raises the air temperature a few degrees it’s just that much less the home heating system has to work.  Even skylights reduce the need for artificial lighting.

Be creative!  Many passive solar heating devices can be built very cheaply and are virtually maintenance free.  Take advantage of the free energy.  If you’re building your own home or remodeling an existing one plan to make use of passive solar energy and/or ways to make your home less dependent upon air-conditioning in summer.  We have a friend in Texas who carefully designed her home to be cool in summer.  In an area where most homes depend on air-conditioners in the summer hers is cool and breezy without artificial aids.
Again, be creative!

We operate on the principle that many small changes can yield big results.  My book, Creating the Low-Budget Homestead, has an entire chapter with more details on how to set up a low-budget, off-grid power system.  It’s also loaded with other ideas that will save money in your daily life whether on or off the grid.  I’d invite you to get a copy at:  http://www.grit.com/shopping/detail.aspx?itemnumber=6510#axzz2TSaSIHog (Grit Magazine book store).

Note: While the focus on this series of posts will be on solar power and off-grid living, if you put these tips to use while on the grid you may be able to put enough back to take the plunge and break free of the power company altogether.

We get a lot of questions about solar power installation and one of the most vexing problems people have to deal with is finding an area with full exposure to the sun. We had one person agonize for days about two trees that would shade the panels for part of the day. She, like a lot of people, thought that if half of the panels were still in the sun she’d only lose half of her generating power during that time. It just isn’t so! 

We’re currently taking life easy in the desert of Southern Nevada (in a "no-snow" zone), living in our U-Haul truck that we’ve converted to a motorhome. We’ve installed a 100 watt solar panel to supply our electrical needs (to power a couple of lights, our notebook computers and watch DVD’s on our portable DVD player). 

We have an ancient analog charge controller that we use to show the importance of full sun on a solar panel so I took a few photos to illustrate what happens when solar panels are shaded from direct sunlight.

 

This is the 100 watt solar panel. It’s divided into 72 sections or "grids."

 

This is the panel at its maximum output of 6 amps or 79.5 watts (take 13.25 volts times 6 amps to get 79.5 watts). Very few solar panels actually put out their rated watts in a real-world setting. The reasons why will be covered in a future post.

  

I used my hand to cover two of the "squares."

  

Note that covering two sections out of seventy-two reduced charging amps by thirty-percent. The panel is now putting out 53 watts.

  

I covered 15 squares (approximately 20 percent) with a hand towel.

  

That reduced the amps to 3 and the charging voltage to 12.75 (38.25 watts). Twenty percent shade resulted in a fifty-percent drop in power.

  

I covered half of the panel with a blanket.

  

…and reduced the power to approximately ½ amp and 12.5 volts (which was battery voltage).

We should note that this is not a scientific experiment. The battery we’re using is old and marginal which affects some of our numbers but the percentage the charge rate is reduced in relation to the amount of shading is accurate.

So if you’re considering a solar array the most important aspect of siting it is to insure that it will be in full sunlight for the most hours possible during the day.

 

I was pleasantly surprised to see an excerpt from my book, Creating the Low-Budget Homestead, in the blog section of Grit Magazine.  

"...Country people can be awful stubborn and that's a good trait, but from personal back-home experience when it comes to religion and politics, not being open-minded is a trait that some country folk could work on. It's also common sense and consideration if someone is of a different religion, race, citizenship or political opinion comes to live near you, that we not block them out as foreign, and hate them outright. Open-mindedness, warmth and and (sic) an open hand of friendship goes a long way toward neighbors living together in a wonderful peace and community that living in the country brings. ... "  

I've pulled these comments out because they bring up some important points for those moving to rural areas.

First, close mindedness is not a trait limited to "country folk." Second:  if a person moves to a rural area and immediately starts trying to "reform" the people around him, his acceptance level is going to plummet. Third:  those "political issues" often mean the difference between employment and bankruptcy to those "close minded" locals.

