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Mrs. Peel

TEST MY PREP!

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9 minutes ago, Mrs. Peel said:

Hmmm, when would that happen?

Not sure who you have for a provider, but in many neighborhoods there are switches, amplifiers, etc. that are powered off of the local power lines. If you look at telephone poles as you drive around, you'll see metal boxes mounted on some, some with green indicator lights, getting power right there. When the local power goes out, they do too, killing Internet, phone and cable service to that section of the neighborhood.

During Sandy, our neighborhood was on Cablevision, and everything went out. A day or two later, I see a car and a guy parked by one of those poles with a portable generator, feeding that box, so they could get local service going.

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23 hours ago, Mrs. Peel said:

Propane camp stove to cook. Uses the disposable tanks (Electric Range) useless during power outage

I also have a grill and 4 tanks never let more than 2 empty at one time.

OK, you and Sniper now have me really thinking I underestimated my non-winter cooking needs! I'll be looking at options. It does seem some kind of small grill is in order.

More versatile than a grill. I set mine up on my stove top when we have no power.

https://www.amazon.com/Coleman-Stove-Ppn-BRN-Triton/dp/B00VTJGWNU/ref=sr_1_10?crid=3M0YIV48P2IKV&keywords=camping+stoves+portable+propane&qid=1640736896&sprefix=camping+stoves%2Caps%2C86&sr=8-10

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23 hours ago, Mrs. Peel said:

White gas lantern and oil lamps for lights.

Hmmm... I've been moving more towards rechargeable items - particularly those that can recharge with solar. It feels safer in my old, dry wood house than having a bunch of flames. Maybe I'm just fire-phobic?

Kerosene heater for space heating during winter months I keep 15 gallons of kerosene never going below 7 gallons as it lasts a long time.

Hmmm... don't those kerosene heaters throw off fumes? Are there ventilation requirements?

My lantern is similar to this. They're pretty safe. I believe they shut off if knocked over. They throw much more light than propane and burn for hours on a tank. You just can't put one within 2 feet of a flammable object as they put out heat also, a plus in the winter.

https://www.amazon.com/Coleman-Premium-Dual-Fuel-Camping-Lantern/dp/B0009PURIQ/ref=sr_1_24?crid=28KMDQC0WA20R&keywords=coleman+lantern&qid=1640737342&sprefix=coleman+lantern%2Caps%2C75&sr=8-24

As far as fumes from the kerosene heater if your house is drafty it's not sealed very well so open a window a crack and you should be fine. They do have a petroleum odor when you shut them off but it goes away quick.

Mine has never set off the smoke or CO detector.

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Thanks to all who participated in this thread and to some who PM'd me with suggestions, too. As expected, your comments were thought-provoking, insightful... and really quite helpful! I learned a lot and have revised my Prepping List... already placed an order for a few smaller items... am pricing others... and identified some I can wait to purchase down the road.      

Here's wishing for a healthy, happy 2022 with NO major emergencies! Frankly, it would be nice not to actually need any of this stuff... but I've learned that it does bring a certain peace of mind to: "noodle" on some of the likeliest scenarios, put basic plans in place, have the right tools, have a maintenance plan to be followed, and to know exactly where all those tools are located in the house... so there's no fumbling around in the cold and the dark, as I used to do, just to try to find a flashlight. What an idiot! :facepalm:.  Honestly, I would NEVER have made this journey if not for these forums in general. It totally changed my mindset - shifting me from snarking about about "those weird preppers" to viewing "preparedness" as what it actually is: a sensible, pragmatic, and forward-thinking mindset. I'm making progress! :good:

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On 12/27/2021 at 9:07 PM, siderman said:

Have a talk with your electrician about your gennys neutral wire and whether it is bonded (connected) or floating (disconnected) and how it should relate to the main panel when running live. 

just to add my 2 cents..  I looked into the neutral thing a few years ago which was discussed here and after seeing a number of YT videos on the subject. I not saying your suggesting it but probably not a good idea to let the electrician do a mod on the generator, chances are it'll will void the warranty. I know I chatted with another member here and posted what I came up with on this this subject here and a few years ago

What I did was modify the gen-to-inlet cable. On the generator side of the cable (male end)  I relocated the ground wire from the ground connector and doubled it up on the neutral within the plug. The Female side (Inlet box) remains untouched. The end result is when in generator mode the panel's ground and neutral are now routed to the generator’s neutral only removing the need to modify the generator itself. So again by way of the modification the panel's ground and neutral are now terminated to Neutral on generator only.  So if for some reason I wanted to run you generator in standalone mode the gen's wiring is untouched.  I reached out the the Tech Support people that make my Transfer Switch for the mod  info above.

