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tony357

prepping for hurricane..

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Now is the time to do what you need to be ready for the next time, use this as a real learning experience and not one to just talk about I should have done this or that and not act on it like many will.

 

Harry

 

The problem is, now that we've had record rains and record snows and flooding this year, nothing is going to happen now for several years.

 

All the generators purchased in the past few days will be neglected and clog up with old gas. All the batteries and other supplies will end up in a closet, forgotten about and when the next storm that threatens major outages and damage rolls around, people will shrug and not prepare. "I did a bunch of prep for Irene and that was a dud, nothing is going to happen"...and then it will and it'll be a big problem.

 

I'm even guilty of it. I had let 4-5 months go between starts on my genny and I knew there was stale gas in it. It took this storm to motivate me to get it running again(drain gas, cleaned carb, replace air filter) and I'm going to put it on my google calendar to start the thing once a month now. Two years from now I'll probably be in the same boat again.

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The problem is, now that we've had record rains and record snows and flooding this year, nothing is going to happen now for several years.

 

All the generators purchased in the past few days will be neglected and clog up with old gas. All the batteries and other supplies will end up in a closet, forgotten about and when the next storm that threatens major outages and damage rolls around, people will shrug and not prepare. "I did a bunch of prep for Irene and that was a dud, nothing is going to happen"...and then it will and it'll be a big problem.

 

I'm even guilty of it. I had let 4-5 months go between starts on my genny and I knew there was stale gas in it. It took this storm to motivate me to get it running again(drain gas, cleaned carb, replace air filter) and I'm going to put it on my google calendar to start the thing once a month now. Two years from now I'll probably be in the same boat again.

 

Being in the aviation industry I am more accustom to check lists and other built in check and balances, I do to same thing at home. Just as many of us change the battery's of our smoke alarms when we change out clocks it might be a good practice to add some to the list. A good start would be fire extinguisher's, check and run generators, throw some water in the sub-pump hole and make sure it's working. Non perishable food supply etc. While I will say I am not 100% up on most of this thinks needed at all time I do keep up with it just in case and it's really not that hard when you set a date or a time on your calender. Just a good practice to get in, and less chance of hearing someone from here or around us ran into problems by not being prepared.

 

Harry

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The problem is, now that we've had record rains and record snows and flooding this year, nothing is going to happen now for several years.

 

All the generators purchased in the past few days will be neglected and clog up with old gas. All the batteries and other supplies will end up in a closet, forgotten about and when the next storm that threatens major outages and damage rolls around, people will shrug and not prepare. "I did a bunch of prep for Irene and that was a dud, nothing is going to happen"...and then it will and it'll be a big problem.

 

I'm even guilty of it. I had let 4-5 months go between starts on my genny and I knew there was stale gas in it. It took this storm to motivate me to get it running again(drain gas, cleaned carb, replace air filter) and I'm going to put it on my google calendar to start the thing once a month now. Two years from now I'll probably be in the same boat again.

We let our snowblower sit with gas in the carb one year and it destroyed it. Had to completely rebuild it.. learned my lesson, i now drain everything before it goes into storage. I think the biggest issue is just making sure you carb is clean, you can drain old fuel. But the best option is to just run it dry. Do generators have the pin on the carb to drain them?

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We let our snowblower sit with gas in the carb one year and it destroyed it. Had to completely rebuild it.. learned my lesson, i now drain everything before it goes into storage. I think the biggest issue is just making sure you carb is clean, you can drain old fuel. But the best option is to just run it dry. Do generators have the pin on the carb to drain them?

 

You can typically remove the bowl from the carburetor although some have a drain bolt or even a petcock to empty the bowl. I always run mine dry but even then, there's gas left in the bowl.

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Necessity is the mother of all invention!

 

Lost power, sump died, basement flooded, It's not a finished basement, so no big deal. but i still had to get the 6" of water out. I didn't want to use my normal discharge on the side of my house, since the absurd amount of water might flood my neighbors yard, I decided to get a hold of one of them blue flat hoses used to drain pools, but unfortunately it was too small for the 1.5" discharge out of the PVC..... Wound up making a converter out of some duct tape, clamps and an paint roller.

 

winning.

 

6094295066_b8d19c1f9c_b.jpg

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We let our snowblower sit with gas in the carb one year and it destroyed it. Had to completely rebuild it.. learned my lesson, i now drain everything before it goes into storage. I think the biggest issue is just making sure you carb is clean, you can drain old fuel. But the best option is to just run it dry. Do generators have the pin on the carb to drain them?

 

I have had very good luck using Stabil, just make sure you let what ever you put it in run for a while to cycle the gas through the carb or injectors if FI. Works great on a riding mover I use only in the winter and I only put up one of the Harley's for the winter and never a problem. Well there I go I went and jinxed myself. :icon_e_confused:

 

Harry

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Necessity is the mother of all invention!

 

Lost power, sump died, basement flooded, It's not a finished basement, so no big deal. but i still had to get the 6" of water out. I didn't want to use my normal discharge on the side of my house, since the absurd amount of water might flood my neighbors yard, I decided to get a hold of one of them blue flat hoses used to drain pools, but unfortunately it was too small for the 1.5" discharge out of the PVC..... Wound up making a converter out of some duct tape, clamps and an paint roller.

 

winning.

 

6094295066_b8d19c1f9c_b.jpg

 

Sorry to hear you had problems but a big +1 for ya. As they say necessity is the mother of invention, nice job making due with what you had on hand.

 

Harry

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Necessity is the mother of all invention!

 

Lost power, sump died, basement flooded, It's not a finished basement, so no big deal. but i still had to get the 6" of water out. I didn't want to use my normal discharge on the side of my house, since the absurd amount of water might flood my neighbors yard, I decided to get a hold of one of them blue flat hoses used to drain pools, but unfortunately it was too small for the 1.5" discharge out of the PVC..... Wound up making a converter out of some duct tape, clamps and an paint roller.

