# Scary Power Outage



## Prof (May 9, 2021)

I was cooking stir-fry on the wood stove today and the power went out for about a minute. At this time of year I rely on my heat pump to take the chill off,  but we are having a cold snap in my area and I had the stove going. For about 15 seconds, I thought, "Oh no, the heat pump isn't going to work without power." Then I remembered I was cooking dinner on a woodstove and have 3+ years of dry wood sitting in the yard. How do people who depend on electricity sleep at night?


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## Highbeam (May 9, 2021)

Prof said:


> I was cooking stir-fry on the wood stove today and the power went out for about a minute. At this time of year I rely on my heat pump to take the chill off,  but we are having a cold snap in my area and I had the stove going. For about 15 seconds, I thought, "Oh no, the heat pump isn't going to work without power." Then I remembered I was cooking dinner on a woodstove and have 3+ years of dry wood sitting in the yard. How do people who depend on electricity sleep at night?



Generators. You need to keep the fridge cold and water flowing too.


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## ABMax24 (May 9, 2021)

Most people don't know enough to even understand where their electricity comes from, nevermind worry about what to do in an outage. Ignorance is bliss. 

You are the outlier in being prepared for an outage.


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## marty319 (May 9, 2021)

As I live in a heavily wooded area and endured many power failures I put a generator in my outdoor shed and wired underground to my crawlspace for a heater to keep the pipes from freezing,ran power up to the fridge and TV as well,3500 watt generator takes care of everything I need,and the osburn keeps me toasty.


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## clancey (May 9, 2021)

I am so glad that we are thinking ahead and even if nothing happens we have our backups...This lets me have a peace of mind and life is much better when you know what your going to do if everything goes  ca put---my word here...clancey


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## MTY (May 10, 2021)

Not only do I have heat covered, I have 4200 gallons of water storage gravity fed.   I can be warm and flush in the dark.


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## kennyp2339 (May 10, 2021)

ABMax24 said:


> Most people don't know enough to even understand where their electricity comes from


Oh so true, so many times we've had huge outages on main lines miles away from an underground neighborhood, part of restoration during a storm is to do a quick patrol of the rest of the line before heating it up to make sure there are no other down wires. So many people have came outside, flagged down a utility truck and asked why the electric is out since they have underground lines.


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## Woodsplitter67 (May 10, 2021)

We are on a well. It only took 1 outage for me to put in a sub panel  and have a portable generator.  Iv used the generator enough. in 2015 we lost power for 8 days in June due to front line winds. My generator is big enough to run the frig, well, hot water heater and a couple of big window ac units.. lots of others we know had to move to hotels  for the week..


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## Prof (May 10, 2021)

Woodsplitter67 said:


> We are on a well. It only took 1 outage for me to put in a sub panel  and have a portable generator.  Iv used the generator enough. in 2015 we lost power for 8 days in June due to front line winds. My generator is big enough to run the frig, well, hot water heater and a couple of big window ac units.. lots of others we know had to move to hotels  for the week..


I have a well too, and have thought about doing what you did--probably will eventually, but our power rarely goes out and when it does it is a few hours at worst. I do have a spring that comes out of the hillside a few hundred feet above my place and flows through my back yard. This is my back-up plan for water right now. I have a small generator that could run the freezer and fridge if need be.


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## Highbeam (May 10, 2021)

Don’t forget the all important charging of your phone! It’s amazing how much a teenage girl can endure so long as her phone is charged.


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## begreen (May 10, 2021)

We have a propane generator, but more for seriously long outages. A short outage of a few hours is no big deal. Most modern refrigerators will hold the cold for 8-12 hrs. And many people forget that during an extended winter outage that outdoors there's a really big refrigerator. If a cellphone needs charging, plug it into the car.  Our van even has a 120vac outlet.


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## clancey (May 10, 2021)

Good idea and in winter one would not have to have a refrigerator but in summer that's another matter...Those young ones actually get sick without their cell phone and by all means plug them in for charging --somewhere---lol  For them that would be the emergency-lol clancey


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## stoveliker (May 10, 2021)

Same here. Portable generator that runs the fridge, a few lights and a fan.
Winter has the stove and the fridge outside.

How other people survive? Move the supplies from the fridge to inside the body before they spoil, and curl up under an extra blanket in winter. Nothing wrong with that either.


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## johneh (May 10, 2021)

Prof said:


> How do people who depend on electricity sleep at night?


In the Dark 
Sorry had to say it


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## johneh (May 10, 2021)

Never worry about power outages 
Whole house unit installed years ago 
power is out for a max of 30 seconds 
everything works heat, lights, freezers,
 refrigerator, water pump, A/C, Hot water heater 
you name it if I got it it is working.
Put this unit in after the ice storm of the late 
90s we were without power for 31 days 
never again


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## bholler (May 10, 2021)

I have a generator and wired in a hookup for it when I redid the electric but honestly I haven't used it the longest we went was 2 days do far and I honestly thought it was kind of nice.  Water is the only annoyance but we fill the tubs when we have high winds coming so we can flush the toilet.  But after 2 days I was actually going to bring the generator up to the house when the power came back on so we had water.     Otherwise I have a gas range gas insert and woodstove we are fine.   But  I will use it if we loose power in the summer to run the fridges and freezers.   In the winter I just wheel them out the door


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## FramerJ (May 10, 2021)

I know some people go stay at hotels if they lose power.  

We probably lose power 3 times a year.  Longest was 5 hours if I recall.  I have a Honda generator and installed a transfer switch on my subpanel which runs all the necessary circuits (frig, freezer, furnace and a couple outlets and lights).  We have a natural gas water heater, furnace and stovetop.  I also have six 20 gal propane tanks ( for outdoor grill, camping stove and heater-not for inside use of course) and three 5 gal gas tanks ( for generator) in my shed.  Pantry is usually kept full. We wont starve by any means.  And lots of flashlights.  

