Power in a Storm

123.Shawn T.W. wrote: And that is they way it SHOULD be! Glad your happy with your new wise investment ... Just the peace of mind is worth the cost!

Oh, it is, it IS! Of course, as noted, now that we have it, we have, of course, had a quiet tropical season, at least, so far.

Well, my husband points out that I should have kept my mouth shut about a quiet tropical season so far.

TS Karen is headed right for us.

And we're supposed to cross a 27 mile bridge to go to an Obedience Trial. Which bridge they may close.

<sigh> I'm supposed to help out with Ring Stewarding. And I would rather stay put, with my hounds and my new generator....

Two months ago, I thought we would be testing our new generator. We didn't. TS Karen fizzled out.

This morning, however...

I was asleep. In the time it took me to register that the ASV had stopped, the generator rumbled to life (about 5 seconds) and we had power again. With my ASV happily blowing away.

After doing without power for seven mortal days after Hurricane Isaac (and having our Sun Dog refuse her medication because she was so hot and miserable, and losing her a few weeks later to cancer) Harry and I said, "Never again."

So, as chronicled in this thread, before the height of hurricane season 2013, we had a Kohler natural gas generator installed. Of course, hurricane season 2013 then proved mild for our area.

At about 5:25a this morning, Harper Longhair Dachshund and Babette Beagle suddenly started howling. I was trying to wake up enough to tell them "QUIET!" About two minutes later, the power went out.

It seems someone ran their car into, and knocked over a pole. 5000 customers were without power.

Our Kohler took about 5 seconds to kick in.

I could check to see where the outage was. Harry could finish getting ready for work without having to hunt up flashlights, not to mention blankets for me and the dogs.

And I could settle back in, secure in the knowledge that I did indeed, have power...

::high five::

We had another power outage a week ago -- Christmas Monday.

Again, 5 seconds for the generator to kick in, and we had full power for the 3-4 hours it took to fix it.

This morning, my Dad, who didn't want to put in a generator at the same time we did had an outage. He'll be without heat, light, anything, for the 3-4 hours it will take to fix it.

I am so glad we have our Kohler!

Kiralynx wrote:We had another power outage a week ago -- Christmas Monday.

Again, 5 seconds for the generator to kick in, and we had full power for the 3-4 hours it took to fix it.

This morning, my Dad, who didn't want to put in a generator at the same time we did had an outage. He'll be without heat, light, anything, for the 3-4 hours it will take to fix it.

I am so glad we have our Kohler!

I am sure some of my friends in Toronto would have loved your generator. They were without power for 4 days and nights of freezing cold, they didn't get power back until chrismas morning. Some of the people didn't get their power back until yesterday.

My sister and I are looking at solar maybe.

if you get solar and expect to be out of power for days, consider this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fF461YY ... 2&index=30

I have this plus some portable batteries. If I run out of power, I can recharge the batteries during the day, and that'll get me through the night. I can also do some limited cooking during the day. Newer battery inverters are silent and can be used at all times (you plug the machine into the battery and the battery into the wall) so that when the power goes out, it'll immediately switch to battery.

BlackSpinner wrote: I am sure some of my friends in Toronto would have loved your generator. They were without power for 4 days and nights of freezing cold, they didn't get power back until chrismas morning. Some of the people didn't get their power back until yesterday.

My sister and I are looking at solar maybe.

I'll have to check with a friend to see how she fared. (Don't hear from her often because she has really bad fibro and sitting up to write a letter is a real problem for her.)

Given the amount of sunshine which Alberta gets, even in winter, solar might be a good idea. Depending on where you're located, ie, if you have any streams handy, water power might be a useful adjunct.

MitzyG wrote:if you get solar and expect to be out of power for days, consider this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fF461YY ... 2&index=30

I have this plus some portable batteries. If I run out of power, I can recharge the batteries during the day, and that'll get me through the night. I can also do some limited cooking during the day. Newer battery inverters are silent and can be used at all times (you plug the machine into the battery and the battery into the wall) so that when the power goes out, it'll immediately switch to battery.

Interesting. Still, as with batteries, you have to have a place to put the darn things, and we don't.

MitzyG wrote:if you get solar and expect to be out of power for days, consider this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fF461YY ... 2&index=30

I have this plus some portable batteries. If I run out of power, I can recharge the batteries during the day, and that'll get me through the night. I can also do some limited cooking during the day. Newer battery inverters are silent and can be used at all times (you plug the machine into the battery and the battery into the wall) so that when the power goes out, it'll immediately switch to battery.

Thanks. I passed this on the my sister. It is kind of silly to have solar power and to not have power when the grid goes down.

I've found an incredibly powerful and reliable solution over at The Battery Geeks online. They also have a $5/day battery and solar charger rental program available. Check them out!

Katey wrote:I've found an incredibly powerful and reliable solution over at The Battery Geeks online. They also have a $5/day battery and solar charger rental program available. Check them out!

You wouldn't happen to work for Battery Geeks, would you? Given that you've posted this several times?

Actually, I HAVE checked them out, and rented one. Problem is, they charge you the full cost of the battery, and if it doesn't come back on time, you've bought it. The other problem is that the rental period starts, not when one receives the battery, but on the day it is shipped.

The solar charger is a great idea, but relatively expensive.

I do, by the way, still have my Battery Geek battery.

However, my generator, while costing more, does a great deal more.