Launch price $37 until Sunday, October 12, then $47.
Hank Whitaker / Lineman's Manual Get the manual
Hank Whitaker, 32 years on the line

Warm, fed and safe for fourteen days without power.

Sixty-seven plain methods from thirty-two years of ice storms. Keep one room warm, keep your water running, keep your food safe, and keep your family clear of the mistakes that fill emergency rooms every winter. No $4,000 generator required.

Get the manual for $37 See the math
67 methodsin 13 sections
Big, clear typeprints at home
7 daysmoney-back guarantee
Hank Whitaker, retired lineman, in his garage workshop
When the power's out, you can't look anything up. Print it now.Hank
I.

One book. Sixty-seven methods. Fourteen days without power.

Everything I learned restoring power through thirty-two winters, written down in plain English before it goes with me.

Every method is laid out the same way: what it is, why it works, the materials with typical prices, step-by-step instructions, an honest note on what it does and doesn't do, and a safety box wherever heat, fuel or electricity is involved.

  • The Lineman's Winter Blackout ManualAll 67 methods across 13 sections, in big, clear type.
  • The First-Weekend PlanFive things under $60 to do this Saturday, before the first storm.
  • The Fridge SheetsSix printable one-page checklists to tape where you'll see them in the dark.
  • The Budget Shopping ListsThe $50, $150 and $500 kits, ready to take to the store.
  • Free updatesEvery future edition, sent to you at no charge.
$37
Launch price until October 12. Then $47.
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Get the manual

Skip one panic-bought generator in the middle of a storm, and this book has paid for itself many times over. Chapter 23 shows the $300 setup I'd buy first.

II.

What a five-day winter blackout can cost, and what it doesn't have to.

The unprepared family pays for the same outage over and over. The prepared one pays once.

Unprepared

One five-day outage
Generator bought mid-storm, if you can find one$800–1,500
Motel, four nights$400–700
Spoiled fridge and freezer food$150–400
Eating out for five days$150–300
Burst pipe: your insurance deductible$500–2,500
Total$2,000–5,400

Prepared

Using the methods in this book
The $300 setup from chapter 23, bought once$300
Batteries and propane for the outage$20–40
Food from a pantry you already eat from$0 extra
Pipes protected or drained in time$0
Staying home, in one warm room$0
First winterabout $340

Example estimates for a typical household, using typical U.S. retail price ranges. Your costs will depend on your home, your climate and how long the outage lasts.

III.

What's inside the manual

Thirteen sections, sixty-seven numbered methods. A few from each:

IThe First Hour

What you do in the first sixty minutes decides the next five days.
  1. 01The first 10 things I'd do the minute the lights go out
  2. 03What to unplug, and the one light you leave switched on
  3. 04The fridge and freezer rule most people break
and 3 more

IIHeat

One warm room beats a cold house every time.
  1. 09Window quilts, the bubble-wrap trick, and free daytime sun
  2. 10The tent-in-the-living-room trick
  3. 11Why your fireplace is making your house colder
and 5 more

IIISafety

Most blackout deaths aren't from the cold.
  1. 15The $20 alarm every warm family had
  2. 18Backfeeding: the widow-maker cord, and the legal way to power your house
  3. 20Downed lines: why dead-looking wire kills
and 4 more

IVPower

You don't need a $4,000 generator. You need a plan.
  1. 22What actually needs power in your house
  2. 23The $300 blackout setup I'd buy before any generator
  3. 25Your car as a charger, done safely
and 3 more

VWater

A cold week is bad. A flooded one is worse.
  1. 29The 40 gallons hiding in your water heater
  2. 30Frozen pipes: prevention, and when to drain the house
  3. 33Making water safe: boiling, bleach and filters
and 3 more

VIFood

Eat the fridge first, the freezer second, the pantry last.
  1. 34The 4-hour and 48-hour rules
  2. 36The no-cook pantry: 20 foods that need no power
  3. 38Thermos cooking and the old hay-box method
and 3 more

VIILight & Communication

Stay lit, informed and reachable for a week.
  1. 40Lighting a house for a week: the battery math
  2. 41The radio that works when the internet doesn't
  3. 42Keeping phones alive for 7 days
and 1 more

VIIIHealth & Seniors

Plan for the people who can't wait five days.
  1. 44Insulin and cold-storage medications during an outage
  2. 46Getting on your utility's medical priority list
  3. 47Hypothermia: the quiet signs in older adults
and 2 more

IXThe House

The fall weekend that saves the winter.
  1. 49The 10 things to do before first frost
  2. 50The 15-minute draft hunt with a stick of incense
  3. 52Doors, attics and outlets: the seals that matter most
and 1 more

XThe Car

Your second shelter, if you use it right.
  1. 53The winter car kit that doubles as a blackout kit
  2. 54Warming up in your car without dying in it
  3. 55Why a half tank all winter matters

XIThe Lineman's Notebook

What the power company doesn't explain.
  1. 56How we decide whose power comes back first
  2. 57Reading outage maps and restoration estimates
  3. 59What every lineman wishes homeowners knew
and 1 more

XIIWhen to Leave

Knowing when to go is part of staying safe.
  1. 60The five signs it's time to go
  2. 62The 15-minute go-bag
  3. 63Pets in a blackout
and 1 more

XIIIBudget Plans

What to buy, in order, at every budget.
  1. 64The $50 kit: the bare minimum
  2. 66The $500 kit: the full setup
  3. 67What not to buy: 10 products that waste your money
and 1 more
Hank Whitaker beside a utility pole in winter
V.

Why I wrote it down

I climbed poles for thirty-two years. I worked more ice storms than I can count, and after every one, I saw the same thing: some families came through a week without power just fine, and some didn't.

The difference was almost never money. It was knowing a handful of plain things before the lights went out.

My grandkids don't know any of this. Most people don't. So I wrote it all down, the way I'd explain it to you across the kitchen table.

Hank

The Lineman's Winter Blackout Manual

$37
Launch price ends in
  • All 67 methods in 13 sections, in big, clear type
  • The First-Weekend Plan
  • The Fridge Sheets: six printable checklists
  • The $50, $150 and $500 shopping lists
  • Free updates to every future edition
  • Instant download. Read on any device or print at home
Get the manual for $37

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7-day
refund

My 7-day promise. If the manual isn't for you, email me within seven days of buying and you'll get every penny back. No questions.

VII.

Questions people ask

I rent, or I live in an apartment. Is this for me?

Yes. Most of the methods are one-room, no-tools methods that need no permission from anybody. Those chapters are marked renter-safe.

I'm not handy. Can I actually do this?

Nothing in the book needs more than a screwdriver and a roll of tape. Anything involving your electrical system says one thing: call a licensed electrician.

I already have a generator.

Then chapters 17, 18 and 27 are the most important pages you'll read this winter. Most generator deaths and injuries come from how they're run and connected, not from the machine itself.

Will it work where I live?

It's written for cold-winter North America. The heat chapters matter most up north, but the water, food, power and safety chapters apply anywhere the lights can go out.

How do I get it after I pay?

Right after checkout you land on the download page, and Stripe emails your receipt. It's a PDF that opens on any phone, tablet or computer.

Is the type easy to read?

Yes. The text is set well larger than a normal paperback, on letter-size pages, so you can print it at home and read it by lantern light.

What if it's not for me?

Email within seven days of buying and you get a full refund. No questions asked.

Don't wait for the first storm to find out what you don't have.

Sixty-seven methods, six checklists and three shopping lists. Print them this week and tape the checklists to the fridge.

Get the manual for $37
The Lineman's Manual
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