Are You Ready For A Blackout In Your Area? (Vanity - Poll)

Aug 15, 03 | SLB

[SLB]

How many FReepers feel they would be ready for a blackout right NOW? What do you do that makes you feel like you are or are not? How about personal safety.

[the gillman@blacklagoon.com]

Camping out in a salt marsh, fishing, with all those toys, is a dream vacation for a lot of guys I know.

[BureaucratusMaximus]

I have a 5500 watt generator that can run my refrigerator, freezer, furnace, fans, lights, solar water heater, and TV, along with several computers and a home network.

5.5 KW's will run all that? Holy cow...I think I'm going to invest 1 to 2g's on one.

[archy]

Man, I didn't know you were in Memphis. I'm gonna sell all my stuff and just hike up from Columbus and stay with you next time.

Note to self, invite Archy to the ballgame when the Falcons go to Southaven.

Don't count on my staying here a whole lot longer. I'm one of the Free State Project's porcupines, pledged to make the move with 20,000 others so inclined in the hopes of accomplishing some constitutional restoration within a single chosen political jurisdiction. If the chosen destination [the vote takes place once 5000 are on board; we've got around 5072 last I checked and the ballots are being mailed out now] is Wyoming, South Dakota or Montana, I could make the move within 30 days of the announced result; some of the other states would require a good deal more homework and preparation for me.

But I may maintain some property here around Memphis in any event; the area is beautiful, most of the hospitality I've found in the last 7 sears I've been here have been all it's reputed to be, and the local history is both fascinating and charming. I've loved my stay here and could happily kick back here for a good while longer. But there are dragons that require slaying, and I hear they're tasty with ketchup.

-archy-/-

[najida]

Power outage?!?

We have one at least every other week when a Suicide Squirrel dies in a transformer. My dog now believes that all squirrels fall from the sky fully cooked. She plays with the carcass for days.

We have always been prepared with lots of stuff canned and frozen, a pump at the well, kerosine lamps...

Ok, so some of it is preparedness and some of it is just leftovers from when granny was alive.

[archy]

We're planning on putting in a woodstove this fall and since we now live in the country, hubby is looking into getting a generator.

If you're in a rural setting and have other LP available, consider a generator that's set up to run on propane. Their motors are common to the gasoline-fueled versions, but require far less frequent oil changes and service, LP runs a LOT cleaner. And LP is useful for any number of other functions, from backup radiant heaters to camp grills, cookstoves and lanterns. The only drawback, which may or may not be a factor, is the lack of commonality with your vehicle fuels and/or the local availability of a dependable supply.

-archy-/-

[mamarainsberry]

Yep. Wood to cook with, candles, batteries, spare food and a swimming pool full of mostly drinkable water. Will feel better when the freezer is full this fall.

[archy]

We're planning on putting in a woodstove this fall and since we now live in the country, hubby is looking into getting a generator.

If you're in a rural setting and have other LP available, consider a generator that's set up to run on propane. Their motors are common to the gasoline-fueled versions, but require far less frequent oil changes and service, LP runs a LOT cleaner. And LP is useful for any number of other functions, from backup radiant heaters to camp grills, cookstoves and lanterns. The only drawback, which may or may not be a factor, is the lack of commonality with your vehicle fuels and/or the local availability of a dependable supply.

I forgot about the cigs and beer - but I can't drink warm beer - so I would have to do a lot of fast drinking!!!!!!

Get yourself a couple of carbon dioxide fire extinguishers. They'll chill down a couple of slabs of beer in around a minute and a half. Or if you're near an airfield, have a friendly pilot building hours or slowtiming an engine run 'em up to around 15,000, 20,000 feet for you.

-archy-/-

[Prof Engineer]

We have one at least every other week when a Suicide Squirrel dies in a transformer. My dog now believes that all squirrels fall from the sky fully cooked. She plays with the carcass for days

Do you have any idea how funny this is? I have tears streaming down my face.

My ddog would think it manna from heaven.

[archy]

If we have a blackout, is that a good excuse to stop painting my house? I'm really sick of painting.

It's a good excuse to do some interior work instead. But in such conditions, you may find a friend or stranger willing to do that which you find distasteful while their own circumstances are interrupted. If you're not familiar with the concept, read Mark Twain's account of Huck Finn's thoughts while painting/whitewashing fences.

But deferred maintenance in such times is hardly unknown, and the conditions can at least serve as an excuse or rationale for you. When circumstances hand you lemons, make lemonade. Or lemon-merangue pie...

I find a LOT of things more distasteful and less fun than painting.

-archy-/-

[steve86]

Too many users found out here in Memphis what happens when you run a 5KW or so genny for a week straight.

I'd be really interested in hearing more about that. What kind of deterioration was there? Low compression, valve train problems, actual wear to the power head armature? I wonder if people went more than 20 hours or so without changing the crankcase oil? (that's another thing we need to provision).

I have a basic solar system similar to what you are putting together. It is great in the summer for backup power (have several inverters up to 2500 watt), but pretty much worthless in December and January at this latitude even when it's sunny for a few hours (Washington State).

I see you are an active ham. At age 48, I have finally started reading about amateur radio. Would you recommend a 2M radio and the basic license for emergency purposes? I have a one-tone van outfitted for camping (solar, generators, etc). Any recommendations on a good mobile radio I could use at home or in the van? TIA.

