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Hey we just got power back - 2 nights with no electricity!
We lost power around 6pm Wed, the house got down to about 59 degrees. Thursday night it was 49 degrees, so we sent the kids to friends' houses for sleepovers, but we roughed it out with the dog last night. This morning? 45 degrees!
Finally got power back this morning around 9am. I took a shower at a neighbor's house!
-mike
Subaru Guru and Track Instructor
With an early morning temperature of 25F outside, my unheated, insulated garage is at 50F... I just assume that was because of my superior insulation, etc.... but, if your house got down to 45F, then my garage is probably warm because of heat leaking into it from the house...
Now, I'm bummed.... lol
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I have a fire place, but we also have a big plasma above it.
I was able to boil water on the gas stove, lighting it with a match, but you can't heat the house with that, either (fumes).
If I had to I would have moved the TV, but I'm thinking about just getting a small generator that could run a heater and the fridge.
Our generator is 6600 watt Yamaha, which is hooked into the house. It does our furnace (which does the hot water as well), well pump, fridge, sump pump, a couple of kitchen outlets and a few lights on the first floor. It doesn't do the AC, stove or microwave. Having been through a few fairly long power outages, I wouldn't want anything less.
Bob
Of course we did not spend a lot of time in the house, so we used much less, but the hot water remained hot throughout.
I showered at a neighbor's place before I realized that.
Bob
-mike
Subaru Guru and Track Instructor
Bob
For AJ's area, something like this would be a good bet for a whole-house if LNG or LPG is already servicing (as a side note, I am not recommending this particular unit):
http://www.amazon.com/Generac-5871-Air-Cooled-Automatic-Generator/dp/B003IT76C0/- - ref=dp_return_1?ie=UTF8&n=286168&s=garden
-mike
Subaru Guru and Track Instructor
We've only lost power twice, so I want to balance our needs with the cost of an installed system like that natural gas one in the link (and yes, we have natural gas lines). I bet that would be $4 grand installed, though.
I was thinking along the same lines, and the Honda generator guys suggested at minimum the 2000watt portable (I told him I might want it reasonably portable). It will run a few lights and a heater and a refrigerator. Although if it's cold you probably don't need to continuously run the frige!
tom
Oh, and still looking for a light set of wheels and tires. Haven't decided how big of tires to run. I guess you can stuff 9" wheels under those tiny fenders!
I've been following the Inside Line buildup of a '97 Miata for some inspiration as well. Although I can't figure out where they're going with that car. It's not a track only car but they've bolted on a hardtop and are running wide 225 RS-3s for street use???
Anyway, thinking about getting a hardtop as well, but I think a lot of the joy of driving the Miata is gone if you can't put the top down!
tom
Probably because your water heater is gas fed and has a standing pilot - no electricity needed.
That my dear sir would not qualify as camping!!
I camped with my son's scout troop this weekend for Klondike derby. Nice weekend - low of 19 degrees outside and about 25 in my tent.
You'd be suprised. Hot air furnaces run on 110V - nothing more than a circuit board, a fan motor and an igniter. Might pull 9-12 amps depending on size. I presume in the mid Atlantic, it's pretty small.
The other surprise is the need for a surprisingly large generator rating to operate motors. Before purchasing a generator set, carefully consider each manufacturer's charts for motor loads. Few of those rated less than 5kW continuous duty will be satisfactory.
But then again, most of us don't have the expertise to properly connect a generator to a furnace anyway on an ad hoc basic. But the little engineer buried deep in my soul thinks some sort of switch with both 110 from the panel and a hardwired cord to connect to a generator would work.
1. Start your generator.
2. Switch your main breaker (200A, typically) off.
3. Turn off all house circuits.
4. Turn on the generator circuit.
5. Turn on house circuits you want the generator to operate (one by one, so as to avoid overloading the generator).
It is certainly more complicated than the automatic switching process that a hardwired backup generator employs, but it will get the job done and keep your critical systems operational.
