hurricane Sandy visited us and left behind a mess.  not but a week later a Nor'easter visited and caused more issues.  the result was 12 days without utility power.  i thought that it would be useful to document some of the successes and failures of dealing with this short term outage.  

preface:
i live with my wife in a semi-rural community approximately 15 miles inland.  my immediate family members live either very near the water (mom) or just a few miles in from the shore (brother and sister).  i work about 35 minutes north of home.  

constraints:
our house has a well, 220 feet deep with a 0.75HP submersible pump at the bottom of the hole.  it requires 240Vac at 8A running current, with an inrush of about 40A.  aside, everyone in my town is on well water –– but this is not the norm for the county, where municipal water is most common.

build up:
the NE (specifically, the mid-Atlantic coast) does not get frequent hurricanes; our worry is generally about Nor'easters –– which can carry a lot of rain (>8" in 24 hours) or alternatively a lot of snow (>24" in 24 hours).  hurricane Irene passed over last year, leaving most folks in our area without power for 2-4 days.  Sandy first appeared on our collective radar about a week before landfall, although at the time the projected tracks were all over the map.  some models had the eye going north of us, some south, some showed it veering out to sea, etc.  one note –– the NE area is structured primarily atop rock and clay-based soil; ergo, unlike areas with sandy soil it does not absorb water and then drain all that easily.  frankly, with a storm of this size i was more worried about the quantity of rain versus the wind.  

common preps:
my wife and i live fairly simply and have on-hand at all times enough for about a month of "no societal contact" living.  we keep our food, water, and other staples maintained.  from this perspective, if Sandy had just "shown up" i don't think we would have had much of a problem overall.  for example, in the basement are 24 cases of bottled water, qty 4 NATO type 5 gal water cans, and upstairs there is plenty of stored pasta, rice, soup and other.  in addition i have a modest store of freeze dried food as well.  there is a shallow creek out behind the house and this non-potable water could be used for flushing toilets, for example.  it is relatively high in iron and so it's not a great input to a portable water filter.  

event preps:
i anticipated Irene again, and there would no power for 2-4 days.  nevertheless on thursday (5 days before the storm arrived) i topped my available fuel stores to the maximum: 25 gallons of gas (5 x 5 gal NATO cans), and 16 gallons of diesel (2 x 5 gal NoSpill cans + 6 in the tractor tank itself).  so i believed from the outset that we were "covered" in terms of fuel stocks, and of course these stocks could be prolonged by changing usage.  fuel tanks in my truck and my wife's car were also filled.

worries:
my primary concern was the safety of my family, including my mom and siblings.  at my home, my worry was structure penetration or damage from trees.  while i have culled some trees away from the house over the years, there are one or two that could give the house or the detached garage a good sized headache.  the other concern was of course power –– for water, heat, and comfort.

power:
i have two conflicting needs/wants, and therefore two generators.

from strictly an electrical connectivity standpoint, the 50A capacity generator power inlet (4 prong: L1/L2/N/GND) is located at my detached workshop, some 50 feet from the house. underground conduit with wire connects the two structures. the wiring terminates on a transfer switch adjacent to the service panel. from there i have a variety of branch circuits split out, including the refrigerator and so on. in addition to the 120Vac branch circuits, the transfer switch can also be used to direct power to a single 240Vac load –– namely the well pump.

hence, any type (120Vac only, or 120Vac/240Vac split phase) or capacity (2KW, 10KW, etc) generator can be employed at the workshop end –– it is just a question of how much stuff in the house you want to power.

the approach i have taken is really designed to minimize fuel storage needs, to minimize fuel consumption, and to minimize noise. the tradeoff is that my wife and i don't have "perfect lifestyle continuance" during a power outage. such a degree of "continuance" requires a whole-house sized generator ($$$) and in addition consumes a lot of fuel (gasoline, diesel, propane, or natgas = $).

the start point then is a relatively small generator (Honda EU2000i), which makes 2KW peak. hence, during an outage we will be more or less "camping" in the house versus having the ability to use any and all appliances concurrently. for example, making coffee will require some degree of load management to ensure the generator capacity is not exceeded. hair dryers are right out.

the trouble starts because our drinking water comes from 220' below the house. and the little Honda has neither the correct voltage nor sufficient current capability to run the well pump. one option is just to store lots of drinking water; in fact, as noted above i do so to the tune of at least two dozen cases of bottled water on hand at all times. but for bathing, sanitation, etc there is a definite need for water, and ideally hot water. fortunately the water heater is powered by natural gas.