Ive looked into a standby generator.  Just not sure I can justify the cost.  Of course now that I said that we will lose power for 3 weeks and all gas stations will run out of gas due to a cyber attack.  Im being negative--that doesnt happen....oh wait.


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## velvetfoot (May 10, 2021)

We're still waiting on a standby generator we ordered in December.


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## clancey (May 10, 2021)

I hope you get it soon..It will give you a piece of mind just to have it in a emergency even if you seldom use it and every week it will exercise and you will hear the hum and know what day it is..lol  clancey


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## MTY (May 11, 2021)

Prof, I too have a spring on the hill above my house.  Of my 4200 gallon storage, 2100 is from the spring.  All outside water use comes out of the spring storage.  It is pretty simple to set up.  I have a simple spring box that is connected to the cistern by poly pipe.  Poly pipe leaves the cistern to a frost free hydrant by the power meter.  At the base of the frost free I have a piece of 2" culvert 4' long buried on end.  At the bottom is a ball valve and a piece of flexible 1" water line with a banjo fitting on it.  During cold weather it sits in the bottom of the hole.  

In warmer weather, I fish the banjo fitting out of the hole and connect it to a cheap pump with pressure tank.  The pump is plugged into a timer.  Gravity self primes the pump, at a pre set times the pump kicks on and waters the garden and ornamental plants, trees etc..  The frost free hydrant works off gravity year round.  

The other cistern feeds the house by gravity.  Having the cistern means the well pump only has to kick on every month to a month and a half.


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## paulnlee (May 11, 2021)

FramerJ said:


> I know some people go stay at hotels if they lose power.
> 
> We probably lose power 3 times a year.  Longest was 5 hours if I recall.  I have a Honda generator and installed a transfer switch on my subpanel which runs all the necessary circuits (frig, freezer, furnace and a couple outlets and lights).  We have a natural gas water heater, furnace and stovetop.  I also have six 20 gal propane tanks ( for outdoor grill, camping stove and heater-not for inside use of course) and three 5 gal gas tanks ( for generator) in my shed.  Pantry is usually kept full. We wont starve by any means.  And lots of flashlights.
> 
> Ive looked into a standby generator.  Just not sure I can justify the cost.  Of course now that I said that we will lose power for 3 weeks and all gas stations will run out of gas due to a cyber attack.  Im being negative--that doesnt happen....oh wait.


Just wondering how the water heater & furnace ignite w/o electricity. Stove all you need is a match


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## FramerJ (May 11, 2021)

paulnlee said:


> Just wondering how the water heater & furnace ignite w/o electricity. Stove all you need is a match


the water heater has a continous pilot flame going.  If it were to go out for some reason it has a punch button spark igniter-just like a gas grill.  No electricity needed.   My furnace is on one of my emergency circuits in my subpanel that would be hooked up to my generator.


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## clancey (May 12, 2021)

A punch button spark igniter --never knew there was such a thing..nice..clancey


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## begreen (May 12, 2021)

johneh said:


> Never worry about power outages
> Whole house unit installed years ago
> power is out for a max of 30 seconds
> everything works heat, lights, freezers,
> ...


What fuels it? Is the generator on a natural gas main?


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## johneh (May 12, 2021)

begreen said:


> What fuels it? Is the generator on a natural gas main?


No natural gas within 30 miles of me unless you are talking 
methane from the cows.  It is a propane run unit  I have 2 large bottles


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## Woodsplitter67 (May 12, 2021)

we louse power less now than 5 years ago.. I still don't regret hooking this all up. It's well worth having because... you never know... I have to generators one is on a concrete pad and sits in an enclosure.  that's the bigger one. it's 11k running watts and I have a smaller one that's like 5k running watts.. I use the bigger one when I have alot going on and the small one for overnight I have about 20 gallons of gas in the shed with another  25 to 30 at the shop.. You'll never see me on the news complaining that we have no power.. or heat.. and somebody need to do something about it..


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## clancey (May 12, 2021)

Yea when I go my generac 8kw about 10 years ago and it runs on natural gas lots of people told me that I did not need it because the lights never stay off that long and it was a complete waste of money...One person told me that when I need it that his family will bring a portable generator out to me and I just could not imagine myself walking in a major snow store getting a can of gasoline because I do not drive in snow..also this person with good intentions would have to pay attention to his family first and I do not want to be cold--I hate being cold in my own home..That's one reason I got my wood heater just for a back up back up because I am not as flexible anymore..bones chill easy..Now after that Texas happening and now the pipeline hack as well as Michigan putting suits on oil pipe lines going under the lakes to Canada it makes one wonder what in the world is coming next?...so it warms my heart to see good people getting prepared  and not just laugh at me telling me it is a waste of money.. God Bless every one of you...amen...clancey


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## velvetfoot (May 12, 2021)

Got a call from the propane company.  They said the generator company called them to schedule the job.  They figure a June installation of the 1000 gal tank and 22kw Generac.  That'd be just about exactly 6 months.  I'm psyched.