[Squantos]

We had a blackout in our little ville a few years ago that lasted a week ! The local BNSF train sorts had to put generators up at all the crossings to power the bells and gates. Three days into the blackout all the generators came up missing...................hmmmmmmm.

One nice item to consider is a Kohler Natural Gas powered home generator. Mine has a nice weatherproof enclosure, has automatic start and is piped directly from the gas company line to my casa. Sit's out on a concrete pad next to my central air unit. Runs very quiet and powers everything with no problems. Even the surges from Fridge or HVAC units don't seem to bother it. With such a rig I don't have to store large quanities of fuel as the gas company usually doesn't shut down unless catastrophy strikes in major way.

That aside I have a couple of large solar panels on my backyard shops roof and a trace converter that keeps me on line albeit I'm still in the dark on most subjects............:o) My backup plan is to move into the motorhome and or move the motorhome to a power source !

Stay Safe !

[najida]

Seriously,

We say "Look Gracie! Another Dead Squirrel Toy!" And then she runs around with this stiff from nose to tail carcass as proud as she can be...for DAYS...(yeah, manna from heaven is right).

To make it even funnier, the biggest BOOM! ever was the day after we started bombing Iraq...

My brother called me 3 minutes later saying "Yep, looks like Al Queda has been training the squirrels"...

I promise you, that when this present kerfuffle is all over, they are goin' to find a squirrel carcass somewhere in a transformer in Ohio.

[Tijeras_Slim]

Sounds like a great set-up. Apparently I only need a tank full of gas, because I'm gonna come and stay with you!

[FITZ]

I live where power outages occur often enough. No big deal ---I can easily last 3 days without electricity.

[varon]

Bring it on! ;-)

[archy]

We are prepared for a short-term power outage, because we, along with most of the Memphis area, lost power for 4 days on July 22. This was a "microburst" storm that produced straight-line winds of near hurricane strength over the entire city and immediate surrounding area, then disappeared about 20 minutes later. It took out 3/4 of the local utility customers, some for as long as 3 weeks, and you still see giant trees uprooted all over town. It was devastating here - actually, an official federal disaster - but did not make the national news because the magic word "tornado" did not apply.

I went through it in the University of Memphis area, near Park Plaza. Interestingly I was out and about that early in the morning, out to pick up some motorcycle parts in Olive Branch, and on a motorbike when the storm hit. Sporty.

I have propane for the grill, but enough gasoline on hand to run the generator for a single day, since it gets stale after a while.

Here's just the stuff you need, Amsoil or Sta-Bil, meant to keep fuel in storage from going bad. Most any motorcycle or light aircraft owner/operator could have told you about it, and if you can't find it or something similar at your favourite local auto parts supplier, one of the local bike shops should have it, or give me a freepmail and I'll track some down for you.

One ounce treats 2½ gallons of gas; the usual container is a 16-ounce size, enough for eight 5-gallon jerrycans of fuel. Sixpaks of the stuff are commonly seen, and that'll handle a 55-gallon drum well enough, though I find the smaller 30-gallon drums easier to move around on a regular hand truck.

[MainFrame65]

A new Troy-built generator cost me $710 including sales tax, plus about $85 for extension cords to run where I needed them. It can produce 30 Amps of 230 volts, or each side can produce 20 amps - and the load must be balanced side to side.

I used only fluorescent lamps, so all my lights together used less than 200 W. Fans, radios, small TVs, and computers are all under 100 W each, although some large displays - and most printers - can exceed that.

Refrigerator and freezer are hogs - figure 600 W each, and more for startup. In fact, I was even able to run my microwave if I turned off some of the other stuff while it was cooking. But it did heat up the kitchen a bit. You just have to find the current or wattage draw of each item you need, split them on the two legs, and add up the totals. If you go over the line, see if you could stop one thing while you run something else temporarily.

Some people connected generators directly to their service panels. Generally this is illegal, and it can be dangerous. City power and generator power can never be synchronized, so they can never be connected to each other. The legal method is a manual or automatic transfer switch installed by a licensed electrician. But if you are going to do that, you either need to shed a lot of load or use a much larger generator. You have no control over when your electric water heater cycles on, and not much on when your thermostat starts your AC.

If you have a 200 Amp panel (100 amps on each leg of the 240 volt service), you need 100 amps times 120 volts times 2 legs, or 24.000 watts capacity, to not have to worry about how you use electricity. And you could live on much less, but only with care.

[archy]

My backup plan is to move into the motorhome and or move the motorhome to a power source !

Your backup plan is a lot more elegant than mine.

[Squantos]

Wanna by a slightly used generator ?;o)

When I lived on that cliff in Tablazon behind the Zuzak exit I had a wood stove, a honda generator that I plugged into my 220 dryer outlet to send power back through the system. Easy to make a extension with parts from home destroy store. A candle, portable radio and lots of books to catch up on my reading.

But hey if TSHTF come on over !! Bring Chookter with ya as we'll need music. Besides bagpipes scare the hell out of folks around here !

Stay Safe !

[SLB]

We had a tornado go through the area on June 4, 1993. We were without power for a couple of days. Just a minor bump for us. All the neighbors were coming by to share dinner as we were having a feast, go to try out the Coleman Oven with bread, I think that is what lured them in. We just finished burning the firewood the twister left us about two years ago. Need another one close by to get me another supply for the wood burner.