for this reason i purchased a used PTO generator which would power the well pump. while the PTO generator could in fact be run 24x7 or some fraction thereof, in my mind the minimal fuel consumption, reduced noise signature, and overall convenience of a small generator outweighed the desire/need to have 10KW on tap at all times.  i had no real 'long term' experience with this setup.  during Irene, i used the EU2000i for two days and ran the PTO generator once during that same period.  

from a transfer switch perspective, in addition to the well pump  i could power the fridge, furnace, family room (lights and receptacles), and sump pump (incl. basement receptacles).  because of the older wiring in my house, the fridge circuit includes a pair of counter height kitchen receptacles.  this is no longer permitted by code and in a modern house the fridge will have a dedicated circuit without a GFCI.  in my case this was a "helpful" issue as it expanded the number of receptacles supplied with generator power –– and in a very convenient location.

technical note:
bonding L1 and L2 at the end of the EU2000i's cordset means that the single phase output of the EU2000i powers both halves of the "E's" in the transfer switch panel. hence there is no net reduction in the number of branch circuit loads when using the EU2000i. do not bond L1 and L2 anywhere else other than the EU2000i's cord, otherwise you'll have a lot of excitement when you plug in a split-phase generator which makes 240Vac.  (ps: of course with both L1 and L2 in phase, there *should* be 0Vac across the 240Vac dual pole breakers but i keep these switched off when using the single phase input just in case.)

psychology:
mindset is important and both my wife and i have a positive but not happy-go-lucky worldview.  i have a high panic threshold.  my wife is well acclimated to off-the-beaten-track situations.  she has traveled to places without sanitation, and where folks live in squalor like we can't even imagine living here in the USA.

48 hours prior:
double checked the sump pump float operation, and also the adjacent 12Vdc-powered backup sump pump.  the deep cycle marine battery for the latter was fully charged via the attention of an attached Battery Tender Jr.  changed the oil in the EU2000i, and checked the engine oil and hydrostatic fluid levels in the tractor.  

foreplay:
the sunday before the hurricane made landfall we went to Home Depot.  this was not borne of panic buying but instead served three purposes: return a bulb which didn't fit into a special kitchen light, take a gander at some inexpensive ceramic/porcelain tiles for a future mudroom application, and finally just get out of the house since we would be locked up the next day plus some.  i bring up the light bulb because it comes with a story.  

we arrived at the HD and it was (predictably) a bit of a madhouse.  this particular HD is located just a few miles inland and as you can imagine the place was like an ant farm with folks scurrying about.  there was a line starting at the front of the store, extending way into the back, of folks waiting on a pending generator shipment which according to a lady next to me was evidently supposed to arrive in short order.  we got into the customer service line.  

in front of me a guy leans forward a bit towards the service manager, opens his billfold showing some credentials, and quietly says, "i'm the guy from the FBI, we called about a generator –– i'm here to pick it up."   the service guy nods his head, says "oh, right..." –– and then looks about 20 feet away to another guy, and yells loudly, "hey bob, the federal agent is here to pick up his generator, can you put it on a cart and bring it out?"

well, about 100 people turn to look at who exactly is getting a generator right now when there are apparently none in the store and many waiting in line.  the guy in front of me was completely red-faced and simply looked down in disgust.  i LoL'd, and i didn't feel like asking him whether the generator was for his field location or actually for him because i think i knew the answer.  we continued with our non-purposeful HD mission and what i did notice was that the electrical aisle was holding a makeshift "how to build a suicide cord" class given not by HD staff but by customers.   the shelves containing plugs and extension cords were stripped bare.

on the way home we stopped at the deli and bought a dozen bagels.  my wife commented that i would get fat if i ate 12 bagels in 2 days.  i was hoping that would be the biggest problem.

24 hours prior:
started up the Honda EU2000i, made sure it made power.  filled the tank, and positioned the interconnect cable.  i didn't attach the PTO genset at this point to the tractor (FYI to non-tractor owners: it takes about 3-5 minutes to get a three point hitch attachment connected up and aligned) because i wanted to be able to (easily) use the tractor's FEL (front end loader) post storm.  hence, i didn't want to drag around the PTO generator if i had to use the tractor to drag a tree out of the way or clear something up.

i turned the fridge and freezer settings down as low as they could go.  i put the little digital thermometer we use to tell us the inside/outside temperature into the fridge section, and brought the remote sensor in from outside and put that into the freezer section.  i turned off the 2 pole breakers to the central A/C compressor units.  i positioned flashlights in places that would be useful, e.g. just inside the door to the detached garage.  i cycled batteries through the charger for the Makita cordless tools i have, incl flashlight, driver/drill, and trim saw.  i checked my inventory of lithium AAs, AAA's, and CR123's and determined i had enough for a couple of years.  i cycled a dozen Sanyo NiMH 2700's through the AA charger and determined they were topped as well.