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## clancey (May 13, 2021)

You most likely  have a underground storage tank--just guessing here...That's a pretty good size for a whole large house and they are beautiful I think---when you open it --looks like a car with its different equipment and computer screen telling you what its up too and when the next exercise is or if it is low on oil or needs a battery check...I find that usually when the light is red and you look and see the computer read check battery this usually has been set for a year in order for you to have your annual check up with it where they come out and clean it and check the oil and stuff just like a car and your battery usually is just fine...The first time I used mine was only a short tour I forget but maybe 7 hours (in the wintertime) and I keep my lights on real low so not to call attention to the fact that my house has full electricity and I was looking out the window and I heard people in the middle of the street with flashlights asking other neighbors--Do you have any electricity yet? As it was getting colder than they would ask assorted neighbors "Did they say when the electricity will be back as they shouted to one another".. In one of the black outs of my pole because the neighbors tree found in my yard and messed up everything including my loft roof and telephone wire my generator ran and the neighbors next door came over and asked me if I could hook up an extension cord to my house so that they could use it for their refrigerator and freezer... and of course I said yes and they used it for about two days until we could get our wires fixed and it just purred and purred...But in your case as well as my own the hook up with the electricity and gas is going to be almost just as expensive as the generator but in my case I took out payments like a car and paid it off as quick I as could...I never regretted getting it...You should be psyched--lol Good for you..clancey


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## velvetfoot (May 13, 2021)

I got a call from the Propane company this morning asking me "how about June 1st"?   Sure!  They're coordinating with the generator company, and it looks like they're coming out the same day.  It's an above ground tank.  It's on the far side of the garage, down an embankment, so it won't be too visible, but I don't mind anyway.  They're charging a thousand bucks more  because of the farther location of the generator.  It'll be quieter and less obtrusive over there, including the tank, so I figure it's worth it.  I'm trying not to think of the cost too much, lol.


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## bholler (May 13, 2021)

There is just no way I could justify the cost of a whole house generator.  I only need power for the well pump and refrigerator if it is summer.   I can live without the rest of it just fine for quite a while.   But like I said I have never even used my portable generator hookup.  It has only been hooked up once to test it.


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## johneh (May 13, 2021)

We put a whole-house unit in the year was 1999 
At this point, we have had the unit running for just over 1900 hours 
That means that in the last 20 sum years my power has been out for
11.3 weeks. The longest outage was 9 days. For me, the unit has paid for itself


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## tadmaz (May 13, 2021)

You can get water from your water heater with a hose hooked up.  I do have an inverter and car batteries to run the stove blower for a few hours.  It got down to 37F last night, did not burn, and my furnace kicked on for the first time at 7:15am.  I turned it off right away as it got to 68F today.  House maintained 67F all night.  Good insulation.


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## EbS-P (May 13, 2021)

Rural versus urban areas will probably have different experiences with power outages and experiences will scale with the size of the event) .  After hurricane Florence (we evacuated for I think 15 days) there were neighborhoods that still did not have power for another 10 days after we got back. But here is the point after 3 days gas was very hard to come by and all the roads but one into the area, home to 150,000 people had washed out.  The flood waters were still rising. The water treatment plant was down to less than 24 hours of fuel for its generators before they could resupply.  (That one road was impassable for several days and nearly compromised).  By accounts if you had a natural gas generator you were fine, but who keeps a weeks supply of gasoline on hand.  Not gonna run your ac off a gasoline generator very long on 5 gallon cans you can’t refill.  My math when we left town was I had 15 gallons of gas that would last me roughly 4-5 days of radio, fridges, charging  phones and iPad,  lights at  night and internet if it still worked.

My wife was living in Maine during the 1998 ice storm when they were out of school for four weeks.  She lived on the only street in town that got power back after 10 days.  It was weeks for many other areas.  There are different levels of preparedness and different degrees of disasters.  What Texas experienced was a 50 year event.  Maine maybe 75 year.  The hurricane that hit here that happens 20-30 year, but the rain fall total was 100+ year event.  I think you have to choose what level you are willing /wanting to prepare for.  Hurricanes for us, staring down the barrel of normal cat 1 we are prepared for, beyond that we are evacuating. Size and scale frequency of these large events will (already has) increase in the coming decades.   There are many ways to be prepared. Generators and stoves are just some of the many pieces.
Evan


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## clancey (May 13, 2021)

Everybody has a different story and Velvetfoot I went through all the difference thought processes as with this forum..It depends on your circumstances and if I had a support system where other people would help me or let me move in with them then I would not worry. But the point is I do not and I depend on myself alone and I am not going to be walking to get a can of gas in the dead of winter just to fill a portable generator when it runs out after so many days plus unscrewing it and putting it all together in the cold--no thank you..Yea it"s cheaper but not convenient in my circumstances and I think you made a wise decision and even if you never use it --the time will come when you have to use it and you will enjoy it so so much and thank God that you were able to buy it.. I say get prepared now even if we do not have to and that's why I bought my beautiful wood stove just in case and then I will have another back up...one never has too many back ups especially if they have family because they depend on you "rightfully so" ...I could get the hours on my generator to see how many hours that I have clocked in and over a ten year period maybe I really needed it about three times--not many times--but I was sitting in my old chair sipping on Hot Chocolate with a splash of bourbon in it e-mailing friends like you all while everybody else was in the middle of the yard calling to one another to see if they knew when the lights would be back on...One more thing sometimes its depends on the storm they cannot hook up electricity for weeks and people have to move out of their homes in the winter and stay with relatives..or rent a hotel room or something. Good for us...clancey


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## bholler (May 13, 2021)

I really don't understand why those of you who are worried about long term shutdowns etc are relying on generators as the main part of your strategy.  Why not learn how to simply deal without electricity?  The biggest issue for me would be water but I can get it from a spring a 1/2 mile away.  Which is an easy walk.  I can smoke or dehydrate food if need be to live without refrigeration.   I really am not worried about any long term problem but I know I will be fine regardless


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## clancey (May 14, 2021)