A couple of years ago we assisted some people who were riding the Continental Divide trail on bicycles.  Upon meeting the group we noted one man surveying the mountains with a puzzled look.  We asked what he was looking at and he exclaimed that “There are lots of trees here!”  Now we were puzzled so we asked him why that surprised him.  He explained at length that he’d been active on some environmental websites and had been convinced that all of the forest had been obliterated by the logging industry.  He left as an educated man after a quick introduction on the realities of logging, sustainable yields and reforestation.  He also realized that he’d been duped by organizations interested more in political idealism and financial donations than truth.

Loggers are no different than anyone else with an agricultural based business.  They aren’t going to destroy their children’s livelihood for short term gain.  Logging is carefully managed for sustainable yields.  The forest is their livelihood.  They have more at stake in keeping it healthy than some quasi-environmental group whose leadership has never been outside of New York City. 

In this area the logging industry has been heavily impacted by misguided environmental political activity. Most of it’s been done
by people living thousands of miles away who are totally ignorant about logging.  This "industry" is not a faceless corporation but it is families who've been making their living in the woods for several generations. They are the people who cut the trees that were milled into logs so that you could have a house to live in.  They are (or will be) your neighbors.  They take politics very seriously.  

Wolves are another example. To those who reside in the city and urban areas and educated by Walt Disney Studios, wolves are a majestic icon of freedom. To the rancher and farmer they’re killing machines that were eradicated for some very good reasons.   

The family whose children watched their dog being ripped apart by a pack of wolves while it was trying to save the calves the wolves were attacking are not going to feel “warm and fuzzy” when the topic is wolves.  Likewise the herdsman who’s seen his sheep disemboweled and their bodies left to rot after wolves decimated the flock for the sheer joy of killing.   

These are not isolated incidents. 

Those who live in the city and the urban areas around them, need to understand that political actions personally (and often, negatively), impact the lives of those who live in rural areas.  

Politics is not some benign subject to be lightly discussed over coffee and donuts.  To put it in perspective, how warm and friendly would you be to someone who voted to terminate your livelihood or advocated building a maximum security prison, a half-way house for gang-bangers or child molesters, or a nuclear power plant in your neighborhood?  How would that affect your quality of life?   

In many ways, it’s like being subject to a distant, tyrannical government run by those who haven’t a clue (or concern) regarding the realities of rural life. 

It isn't just country folk who need to open up their minds a bit. A lot of city folk could do with it as well. The thing to remember is that you (meant collectively) are the "intruder" entering into another culture.  You are the “white European” arriving in a strange, new land.  Do so carefully and respectfully...not like a missionary trying to convert the "heathen" to the way of "civilized" man. After opening your mind to the ways and reasons of rural life you may see things a lot differently than before. 

I love it when the seed catalog arrives with the Christmas cards.  We used to spend hours drooling over the latest offerings, comparing growing days and zones, resistance to diseases, prices and other data relevant to our location and needs.  Although we made our seed orders early we were never in a hurry to receive them because most years we have snow on the ground until at least the end of March.  We had plenty of time we thought.

Then one year our languorous affectation was blown completely away!  We'd made our normal seed order in early January then waited.  Waiting was nothing new to us.  In
our northern climate we often specified that fruit trees be shipped in the spring after the snow was gone.  We usually got our order in parts and we'd never experienced problems in the past.  But this time it was different!

That year in particular, after rising fuel prices made everything else expensive a lot of people began gardening to alleviate the skyrocketing price of fresh vegetables. 
And I mean a LOT of people.  Even in our area we met dozens of people who were planting their first garden.  We were so thankful that so many were going to experience the joy of eating actual fresh vegetable that we never considered the problems it would cause nationally. 
At least we didn't until January slipped past, then February, then March, and then April, and we still hadn't received our seed order.

Inquiries were made and each time we were reassured that our order would be shipped "in season."  Finally we got our package from the seed company with about half of our
order in it.  The apology and explanation was short.  It seems that they'd underestimated demand and had run out of the seed we'd ordered.  They shipped out orders to the warmest places
first, expecting to have more seed available for the colder climates but the new seed never materialized.  They were sorry for any inconvenience and encouraged us to order the missing items from other suppliers. 