everything outside that could fall over or become a projectile was secured or moved into the garage.  i got the extension ladder out and cleaned the gutters of the fall leaves.  there were still a lot of leaves on the trees, and this was a worry since they presented an appreciable wind load.  i left the walk-out door to the basement unlocked, the shop door unlocked, and the back door to the garage unlocked.  if we had to get out of the house during the night ASAP (fire or structural problem) i didn't need to be fumbling around in the dark with the 2x4 castle bar i have across the basement door to get out, or fumbling with keys in the wind driven rain to get into the garage or workshop.  

forecast:
NHC/NWS nailed it. unfortunately we would be on the "windward side" –– since northern hemisphere tropical storms rotate counter-clockwise, the storm surge and wind speed above the eye are both higher than below the eye.  so, more water, higher waves, and stiffer wind.

onset:
usually a good time to watch a movie.  during the afternoon hours the power blinked and browned.  i turned off the breakers for expensive things with motors, like the fridge.  at 6pm, around dusk with the wind howling through the trees like a freight train, the power went away for good.  i checked the sump pump DC side again.  the rain was light and i didn't expect any problems with the basement.  the wind was sustained 75MPH and some big ass gusts.  with the power now off i put a handheld ham radio in the living room which allowed us to listen to ABC news out of NYC simulcast on FM, and my wife read a book by LED light.  i had another radio tuned to the local LE frequency which made for some amusement: "hey capt, so many trees down –– i'm, like, running out of ways to get back to HQ...".  at around 11pm we hit the sack.

first light:
around 5AM, got the EU2000i started, warmed up, and powering the fridge.  made coffee for the two of us via the Keurig (yeah, i know –– you hardcore SF people, it's my life not yours!).  did a good walk around of the property, talked with the neighbors, everyone was ok.  daylight temperature was around 50'F.   i experimented a bit and discovered that FIOS worked all the way around: we had POTS, internet, and HDTV.  nice.  for this reason i would say we were not really "roughing it", since if you can make coffee and surf the internet you are not that bad off.  but this is also a result of planning and organization, not just serendipity.

local aftermath:
no trees down on the house, some in the yard.  nothing blocking egress from our driveway or street.  texted with my sister (my mom had been evac'd to her house the day before the storm) and my brother.  all OK, no power, some trees down.   texted with a friend of mine who is an OEM (office of emergency management) coordinator in a coastal town about 10 miles away.  he told me that the SHTF there and the seawater was a 1/2 mile into the town (!), many homes simply gone, and thousands of folks displaced.  one evacuation shelter at a middle school had flooded during the storm, so the 250 folks there were moved (via bus, during the storm) farther inland into the municipal building that includes the police station.  that building then flooded with seawater.  my OEM buddy had his car on "high ground" at the PD, and it drowned in 3 feet of water.  there is no historical record of the water EVER coming that high and that far into town.

the outside world speaks:
we got a "reverse-911" call, a text, and an email from our township folks that carried a simple message: no non-essential / non-emergency vehicles out on the roads.  "too many trees, too many wires, too much damage".  OK, not a big deal.  i guess you could call it martial law, but i see the intent from the PD/FD/EMS perspective.  they got enough issues, folks wandering around playing look-see with 6KV feeders on the ground just creates one more set of problems.  

so on day 1 we stayed at home, made hot soup, cleaned up the yard, and prepared for a couple of days of no power.  

thereafter, the following process (mostly) would be repeated day after day:
first light: start EU2000i, power fridge.
((do stuff outside or at mom's house))
an hour before sundown: start tractor, engage PTO generator, run well pump, take showers, refill water stocks.
darkness: run EU2000i for fridge, lights, TV, and internet until 11pm or whenever.
overnight: nothing.  everything locked up.

each time, i manually topped off the water level in the well pressure tank before shutting down the PTO generator.  this allowed for about 10-15 flushes and some convenience water (for brushing teeth etc) while the well pump was not powered.

for the following 12 days which we had no utility power, the typical day consisted of about 8-20 hours of EU2000i run time and about 20-45 minutes of PTO generator run time.  this approach was "costing" us, per day, about 2 gals of gasoline plus about a quart-ish of diesel.  any downtime on the EU2000i was used to refuel, check the oil, and of course swap the interconnect cords between the EU2000i and PTO generator. once the tractor was powering the well pump, we would shower, refill water stocks, and take care of anything else that required more power than the EU2000i could provide. once the tractor started up, my neighbors quickly arrived to fill wash buckets for flushing their toilets.   a couple of days into the outage the overnight temps were dropping into the low 30's high 20's, so i would run the EU2000i overnight to keep the heat on.

