Cold Lake Kid, SASS # 51474 Posted April 6, 2023 Share Posted April 6, 2023 Freezing rain all day here today. Tree branches and entire trees coming down. My neighbourhood lost power around 2:00 PM and it's now almost Midnight but my generator is getting a good workout. I can see some sales opportunities coming up! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
watab kid Posted April 6, 2023 Share Posted April 6, 2023 wish i had one we had that yesterday and lost power - twice , im going to look into it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cold Lake Kid, SASS # 51474 Posted April 6, 2023 Author Share Posted April 6, 2023 I feel it's worth it up here. We keep losing power. Sometimes for a few hours, other times for a few days. I have two filled chest type freezers and frig to be concerned about and even though I have a gas furnace, on demand hot water heater, cook top, dryer. fireplace etc. they all require electricity to work. Right now it's almost 3:00 AM and the utility is still off and no indication of when the lines be back up. (I don't sleep much or very long now after the loss of my wife last June.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eyesa Horg Posted April 6, 2023 Share Posted April 6, 2023 7 hours ago, Cold Lake Kid, SASS # 51474 said: I feel it's worth it up here. We keep losing power. Sometimes for a few hours, other times for a few days. I have two filled chest type freezers and frig to be concerned about and even though I have a gas furnace, on demand hot water heater, cook top, dryer. fireplace etc. they all require electricity to work. Right now it's almost 3:00 AM and the utility is still off and no indication of when the lines be back up. (I don't sleep much or very long now after the lose of my wife last June.) Our condolences on your loss CCK. Eyesa & Ellie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pat Riot Posted April 6, 2023 Share Posted April 6, 2023 10 hours ago, Cold Lake Kid, SASS # 51474 said: Freezing rain all day here today. Tree branches and entire trees coming down. My neighbourhood lost power around 2:00 PM and it's now almost Midnight but my generator is getting a good workout. I can see some sales opportunities coming up! Does your generator run off of natural gas? My wife and I have been looking at houses to purchase. One had a Generac that was connected to a propane tank. One tank for the generator and one for the house. The house is in a rural area so no piped in natural gas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eyesa Horg Posted April 6, 2023 Share Posted April 6, 2023 Around here they are all propane. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cold Lake Kid, SASS # 51474 Posted April 6, 2023 Author Share Posted April 6, 2023 52 minutes ago, Pat Riot, SASS #13748 said: Does your generator run off of natural gas? My wife and I have been looking at houses to purchase. One had a Generac that was connected to a propane tank. One tank for the generator and one for the house. The house is in a rural area so no piped in natural gas. I'm running the generator on Natural Gas and the lines are all buried of course, so wind, snow, sleet, ice, hurricanes, tornados, derechos, gremlins and hobgoblins can't get at them. Politicians and other vermin are another matter I would recommend getting a generator, if you don't buy a new home with one already installed. For the small difference in price, I went for a larger one, capable of running everything in my home. The home is about 3500 sq ft, two story. Natural gas powering: furnace, On-Demand water heater, cook top, fireplace and dryer, (but they all required electricity to operate.) Electric; two chest freezers and a small frig in the basement; 1st floor, oven, large frig/freezer, dishwasher, TV's, computers & printers, garage door, telephones and various kitchen small appliances; Second floor, TVs, computers and printers, washing machine. The technician who sized my home's draw suggested I opt for an 18Kw unit, if I wanted to power everything. I had an Automatic Transfer Switch installed as well. to control the operation of the generator start/stop during electrical issues. I had them install a 200 amp panel and wiring, when we had the home built in 2010/11, thinking ahead to the possibility of EVs being forced on urbanites in Canada. My generator has now been running for a full day and with the days of heavy clouds, we are experiencing, I'm not sure a rooftop solar system would handle the power requirements for the home and a vehicle and to be without power in most of Canada, in winter, would be a deadly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wallaby Jack, SASS #44062 Posted April 6, 2023 Share Posted April 6, 2023 7 hours ago, Eyesa Horg said: Our condolences on your loss CCK. Eyesa & Ellie and Wallaby Jack Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oak Ridge Regulator Posted April 6, 2023 Share Posted April 6, 2023 bought a Kohler 14kw propane standby gen set this year to back up my solar system, I lost power 7 times this winter with 3 times being for more the 48 hours and once for more than 24 hours, they save the day when you need them most. If you decide to buy a gen set take the time to REALLY understand what they can and cant do OR take to a guy who installs off grid solar and youll learn more about gen sets than you thought possible Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cold Lake Kid, SASS # 51474 Posted April 7, 2023 Author Share Posted April 7, 2023 Power came back on after 26 hours and the transfer switch worked as it was supposed to. The repair crews up here really got a work out and deserve a LOT of credit for the long hours they put in. There are still a few isolated outage areas, but not many. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
watab kid Posted April 7, 2023 Share Posted April 7, 2023 well - i found out that the storm took out part of the clubhouse system at our gun range when i got to work today - time clock , copy machine , cooler and freezer , as well as part of the security system [the part thats insignificant thankfully] we had ice in the trees all day - never melted and on the power lines , suprised there where not more outages Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
