Kincaid, Rainman

[brenda]

Holy cow, Rainman. I figured it was bad for you. Thank you for checking in with us, and I hope you get the info you need.

You'll find there is another thread awaiting your return. This is the recent one, and there's no need to have two, so just ignore the other.

So sorry you have to go through this mess. Stay safe.

[Horace]

What a nightmare. I'm sorry you're having to deal with that Rainman (and Kincaid, if you are too).

[Mik]

Stay safe, man. My friends in Texas are going through the same thing.

[Rainman]

We were able to book 2 nights at a Comfort Suites hotel, so tonight and Thursday night, we'll see about Friday as I have big items arriving at our not-too-distant UPS store. Not sure what will happen if the UPS store is closed.
Very pleasant weather today. If not for all the busted up trees and downed power lines, there would be nothing special at all. And getting to the hotel, it's just driving through areas with power.
There is nothing like losing power. Totally debilitating and shows how much we are addicted to being online.

[Axtremus]

Sorry you have to go through this.

Last time it got bad enough for me to need to fire up a generator, it was a decade and a half ago. It was loud, for sure. You will get through this. Stay safe.

[Jolly]

@rainman said in Kincaid, Rainman:

no power since last saturday. I'm on my laptop using phone as hot spot. worst damage I have ever seen from a storm, the ice was so thick it brought down trees, limbs.
It's COLD! I ordered 2 generators on monday, a 4250 watt hybrid, and a 2000 watt gas. the 4250 watt is 64 db, the 2000 watt is 51 db. I'm concerned the db are too high and one or both generators will be too loud. I hear lots of generators though.
Jolly or anyone, how many things can I run with a 4250 watt generator? I also ordered 2 space heaters. Everything will be here friday, I hope.

The heaters are going to probably be 1500 watts each. They are usually inefficient, but you do what you got to do. Gonna need a 15amp curcuit for that.

Right now, I'm running a gas 5500W Generac, surge 6250. I've got a radiator type 1500W heater in the storage room for the dog...To run that, I turned off my two freezers and a refrigerator. If not running it, I can run the others, being careful to stage the compressors. I'm also running my internet, tv, satellite and probably eight or ten LED lights.

It's all about balancing the load and fuel consumption. There are multiple lists on the web that give you the usual consumption of appliances. Lowes has one, as do others. Also, keep in mind what size appliance you need...I keep a small window A/C unit for hurricanes, but I only have a 6000 btu, because it will cool one room running on the generator, and leave me power for other things.

You can also help your generator by doing tasks with other types of energy. For example, a propane two burner or three burner camp stove is great for cooking. I use a woodstove to heat the house. You have to have a carbon monoxide alarm, but the vent free propane or natural gas heaters can work well.

It's all a state of mind. Heat. Cool. Food storage and preparation. I'm no hard-core prepper, but I do believe in a level of preparedness. I think it's worth the peace of mind.

[jon-nyc]

@rainman said in Kincaid, Rainman:

I'm concerned the db are too high and one or both generators will be too loud. I hear lots of generators though.

Those 64db will be noticeably loud but frankly just be grateful you could find them 3 days into a blackout.

I have a Honda 7500W inverter generator. Super quiet 51db. But much pricier than the non-inverter type.

[Doctor Phibes]

Rainman, I certainly wouldn't worry about the noise - it's way more important to stay safe than to avoid mildly irritating the neighbours. We have a 6500W generator, and it's pretty loud, but that's the last thing I think about if we need it.

[Catseye3]

@rainman said in Kincaid, Rainman:

There is nothing like losing power. Totally debilitating and shows how much we are addicted to being online.

So sorry to hear you're having to go through this. Losing power in extreme cold weather is IMO one of life's worst trevails. Some few years ago I lost power in winter for 13 hours. I'll never forget it! And that was nothing compared to what you folks are suffering.

Good luck getting the hotel. Stay safe. Hugs.

[LuFins Dad]

@Rainman @Kincaid

Lived with no power for two weeks in winter once. Go get a tent. One of the popup three season tents. Set it up in your living room, or if you have a small enough tent, on top of your bed. You will be snug as a bug...

[Rainman]

Hi All.
We're in a hotel, got the last room for 2 nights. Went home today to visit, still no power. It's like visiting your home after Chernobyl. Everything where you left it, but cold and dark.

One generator, the smaller one, arrived at our UPS store. We'll pick it up tomorrow and hopefully the large generator will be there as well. No wheels on the big puppy, but I did order the optional wheels. Going for burgers where there is power, also known as civilization. Thanks for the advice and survival tips. Could be out of power for several more days. What a mess with the downed power lines everywhere, trees down and branches.

[brenda]

Glad you're in a warm bed for the night. This a whole lot of no fun for you.

How's your bride doing?

[Doctor Phibes]

At the risk of sounding like Jolly, I would highly recommend to pretty much everybody, if you can afford it, of buying a generator, and having a transfer switch installed in your house, meaning you can use it to power the heating system as well as the lights and fridge etc. in the event of this happening.

Very glad you're OK, Rainman.