interesting:
NOAA weather radio frequencies (aka "all hazards radio") were silent.  at first i thought the antenna was off my truck.  checked my handhelds.  nope.  no signal on ANY NOAA frequency, and i can usually hear two or three of the seven.  one of the two local amateur radio repeaters was non-operational, reason at that time unknown.  

fuel:
after a couple of days it was obvious that there were structural issues with fuel.  first, the obvious lack of power.  the storm disrupted the entire fuel supply and distribution chain –– from ship offload to refining to OTR (over the road) trucking to gas station dispensing. in this case there wasn't one problem that could be worked around, there were many that compounded each other. i had not been driving much, just to my mom's/sister's mostly (about 20mi round trip) and to a few other places with 10 miles but we saw some silly ass lines like a mile long waiting for gas.

things that were going well:
–– fuel consumption: about 2 gal gasoline per day, about 1/4 gal of diesel per day.  at this rate we were good on gasoline for roughly 14 days, and longer if we cut back on some things.
–– hot showers (<–– huge psychological boost for me personally)
–– hot food from gas stove (match lit)
–– heat.
–– Verizon FIOS was working (POTS, internet, and HDTV as long as the ONT unit and router had power –– this is about 40W total)
–– Verizon cellular service was working 100% (AT&T was horrible, as were others).

things that were inconvenient/awkward:
–– refueling the EU2000i in the dark holding a flashlight in my teeth.
–– "operational overhead" related to the dual generator setup.
–– "tactical" flashlights are useless for 99.9% of illumination needs.  you need a floodlight that lasts for several days, and not 87000 candlepower that lasts a half hour.
–– i should have connected the lights and fan in the master bath to the generator.  
–– my brother had 140 gallons of gas in the 30' boat on blocks in his driveway yet we could not get the siphon going.

things that were not going well:
–– my mom's basement was flooded up to the joists with seawater, diesel, and random pieces of the neighborhood.
–– my friend the OEM coordinator was coming unglued.
–– on our couch was a friend of mine from a nearby shore community... there was still deep water on his street and the damage situation there was far, far worse than where we lived.

after a couple of days i began "hot-fueling" the EU2000i and it is sorta-effective, but can get messy.  if you have tried this you will know what i mean.  the running generator aerates the fuel in the tank pretty effectively –– surprising me at first but i guess it is to be expected to some extent.  this makes hot-fueling cumbersome because you can get some of the aired-up gas froth spilling out the top of the generator VERY EASILY if you are not careful with both the rate you introduce new fuel and the level of the tank.  and once the tank is nearing full the gas will literally percolate up and out, forcing you to make quick work of getting the fuel cap on otherwise you'll have gas all over the generator.  it's not a great situation.

on sunday, 6 days after the hurricane, we "splurged" and with the tractor running we did 2 full loads of wash (we have a natural gas dryer but needs the grunt of the PTO generator to start up as the EU2000i was not interested at all in getting it going.) in total this day cost us about 1.5 gallons of diesel.

from a WAF (wife acceptance factor) standpoint, the setup i arranged is not great. while we can shower (with the PTO generator running) and live fairly normally (with the EU2000i running), the backup power system is not "self administering" in terms of refueling, power-vs-load management, and so on. there is some work on my end to configure things and keep the system operational, and some aspects of this process may not be obvious to a layperson. a natural gas-fueled generator would win in this aspect. moreover, the little Honda requires a bit of household discipline otherwise you'll pop the breaker on the unit. so, making a cup of coffee in the Keurig or using other "high power" loads has be done with some appreciation of what else is currently being powered and what the downstream effects might be.

the upside of this approach, however, is that i know some folks who were going through 8-12 gallons of gas PER DAY, and we were using just a quarter to a sixth of that. this would become VERY important a few days later when it became VERY apparent that getting more fuel was going to very difficult and/or time-consuming. very early that sunday(?) morning after the hurricane, still in the dark, i spent about 40 minutes waiting to get my truck topped off and put 10 gallons of gas in the cans. this brought us back to 25 gallons of gasoline on hand –– so i was never in any sort of "fuel crisis" during the outage. i knew some people who were very low/out of gas, and with nighttime temps going down into the high 20's that condition was a pain in the ass. the other problem was gas cans –– no one had enough, and the typical stores that had power and were open were sold out.