Glad you feel that way but not me...The first thing that goes for me in the winter is my lights then its gradually get colder--I have my stove now...I have a water supply stored away...and my can goods so I can survive now without electricity because of my new stove..I can even have my coffee in a emergency but I am getting old and need things more simple like a lesson on wood products and bricks and brick type cubes to start fires with easy just in case and whatever else I might need..I can live without electricity as well and have done it but its nice to have the convenience of a generator that turns on and hums and everything stays the same "my its nice" that's good living in a emergency especially when you take a hot shower in the dead of winter knowing how very fortunate you are because you were able to buy something like a generator that enabled that hot shower. You don't understand well you old fool you need to get more into other peoples thinking with different problems in life and different living conditions as well. Try chopping a big tree down with just a ax and yourself with no other tools--you might be able to do it--but why when you have the convenience of all these wonderful things like splitters and carts and things to make your life easier to get the job done quicker...I can buy dehydrated food and I can buy smoke foods and my time is precious to where I do not have to spend it on getting prepared with smoking and dehydrating because i have other things to do with my time . By the way at times I am a old fool too so do not take this personal.. clancey


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## peakbagger (May 14, 2021)

My generator has been in the garage ready to go since a few months after January 1st 2000. I got great deal on it after the non event. It has been run twice voluntarily. I live in rural area but have underground  power to the house as well as most of the neighborhood. There are above ground lines in the street but the utility keeps the trees trimmed. I am ready for long outage but have not needed it. With my new Toyota I can buy an inverter for it and get 5KW to run the house off the car. I am not planning to buy it. 

A quick comment is sure power lines can fail in the street but what really takes a lot of time is to restore individual house services. That is not an issue if you have the power run to the house underground.


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## WiscWoody (May 14, 2021)

I have a backup generator here but my sister and my niece in Oregon lost their power for 7 days and 12 days  respectively from a ice storm in February  if you can imagine that! OMG. Neither one had a generator and they said there were none in the stores when they went looking for one.


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## firefighterjake (May 14, 2021)

The Ice Storm of 1998 was partial motivation for me getting a woodstove . . . and it was then that I bought my first generator. It wasn't until a number of years later however when oil prices were going through the roof and I had the funds to get the woodstove. A few years back I then replaced the generator with a larger Yamaha unit that is more capable of running most all of our wants and needs in the event of an electrical outage. 

Since 1998 we have had a few multi-day outages . . . most of the times it is just a few hours and not worth the time or effort to hook up the generator.

I guess it's not surprising though . . . Maine tops the list with the most power outages and our provider CMP (which has or had a tie in with Florida Light and Power) is #2 for the utility with the most power outages.


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## Bad LP (May 14, 2021)

velvetfoot said:


> I got a call from the Propane company this morning asking me "how about June 1st"?   Sure!  They're coordinating with the generator company, and it looks like they're coming out the same day.  It's an above ground tank.  It's on the far side of the garage, down an embankment, so it won't be too visible, but I don't mind anyway.  They're charging a thousand bucks more  because of the farther location of the generator.  It'll be quieter and less obtrusive over there, including the tank, so I figure it's worth it.  I'm trying not to think of the cost too much, lol.


The more wastefull thing I did was locating the gen set behind the garage at about 100 feet away. It really was only a case of PVC conduit and EMT but the fact is it's so quiet it would barely bother you in the house.
Conduits were going to the garage anyway and a feed line from the LP tank was needed also but all that #6 wire and labor does add up.


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## clancey (May 14, 2021)

You people got up before I did and are right on top of this thing..One thing I do notice is -10 years ago it was a whole bunch cheaper than it is right now to hook one up and I am glad that's over with and my mind feels okay in a storm because I am one of those worry worts..lol. I feel good for every one of you too because you seem to have it handled and a lot of people don't seem to think about these things-maybe they are better off--lol  clancey


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## WiscWoody (May 14, 2021)

bholler said:


> I really don't understand why those of you who are worried about long term shutdowns etc are relying on generators as the main part of your strategy.  Why not learn how to simply deal without electricity?  The biggest issue for me would be water but I can get it from a spring a 1/2 mile away.  Which is an easy walk.  I can smoke or dehydrate food if need be to live without refrigeration.   I really am not worried about any long term problem but I know I will be fine regardless


WHAT!?! Go without my internet and iPad and hot coffee and my CPAP machine  for even a a few hours is out of the question for me. Plus the refrigerator and freezer and this and that. I think the $350 for the generator plus $30 for the wire and breaker and plug for it were well spent and at times priceless.


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## clancey (May 14, 2021)

Ha Ha----I feel awful when I do not have TV or Radio or my phone--vacant feeling--don't like it.  I am spoiled and blessed...clancey


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## WiscWoody (May 14, 2021)

I’m in a rural area like many here are so I can keep my little Generac genny on the side of the house on a treated wood pad year-around ready to go with little worry of it being stolen and I exercise it every couple of months. I keep 15 gallons of non-oxygenaged gas on hand for up to one year and when it gets close to a year old I use it in my lawn equipment or splitter. (I mow cabin lawns in the summer so I use nonoxy has in my trimmers and blower. Chainsaws too) The nice thing about my little 2000/2200 watt gen is is sips gas and with on/off usage I’m sure I could go a good week with the gas I have on hand and more if I can get gas at a station.


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## bholler (May 14, 2021)

WiscWoody said:


> WHAT!?! Go without my internet and iPad and hot coffee and my CPAP machine  for even a a few hours is out of the question for me. Plus the refrigerator and freezer and this and that. I think the $350 for the generator plus $30 for the wire and breaker and plug for it were well spent and at times priceless.


