PRactice Run Irene....Where did you screw up?

[ACfarmer]

We lost municipally supplied power for about 1.5 days. Things that stood out:

1) The generator kept up with the needs of the fridge and freezer but was very loud... have to look at this for the future.

2) We have a private well and I hadn't got around to hooking the generator up to it yet. As we had plenty of DW on hand, it wasn't an issue until toilets needed flushing. Here we learned two things... the old bathroom takes 4+ gallons to flush effectively (stored water in the rain barrels solved this issue) and the new bathroom pumps up to the sewer line so its essentially offline. Bathroom remodeling now includes a new toilet....

 

[shadyduk1979]

I give myself a C. I live in a residential area so the thought of having a generator where people can hear it and say "hey look at that he has power, what else does he have?" does not appeal to me. I had never really considered refrigeration issues. I do have a ice box but that only helps when you can get ice made. I will look into some solar options for the future, although i rent so my options would be limited.

I realized my plans are not good for the warmer months cooler and winter months i am in good shape

 

[BigDaddyAl]

I live in a residential area so the thought of having a generator where people can hear it and say "hey look at that he has power, what else does he have?" does not appeal to me.

I've wondered/worried about this too. I could certainly secure it to something, but I couldn't keep an eye on it 24x7. Does anyone have recommendations for this for those of us who live in more populated areas?

 

[Knuckle Dragger]

I probably get a D-. Decided to go to NJ for the weekend for a family function and drive back on Sunday. It actually worked out pretty well, but it was interesting.

 

[KMS]

I've wondered/worried about this too. I could certainly secure it to something, but I couldn't keep an eye on it 24x7. Does anyone have recommendations for this for those of us who live in populated areas?[/QUOTEma

Honda makes a pretty quiet genny...that and a small sound proof dog house sized hut get a long pvc pipe and some small fans to draw in air and to exhaust it.

 

[GunGrey]

Not enough ammo....but that is an ongoing problem

 

[Twigg]

We were fine here, I even fired up the generator the day before.
For those who say they'll use the gas in the car/truck for the generator:
Have you tried to siphon gas out yet ? Lots of vehickes have anti siphon devices installed by the factory.
I learned this when I tried to get gas out of my 11 year old truck, same for the wife's SUV too.

 

[Jamie]

We were fine here, I even fired up the generator the day before.
For those who say they'll use the gas in the car/truck for the generator:
Have you tried to siphon gas out yet ? Lots of vehickes have anti siphon devices installed by the factory.
I learned this when I tried to get gas out of my 11 year old truck, same for the wife's SUV too.

Remove pressure line from tank (under hood), place in gas can, turn key. Fuel pump will do all the work. Turn off key when full and replace line.

 

[Twigg]

That would work too.

 

[MisterHappy]

We were fine here, I even fired up the generator the day before.
For those who say they'll use the gas in the car/truck for the generator:
Have you tried to siphon gas out yet ? Lots of vehickes have anti siphon devices installed by the factory.
I learned this when I tried to get gas out of my 11 year old truck, same for the wife's SUV too.

Why would that be? Surely you're not saying that there are thieves among us?

Actually, I ran into that. If you're going to do the under-the-hood fuel line thing, figure it out before you need it!

 

[Keystone]

We had plenty of food and light here, but I discovered that only a handful of our candles were unscented. I'll be rectifying that...

Moving into a house next week, which has an included generator, so that'll be great. The lack of power here (apartment) for 39 hours kinda blew, but we have a ton of flashlights, so it was just the food in the fridge that was an issue.

I meant to fill the tub with water, so that we could refill the toilet, after we showered on Sunday, but I managed to wake up after the storm (but before the power went out), so that didn't actually matter. We had plenty of bottled water. Never lost water service, and have a gas stove, so that was a non-event.

So...next time, have a generator (in progress), have more unscented candles. Also - battery backed alarm clocks, or some method of charging cell phones. I had to be careful with my phone, since it was the only way I was getting up for work. Get a better BOB. Try not to sleep through the hurricane.

Keeping an eye on Katia...maybe we'll get another run at our prep lists. Hopefully it'll just pass us out to sea, though.

 

[Rancho]

I keep one in my truck, the wife has one in her car. The quality ones, not the cheap shit.

yeah the ones I bought were at the army navy store in Boylston on rt12 I couldn't tell if they were the good ones or the cheap ones but they worked well and they actually had LED bulbs in them.. i also picked up a nifty GI flashlight with the 90degree bend. It actually came in handy when I was int he basement hooking up the sump to the generator.

 

[deadhead133]

Rated us a C because I don't have a generator yet. We have town water, gas cooking, and I bought boxes of kitchen matches.
We have 4 Dietz lanterns and two cheap ones from Wal Mart, gallons of K-1 Kerosene, and bottles of lamp oil. We had plenty of food
and about 40 gallons of spring water plus a couple of cases of Poland Springs 16 oz. bottles. The first morning without power my wife made the required french toast. I have a couple of flashlights and two Liotecs. (Defender and Angel A)
I was disappointed with the light from the lanterns and I found 3 Coleman double mantle lanterns and a couple of gallons of
Coleman fuel in the basement. I cannibalized one for parts and had two working. Lighting greatly improved.
I have lived here for 43 years and this is the first time I have lost power for more than a few hours. I have kids who live in
E Bridgewater and they had power restored quickly so I emptied my freezer and took the food to their houses.
I am going to buy a generator within two weeks and hope I never have to use it.