security:
having no flood/landscape lights powered was a bit disconcerting at times.  i may work on this going forward.  my home alarm system backup battery lasted about 3 days, then it switched off.   my EU2000i was secured to the workshop foundation via aircraft cable lock.  the tractor was back in the locked shop when not being used.  at no time were there uninvited folks seen in my little corner of the neighborhood.  on many (>5) occasions i left the house for the day (to work at my mom's place) with the EU2000i running.  

societal observations:
no issues in my town except for 1) folks complaining to the mayor about why the power isn't on (i'm always amused by this), and 2) while my neighbor and i were standing talking in the street one day this woman comes up alongside of us in an SUV.  there are two kids in the car.  she asks us when the power will come back on.  i reply with a friendly smile, "in 10 –– 10 minutes, 10 hours, or 10 days –– no one really knows."  she smirks and tells us that she drove 2 hrs to check on her cousin's house but she only has the electric garage door opener –– which doesn't work –– and no key.  then she asks, "do you know if there is any way to get the garage door open right now so we can go inside?"   i say with a smile, "yes, of course there is, but in most states it's referred to as burglary ..."  anyway, she drove off.

another observation which is now a sore point for me....

my family, coworkers, and friends live here.  i have walked through their wet, damaged houses and seen their flooded cars parked where no water has even been before.  none of them fit the ARFCOM GD model of a lazy FSA northeasterner.   for that matter i know two women who lost their home to the storm and a day later they were staffing the OEM/FEMA food distribution location and driving folks to get minor medical aid (i think i have to agree with my wife here that this is a coping mechanism).  

but one thing i have absolutely positively noticed is that loudmouthed idiots attract the attention of the media like no other.  there could be 10,000 people toiling away, diligently cleaning out their flooded basements and generally helping one another and their community get back to normal BUT there will be that one person who ends up with a microphone in front of them and this is what the media loves to run with.  8.7 million people can stand in line and get rationed gas in a cooperative manner but that's not a story.  the BIG story is the one person who has 7 kids including 3 useless teenagers and no water and no food and no preps and is blaming FEMA for not making her warm.  in summary, the media presentation of an event and it's affectees is a matter of "drama selection" by the producers.  

the other issue is that all of the preps in the world don't matter much if your house is destroyed.   the GD horde simply enjoys seeing other people suffer, and jumps to baseless conclusions about how this might have occurred.

but wait, there is more:
a week after the hurricane, we got a winter Nor'easter and 9" of wet, sticky snow and ice.  this set things back.  a group of guys from Alabama power ultimately restored my corner of the grid.

finally:
prepare for common things, and roll with the extraordinary things.


ar-jedi

NWS not fooling around:

Tagged. Thanks for the write up.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004ZSAS82/ref=oh_details_o04_s00_i00



For the Honda...
Oil change tube. Magnetic oil drain plug. Gas cap to allow attaching to a larger gas can. Fill the tank about half way full and put a tube on the gas cap into a gas can. The generator will siphon gas from the container as it runs.

Thanks for sharing your experience.  Glad to hear you're fine.

When you have time, can you please post a link to the type of flashlights you'll be buying, now?

elect coffee maker problem solved



Bought last time my power went out during an ice storm.  Think it was 4-5 days.

thanks for the post, glad you're ok

Thanks for the in depth AAR. Glad you made it through OK.

Just going to post this!
Northern Tool makes a similar set-up that works pretty good.


Glad your family is OK. Sounds like you handled the shituation damm good!  

Thanks for the great AAR and pictures. These write ups are so helpful to me in planning and helping others plan better.

i am going to get more of these on BlackFriday –– good flood area, and a nightlight that runs forever.
http://www.amazon.com/Energizer-Weather-Ready-Folding-Lantern/dp/B001D937SY

ar-jedi

I don't know about anyone else, but I'd like to be educated to the what and how of your genny set up on that tractor if you've got the time.

what problem are you trying to solve?  my Keurig was perfect...

ar-jedi

Thanks so much for the writeup.  I'm glad to hear that you made it through the storm intact.

Was trying to ration what was plugged into my genny as you mentioned above.  Have a natural gas stove so I decided to use that to make coffee instead of my electric coffee maker.

Excellent write up ar-jedi, thank you for taking the time.

I got a headlamp as a gift a couple years ago, and I have found it to be incredibly useful. Not just for "disaster" situations, but even routine things like working on a vehicle or anything with dark corners where I still need both hands.

The issue about "tactical" lights is also well taken. The light I most often carry is great for blinding a grizzly bear 100 yards away, but it's just too much for routine, close-handed tasks. It splashes back too much and blinds me quite often. Many others have echoed that having a small, simple (single AA or AAA) LED light is most useful.