I have a similar setup.  I already had the generator so it made sense.  I just don't understand the people preparing for a major disaster relying on something that needs gas propane or nay gas


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## clancey (May 14, 2021)

You really have a point there about the gas and that's why I have the back up wood stove that does not have to depend on electricity that's why I did not get one with a cat with a thermostat and I know they are so very nice as well as those pellets stoves that are automatic and much cleaner and easier than a real wood stove but I just wanted a back up without depending on gas...To me this pipeline business is scary and the east coast has suffered the most it seems..clancey


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## bholler (May 14, 2021)

clancey said:


> You really have a point there about the gas and that's why I have the back up wood stove that does not have to depend on electricity that's why I did not get one with a cat with a thermostat and I know they are so very nice as well as those pellets stoves that are automatic and much cleaner and easier than a real wood stove but I just wanted a back up without depending on gas...To me this pipeline business is scary and the east coast has suffered the most it seems..clancey


Ones with a cat and thermostat don't require any power either.


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## clancey (May 14, 2021)

Wow I did not know that...that might have made a difference in my stove buying--ignorance is bad...But I love my stove and the dimensions for me are just so even and nice as well as the two cooking burners with the cast iron beautiful plate--I am thrilled to have it ready and on June 1 it will be lite for the first time--hope all goes wells...My second choice would have been those beautiful classic morso"s but it was just too small in appearance for me and that's why I switch to the wood stove I have now..But in reality they really do a beautiful job of heating and they are so pretty as well--just darn cute. If I were younger and wanted ambiance and had some extra money I would get that Bari stove that sells for a lot of money...Did you know that on some of those type stoves they stick the wood long ways into the top of them if what I read was right?
clancey









wow


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## begreen (May 14, 2021)

bholler said:


> I have a similar setup.  I already had the generator so it made sense.  I just don't understand the people preparing for a major disaster relying on something that needs gas propane or nay gas


It depends on the nature of the disaster. One would have a different strategy for a major disaster like a huge earthquake than for a 3-5 day power outage due to a wind or snowstorm.  I've been in some serious hurricanes, and ice storm blizzards, but a major disaster has never happened to me in my lifetime thank goodness. The odds are very low for a catastrophe to happen for most people unless your town is in a tornado zone or a direct hit area like New Orleans. The longest I can recall being out of power was hurricane Dianne in 1955 and an ice storm out here in the early 2000s. Both outages lasted about 6 days.

We have a generator primarily to keep garden produce frozen. There are many months of food prep in our freezer. In the event of a more serious, true disaster, we would have to start cooking and canning whatever we could save. Our car can provide backup power for the freezer for a fairly long time if push came to shove.


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## bholler (May 14, 2021)

begreen said:


> It depends on the nature of the disaster. One would have a different strategy for a major disaster like a huge earthquake than for a 3-5 day power outage due to a wind or snowstorm.  I've been in some serious hurricanes, and ice storm blizzards, but a major disaster has never happened to me in my lifetime thank goodness. The odds are very low for a catastrophe to happen for most people unless your town is in a tornado zone or a direct hit area like New Orleans. The longest I can recall being out of power was hurricane Dianne in 1955 and an ice storm out here in the early 2000s. Both outages lasted about 6 days.
> 
> We have a generator primarily to keep garden produce frozen. There are many months of food prep in our freezer. In the event of a more serious, true disaster, we would have to start cooking and canning whatever we could save. Our car can provide backup power for the freezer for a fairly long time if push came to shove.


Yeah that and the well pump is the only reason I have the generator.   We buy beef by the cow and we will soon be butchering pigs as well.   So loosing all that meat would be bad.  We don't really freeze much of the produce we typically can most of that do no issue there.  We also don't have a great garden at the new house yet so we normally don't have all that much to can.  Usually just a dozen or do jars of tomatoes.


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## WiscWoody (May 14, 2021)

bholler said:


> I have a similar setup.  I already had the generator so it made sense.  I just don't understand the people preparing for a major disaster relying on something that needs gas propane or nay gas


Well, like begreen says it depends on the disaster. I always keep 15-20 gallons of non-oxygenated gas on hand, all in premium Eagle metal gas cans and labeled with the date I bought the gas as if it’s been stabilized. After keeping the gas for one year I use it in My lawn mowing equipment for my bus or in my trucks and buy new again. With the way my small 2000/2200 watt generator sips gas and I wouldn’t need to run it 24/7 I figure I could go a few weeks with my gas stores then after that who knows what would happen. maybe  I could get more gas somewhere or maybe I could get some from my trucks or mowers.... I don’t know. But I do have a plan and I would have power for awhile anyways. I just hope it wouldn’t get real long and desperate.


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## velvetfoot (May 14, 2021)

It'll be a luxury for short term outages, and to power the deep well pump.   The little gasoline gen can carry most of the load during an extended outage, after I drag it out hook it up, fuel it up, etc. (and then drain it after the outage is over).  That's the thinking now anyway.


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## WiscWoody (May 15, 2021)

I like how my gen is set up by the house ready to go in a moment, I just have flip the main breaker in my panel then close the circuit on the two pole breaker I put in for the generator then go out and plug in the generator cord and give the thing a few pulls and I have power throughout the house.


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## begreen (May 15, 2021)

After a few longish outages of 3-6 days in the late 1990s and early 2000s I broke down and got a good generator to replace a Coleman 4800w contractor generator. The AC was dirty coming off that genset and some electronics and UPSs refused to accept it. So I upgraded to a good Yamaha inverter genny modified for dual-fuel to run on propane or gas. It sips fuel. Our long-term storage is in large propane tanks and a few BBQ tanks. That will cover us for a month with judicious running. Of course, since purchasing, we have not had an outage longer than 2 days for the past 10 years. LOL. I now look at that expensive generator as my insurance to keep outages at bay.