Also you have to check the Startup Amperage requirements. Often times a motor will peak quite high on startup whereas for just running it doesn't draw as much.
If you have a 220v circuit you burn less electric for a given power need. So by running big motors or AC units on 110 instead of 220 you are cheating yourself on your elect bill.
-mike
Subaru Guru and Track Instructor
And illegal in many jurisdictions. Improperly isolated generators can kill power company employees as well as unsuspecting neighbors. Done carefully your method works, but it is far safer to use manual transfer switches designed for the purpose; the cost for a few critical heating and lighting circuits is not significant if you are competent to install the equipment yourself.
That is true but I do know that running a 110V device (like my furnace) on 220V doesn't really work!!
:shades:
My AC units run on 220V - those I wouldn't worry about having on a generator.
In reality, we lose power a couple of times a year for 30 minutes or so. We never seem to lose it in the winter.
I did the fluids early on, too. How was the condition of the stuff you drained out?
I also replaced the horn and added a strut tower brace and a front lower brace between the frame rails.
Make sure the wheels are light - you don't want to go Plus Two or Plus Three and end up increasing unsprung weight by 50%.
I'm a little jealous, to be honest. I never really turned mine in to a project car. Beyond the stuff above, I did the brakes, replaced the top, and swapped out the MSSS stereo when all the lights burned out. But it was all stuff I was fixing, not performance upgrades.
Have fun with it. It's an easy car to work on, no? Did you find the fuel filter yet?
I had my house wired through the service panel to a generator for a few months before my electric service was installed (took the electric company a while to run the poles and get the meter box in place), so I had it run this way on a temporary basis. The generator ended up deciding to stop generating power about two weeks before the electric was in (but that little 5kW Coleman gave me seven months), so when I installed the 200A service, I removed the generator line.
Eventually I will put a 12kW backup generator (diesel) into service, but will have it set up as an automatic backup. Since I do all of my own work, it shouldn't add much to the cost of the install.
She's a real beauty up close.
We all think the roof line will be changed a bit for production, for more rear headroom, but I'm hopefully this will be the first WRX intro that isn't controversial.
The tranny fluid was black but the diff wasn't bad, a light brown. Replaced them both with Redline synthetic. Tranny's a bit smoother shifting now. (Also replaced both shift boots while I was at it)
My car came with the front strut tower brace and some underbody cross bracing as well as the larger sport brakes, which is nice.
I agree with the wheels, I'm actually going -1 on the sizing to go lighter than the 16s I have now.
It's much easier to deal with than my SVX was because it's so small and there's a lot of room to work on stuff.
Supposedly the fuel filter was already done but I'm tempted to change it anyway.
I'll have to post a pic when I get it cleaned up and we get some sunshine!
tom
No wonder the shifter is buttery smooth, it is literally dipped in gear oil all the time.
-Brian
There's an amazing amount of oil in there!
tom
And it's been -20 lately..
I've heard wonderful things about their shift quality. Now I know one of the reasons why.
my daughter and her boys are at her b/f's house and staying there instead of getting out .. they'll play videogames, etc. and enjoy it ...
everyone stay safe and warm!
(had to laugh this afternoon .. one of the teachers told our computer lab/IT guy at school to 'be safe' on the way home .. he said he would because he "had condoms in his car" ... )
-Brian
Bob
I hooked it up to the service panel in our detached garage, backfeeding it to the house. At the time it wasn't illegal, but I admit that it is a potentially dangerous method, and requires strict 'engineering control'. If you forgot to throw the main breaker, you could potentially backfeed the stepdown transformer on the pole, and energize the lines. In reality, attempting to feed power to your neighbors would probably kill your generator, but it could still present a lethal hazard to line workers.
4kw is the bare minimum you can get away with, and even this required careful monitoring of the breaker panel. 1hp 220v water pumps require the full output. Motors typically need about 3x the rated current to start effortlessly. Forget about full electric heat appliances like stoves & water heaters.