The incident with the fed agent at Home Depot.  

Thanks for writing this up.  I am in the Mid Atlantic area as well but we dodged the full effects of Sandy altogether.  I'm thanking my lucky stars.

I have been happy with the solar LED motion lights that are readily available now.  They will really light up a perimeter when all else is dark.

Excellent report.  Thanks.

Can you explain more about the cord you used to connect your EU2000 to your power inlet?  Did you make a cable to connect your 3 prong 110V generator outlet to your 4 wire power inlet?  Was it a 4 wire cable that you connected the two hots together at the 3 prong plug?

the cordset connecting the EU2000i to the Reliance PB50 power inlet is SOOW 12/3 (n.b.: cordset nomenclature includes the ground wire, whereas Romex does not: 12/2 w/GND is 3 wires).  at one end of the cordset is a NEMA 5-15P (standard household 2 wire w/ground).  at the other end is a "special" 4 wire (L1/L2/N/Gnd) female connector receptacle called type CS6364.  this is not a NEMA type but is in widespread use within the backup power community. the Reliance PB50 has the mating (male) CS6375 end.

as noted above, in the EU2000i's cordset there is a jumper from L1 to L2 at the CS6364.  this bridges the feeds to the transfer switch and therefore powers both 'phases' of the switch.

ar-jedi


http://www.grainger.com/Grainger/CAROL-Cord-1YPW9







http://www.homedepot.com/buy/reliance-controls-50-amp-power-inlet-box-pb50.html

what sort of info are you looking for?

the alternator head is a 2pole TigerPower 10KW unit, circa 2005.  my tractor PTO, as with most tractors, turns the PTO at 540RPM when the engine is set to the RPM coincident with the torque peak (this is by design). there is a small gearbox, mounted to the alternator head, which converts the 540RPM input to 3600RPM output.  the gearbox is oil-filled with 90wt.  in general you will need about 1.6HP at the PTO for every KW of power produced.  note: oversizing the alternator head versus the tractor power will result in greater startup current availability due to the added rotational inertia of the heavier rotor.

i made a wheeled skirt for it so it is easier for me to wheel around in the garage or workshop.

ar-jedi

Awesome AAR.

To solve your hand holding of the Honda eu2000 you need an extended run system.


I have this one.  I filled it up Monday night and ran the generator for 3 (10 -12 hours) nights without refueling.   On Thursday I changed the oil and  topped off the tank with @3 gal and it ran for another 3 nights and the tanks is still half full.  The tanks is 6 gal and it makes it easy to refuel while the generator is running.  I bought it off ebay new for @$100.

+1 on the headlamp.  It was my most used light.  I've got hundreds of $ worth of "illumination tools" and the $15 headlamp was the handiest.

Another consideration could be a tri-fuel conversion-they are easy to install and simple to operate.

At half load, an eu2000i will run for around forty hours on a 20# BBQ tank. Since you have LNG service to your home, you could also have an LNG QD fitting and shutoff installed (to the barn maybe?), similar to the patio BBQ connections common on many newer homes. As long as LNG service wasn't interrupted your concerns about your fuel supply would be alleviated, and since it's tri-fuel capable you could still keep ample fuel on-hand in case LNG delivery did go down

Thank you for the comprehensive AAR-hearing about how others cope with adversity is a fantastic teaching tool.

I'm glad you and yours are okay-I was worried about you.

If you have the time, could you touch on the methods used to keep your wife and families morale up, once it became apparent that the outage was going to last for several days? My girls are strong, but normalcy bias is a real issue for them. Once we lost power, creature comforts like Internet, DVD, and hot showers went a long way toward keeping everyone happy-but there will be times when such luxuries aren't feasible. Thank you in advance


Posted Via AR15.Com Mobile

I know so little about this that I don't even know what to ask, but you've given me a good point of reference to get me started.

