Lessons to be learned from recent hurricanes

[Leadeye]

I figure to move to the basement, house generator is wired for those circuits automatically. I can't run the HVAC but I have a 110 window AC and a wood burner depending on the season. House generator is fueled from 1K gallon tank of LP.

 

[churchmouse]

I figure to move to the basement, house generator is wired for those circuits automatically. I can't run the HVAC but I have a 110 window AC and a wood burner depending on the season. House generator is fueled from 1K gallon tank of LP.

We do not have a place for LP tank that large. Gasoline genny's. 2 10HP 7500's and a 5HP 4000. We have a smaller clean power 2 cycle to run electronics reliably if the need arises.

 

[Leadeye]

We do not have a place for LP tank that large. Gasoline genny's. 2 10HP 7500's and a 5HP 4000. We have a smaller clean power 2 cycle to run electronics reliably if the need arises.

I had a similar setup when I lived in the burbs, here in the woods elbow room is never an issue. What sort of 2 cycle clean power unit do you use?

 

[indyjohn]

One of mine as well.
Looks like I will be doing some shipping when I dig them out.

And in all of this I stepped up in the genny arena. We now have more than enough power to run everything. Upgraded the old genny. It still runs but tends to get a bit cantankerous on occasion. I gave it to a friend that is seriously getting into being prepared.

Good move.

 

[indyjohn]

I figure to move to the basement, house generator is wired for those circuits automatically. I can't run the HVAC but I have a 110 window AC and a wood burner depending on the season. House generator is fueled from 1K gallon tank of LP.

How often are you topping that tank off? And, how far down do you take it before calling the truck in?

 

[churchmouse]

I had a similar setup when I lived in the burbs, here in the woods elbow room is never an issue. What sort of 2 cycle clean power unit do you use?

It is a unit I picked up probably 5 years ago from Sportsmans guide. We used it when we camped out in the woods. The brand escapes me. It is a 2500W if memory serves.

 

[churchmouse]

Good move.

He wants me to help him rebuild the carb and just service it in general. After that it will most likely run just fine..

 

[OkieGirl]

From my days in the Great State of Oklahoma and several tornado seasons that netted their own level of disasters:

May 3rd 1999: Lesson #1 Have a personal plan and be absolutely certain your family knows this plan. Lesson #2 Stick to the plan you gave your loved ones so that they can and will find you. Lesson #3 Cell Phones will not work, always have a home phone that is NOT wireless (even if it is in a box that you can drag out and plug in). Lesson #4 When you seek shelter you need to have all that you NEED on you and wear long pants and comfortable shoes - things may not be where you left them when you get back. Whatever you need to establish you are who you say you are is vital.

Spring 2002: Lesson #5 if you think you should have already headed for home/shelter/safe place you better haul a$$ and get there. Lesson #6 Have a personal disaster plan, map out contingencies and know the exact steps you intend to take and make dang sure everyone knows exactly what you are doing and what they are supposed to be doing. Lesson #7 Do NOT split up. There is no need to split up to do anything during a disaster; with communication lines down and everyone vulnerable it is important to stay together as a group. Lesson #8 You will only have what you have on you. If you're hungry you better have something in your car/desk/bag. If you are picking up a small child you need to have a 24hr supply of diapers/snacks, etc... If you are in uncomfortable shoes for work, do you have a pair in your car/desk/bag? Lesson #9 Don't expect home to be there when you get there and be mentally ready to find your loved ones rather than worry about stuff.

I think we've gotten better as the years go by. It was an eye opener to go to the grocery last week and there were empty shelves with little signs saying "temporarily unavailable". We need to inventory what we have and see where there may be deficiencies. Lots of work to do and many great suggestions in this thread...

 

[churchmouse]

OG.....thanks.
We need to reset our plans/steps in these situations. Life changes. People move. Babys are born.

What when and where.

 

[Leadeye]

How often are you topping that tank off? And, how far down do you take it before calling the truck in?

All it runs is the genny and garage heater, it rarely goes below 600. Looking at adding a greenhouse heater to this as well.

 

[churchmouse]

OK. This has been on my to do list since this thread was started. I just got around to doing it.
Pulled all 4 of the genny's out. Drained and new fuel. StaBil added. Changed the oil in the 4 cycles. 2 10 HP and a 5 HP. They all pulled off pretty well for sitting all year. The little clean power 2 cycle was not so easy. It has sat for 2 years so the carb was a mess. Pulled it, cleaned it up and off to the races. Ran them all under a good load. Topped the fuel off and put them back in the shed.
We have 2 property's next to each other so there is a need for all that power. Plus we have a shop that can and does allow us to build/fix about anything so having power to run that is a plus. The little clean power unit is for electronics etc.

 

[INPatriot]

I'm novice on generators but am eager to learn. A couple questions:

I spied the $900 Generac the other night. Is that generator enough to run a 2,000 square foot 3 bedroom, 2.5 bathroom home?

If it's not and additional generators are needed are multiple generators able to to plugged into a single fuse panel box or is one generator per panel box recommended?

Thank you.

 

[churchmouse]

I'm novice on generators but am eager to learn. A couple questions:

I spied the $900 Generac the other night. Is that generator enough to run a 2,000 square foot 3 bedroom, 2.5 bathroom home?

If it's not and additional generators are needed are multiple generators able to to plugged into a single fuse panel box or is one generator per panel box recommended?

Thank you.

No. Multiples are not the answer.
We would not run the entire house with the genny as if nothing were wrong with the power.
We have dedicated use plans so as not to push the genny's 2 hard. If you are going to run the entire house you need to do a load calculation as in how many refrigerators/freezers/furnace and maybe A/C if you want to go that for. Then get something with a clean enough delivery so you can operate computers/tv's etc.

It sounds complicated but it is not really.

 

[actaeon277]

DO NOT connect multiple gennys together.


Generators have to be sync'd.

 

[INPatriot]

Thank you both.

 

[Thor]

Yeah, you'd need a power cleaner for that...and it would cost much more than buying a gen large enough for everything you want to power.

 

[churchmouse]

Thank you both.

I chose to have portable units over a stationary whole house model. I can move and use them as needed. And in a Bug out scenario we can put 1 or more in the truck for power elsewhere. The smaller unit in the shed door is very easily loaded by 1 person and will power up a camp site easily. The 2 10 HP 7500 KW units are a bear to load.

 

[Lee11b]

WOW Church!!!! now you added something else to my "honey do list"....... Seriously I do need to drain the gas out of our genny......

 

[churchmouse]

WOW Church!!!! now you added something else to my "honey do list"....... Seriously I do need to drain the gas out of our genny......

Drain it. fresh fuel and StaBil. Or your choice of fuel storage additive.

Run it up with a good load on it and get the oil hot. Then put it away.

 

[OkieGirl]

Drain it. fresh fuel and StaBil. Or your choice of fuel storage additive.

Run it up with a good load on it and get the oil hot. Then put it away.

THIS! One additional thought, if you plan on taking it with you when you bug out and loading it on a truck...what does that load plan look like? IndyJohn and I have had some cabin projects that we loaded the gen up for recently and that was a concern. Smallish aluminum car ramps? boards? Do you drag it up onto the bed of the truck or lift it? Is it a two man job? If so, it the wifey calculated in that "two man" calculation? Really just food for thought. I count myself pretty capable but was a bit intimidated by being the other end of that two man job.