At the new house we did it right and installed a Generac 16kw LPG standby unit like the one Wess provided the link to. 16kw will drive up to a 5 ton AC unit, and pretty much everything else you might have. The unit ran around $2.6k, electrician around $1.2k, and an LP tank installed & filled around $1.1k for a total of around $5k
As great as it is to have, the voltage regulation and probably the shape of the AC sine wave output is not up to utility standards, and some of the motors (like the washing machine) don't like it. If they are running, I can see fluctuations in the TV and sometimes the lights. APC standby UPS units also don't like the quality of the power, and sometimes are depleted even with the software settings at their most liberal. The other issue is placement near the house. The kits all come with short prewired main lines from the generator to the exterior wall mount box. When the winds are right, I get propane exhaust fumes entering the house. It doesn't even register on the CO monitors (I have several), but it gives me a headache after a day of operation.
But it keeps life going at pretty much a normal pace when the power is down (all too often where we live). Well worth the investment when the outside temps are near zero!
We had to dig out on Friday 1/21 to make our flight to Florida. Very glad we gave ourselves a few extra days for contingencies. We went with friends (our Best Man). Our youngest stayed with them in Orlando and went to Disney on Saturday, and I took my older daughter Emily to the Kennedy Space Center. She's a tech nerd (like her dad), so we had a great time. Sunday thru Sunday on the boat, and then a return to this horrible weather!!! I want to go back!!! A week ago Emily and I were on a jet ski dodging serious waves in warm, open ocean.
I hope!
I'm sure it is totally unimpressive to my fellow forum members in Canada and the Northern US, but I've not seen a storm quite like this in Kansas for a long time.
Guess what the first 3 cars in the parking lot were? 4 of us in the lab drive OBW's (2002/2003/2003/2004). 3 of the 4 were here!
(whine) I want to go back to the Caribbean! (/whine)
We had a 'declared state of emergency' last night/today. Even the mall didn't open! (Guess that makes it 'official') ... at any rate, my husband worked last night and didn't have difficulty driving home this morning in my trusty old Subaru! It is parked in the street at the moment ... although we didn't have nearly as much snow with the storm as we've had in others, the wind blew a lot of what was in the yard BACK onto the driveway (remember we had 3 FEET of snow a couple of weeks ago and a lot of that is still hanging around) ... guess we'll have to get out there later and clear at least some of it to get the car to the garage ....
Phil's a lying sack of groundhog poop!!
I've come to the conclusion that Groundhog Day there in Puxatowney is an excuse for a bunch of guys to drink at 6 AM!!
I'm the only one at the office right now - my FWD Passat with snowtires beat out an A8 and a Tucson.
Yesterday at lunchtime I saw one leg of a 4-way intersection completely blocked by three cars stuck in a drift (probably 10-12" deep) because they were relatively low to the ground and apparently didn't have adequate tires.
That's right, 3 cars. The right, left and left turn lanes all snarled by unmoving autos.
The offenders were a New Beetle, wearing sporty rims and low-profile tires that probably were summer-only; a new Buick Regal, which I am rather confident has all-season tires and traction control; and a previous-gen Honda Civic, which looked stockish and probably had all-seasons.
All FWD. Yeehaw!
I grew up in Eastern Oregon, where we had weather likely to be similar to yours. We didn't get snow often, but when we did it tended to drift to the extreme. We could pretty much guarantee that if a big storm was on the way (6" or more), all the roads would be drifted shut. Sometimes, the drifts would be so bad that you could not tell there were ever any roads to the community, save for the lines of utility poles that dotted their paths.
That's one thing I really appreciated about Fairbanks weather when I first arrived: It might be cold, but it is not windy!
Congratulations on your thirty years; I hope to have the honor of participating in a similar celebration a bit further down the road....
After that kind of reprieve, I bet it is quite a shock to be tossed so carelessly back into reality.
I don't want to rub anything in here, but we're having fantastic weather right now; perhaps the only place on the northern portion of the continent to be able to make such a boast?
Groundhog day an excuse for guys to drink at 6am? What better reason is there?
It's actually an excuse to KEEP drinking until 6 am.