To say we were angry would severely understate our emotions at the time.  We'd done business with this company for years!  Naturally every other seed supplier was also out of the varieties we wanted.  Some were out of almost all of their seed.  We were relegated to purchasing from the very limited selections at our local merchants and chain stores.  What a disaster!  Especially when we depend on the garden for most of the food we eat.

But that disaster brought some needed changes in our lives.  We now save our own seed instead of depending upon suppliers a thousand or more miles away. 

I'm not going into the "how-to's" of seed saving because it would be too lengthy for this type of forum. I just want to sound a warning to those who rely on outside sources. 
If for some reason you cannot replenish your seed yourself be sure to specify that they ship any seed you order immediately.  Second; try ordering enough extra to save some for the next year. Rotate your stock and make a new order every year and you'll always be a year ahead ... just in case! 

If you've never saved your own seed now is a good time to start.  By that I mean ordering heirloom and non-hybrid varieties that reproduce themselves.  Most seed companies have them and you can also look for seed exchanges in magazines like Grit and The Mother Earth News.  Plus, by starting now you'll have time to study and learn the seed-saving process before harvest.

If, like us, you are striving for self-sufficiency saving your own seed is one more step forward on the road to independence.

 

  

Have you ever heard the old quip, "pure as the wind driven snow?"  Well, it doesn't hold true in these parts!  When the wind blows and the snow falls here we end up with snow that's full of pine needles, leaves, lichen and sometimes soot. 

We don't know everything about melting snow for water but since most of our water in the winter time comes from melted snow we’ve learned a few things to make the job easier and more efficient. 

First, it takes a lot of snow to make a gallon of water.  It would be nice if there was a formula involved like "four quarts of snow equals one quart of water" but it isn't that simple.  Any avid skier can tell you that there are different kinds of snow.  Warm, heavy, wet snow and corn snow have a higher moisture content than cold, dry, fluffy snow.  In addition cold snow doesn't pack as tightly as warm snow.  Old snow also has more moisture by volume than new snow because it's had time to compress and may have gone through some thaw cycles which make it denser.  What this means is that if you need one quart of water the amount of snow you'll have to melt may vary greatly depending upon the time of year, the location, the age of the snow and the temperature. 

One way to estimate the moisture content of the snow you're melting is by weight.  Say you're using a one gallon container.  One gallon (US measure) of water weighs approximately 8.3 pounds.  If the snow in your one gallon container weighs four pounds then the water content of the snow is almost 50 percent which means it will take two gallons of snow to make one gallon of water.  The water content of most snow is way, way, way below that but you get the idea of how to get a quick estimate of the amount of snow you're going to have to melt to meet your needs.

Second, whether melting snow at home or while camping in the woods use the largest container you have!   I love my canteen cups but in winter, even when backpacking, try to include a large, lightweight pot for melting snow.  It makes the job go much faster.

Third, whatever container or utensil you're going to use for scooping up the snow should be cold and dry.  If it's not then the snow will stick to the sides and bottom when you dump it into your melting pot.  It's not a big deal but it's more hassle.  Along the same line of thought, if your water is boiling and putting out steam when you dump in new snow, the steam will coat your "dumping utensil" and the next batch of snow will stick to it.  Again, it isn't a big deal, just annoying. 

  

Fourth, keep some water in the melting pot.  For your initial use you may have to begin with just snow.  If so, use low heat until you have at least an inch of water in the bottom of the pan.  I've heard that you can scorch snow but I've never seen it happen.  You can, however, seriously burn your pan if the heat's too high.  The actual moisture content of snow is low so the base layer contacting
the heated pan bottom may melt and turn immediately to steam.  The steam is quickly absorbed by the snow above it and you have a "cave" of sorts in the bottom of the pan.  This is dead air space and air is not as efficient at conducting heat as water. The result is a pan bottom that may become red hot in places while there is still unmelted snow only an inch or so above.  When we empty the water from the kettle we leave at least a couple of inches of water for the next load.