Thanks!

i have to confess here –– from a psychological perspective a hot shower "fixes" a lot of things for me.  

that said...

having multiple sources of information was good –– local FM radio, ham radio, and of course our FIOS was still up so while unexpected that was a very-nice-to-have.  in fact i recon'd a bit for gas by listening to the local PD.  curiously, on day 4 or 5 or so, it seemed like the PD was spending more time managing traffic flow through the only open gas stations than doing anything else.  now then, i have to add here that my town is not exactly a crime-ridden ghetto; for the most part the LEO's here deal with car-vs-deer accidents and the occasional wayward goldenretriever named Fluffy.  so while to me it was a defocus of LE to deal with a half mile backup at a gas station, and the fact that some folks were going away unhappy (a gasoline truck –– i now know –– holds 9000 gallons of fuel –– do the math, it's not going to last forever especially when folks are filling their vehicle PLUS a couple of 5 gallon cans for their generator), in my view there were no detrimental effects on the services that the PD provides.  but one thing was for sure, the officers were very attentive to what station was getting gas and when they would open –– they had to plan for this so they were in close contact with the station owners.  so there was quite a bit of radio chit-chat about where the gas would be and who would be covering it when they opened up.  

i was busy.  cleanup took a couple of days and was labor-intensive.  lots of branches, some big and requiring chainsaw work, some small and having to be dragged to the creek or curb.  meanwhile i went to my mom's and starting in there.  the ground was super-saturated, and they was tons of shit in her backyard –– pieces of docks, pallets, and so on.  it just floated in.  oh, and she had a new boat.  isn't possession 9/10ths of the law?  i think if you keep busy you'll worry less, and of course it makes you fatigued so going to sleep is a snap.

it was good to have some comfort food (Chewy Bars, NutriGrain bars, etc) on hand.  when i traveled for the first time to my sister's (about 10 miles) we took a second day pack with spare clothes, food, water, and so on.  the route to get there was a zigzag assortment of avoiding trees, power lines, and of course the added problem of absolutely no working traffic lights.  before cones and temporary stop signs were set up, i stopped at every light –– i didn't want to get T-boned by some idiot.  which brings up another topic... where we live we take it for granted that there are three level 1 trauma centers within a half hour drive.  but, post-storm i could imagine that a) the staffing/expertise level is reduced and b) they have a generally higher volume of patients.  so, for this reason i reminded myself to take it easy –– one errant slip with the chainsaw or similar and it would be a giant problem.

around day 4 or 5 i sat with my wife and we discussed a couple of scenarios –– primarily, could we do this for a month?  how about three months?  what would we do differently?  would it work in july as well as february?  bug out was an option –– her parents live two and half hours west.  although i never considered that, it was in fact an option.  

i will say we also had our frustrations, sometimes with family member and especially with some friends.  i made offers, insisted at times, and was surprised that some folks had trouble with decision-making and planning beyond the next 3 hours.  this is the nature of a stressful situation.  my mom was affected by this as well.  she is sharp for her age, and independent (lives by herself at 74 years), but on the other hand can be argumentative with me about the simplest things.  

mom: "hey, when you come over to your sister's today can you bring me a router?"

me: "what?  a router?  for what?"

mom: "your brother brought my computer from my house to your sister's. now i want to hook my computer up to her internet.  i can't read the text on her iPad thingy, i like my big monitor with the big text. i think i need a router to connect the computer to so i have internet. the text is too small on the iPad."

me: "you don't need a router, you just need a LAN cable to connect your computer to her FIOS router".  

mom: "ok whatever.  can you get me a cable at Radio Shack?

me: "no, i'll just make one up, it will take 5 minutes.  how long do you need the cable to be?"

mom: "how are you going to make it up?  why don't you just go to Radio Shack and get one?  i can't read the text on her iPad."

me: "mom, i do this shit for a living.  tell me how long should the cable be?  5 feet?  25 feet?  50 feet?"

mom: "how can you make a cable?  just go to Radio Shack!  there is no way for me to see the tiny letters on the iPad.  it's too small."

me: MOM ––> 1) RADIO SHACK IS PROBABLY WITHOUT POWER.  2) I HAVE A GIANT REEL OF THE RAW CABLE.  3) I HAVE THE ENDS THAT GO ON THE CABLE.  4) I HAVE THE TOOL TO PUT THE ENDS ON THE CABLE.  NOW, I'M NOT GOING TO RADIO SHACK, WHICH IS PROBABLY NOT OPEN ANYWAY.  SO TELL ME HOW LONG THE CABLE SHOULD BE SO I CAN DO THIS FOR YOU AND DELIVER IT !!!

mom: ok, don't get all huffy.  how long? –– i don't know, about 20 feet?  maybe 25 feet?  do you have that much cable?  is it expensive?  the text on the iPad is so small.




ar-jedi

found this link for you –– it includes lots of info...

http://www.messicks.com/Articles/PTOGenerator.aspx

... and a video... try to keep your attention on the PTO generator and not the blonde.  


ar-jedi

whos having a deal on them ?

They aint cheap but they are AWSOME  for this purpose    Streamlight E-Flood

Interesting, the info about listening to the PD for gas tips.