 

winning.

 

6094295066_b8d19c1f9c_b.jpg

 

That's gonna end up on "ThereIFixedIt"

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people don't build homes in flood areas, those homes have been built there for YEARS before they become flood prone areas. It's only when nj stopped investing in infrastructure like taking take of their rivers to prevent silt build up, or when they put dams in places to create reservoirs where there never should of been a dam built in the first place do you then introduce houses to areas that are flood plains.

 

A lot of the flooding problems in the pequannock wayne are could be solved with two things. The first would be to clean up all the shores of the passaic and other rivers or debris and silt. This will give the rivers a higher capacity to carry water thus reducing floodage. The other would be to lower all reservoirs that have dams to create holding tanks so that the lakes can hold 3-5 feet of water thus soaking up all that run off.

 

If they did this for Pequannock the amount of flooding it would of reduce would of been astronomical. They only opened up the Pompton Lakes dam on Friday by then it was entirely too late because that water made it's way into pequannock and lincoln park, so when the real rain came, those towns were just destroyed.

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Coleman makes a great 4XAA lantern that is a high quality LED with a regulated output for a consistent brightness/runtime combo. And they are about $20

 

 

Not sure if the ones I have are the same but I have a 4 pack of them that I think I picked up from Costco, they work great, I keep them around the house and on my bike when I go camping.

 

If anyone wanted to check them out the p/n: is 4343-701 on the ones I have, and I like them well enough if I see them at Costco again I'll pick up another 4 pack.

 

Harry

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http://www.coleman.c...id=24757&brand=

 

 

This is the one I have

 

Very nice, makes the ones I have look like a cheap toy, I can't believe the posted battery life on mine is only listed at 4 hours because I know I have used them for a lot longer than that but the one you have at posted 12 hours is very good. Think I'm going to have to get the non-toy model next. Thanks for posting that.

 

Harry

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I have had very good luck using Stabil, just make sure you let what ever you put it in run for a while to cycle the gas through the carb or injectors if FI. Works great on a riding mover I use only in the winter and I only put up one of the Harley's for the winter and never a problem. Well there I go I went and jinxed myself. :icon_e_confused:

 

Harry

Stabil is good stuff, only problem is it does not help counteract the ethanol they are adding to the gas nowadays (although Stabil has a new product that is supposed to help). Ethanol is the worst thing they have done to fuel yet, it swells rubber and other seals in the carburetor causing all kinds of problems. It also shortens the shelf life gas even more.

 

The best thing I have found is Sea Foam. I run it in all my two cycle engines because it prevents carbon build up, which is a bigger problem in todays tighter tolerance pollution controlled engines. It also stabilizes fuel for long term storage and helps counteract the ill effects of ethanol. It works in any gas or diesel engine.

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people don't build homes in flood areas, those homes have been built there for YEARS before they become flood prone areas. It's only when nj stopped investing in infrastructure like taking take of their rivers to prevent silt build up, or when they put dams in places to create reservoirs where there never should of been a dam built in the first place do you then introduce houses to areas that are flood plains.

 

A lot of the flooding problems in the pequannock wayne are could be solved with two things. The first would be to clean up all the shores of the passaic and other rivers or debris and silt. This will give the rivers a higher capacity to carry water thus reducing floodage. The other would be to lower all reservoirs that have dams to create holding tanks so that the lakes can hold 3-5 feet of water thus soaking up all that run off.

 

If they did this for Pequannock the amount of flooding it would of reduce would of been astronomical. They only opened up the Pompton Lakes dam on Friday by then it was entirely too late because that water made it's way into pequannock and lincoln park, so when the real rain came, those towns were just destroyed.

 

Thanks for the explanation.

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I even have a couple bottles of Sea Foam, I normally run it in all my bikes a few times a year but forgot it's a good fuel stabilizer also. I'll have to look at whats in both of them and see if I may just switch to the Foam.

 

Harry

 

 

2 bottles of seafoam + 350cc Lt1 = clean engine + clean fuel system + UBER FUN looking at your neighbors seeing your car emitt white clouds of goodness. :icon_mrgreen:

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Trees down everywhere, but none knocked out my power. Lots of near misses. However, only 3 blocks down the street lost power for 2 days. I feel I am pushing my luck! Especially in winter the ice always takes out several trees in my area. I have since ordered a generator from Costco :) Even if I never use it, I will sleep better at night. Got one big enough to run my well (220) and heat (110). I will install a dpdt switch so I can isolate the device, and add a locking socket for a safe connection. Now, the generator should be grounded to earth, and my household wiring is grounded to earth, so do I also have to isolate ground for the device, or is it good as all is earthy?

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Trees down everywhere, but none knocked out my power. Lots of near misses. However, only 3 blocks down the street lost power for 2 days. I feel I am pushing my luck! Especially in winter the ice always takes out several trees in my area. I have since ordered a generator from Costco :) Even if I never use it, I will sleep better at night. Got one big enough to run my well (220) and heat (110). I will install a dpdt switch so I can isolate the device, and add a locking socket for a safe connection. Now, the generator should be grounded to earth, and my household wiring is grounded to earth, so do I also have to isolate ground for the device, or is it good as all is earthy?

 

Technically yes..... separate 3 ft cooper rod driven in ground greater than 3ft away from other gounding rod. For me, using car jumper cable from generator grounding lug to grouding rod for house panel.

 

Now on day 7 no electric. Two houses each on a 5600 watt Generator still chugging along. Gas costs are terrible running genset for 15 hours a day. JCP&L says maybe by end of today, however not counting on it.

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