I forgot to include the fact that I had purchased an emergency radio from Radio Shack that runs on solar,
regular AA batteries, Nicad rechargeables, handcrank, and 110v. I used it to keep in touch with the progress of the storm.

 

[Slowdive]

All in all a non-event, but I voted C. Lost a 60 ft tree that fell in the woods and landed on some garden structures. I had a chainsaw, plenty of gas and fixed the garden stuff. The suck came on Wed...poison ivy, first time. I'm not particularly susceptible, but chainsawing poison ivy and having the juice spray on my arms and legs proved too much. That sucked for about 5 days. I'm lucky...I guess many have it for 2 weeks.

 

[MisterHappy]

IIRC, you can develop a reaction later in life, either due to repeated exposure, or just because.

My dad would react to it by just looking at it, but, as far as I can tell, I'm not affected.....not that I've experimented deliberately!

MY thanks to all that posted and voted. I know that the few days without power were eye-opening to me, but not catastrophic. I guess this is the best sort of "exercise"...real but not dangerous. If it's not hypothetical, "I pull out a Newport, rack the slide on the 870 and say 'It's GO TIME'" is not viable!

Next time, I'll try to arrange a (small) outbreak of Zombies, instead of a tropical storm!

 

[Twigg]

Next time, I'll try to arrange a (small) outbreak of Zombies, instead of a tropical storm!

We'll heve enough zombies once the presidential campaigns kick into high gear.

 

[Rancho]

We'll heve enough zombies once the presidential campaigns kick into high gear.

haaahahaha but wait the Zombie apocalypse has already started, I see them every day as they walk aimlessly staring at their cell phones and avoid eye contact and conversations with people!!

 

[dwarven1]

Check out the link to photos of VT that I just posted in the megathread.

 

[hminsky]

I finally figured out how to start the Stihl chainsaw without flooding it, by actually reading the manual. So that was a big improvement.

We had no power loss on our street, but major utility poles down on the next street.

I had to cut up a large tree that snapped off on our fence line, so we have about 1/2 a cord of firewood drying in the backyard now.

 

[Coyote33]

...For those who say they'll use the gas in the car/truck for the generator:
Have you tried to siphon gas out yet ? Lots of vehickes have anti siphon devices installed by the factory.
I learned this when I tried to get gas out of my 11 year old truck, same for the wife's SUV too.

Just drill a hole in the bottom of the tank!

 

[Rider]

Next time, I'll try to arrange a (small) outbreak of Zombies, instead of a tropical storm!

I am pretty sure that this is binary. Either it's a full-on zombie apocalypse, or it isn't. Anything short of Go-Time and you're the guy who killed all those poor zombies who didn't have money for their zombie meds.

 

[Billsail]

IIRC, you can develop a reaction later in life, either due to repeated exposure, or just because.

My dad would react to it by just looking at it, but, as far as I can tell, I'm not affected.....not that I've experimented deliberately!

MY thanks to all that posted and voted. I know that the few days without power were eye-opening to me, but not catastrophic. I guess this is the best sort of "exercise"...real but not dangerous. If it's not hypothetical, "I pull out a Newport, rack the slide on the 870 and say 'It's GO TIME'" is not viable!

Next time, I'll try to arrange a (small) outbreak of Zombies, instead of a tropical storm!

Good Job! +1

This has been the most informative and educational thread as far as disaster preparedness that we have had. We can ALL learn from our own, and everybody elses mistakes!

 

[Chrisg67]

my biggest issue was light....and last night at walmart i found hurricane lanterns in the camping section for $5.88 each. need to get kerosene to see how they work, but for the time being they should hold me over until i order up some Dietz.

just an FYI to anyone needing some light.

 

[MisterHappy]

I have (for when they were made) cutting edge kero lamps (1.5" wicks, double wicks) and, for my modern eyes, they were, honestly, barely adequate. You could do what you needed to do, but fine work was a PITA. A lantern with a narrower wick will be less brilliant. My across the street neighbor was most appreciative of the propane lantern i gave them, so their daughter could do her homework without eye strain.

I'd advise mantle lamps (propane or liquid fuel) as an additon. I hung a propane lantern in my kitchen and it was more than adequate.

If kero is your primary planned option, I'd light up and see what it's like with the shades drawn, so that you know if you will have enough light. Another point - the commercial lamp oil is also an viable alternative, as some don't like the kero's aroma.

As for a source there's a thread on here about it, but many Hess stations have it (Hess has a store locator where you can find it)

Happy lighting.

 

[Fanucman]

I would give myself an "A". I started getting kind of stir-crazy with no internet to browse, but the wife did great, I even got her to hook up and start the generator (allegedly to teach her how).

I realized what OldGuy did though:

Gas for the generators was my weak point.
I only had 20 gallons on hand. ...

