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No power for Christmas

10K views 102 replies 41 participants last post by  DuffMan 
#1 ·
Consumers energy just estimated me being up dec 28

This sucks
 
#53 ·
Yeah they have a smell at first for sure. I have an indoor wood burner so I don't really worry about another forum of heat but those without a gen set and heat that needs electric should buy a cheap one IMHO.
I don't need one right now, we have power. The ice storm barely frosted the car windows where I live. I'd consider getting a kerosene heater if I didn't have access to a gas or wood burning fireplace where I live (which I do).
 
#56 ·
Well all the Bitching...and my husband is out working 16 hours and they still bitch that they are doing enough....he gets to sleep but his phone keeps going off .( he has the Holiday On Call week) I have heat and my son and daughter in law and a big German Shepard are staying with me..Christmas has been rearranged to my house but my husband will most likely not be here...so he can fix the fricken cable and phone lines so people can bitch more ! Happy Holidays ! Service workers need rest too
 
#72 ·
Have a 12 volt battery laying around?

A sealed headlight bulb or just a 9006 style bulb, some 8 gauge wire, and a cheap switch will light the place up without messing with candles.
Yes, it is all ******* jerry rigged. But, good chance most people have the stuff already laying around even if they need to pull them from a dormant trail vehicle.

A kerosene heater is a good low cost investment. If you have a gas stove fire that up and make some cookies/hot chocolate etc while it is heating the place. Open the doors from time to time to vent the place out of course. A cheap battery powered co2 alarm(which you have anyway right?)will save your butt if your sleeping with the kerosene heater on.
 
#73 · (Edited)
So my husband is a line tech for Comcast... Since they went into Storm mode..I haven't seen him much..he's working 16 hour shifts and went back in on Christmas morning.. It's 4:40 am the day after Christmas and he still isn't home , I feel for all the service workers!


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#74 ·
So my husband is a line tech for Comcast... Since they went into Storm mode..I haven't seen him much..he's working 16 hour shifts and went back in on Christmas morning.. It's 4:40 am the day after Christmas and he still isn't home , I fell for all the service workers!


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Send Dave to my house to hook my line back up. just think of all the money he is making....:thumb:
 
#81 ·
Just noticed gas prices shot up 30 cents a gallon here so that blows.
 
#85 ·
We didn't lose power, but many folks around us did. I also spent some time babysitting a friends generator to run his sump pumps while he was in TN. It did prompt me to finally go out and purchase a generator. I actually settled on 2 rather than 1. I purchased a 6500 continuous watt gen to run the entire house, when needed. I also ordered a 3000 watt from HD for $249. http://www.homedepot.com/p/Powermat...-Manual-Start-PM0103008/203404861?N=bx9nZ3j7# It was the price the prompted the second purchase with the intention of using the smaller unit to run bare essentials during the nighttime hours.

I do intend to run a NG line to the larger generator as well as the smaller one when I can verify there is a kit available. There are a couple companies that sell kits as well as some options on Ebay. Seems like a no brainer if you have NG run in your home. Cheaper than gas and no need to babysit the fuel.
 
#88 ·
Our hot water and furnace are gas. Water is city. The only things we want to keep going are the furnace (which just has to run the ignitor and squirrel cage), fridge and small freezer. Everything else is extra and can be managed.

I'm curious what you advantage to having a second small one is. If you were running gasoline I could understand for fuel consumption buy why not let the big gen run all the time if its on NG? Seems like alot of fucking around to switch back and forth for nothing.
One of the major reasons was simply the cost of the smaller gen. The bigger one was also planning for the future, I just couldn't pass up the price of the smaller one. There is also consideration for my neighbors. The smaller gen will be quieter than the larger one. Not much fucking around swapping a plug from one gen to the other.

If anything, Ill be prepared and have capacity to help my neighbors.
 
#91 ·
I could not run my whole house on a 5500 without isolating certain things. We have a decorative pond pump that is 1/3hp that I always had to shut off. Same goes for the automatic sprinkler pump. (summertime) and when we had a hot tub, that had to be shut down. I also found that my garage door opener would overload the system. Each item by itself is not an issue but when things turn on randomly, you have to be careful. It's worth the effort to set up your circuit breaker box with labels of what to shut off during a power outage.

I also don't get buying the extra genny just because it's a good price or wanting to help the neighbors out. Dropping $265 just to be a good Samaritan once every few years doesn't make sense. Nor does the effort to run the bare essentials when you have a genny that will make life easier. My son in law has a 3000W that he runs the house on and hates it. He plans to go to a larger one soon.

Check your ratings for switching over to NG. You may find that you lose efficiency and will drop below your desired output.
 
#92 · (Edited)
Check your ratings for switching over to NG. You may find that you lose efficiency and will drop below your desired output.
if switching to natural gas BEWARE you likely need call gas company and have a larger meter installed to handle the increased demand for fuel. it cost me about $200 7 years ago and added about 5 days to the new-unit install process.

and don't worry if the WHOLE house is not covered by the new generator. we had several circuits including the garage door excluded from the new power panel in order to keep everything else, especially the well pump, furnaces and a/c units. keeping toasty/cool and being able to flush the toilet is worth having to open the garage door by hand (remember, it's not forever)! NOTE: i was ill at the time and got an Rx from my doctor for the need to ensure my electrical medical devices kept running during that winter. got a federal tax deduction out of the deal.
 
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