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## FramerJ (May 16, 2021)

bholler said:


> I really don't understand why those of you who are worried about long term shutdowns etc are relying on generators as the main part of your strategy.  Why not learn how to simply deal without electricity?  The biggest issue for me would be water but I can get it from a spring a 1/2 mile away.  Which is an easy walk.  I can smoke or dehydrate food if need be to live without refrigeration.   I really am not worried about any long term problem but I know I will be fine regardless


I would survive just fine without electricity.  Heck, I could still do my job with a hammer and handsaw.  Not sure the builder(s) would like the slower pace though.  My wife however does like the creature comforts that come with living in a first world advanced society.  

I take the personal responsibility to prepare us as best as possible.  We are not going to freeze, go thirsty or starve.  But there is only so much one can do.  I can have months worth of food, fuel, water and provisions stored only to have it all wiped out in a tornado.


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## tlc1976 (May 16, 2021)

#1 concern for me with no power is freezing pipes. As long as I can keep the house warm enough for that, I’m good. I’m a single guy who can’t eat much normal things due to medical issues, I do best on cans and dry snacks. I almost never use my stove or fridge so there really isn’t anything to spoil. I’ve never had high speed internet until December, so I have no problem being disconnected from the world for a while, actually I do that often by choice.

This house came with an 7 or 8k Generac hooked to the propane tank. It’s nice for short outages but for a day or more it can get prohibitively expensive, I’d rather just use something small that will run the pellet stove. This house also has a low point drain in the basement, I could drain the pipes if I knew power was going to be out for a long time and shut off the generator. Better than burning $100/day in propane.

My old house had a woodstove and since my furnace had long since went out, it was my primary source of heat. When the power went out, I just lit some candles and it was like camping.


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## MTY (May 16, 2021)

Oil lamps work much better than candles.


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## stoveliker (May 16, 2021)

Well we bought our (2.3 kW, portable) generator when we had frequent outages due to thunderstorms in the South East, and the freezer was full because my wife was storing milk for our newborn. That stuff is priceless, and outages in 95+ heat make the freezer go warm in a heartbeat.

Other than that, it allows us to buy stuff cheap in larger quantities and store it. It'd be a shame to gamble with food bought because it was lower cost.


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## begreen (May 16, 2021)

An automatic generator on a big propane tank can lead to a lot of waste.  We have a neighbor with an automatic system that went through a big tankful in about 4 days during a 6-day outage. In most cases, there is no reason for a generator to run 24/7. They were away and anything being protected was not for the last 2 days of the outage and it ran out of gas. The neighborhood got blissful silence. 

We have kept things safely cold by not opening the freezer or refrig door and by running the genset 2 hrs in the morning and about 3-4 hrs at night. During that same 6 day outage we used about 7 gallons of gas on the old Coleman. We lost no food. That's about $21 of fuel vs $400.


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## WiscWoody (May 16, 2021)

That’s the way I look at it begreen, I just used up the old non-oxygenated gas I had stored for the last year and refilled all four containers with twenty gallons of pure gas for $65, not bad especially considering I was in  California two weeks ago and regular gas at many stations there was over $4 a gallon. Now those cans of gas can sit for a year unless I need them for an emergency. It’s the only prepping I do really and I didn’t take it too seriously until I heard that how vulnerable the grid is to a cyber attack and with what just happened to the biggest pipeline in the country the threat is real it seems and then there’s the occasional bad storm that could knock out power for awhile.


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## clancey (May 16, 2021)

How you are doing it is good for you are saving a lot of money so your family can get other important things..Sounds good to me...But I am spoiled and will stick with my stand by especially when I take a vacation no worries...clancey


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## firefighterjake (May 17, 2021)

bholler said:


> I have a similar setup.  I already had the generator so it made sense.  I just don't understand the people preparing for a major disaster relying on something that needs gas propane or nay gas



Around here about the worse thing we get are extended power outages due to wind/snow storms. There is the occasional flood, but that tends to be along certain rivers and streams which are known to flood. Hurricanes are usually nothing more than windstorms when they work their way up this way as they are petered out. There is the rare tornado, but again, it's usually nothing more troublesome than a strong wind storm. Earthquakes happen once in a while, but they mostly just rattle the dishes. 

Usually we just have to hunker down for a few hours or days . . . or occasionally few weeks. The good news is typically not every area is affected by power outages and in the past I've had pretty good luck going to one or another nearby gas stations for fuel . . . although in the winter I typically have several gallons on hand anyway for fueling the ATV for plowing, snowmobile, etc.


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## WiscWoody (May 17, 2021)

This is a little off subject but look at the deal I got on these steel gas cans, I got all of The older ones for a total of $25 at two different sales. There’s three 5 gallon cans and two 2.5 gallon ones. I bought a can of Rust-Oleum galvanized steel primer and some red paint to repaint at lest the tops of them all. Like I’ve said before I’m in the lawn care business so gas cans are me.

And the four newer Eagle gas cans are my generator gas.


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## begreen (May 17, 2021)

Nice score. I have an old Eagle, but it needs new parts (cap and vent plug). These are hard to find and expensive. I have a newer Eagle too that I picked up at a garage sale. That is my prime container now. The plastic ones don't last.


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## WiscWoody (May 17, 2021)

begreen said:


> Nice score. I have an old Eagle, but it needs new parts (cap and vent plug). These are hard to find and expensive. I have a newer Eagle too that I picked up at a garage sale. That is my prime container now. The plastic ones don't last.


If you look at the old cans you’ll see a new cap on one I bought on eBay for $6 shipped, kinda expensive for just a cap but I suppose $2 of that is for shipping and the padded envelope and I only paid $3 for that can so it was worth it. It’s a 1.5" cap and there’s all kinds of different gas can caps and spouts on the site.


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## Montanalocal (May 17, 2021)

I also have the Eagle gas cans, and I have made them flow much better by installing a metal vent.