Another benefit is that you'll be able to get more snow in the pan each time you "reload" it.  The new snow is melted by the hot water until it cools the water off.  Even then the cold water will saturate and melt the new snow so you can get a larger volume of snow in the pan.  Eventually the snow you add will no longer melt until you add more heat.  The thing to remember is that water is a better conductor of heat than air.  Snow has a lot of air space which makes it a good insulator which means it’s slow to absorb the heat.  The less air space, the faster it will heat up.       

  

Fifth, purify and strain the water.  Remember what I said about pine needles, leaves, lichen and soot at the beginning?  When the wind blows here the snow is full of debris.  Depending upon what kind of debris we're talking about, it may not hurt to have a little in the snow.  You can make a healthy tea with some kinds of pine needles and lichen!  Decaying leaves and soot are another story!  As the snow melts, strain any undesirable elements out with a dipper.  Do it before the temperature increases or you'll be drinking tea instead of water.  It's not so much a matter of purity as it is taste.  If you bring your water to a rolling boil as we do, anything in it will be “purified.”  But it will also have imparted some of itself in the form of taste and discoloration.   After our water has boiled we pour it into a barrel using a coffee filter to strain out the undesirable elements.  You can use any other filter of your choice for this.  We use coffee filters because we have a bunch of them.  The filters will become clogged so replace them when the water no longer flows through. 

  

Remember, filtering does not purify the water.  It only strains out the debris.  You must either heat the water or use a
chemical means to purify it.   

At this point we'll use it for drinking or washing as the need arises.  If we're drinking it we may filter it further.  If we're melting
water for livestock we won't filter it or bring it to a boil. 

A caution on drinking melted snow.  There's a lot of discussion about the purity of snow.  It's possible that it may have picked up
impurities from the air as it falls to the ground or pollutants such as jet fuel may be mixed in with it.  You'll have to decide for yourself if this is a problem.  In my opinion (which is only valid for me!) rain and surface water have the same risks.  Even wells can be contaminated by underground pollutants.  If it's not an emergency and you have reason to believe the snow is polluted then my advice is to not drink it.  But that decision is one you'll have to make!

Now that you’ve purchased your chains it’s time to put them on. The first thing to do is lay them out on a long flat surface and get the kinks out of them. Compare photos 1 and 2. Look at the difference where the cross links attach to the outer chains. In photo 1 the bottom cross link is twisted. To correct this, lift up the chain at the outer ends of the lower cross link then roll the attaching ends under the cross link and bring them around inside and back over the top. Then the chain will look like the one pictured in photo 2. That’s how it should be the entire length of the chain.

 

 

Now that you have the chain straightened out it’s time to put it on the tire. Begin by draping it over the tire as shown in photo 3. Important: be sure that the outer “latch” is to the outside of the tire as shown in the photo. It doesn’t matter whether it’s in front of the tire or behind it. (Usually it will be to the front on one side and to the rear on the other side.)

 
 

With the chains draped over the tire, start the vehicle and drive forward. When you’ve gone about half of one revolution on the wheel stop (see photo 4). Now, take the end of the chain towards the center of the car and bring it up to the hook at the top inside of the wheel. You may have to crawl under the vehicle to see what you’re doing. (I always stash a small sheet of plastic in the bag I keep the chains in. I photo 5 I used an old dog food bag.) Once you’ve had some experience you’ll be able to do it by “feel.”

  

 

Chains come in lengths to fit several different sized tires. When you get yours install them on your tires and make a note which link you hook the connectors through. On our Cherokee I put the hook through the third link on the inside chain. When you finish you should have the same number of links “dangling” on both inner and outer chains to keep the chains centered on the tread.  Photo 6 shows how the inside "hook" should appear once installed.

 

Once you’ve hooked up the inside chain it’s now time to hook up the outside connector. The outside connectors usually provide some leverage to help tighten the chain. Photo 7  shows where to place the link before closing the connector. The way the connector is designed, as you pull the end over to the closed position it tightens the chain and also uses the chain’s tension to hold the connector closed. The more pressure applied the tighter the connector becomes.