 

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30 minutes ago, FXDX said:

just to add my 2 cents..  I looked into the neutral thing a few years ago which was discussed here and after seeing a number of YT videos on the subject. I not saying your suggesting it but probably not a good idea to let the electrician do a mod on the generator, chances are it'll will void the warranty. I know I chatted with another member here and posted what I came up with on this this subject here and a few years ago

What I did was modify the gen-to-inlet cable. On the generator side of the cable (male end)  I relocated the ground wire from the ground connector and doubled it up on the neutral within the plug. The Female side (Inlet box) remains untouched. The end result is when in generator mode the panel's ground and neutral are now routed to the generator’s neutral only removing the need to modify the generator itself. So again by way of the modification the panel's ground and neutral are now terminated to Neutral on generator only.  So if for some reason I wanted to run you generator in standalone mode the gen's wiring is untouched.  I reached out the the Tech Support people that make my Transfer Switch for the mod  info above.

 

Yea, was debating how to express this topic so decided to keep it simple.  On my gen not much of a mod, just loosen a nut, jump wire over 1/2" to another one and that's it. Five minutes procedure, easily reversed which I did as it is a stand alone now. 

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@siderman & @FXDX - the whole topic is Greek to me, but I will share with the electrician and have him explain it and make recommendations. I certainly won't alter the generator in anyway - at one point, I had looked into a carburator kit that would change a gas generator to a tri-fuel generator, but chose not to do it for that exact reason - it would void any warranty. Not worth it! (even though I realize warranties don't cover all issues, why essentially toss it out the window?) Anyway, thanks for raising the issue and making me ask the questions.

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That my point was its probably not a good idea to start disconnecting cabling on a brand new unit right out of box due to possible warranty issues. Personally I prefer the cable mod method but that’s me.

I’m not going to debate the following but others I spoke to about the ground issue said it’s much to do about nothing unless your home’s GFI outlets keep tripping while on Gen power. I didn’t see any of that nor have we ever tripped a breaker on the Transfer switch.

I’m one of the early adopters of the US Carb Tri-Fuel conversation kits which we used during Sandy without the ground modification and it worked fine. Months later after Sandy we replaced a few ageing Uninterruptible Power Supply Units (UPS) for our computers and home network gear. Later on while exercising the generator as part of routine generator maintenance I noticed the new UPS units would sporadically go into alarm mode. The new UPS units were clearly more sensitive than our older APC UPS units. So in addition to all the internet topics about the grounding the UPS alarm mode problem was another reason for me to pursue the cable mod which ended up fully resolving the UPS units from going into alarm mode so I got a twofer out of the deal.

I'm not sure why you’d want a Tri-fuel kit for something specifically designed for Propane?  I'm sure  you’re correct any mod to the unit would likely ruin the warranty for sure. My guess is the manufacturer *might* have a kit to convert it to Natural Gas since Propane and NG are close but not sure about converting gasoline. I *think* it gasoline to tri-fuel but not a straight Propane unit to Tri-fuel.

scratch that I’m wrong, just looked at the specs and see it  Dual Fuel Technology. still check to see if NG capable

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I was not too concerned about any warranty once I  knew it wasnt a clunker and worked fine after several runs. My concern was to have emergency power and to optimize that power source with a tri fuel converter. So there, warranty gone anyway. That was my priority,, not on getting my money back.. Go big or go home lol. I don’t even know how long a warranty is, 90 days, 2 yrs....whatever. back then a factory duel/tri fuel portable gen was a rare bird especially after Sandy.

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12 hours ago, FXDX said:

I'm not sure why you’d want a Tri-fuel kit for something specifically designed for Propane?  I'm sure  you’re correct any mod to the unit would likely ruin the warranty for sure. My guess is the manufacturer *might* have a kit to convert it to Natural Gas since Propane and NG are close but not sure about converting gasoline. I *think* it gasoline to tri-fuel but not a straight Propane unit to Tri-fuel.

scratch that I’m wrong, just looked at the specs and see it  Dual Fuel Technology. still check to see if NG capable

To be clear, I was initially considering that same brand of tri-fuel kit for a gas-powered generator, but then developed concerns about voiding the warranty. That's why I opted instead for a model that at least was dual fuel straight from the factory. Yes, in doing so I lost the option for natural gas. But, my attitude is... if 2 fuels are not enough, then frankly, things are REALLY going to hell in  a handbasket... and I'm probably going "old school" with the wood stove, etc. anyway. At which point, I guess I'd be pretty much "camping" in my house. I figure that's still better than being outside though!