Once my well pump has run, the fridge is cold and the electric water heater is hot, we were just sitting there with my noisy 7500W gas-sucking generator powering...a 15w florescent lamp. It was a choice between absurd generator overkill and flashlights. I am wondering if I should get some kind of smaller generator or battery system, for just the lights and fridge. I would be out of juice for the big generator in a couple days if I ran it all day.


My neighbors: I would give an E, heading for F.
My neighbor's generator run out of gas after less than an hour. They piled into the car with a 2-gallon gas can and come back empty, 2 hours later. The nearest gas station did not have power and they "did not feel like driving further". They did manage to find a place to stuff their faces though, and brought home leftovers.

I was tempted to loan them some gas, but decided letting them go the night without a generator might teach them an excellent lesson. I still feel bad about that...mostly because I do not think they learned a damn thing. They left their generator sitting out unattended and unsecured in the middle of their driveway (in the rain) for at least another day.

When the zombie hordes come, I will leave a bottle of hot sauce and some napkins on top of their mailbox.

 

[Rancho]

you know what , don't feel the least bit bad for them. did they stop by to ask if you needed to get gas and/or food? Did they make any effort whatsoever to plan ahead for things like this (especially when Irene was in the news for four days prior) no fuel to run a generator when they knew that there was a likely possibility that power was going to go out for an extended period ..NO!! So don't waste your mind on feeling bad for them.
If they don't learn theirlesson then shame on them..

I know it sounds harsh but I was brought up learning that you pay for your own bad decisions and lack of preparation.

 

[coastie]

I would give myself an "A". I started getting kind of stir-crazy with no internet to browse, but the wife did great, I even got her to hook up and start the generator (allegedly to teach her how).

I realized what OldGuy did though:

Once my well pump has run, the fridge is cold and the electric water heater is hot, we were just sitting there with my noisy 7500W gas-sucking generator powering...a 15w florescent lamp. It was a choice between absurd generator overkill and flashlights. I am wondering if I should get some kind of smaller generator or battery system, for just the lights and fridge. I would be out of juice for the big generator in a couple days if I ran it all day.


My neighbors: I would give an E, heading for F.
My neighbor's generator run out of gas after less than an hour. They piled into the car with a 2-gallon gas can and come back empty, 2 hours later. The nearest gas station did not have power and they "did not feel like driving further". They did manage to find a place to stuff their faces though, and brought home leftovers.

I was tempted to loan them some gas, but decided letting them go the night without a generator might teach them an excellent lesson. I still feel bad about that...mostly because I do not think they learned a damn thing. They left their generator sitting out unattended and unsecured in the middle of their driveway (in the rain) for at least another day.

When the zombie hordes come, I will leave a bottle of hot sauce and some napkins on top of their mailbox.

There is no need to run your generator all the time. Set the temp on your fridge lower than normal. YOu should be able to go 4-5 hrs between runs. I use a digital thermometer that has a wire running into the fridge with a sensor. Once it hits 42 I run the fridge until it gets good and chilled. It takes about 45 minutes. During that time I also run the well pump, taking showers etc. Saves a ton of gas. For light you can use some oil lamps or there are a number of good rechargeable lanterns on the market that will go a number of hours before charging. I have a rechargeable COleman that is quite good and I am looking at the new Ryobi light that takes the same 18v batts my drill takes. For walking around we use a few of the AAA LED headlamps. One for each family member. With 2 small kids I try to avoid the oil lamps and Colemans unless it is for eating dinner or a specific task. I worry that they might know over an oil lamp that is just left for light on the counter. The lights also can crank some heat in the summer.

Take the fact that your neighbors have a generator as at least a start. Have you talked to them to find out how bad the experience was, particularly the wife? A unhappy spouse can do wonders when it comes to making sure they have more gas next time.

 

[Rmccar4318]

Generator fired and had a/c, tv, fidge and sump pump running. Gas tanks in cars, lawnmower and gas cans full. Second sump on stand by, water in the pool and well. All in all not bad!

 

[Fanucman]

There is no need to run your generator all the time.
...
Take the fact that your neighbors have a generator as at least a start. Have you talked to them to find out how bad the experience was, particularly the wife? A unhappy spouse can do wonders when it comes to making sure they have more gas next time.

I was droning on more than I wanted, but that is what we ended up doing. Once the water heater was hot and fridge was cold, it was back to flashlights and an LED lantern. The wife was not particularly pleased with periodically losing her power though.

The headlamps are a good idea, I have a couple on order.

I have not spoken to the neighbors since. I will definitely see if I can get them to do some pondering the next time I see them.

 

[highscore]

Never lost power for more than a minute. Good thing as I never bothered to try to get the 12kw gen hooked up until three days before. Who would have known that you can't just go to the store and buy a propane demand regulator and a large tank of propane. It has looked good in the garage for the last three years. Two days before I found that the 4000 watt gen would not start, no spark! Cleaned up the flywheel and bought a new sparker which produced no spark. At least I had plenty of batterys for the flashlights and ice to keep things cool, not that I needed them this time.

Now I just have to get off my butt and get the 12k hooked up. Anyone have info on hooking up a propane gen to a large tank?