Ice/Snow Storm, Below 0, High Winds, NO POWER . . . what do YOU do?

[melensdad]

Well we lost power during the big ice/snow that rolled through the midwest, yesterday the high temperature was -2 (F), the low was -8 (F) and the wind chill, if you were dumb enough to be outside was hovering around -30 (F). Streets are slick as hell, especially in the rural areas where we don't get frequent snowplows or traffic, and trees are down across many of the roads anyway.

So if you find yourself in that situation, what the hell do you do?

I've got a fairly large generator, we were fine. We called some folks in the area to check up on them and offered to let them come over if they needed. Some had power, some had generators, none was without at that time. Looking around, especially as the sun dropped, we could see some homes with lights (obviously had generators) and others were pitch black.

Now I don't know the pitch black homes so I'm a bit at a loss, but what the heck do these people do? Do they leave and hope to find a hotel and let their house and potentially their pets freeze solid? Do they hunker down in blankets and ride it out? If you don't have a generator, what the heck do you do? I'm out in the country, several miles outside of the nearest small town and I'd guess that only 20% of the homes have generators out here (and we have pretty severe failure every few years). In the cities I'd guess only 1 in 50 have generators.

Clearly this is aimed more at the rural dwellers, but I suppose some of you in apartments or cities may have faced issues like this too. So what do you folks do? Our longest power outage has been 8 days with air temps during that period ranging from -20 (F) to +20 (F).
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For whatever it is worth, we had a 'party' or a 'snow' day. Sure I checked the generator for oil every 4 to 6 hours. Even shut it down to rest for short periods (about 15 to 30 minutes) 3 or 4 times during the outage. But mostly we watched movies, played board games, and stayed INSIDE where it was warm.

Do people not worry about things like this because it sure looked like many were totally unprepared.

 

[Clay]

well, this is one downfall of my house. No fireplace. When ever I build a new one in the next few years it will have a fire place.

Now onto the question. I have a generator capable of running my fridge, feezer and easily my furnace. Had to do this very thing this past year when some big storms knocked power out to my neighborhood for 2.5 days, so no biggie there.

 

[jennybird]

Normally we'd light every candle we could get our hands on and then gather round the wood-burning fireplace. BUT... we now have a gas burning fireplace, which we hate.

Anyone have any idea how expensive it is to turn a gas burning fp into a wood burning fp? Is it even possible?

 

[6birds]

Pellet stove in the basement, installed for just that reason. I have a generator and transfer switch in case it's needed, set up to run freezer, blower, pressure tank and Aux heater. The plan is to drain the pipes and live warm below ground until service is back, we can make it several weeks without much trouble, and the looters will never know we're home.

Great question though! I wonder how many "friends" would show up, knowing that we have made preparations and are warm and comfortable?

Why the switch Jennybird, gas is very safe and efficient, just make sure you can run the flame without electricity, and get a very small generator to run the blower. Seal off that room and you'll be in better shape than most.

 

[rhino]

As it stands now, we'd have to bundle-up and accept that the house blocks the wind and is well insulated.

Some Mr. Heater propane heaters (that you can use indoors safely) would be very helpful, but the "powers that be" do not recognize any need for them, nor will they all the storage of said items on the premises.

Maybe I'll try to get our chimney cleaned so the fireplace could be used in an emergency.

 

[bradp]

Fire up the generator and go on as normal.

 

[melensdad]

For those counting on using a fireplace, please realize that MOST fireplaces actually draw warm air out of the house. The look good but most do not actually provide much real heat.

If you want to HEAT with a fireplace then get a "sealed" gas unit with a blower.

We have 3 fireplaces in our house, one is a sealed gas unit with blower, it throws out so much heat that it will heat the entire lower level of the house too hot to be comfortable, its a 42" pre-fabricated unit. The sealed gas units draw in outside air for combustion via a double or triple vent pipe and they have a glass front. Many, like ours, have a 'remote' that allows you to adjust the flame and fan. Obviously you need a generator to run the fan, but in a pinch, even a very small 1000 watt generator will run one of these and keep a modest size house warm, or at least keep a medium house from freezing solid.

The other 2 fireplaces we have are gas/wood burners. If, and I say IF, you adjust the flue just right, you can get a reasonable amount of heat, but and this is a big but, if you burn wood then you need to keep the flue open until all the carbon monoxide is gone which will then allow all sorts of cold air back into the house. I think (personal opinion) it is better to use gas/gas logs. You can get the gas logs red hot and then shut off the gas and close the flue. The logs will radiate the heat into the house for quite a while.

 

[Disposable Heart]

Kill neighbor for their fire, with my new invention, a sharpened stick... Hey, you asked!

Fire up the gas and let 'er run!

 

[Joe Williams]

Fire up the kerosene heater, certified safe for indoor use. Fire up the propane lanterns, save the battery powered LED lights as much as possible, and play cards and board games. Cook on camp stoves when we get hungry.

Sure would like to have a generator someday, but we've got food, fuel, and heat for several days, along with good stuff bundle up in if we think we'll need to stretch the fuel.

 

[melensdad]

Fire up the generator and go on as normal.

Fire up the gas and let 'er run!