Amazon product


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## begreen (May 17, 2021)

Interesting. I went out an looked at the can. It needs a new pour spout. The old one is cracked. And the large fill cap has a soft air valve that one presses on when pouring. That is worn too. I found a spout on eBay, but it is $23.50 used + shipping with the bid going up hourly. However, it's the 2.5" vented fill cap that is harder to find. 








						Vintage EAGLE Gas Can Spout 6” rubber / vinyl spout for Metal Gas Can  | eBay
					

<p>This auction is for a Vintage EAGLE Gas Can Spout - 6” red rubber / vinyl spout for Metal Gas Can. Condition is as seen in photos, no damage or dry rot. Like new and Ready to use. Winning bidder to pay shipping cost by using calculator on this page.</p>



					www.ebay.com


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## WiscWoody (May 17, 2021)

That’s a lot especially with the shipping and tax on top of it. Maybe just a cap and a funnel would make more sense?


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## WiscWoody (May 17, 2021)

Montanalocal said:


> I also have the Eagle gas cans, and I have made them flow much better by installing a metal vent.
> 
> 
> Amazon product



I like that idea, I’ll have to order the vents the next time I empty the cans. Thanks for the info!

Edit: I couldn't wait that long and I ordered the 8 pack of them.


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## begreen (May 19, 2021)

Ordered the valves and found a new spout for $15 including shipping. Looks like I will be able to resurrect the old Eagle can. What red paint did you use?


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## WiscWoody (May 19, 2021)

begreen said:


> Ordered the valves and found a new spout for $15 including shipping. Looks like I will be able to resurrect the old Eagle can. What red paint did you use?


I bought this Krylon International Harvester Red paint at Walmart for $5, it matched the newer Eagle cans the best and I got 6 ”Gasoline  Only” stickers on eBay for $2 each after shipping since I bought 3 packs of 2 for the same shipping cost as one pack.. I started to work on the old cans today by using a orbital sander for what I could get off with that then I used a sand blaster for the rest but it plugged up so I need to Work on it and get new blast material or dry sand. I just got the new vents today too.


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## velvetfoot (May 20, 2021)

I'm trying to figure out how I'm going to use the standby, but I'm pretty sure if I was going away for a few days, I'd shut it off.  At a minimum, you're supposed to check the oil once a day.

I have been toying with the idea of having the ability to make it autonomous.  That is, it runs an hour or two maybe 3 times a day or something when nobody is home.  Or, have it (additionally?) controlled by a house or freezer thermostat, with a big delta T, so that the pipes don't freeze or the food doesn't spoil.

It wouldn't be easy to arrange with the way the Generac transfer switch is designed.  Load has to be shed whenever starting or shutting down gen.


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## WiscWoody (May 23, 2021)

I wander if this can is like yours begreen? I got it at the town dump where I work on Saturdays in the summer only. The spout is like yours I know. I got it for free of course. Not as good a find as some of the running chainsaws I’ve gotten from there but bad either. It won’t take much to make it look good again, just a little cleaning and maybe some silver paint for the top.


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## begreen (May 23, 2021)

Mine is a bit newer and 5 gallon. It is more like this one in Woody's picture, but with the spout. 



I got the vent valve and put it in the filler cap. I also ordered a spout from eBay for Eagle cans but it is too large. :-(, so for now I will have to use the old one. I also have a much newer Eagle 5 gallon metal can that is in primo condition.  Got that from a yard sale.


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## clancey (May 24, 2021)

What is so thrilling about those cans--can you replace them with a newer variety or is it the vintage aspect of it? clancey


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## begreen (May 24, 2021)

They are metal and stout. The plastic ones don't stand up over time. Blitz made them for a while until they started to split at the seams and got sued out of business. I threw out 3 of their plastic cans after only 4 yrs. of use.


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## tlc1976 (May 24, 2021)

begreen said:


> They are metal and stout. The plastic ones don't stand up over time. Blitz made them for a while until they started to split at the seams and got sued out of business. I threw out 3 of their plastic cans after only 4 yrs. of use.



I have blitz plastic gas cans I’ve been using for like 15 years. Never leaked. But I see how they can leak. The relief valves don’t work well and if you got the cap on tight it looks like it could blow the can. So I keep the cap on very loosely.  Just enough to keep dirt and critters out.


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## begreen (May 24, 2021)

The top seams went out on all three of our Blitz plastic cans. Tossed out about $120 worth of cans. I was mad too because all the replacements had terrible safety spouts which were a pain to use if they didn't fail on you. That's when I started watching out for metal cans.


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## velvetfoot (May 24, 2021)

I've got 6 of the Eagle metal cans I got at the local Ace hardware store.  I've heard that metal cans can rust on the inside...I don't know.  I fill them with ethanol free gas, if that counts for anything.

The yellow No-Spill ones are for the new(ish) tractor which drinks diesel.

The plastic thing on the left is a rain cover for the Predator 3500 generator-I have no idea if it'll work, just something I saw that seemed like a good idea.

Hopefully there's nothing incriminating in the photo.  I see a Honda 2000i, my unused farm jack, several years of free blades for the Ariens lawn tractor (they've discontinued that), some brake fluid-I had the hardest time getting the air out of the MINI's brakes, cables for the gennies, the splitter way on the right, etc, etc.


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## xman23 (May 24, 2021)

The wood stove keeps us toasty. A few LED lanturns. And a 2000 watt generator to run the fridge a few times a day. Our grinder pump is outside. It's big. We could and have gone for days in the dead of winter without power.


