Posted: 6/29/2012 6:41:24 PM EDT
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About 7:00 this evening quite a storm blew through. 70 MPH winds hail and rain. I was at a dinner meeting when it hit ap I finished dinner then came home to check on my pets. Power out all over town. Trees Dow traffic re-routed it was ugly.
Got home and no damage but now power. Let's get generator out of garage! Garage door opener won't work. Disconnect door from chain and open door. Move generator around back where the interlock input box is. Connect cord. Now down to basement to turn off all breakers and flip the interlock breakers. Fire up generator. Glad I had it on a battery tender as it fired right up Now I had a few breakers marked but it was hit or miss on a few. Got everything sorted out and A/C on. CPAP. Plug working. Sewage ejector working and thought it isn't OPSEC wise, I'm going to bed with the granny purring outside. All in all it has gone well. I've tripped the breaker on the genny twice, but whittled down the list of "necessary" breakers and all is well. Now we will see how long it runs on a tank of gas. Sweet dreams brothers and sisters, may you too be prepared. |
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We had a powerline get knocked down in a storm at work a few weeks ago. I needed to run payroll for 23 people on my computer and file the 943 taxes electronically. Made for a good test to fire up the generator and power up the machines I needed to print paychecks. Gives you a lot more to think about after these trial runs.
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Quoted:
Garage door opener won't work. Now we will see how long it runs on a tank of gas. Sweet dreams brothers and sisters, may you too be prepared. I learned more about generators than I ever thought possible in an ice storm a few years back. Knowing how long it will run on a tank of gas is crucial. It tells you how much you need in storage for 24-48 hours of continuous use. Also teaches you that small gas cans are a pain in the butt. 5 gallon cans, and plenty of them. Also, a siphon cause holding a 30 pound can of gas in the cold/heat at 3:00 in the AM when you need to take a leak ain't fun. Headlamp works also to free up your hands. Don't forget to change the oil about every 24 to 36 hours. Let it run too long and it will shut off due to oil problems. Same goes for the air filter, especially with alot of rain in the area. Extension chords are important also (even though you have yours plugged into the house, not everyone will). Get the thickest you can. 10 gauge instead of the smaller 14-16. You won't loose as much voltage and it will carry the load better. A spare spark plug is a good thing to have also. Dave |