Do you guys 'rest' your generators or just let them run and run and run?

My generator is a 12,000 watt unit that is powered by Natural Gas with a Gasoline back up system. I typically run it for 3 to 6 hours and then shut it down to check the oil and cool off. It may be off for 15 minutes, 30 minutes if I just poured a cup of good coffee. Then I fire it back up. I do not leave it running all night long, no matter how cold. In theory it could run 24/7 but I prefer not to push my luck. I figure that when I have power from the utility then I have a good back up with the generator but if the generator is running then I don't have a very good back up other than fire in the fireplaces so I try to take care of my generator!!!

 

[bradp]

I let it run nonstop.

 

[Disposable Heart]

No generator, sort of. I used an old altenator and a few "creative" means to run a small (about the size of a gas can) boiler. Runs hot on propane, decent on "white gas" (stuff in small bottles of survival stores). Runs on a small Coleman bottle of propane for two hours (hot for max power). Gives enough to run a few items, but is NOT efficient. I am thinking of making a stationary bike into a generator, batterying it up. Keeps you warm and in shape!
As for heat, hang around the thing or build a fire in backyard. I have a little bit of wood available for a few days of fire.

 

[StarbaseSSD]

2500w generator. 150a alternator in the truck. several marine deep cycle batteries. 4 power inverters 400w or larger, 2 large propane catalytic heaters. 2 small catalytic propane heaters. Coleman propane grill. Coleman unleaded gas stove. 2 Propane lanterns. Couple of laptops for entertainment. Several sleeping bags. Various and sundry camping supplies. I live in Indiana, home of ice storms, tornadoes, and Public Utilities. First two can be counted on, the third cannot.

 

[6birds]

Do you guys 'rest' your generators or just let them run and run and run?

I have a Diesel, and it runs low RPM, so once started, just let it run. I don't think you'll do much harm the way you're doing it, although some say the start-up is tougher than the long run times. What will kill the electronics early is overloading the circuit, the motor will run forever.

My question to you is, does it run hot? You should not have to shut it down to cool it off, or are you just giving it a break from running constantly?

 

[melensdad]

My question to you is, does it run hot? You should not have to shut it down to cool it off, or are you just giving it a break from running constantly?

Nope, it does not run hot at all, its just the way I operate it. At 12+ years old and many power failures under its belt, it still starts up every time in every condition I've ever faced. So I'm just giving it a break and that is when I check the oil. It does have a low oil shut down, but I don't really want to rely on that. . . just in case.

 

[Sailor]

I used a generator for my sump, fridge and tv. My gas fireplace kept the place warm. I alternated between that and kerosene.

Question, I gave my kerosene heater to my neighbor so he could have heat, and was going to connect my generator to my furnace. The furnace cord is hard wired to a light switch. Power came back before I could do anything. Could I not just cut the cord attach a male plug end and run an extension cord to the genny?

No back feed problems as the furnace would be completely cut off from the house. Better yet could I just replace the light switch its wired to and put in a single secure plug? That way I could just unplug the furnace and plug it in to the genny.

I dont see the reasoning to hard wire it to a switch, must be code, but my refrigerator has a plug and uses much more power than my furnace.

I could just fork out some coin and have a transfer switch put in $180, and 100 feet of that special cable needed, $$$, seems like a socket would do. I am missing something?

I made spaghetti with Italian sausage on the grill. We were comfortable and cozy. It is important to have fun people around you.

If you have kids, board games rock. Camp out on the floor. They love an adventure.

 

[obijohn]

we have various methods of heating and cooking. plenty of supplies for a reasonable outage (a couple of weeks at least, pets included). also geared to camp comfortably 365 days a year, so we could just go camping. hehe.
remember, trying to stay "warm" isn't really that good of an idea. comfortably cool is the ticket.

 

[Jerry]

We had this happen when I was a kid. We went close to two weeks without power in several feet of snow over several inches of ice. We lived on a dead end road, with a mean hill/curve before the bottom part of the valley we live in. For a short time we were snowed in, but it wasn't a big deal. Dad and the neighbors worked with tractors to clear each other's driveways and the driveways of those without tractors as well as the road. We didn't have a generator at the time; however, I just remember it being an inconvenience. We used the grill outside or the kerosene heater inside to cook, let out faucets run to avoid freezing, used the fireplace inside, blankets, and perishable food was put outside or left near a window away from the heater if we didn't want it frozen solid.

 

[ar15_dude]

... I typically run it for 3 to 6 hours and then shut it down to check the oil and cool off...

I don't understand why it would be better on the generator to stop and start it. That is when most engine wear occurs due to thermal cycling and lack of lube at start up.

Is your's not on an automatic switchgear? If so, it should auto start once power is lost, and shutdown when power returns, and run continuously in between. Why would you not mimic this function?

Do you have a known oil consumption problem?

I can understand removing electrical load when not needed, but not stopping/starting.

 

[ChrisK]

Just a note for the people that want to run a generator to power there furnace, If your generator does not produce "clean power" the newer furnaces can't be powered with one. The furnace manufactures were replacing thousands of circuit boards under warranty that were being fried with generator power. They now have a system in place that prevents this from happening. The 12,000 watt and above usually produce clean power.