 

When the connector is closed install a chain tightener to help center the chain. As in photo 8. I use a bungee cord instead of the commercially sold chain tighteners. Note how the cross links sag in photo 9. What will happen now is when I drive the vehicle centrifugal force will straighten out the sagging links. When that happens the chain will loosen slightly. If I’m going far (over a half mile), I’ll stop after a hundred yards, take off the bungee cord and move the outer connector one more link tighter (I’d have three “dangling” links instead of two as shown in photo 7.) I’d then re-install the bungee cord and go my merry way. Some of the newer chains have cam tighteners built into them. Those are great and eliminate the need for bungee cords or elastic chain tighteners.

 

 

When it’s time to remove the chains take the chain tightener off, unhook the outer connector then unhook the inner connector. Pull the ends of the chain to the outside and drive the vehicle forward until the chain is free. (See photo 10).

  

Now pick the chains up by lifting them in the center or either end and drop them in a bag or box for storage. Now they're ready to use the next time you need them.

Winter is here in earnest in some parts of the country bringing heavy snow and ice, making travel hazardous for the unprepared. In preparation for winter travel we install studded snow tires on our primary vehicle. But occasionally studded tires and four-wheel-drive aren’t enough. When conditions are really bad we also chain up the tires for the additional traction and safety tire chains provide.

If you’re thinking of purchasing tire chains for your vehicle there are some things you might want to consider. Chains come in different sizes and ratings. By size I don’t mean the specific size to fit your tires. I’m talking about the size and duty ratings of the chains themselves. In the photo below (photo 1) you’ll see three sets of tire chains. Those on the left are for light duty use on cars and light pickups that will probably never leave the pavement. The tire chains in the center are chains designed for medium duty use on pickups and SUV’s. The chains on the right are for heavy duty use on pickups and SUV’s. The primary difference is the thickness of the chain used (and how much they cost!)

 

Before you purchase tire chains take them out of the box and look them over carefully. What I’ve found is that the cheaper the chain the lighter duty it is. I recommend buying the heaviest chain you can afford. Mainly because if conditions are bad enough to need tire chains you want chains you can count on.

 There are some options you can choose from on tire chains also. In photo 2 (below) you’ll see two kinds of cross chains. Those at the top are regular chains and those on the bottom are called “V” bar cross links. The V-bar is best because the ends of the “V” dig into ice better and they last longer because it takes longer to wear through the link.

 

When you buy your chains pick up a couple of repair links. I’ve broken tire chains on several occasions. In photo 3 (below) you can see where I used a repair link to re-attach the end connector to the chain. I’ve also broken cross chains. The links are cheap and take up little room in the tool box so pick up a couple to have with you just in case. It’s also a good idea to buy a replacement cross link and keep it with you. If you break a chain stop immediately. They can and do wrap themselves around an axle, usually tearing off the brake line while they’re at it. 

 

I haven’t mentioned cable chains because I don’t have any experience with them. They don’t hold together on our road but they may be fine if you drive mostly on paved roads in a light-duty vehicle. They are lighter and store more compactly than chains and might be a good option in the city. Cable chains also give you a little more clearance around the fenders which may be needed if your vehicle is front wheel drive.  If you’re considering cable chains get references from people who use them. (Notice I said people who use them … not just people who have them but haven’t tried them!)

Tire chains are one of those things it’s better to have and not need than to need and not have. They decrease stopping distances tremendously on ice. We use ours when the ice is hard or the snow is deep enough we can’t get through in four-wheel-drive alone. We also use them when pulling a trailer or towing another vehicle on ice or in deep snow. There is no set rule on when to use them. My rule is if I think I need them I put them on. I’d rather spend the fifteen minutes putting the chains on than spend $100.00 on a tow truck to get me out of the ditch or, worse yet, a mountain of hospital bills due to a wreck that could have been avoided had I just taken the time…