I also thought the FBI story was just

when i find out i'll post up.  ditto?

ar-jedi

ps:
http://www.ar15.com/forums/t_10_18/627147__ARCHIVED_THREAD____NOW_TESTING_Energizer_Weather_Ready_500____________Begin_10_02_09_____Pg_4.html&page=1
and
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?206456-Three-LED-Lanterns-Compared-%28Rayovac-Sylvania-Energizer%29

ar-jedi

I honestly never knew that such a thing existed.  I am going to have to check into this further.  

Does the 10kw adequately power your house, pump and all?

Will do......last year amazon had a good deal on rayovac extreme lanterns......

in our case, it is enough power.  

on the other hand, if you have a 8,000 sq ft house with 4 central A/C units and you want to stay cool in 100'F weather, it may not be enough.  

seriously, though –– our water heater is NG, our stove is NG, our furnace is NG.  so, the electrical power requirements in our case are modest.
if you have electric baseboard heat, for example, you are going to need more power.  <queue Tim the tool man Taylor>

but 10KW is more than 40A at 240Vac, and/or over 80A at 120Vac.  what can you do with 80A of 120Vac?  is it enough?

ar-jedi

Thanks for posting.

What were you using for a heat source?

Headlamps. I use the 5 LED Energizer from Walmart. Cheap enough to buy a handful and uses AAA batteries.  

Marine type extended run gas tank for the Honda also tri-fuel conversion.

Agree the hot shower makes a big difference.  Next is a hot meal.

Trying to find us a full manual gas stove without any electronics.

forced air furnace, fueled by NG.  the generator just has to spin the blower fan.  


i have one.  
it's powered by a propane tank and it is made by a company called Weber.
it gets tons of operational testing around the 4th of July.  
you can see it in the ready position below, next to a prep bench...

ETA: that dogwood tree on the right is a goner, see pics earlier in the thread.  RIP little buddy...    

ar-jedi

It's not orange!

I got one of them too but since I.am redoing the kitchen thought it would be good time to change stove.

Eta Hate you lost that dogwood tree. They are our favorite.

I think the text on the ipad is too small for your mom to read

What gave you that idea?



Thank you for the additional info Jedi-I appreciate you taking the time.


Posted Via AR15.Com Mobile

Awesome thread. I am thankful to live in a part of the world where we dont get much for storms. It makes someone like myself realize how unprepared I am.



I agree on both points. I now carry several head lamps around and almost all of my flashlights are dual output or variable output now. 5-10 Lumens really handles just about everything short of action.

Great write-up!  Thanks for posting.

One question: So, it is safe to run a 120v generator to both sides of your load center?  Is this only if you know for sure that you don't have any shared neutrals?  In some of the threads in this forum I think it was stated that you shouldn't run both sides of the box because they would be the same phase and could overload any shared neutrals?

I am interested because I just installed a new Siemens load center (got rid of the 30+ year old Federal Pacific fire-starter) and am wiring in a generator with a UL listed Siemens brand lockout in the new box.  I know, i know, I should have bought a gen that has 240v output, but I got this one at a pretty good price and if there is any chance that I can run both sides SAFELY I'd like to do that til such time that I can upgrade.

Thanks,

TriumphRider

Great write up!

Headlights are extremely handy.

It seems like a second Honda with a parallel kit would increase your comfort factor during an extended outage.  The cheaper alternative would be the little champion 3500 watt'er for $300.  Neither one would increase your fuel consumption very much, but would give you more cushion against accidental overloads.

Great writeup.

I know I've mentioned in before but you have a beautiful place there. That little workshop/shed is cute as a button.

repost of a couple of suggestions for hot water if you have any sunlight available...125' of 7/8" hose holds about 2 1/2 gal water...earlier in the summer with 90F ambient air temp it reached 135F in one hour... in 70F ambient air temp in October reached 90F in one hour...about 75F starting water temp...in very cold temperatures you could place the coil of garden hose in a clear leaf bag to increase the efficiency.. a 3mil contractor bag laid flat with a 2x4 under the open end when filled with 5 gal of water is about 5/8" thick...1x4 laid on top to keep end from blowing in wind... earlier in summer 125F in one hour....test in October slightly over 90F... different angle of Sun....like the garden hose, you might need to place in a clear leaf bag to increase the efficiency for cold weather....my 1 gal black painted sprayer (which I use for water pressure for shower and shaving) in an inflated clear trash bag got to a little more than 90F in 1 hour.... a stainless or at least metal dedicated garden sprayer... no insecticides or herbicides...on a propane stove is an option... it will allow you to mix to the desired temperature.... the solar worked for me during the 04/05 multi storm season... just took my shower when I got home from work