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20 minutes ago, Mrs. Peel said:

To be clear, I was initially considering that same brand of tri-fuel kit for a gas-powered generator, but then developed concerns about voiding the warranty. That's why I opted instead for a model that at least was dual fuel straight from the factory. Yes, in doing so I lost the option for natural gas. But, my attitude is... if 2 fuels are not enough, then frankly, things are REALLY going to hell in  a handbasket... and I'm probably going "old school" with the wood stove, etc. anyway. At which point, I guess I'd be pretty much "camping" in my house. I figure that's still better than being outside though!

you won't void the warranty as it's a simple 'bolt on' of sorts.  I've converted two to tri fuel and the kits work great.  Kits are added on, not perm and can be easily taken off fyi

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35 minutes ago, Mrs. Peel said:

To be clear, I was initially considering that same brand of tri-fuel kit for a gas-powered generator, but then developed concerns about voiding the warranty. That's why I opted instead for a model that at least was dual fuel straight from the factory. Yes, in doing so I lost the option for natural gas. But, my attitude is... if 2 fuels are not enough, then frankly, things are REALLY going to hell in  a handbasket... and I'm probably going "old school" with the wood stove, etc. anyway. At which point, I guess I'd be pretty much "camping" in my house. I figure that's still better than being outside though!

You have to do what makes you happy. I purchased ours at Homedepot a few days before Irene hit and luckily Irene blew right by us. HD was a zoo at that time of my purchase. We had to take numbers while HD unloaded them off the trucks. You got your number and waited to be called like at the Deli.

I’d installed the original US Carb kit before Sandy hit so we were good to go by then but I knew I’d likely voided the warranty.  US Carb had been around a while so I figured if something happened I deal with it then. I installed the first revision of the US Carb kit which has the huge Carb adapter, the new carb adapters are very slim.  

If you look at old YT videos you’ll see people actually cutting their frames to install the original  US Carb  adapter so if that don’t void a warranty I don’t know what will. I didn’t have to do that nor would I even considered it. What I had to do was cut the breather tube (see image) to insert a coupler so make up the difference for the added stick-out of the carburetor. Again the new kits US Carb kits resolved that issue with the thinner adapter. If I had it to over again the only thing I would have done different would have purchased the larger Transfer Switch or built my own with a second panel.

If you choice was an OEM kit probably not a big deal as with a 3rd party kit. Anyway good luck with your new unit and Happy New Year.

adapter.jpg

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30 minutes ago, silverado427 said:

I have a brand new generator I bought after Sandy, And I haven't even put the oil in it yet.

You may want to go ahead and get that genny operational. 

Many years ago, my bro-in-law bought a brand spank'n new 10kW JD genset, never used it, only unboxed it and put on the wheels, then Sandy hit.  He went to fire it up after sitting in his garage for almost two years and guess what, it didn't work.  There was an open circuit in the windings.  Bad time to find that out.

Also, there are many moving parts that can rust if the unit is not operated periodically.  I had a genny sit for four years before I needed it again since its last use.  What I didn't know was the sealed bearing that supports the rotor shaft rusted.  After running the genny for maybe four hours, the bearing seized and killed the genny because it stopped dead under a load.

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Well I pulled the Genny  out of hiding, filled the crankcase with oil.  And the battery is fukin dead. 

I'm glad  I finally checked everything out.  I'm charging the battery now to see if it will hold a charge.

If not new battery time. I'm also glad  I didn't need it for a emergency.  

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Best try to cook a few meals on the woodstove. Mine seems hot on top but there is barely enough flat surface on top to set a pot and it never gets hot enough to boil water. Putting an open can of beans inside is lame. Use a gas grill outdoors and if SHTF you can just build a wood fire in your neighbor's grill hahahaha. 

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1 hour ago, Scorpio64 said:

That battery is kaput.

Yup the battery is stone dead. However I did put fuel in it and on the first pull it fired right up.

I ran it for a half hour, No leaks and ran smooth . Its been sitting in my garage since 2014.  :deadhorse:

 

 

IMG_0602.jpg

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22 minutes ago, silverado427 said:

I ran it for a half hour, No leaks and ran smooth . Its been sitting in my garage since 2014.  

Did you run it with a load on it, like an electric heater? Best to test with half the rating, if possible. Many gennys will run fine with nothing plugged in, but have issues when a load is put on them.

Now, go fire up your snow blower and test it. We're in the 5+ inch band for tomorrow.

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7 minutes ago, silverado427 said:

However I did put fuel in it and on the first pull it fired right up.

What did you use as a load on the genny.

From this point on, every three to four months, run the genny for 15 to 20 minutes with at least a 1kW load  every time you crank it up.  This will lubricate moving parts, but also get the genny up to full operating temp and cook off any water that may have condensed in the crank case.

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Just now, silverado427 said:

Table saw , and a circular saw.

The saws will give the genny a good demand spike, but use less than a couple hundred Watts unless they are under a load themselves.  Space heaters and high wattage lights are better suited to this kind of thing.

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On 1/2/2022 at 5:05 PM, silverado427 said:

Yup the battery is stone dead. However I did put fuel in it and on the first pull it fired right up.

I ran it for a half hour, No leaks and ran smooth . Its been sitting in my garage since 2014.  :deadhorse:

Westinghouse makes a great portable generator.  And they're built to last.

 

IMG_0602.jpg

 

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