punxsutawneypete Posted April 16, 2023 Share Posted April 16, 2023 I got a whole house Generac gnerator 5+ years ago before all the craziness started. Baltimore is only about 45 miles from here, and one year either an ice storm or Hurricane Sandy left some places around Baltimore without power for a week. With my medical issues I didn't want to be without my CPAP machine and HVAC . I tested it one time and found out that with the power turned off the generator kicked in after 12 seconds. I am sure glad I decided to get the generator when I did. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buckshot Bob Posted April 16, 2023 Share Posted April 16, 2023 On 4/6/2023 at 10:11 AM, Pat Riot, SASS #13748 said: Does your generator run off of natural gas? My wife and I have been looking at houses to purchase. One had a Generac that was connected to a propane tank. One tank for the generator and one for the house. The house is in a rural area so no piped in natural gas. When I installed my generator we had propane but just one tank for the house and the generator, you can get a pretty big tank so I guess it’s all about the capacity you want. Now I have natural gas, all it took was pulling a jumper to convert from propane to natural gas. I have city water also now, things are getting civilized I hope I don’t have to move soon. After having one I would never want a home without one again. But I am rather rural so we have power outages fairly regularly. And now that we seem to be descending into third world nations status it will probably happen more frequently. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rip Snorter Posted April 16, 2023 Share Posted April 16, 2023 I can't think of a better spend for peace of mind than a generator. I have a whole house and a stand alone dual fuel. I have a big tank. and several of the small ones used for gas grills. That and my own well is at least a little protection in these strange days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chili Ron Posted April 16, 2023 Share Posted April 16, 2023 Howdy, I checked around after the last outage and found out the stove top will work. Just use a match to start it. The oven will not work if power goes out. At least I can make coffee and soup and whatever else on the stove. A little is better than none. Best CR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rip Snorter Posted April 16, 2023 Share Posted April 16, 2023 I suppose I am a True Believer, but we lost power for a week in Y2K, it was nasty and expensive. Have had at least a small generator ever since. They are relatively inexpensive and with a little fuss you can live relatively normally till the power comes back. Current set up, 10 or 12 seconds after the power goes out, the generator kicks in and things are back to normal. That setup is expensive but it was worth it to me considering the way things are going. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Still hand Bill Posted April 16, 2023 Share Posted April 16, 2023 We bought a house with a 20kw generac system on propane. It’s been handy as we lose power a few times a year. Since we share a well with 2 other houses having power is important. No power, no water. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buckshot Bob Posted April 16, 2023 Share Posted April 16, 2023 51 minutes ago, Rip Snorter said: I can't think of a better spend for peace of mind than a generator. I have a whole house and a stand alone dual fuel. I have a big tank. and several of the small ones used for gas grills. That and my own well is at least a little protection in these strange days. I use city water, but still have my well for back up . I have it set up where I can shut off the city water and jumper my well back In very easily. My wife uses the well to water her garden. I read where you have to use less water from the well to get the same benefit as city water for the plants. If it’s better for the plants maybe we should be drinking it also. But the city water is far easier on the hot water heater, washer and dishwasher. Plus you don’t have to scrub the shower and toilet anywhere near as much Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cold Lake Kid, SASS # 51474 Posted April 16, 2023 Author Share Posted April 16, 2023 1 hour ago, Buckshot Bob said: I use city water, but still have my well for back up . I have it set up where I can shut off the city water and jumper my well back In very easily. My wife uses the well to water her garden. I read where you have to use less water from the well to get the same benefit as city water for the plants. If it’s better for the plants maybe we should be drinking it also. But the city water is far easier on the hot water heater, washer and dishwasher. Plus you don’t have to scrub the shower and toilet anywhere near as much At the horrendous water rates we pay here in Ottawa, I just wish there was a way I could use well water for my lawn clover. Some here do, but have been taxed for water use from their own wells, even though there are no municipal water mains serving their homes!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buckshot Bob Posted April 16, 2023 Share Posted April 16, 2023 2 minutes ago, Cold Lake Kid, SASS # 51474 said: At the horrendous water rates we pay here in Ottawa, I just wish there was a way I could use well water for my lawn clover. Some here do, but have been taxed for water use from their own wells, even though there are no municipal water mains serving their homes!!! I overseed my lawn with clover every year. Eventually hopefully it will be all clover, the critters love it. Drives the dog nuts when they are up by the house eating. Our lawn at the cabin in alfalfa, in my opinion they like it better than the clover. Also I’m out in the country so I can plant whatever I want without the neighbors complaining “so far” Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rip Snorter Posted April 16, 2023 Share Posted April 16, 2023 Our "lawn" such as it is native bunchgrass and wildflowers, some original, others from regional wildflower seed packs my wife buys occasionally. It is really interesting to see how the flowers and weeds (unfortunately) vary from season to season. We are far out in the country, and about the only thing folks would complain about is not spraying or cutting noxious weeds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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