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## clancey (May 25, 2021)

Your are prepared and that looks like a neat assortment of stuff--all well taken care of too,,,nice...c


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## WiscWoody (May 26, 2021)

Yes right, you have a nice collection of fuel cans there Velvetfoot and wow you have a Honda Genny, nice! Or maybe it’s just a Honda cover...? I like the newer Eagle 5 gallon steel cans the best but they are expensive and I think I have enough of those now with the four I have. I do have some older plastic gas cans and they’ve never split on me but I just like the metal ones better. As I’ve said before I mow mostly cabin lawns up here in the summer so between the 20 gallons I store for my little suitcase generator and the mowing I use many cans. Many times I go to a bigger town in the area and their gas is cheaper so I fill up a few 5 gallon cans and bring them home to save a little. There’s a reservation not far from here too and the gas there is always 15 or so cents cheaper there. Now it’s $2.69/G there and I can live with that.


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## peakbagger (May 26, 2021)

The best ultra rare gas can was made by a Canadian company years ago called Explosafe, it was well built and had aluminum mesh inside the can that transferred heat quickly. They could be welded on and not explode. They also had a fusible vent plug. Kidde sold them for awhile. They were a great idea but cost too much for consumers. They could be shot and the fuel would leak out but the even if the fuel lit off it would just burn where it was leaking out. 

There is very beat up one for sale currently in Ebay that looks like it had a hard life.  The same technology was used in Jerry cans in Europe for military use.


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## WiscWoody (May 26, 2021)

These  Justrite cans are nice but for $80-$90 they are out of my league. Amazon had the 5 gallon Eagles on sale last year for $27 each shipped  and I got a couple of them then and I just got another one at Menards for $42 minus the 11% merchandise credit they have going and I get 2%  more for paying my charge card bill in full every month even though the Menards one can be a doozy sometimes lol.


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## begreen (May 26, 2021)

That was a great price. Wish I had caught that Amazon sale.


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## begreen (Jun 5, 2021)

And on cue, we have a power outage. Estimated time 8.5 hrs. Unfortunately, this overlaps dinner so the generator has been started and we are running on propane.


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## clancey (Jun 6, 2021)

Why the power outage and do you know why?  Curious here and good thing you have good back up as far as fuel is concerned..clancey


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## begreen (Jun 6, 2021)

High winds brought down a tree on a power distribution line. Took out the pole and a transformer too. Nothing scary, just a random rural power outage.


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## johneh (Jun 6, 2021)

begreen said:


> High winds brought down a tree on a power distribution line. Took out the pole and a transformer too. Nothing scary, just a random rural power outage.


Just another normal Sunday


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## clancey (Jun 6, 2021)

Last night we had such high winds and a real weird looking cloud and real dark sky (no rain) and I thought that we were going to have a major hail event but it was just the winds and scary too..I had to open up my wooden fence gates because the wind blew them open and I look at the stove pipe and it was holding strong--Yes...so I feel for you and hope everything calms down--scary..clancey


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## WiscWoody (Jun 6, 2021)

It’s good to have backup power for those occasions when something happens. It’s hot today and the winds are gusting to 35 mph today but no outages yet.


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## OldJotul (Jan 8, 2022)

Highbeam said:


> Generators. You need to keep the fridge cold and water flowing too.


Not necessarily! Propane gas stove here and wood stove, kept me up and running 
I buried my fresh and frozen food in insulated bags in the snow. When the power came back i simply dug them up and put them back! No water is easily managed by filling tubs up with  water if you have some notice that bad weather is approaching.  If not you can always melt snow for water for flushing etc. And bonus my cell phone battery was nearly dead so no internet for 4 days was a blessing!


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## Highbeam (Jan 8, 2022)

OldJotul said:


> Not necessarily! Propane gas stove here and wood stove, kept me up and running
> I buried my fresh and frozen food in insulated bags in the snow. When the power came back i simply dug them up and put them back! No water is easily managed by filling tubs up with  water if you have some notice that bad weather is approaching.  If not you can always melt snow for water for flushing etc. And bonus my cell phone battery was nearly dead so no internet for 4 days was a blessing!



Of course. I mean, I can live in a van down by the river if push comes to shove and I have enough cans of chili!


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## kennyp2339 (Jan 8, 2022)

Highbeam said:


> Of course. I mean, I can live in a van down by the river if push comes to shove and I have enough cans of chili!


I see what you did there, excellent


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## Montanalocal (Jan 8, 2022)

I put together a very simple and inexpensive solar energy system just for battery charging.  I have a whole-house generator for power outages, but I thought a low power system for recharging all my rechargeable batteries would be worth it to not run the generator so much.

I started with a very simple 35 watt solar panel that i simply propped up inside a window.  The best inside-window panels use amorphous silicon chips.  Most of the solar panels come with their own battery charge controllers, which you need.  pic. 1

Then I run that into a simple lead acid car battery.  I use maintenance-free so I can use it indoors.  pic. 2

Then I hook on a small 300 watt Inverter to change from 12 V. DC to 120 V. AC.  pic. 3

I run this to a power strip and hook up my battery chargers.  They draw very few watts.  I have my chargers for my Landworks electric cart for hauling firewood, my snow blower for clearing snow off my stacks, batteries for my electrically heated gloves, and my phone.  I have a number of other rechargers I could hook up as well.  pic. 4

For 3 or 4 hundred dollars, one could get set up for solar battery recharging, and get a start into learning about solar.


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## clancey (Jan 8, 2022)

Pretty smart and you are talented to do all that---although I bet your better half complains about all those wires...lol just saying...old clancey


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## velvetfoot (Jan 8, 2022)

Something to think about during an extended outage with a standby generator and you're trying to conserve fuel:
The control panel, at least my Generac, consumes energy even just sitting there.  Even if you take out the 7.5 amp fuse on top, it still might consume energy-maybe not as much-I don't know.  Anyway, keeping the generator's battery topped up might not be a bad application for solar.


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