2 minutes ago, Screwball said:

Mr Ed said they are really brining the roads... and should be good. Shouldn’t we all trust him? 

I am more concerned about downed trees, powerlines, etc.

7 hours ago, Maksim said:

I am more concerned about downed trees, powerlines, etc.

Exactly, could be some widespread power outages that could last a couple of days.

7 hours ago, Maksim said:

I am more concerned about downed trees, powerlines, etc.

 

3 minutes ago, jm1827 said:

Exactly, could be some widespread power outages that could last a couple of days.

You guys didn’t invest in a generator after Sandy?

It’s like camping again.

 

you shoulda seen the gas guy out front yesterday. constant flow of cars. dude probably pumped about 3k gallons yesterday. will more than likely be the same today

 

58 minutes ago, Screwball said:

 

You guys didn’t invest in a generator after Sandy?

It’s like camping again.

Got my Genny day or so before Sandy.....    Best move i ever made.

1 hour ago, Screwball said:

 

You guys didn’t invest in a generator after Sandy?

It’s like camping again.

Actually did not lose power during sandy for more than 2 hours. Lol 

but no, do have a generator now, but it is still in box.  

I fired mine up yesterday to make sure all was well. It’s good to go!

Just now, Maksim said:

Actually did not lose power during sandy for more than 2 hours. Lol 

but no, do have a generator now, but it is still in box.  

#1 reason for failed small engines?   No oil.     This is why almost everything you buy these days is pre-filled with oil.    Either the factory does it or the store does it.

I have a friend who has had half a dozen generators over the past 10 years.   He buys before a big storm, doesn't lose power, returns generator.

He lives in NC now, he bought one for Florence a few months back.   Didn't lose power. Returned it.

That next storm that came through?  He didn't bother buying a generator.    Lost power for almost 3 days.   Couldn't find a generator at any price.   The cheap #$%^ was without power for almost 3 days!!!  LOL.

 

 

 

 

3 hours ago, Screwball said:

 

You guys didn’t invest in a generator after Sandy?

It’s like camping again.

Invested in one before Sandy, came in handy when we were out for over a week.  Just another wrinkle to deal with.

I invested in a generator several years ago, prior to Sandy. Other than running it for PM purposes, I’ve never had to use it. 

I’d rather have it and not need it, than need it and not have it. 

1 hour ago, Malsua said:

#1 reason for failed small engines?   No oil.     This is why almost everything you buy these days is pre-filled with oil.    Either the factory does it or the store does it.

I have a friend who has had half a dozen generators over the past 10 years.   He buys before a big storm, doesn't lose power, returns generator.

He lives in NC now, he bought one for Florence a few months back.   Didn't lose power. Returned it.

That next storm that came through?  He didn't bother buying a generator.    Lost power for almost 3 days.   Couldn't find a generator at any price.   The cheap #$%^ was without power for almost 3 days!!!  LOL.

 

 

 

 

So moving to rural America, there is no natural gas here.  Pretty much every house for heat is other using forced electric hot air or oil.  A few have pellet burning system.  Our house is all electric.... so first thing moving here... bought a generator.

Not only did I invest in one I also pioneered the way for hooking portable gens up to the house around here lol. Town didn't know how to deal with it neither did the few surrounding towns.... I made mine a tri fuel using natural gas as the first source and plugged into the breaker panel. Basically typical plumbing/ electric permits plus I had to sign a pledge to not run it within 10' of a structure.

4 minutes ago, Maksim said:

So moving to rural America, there is no natural gas here.  Pretty much every house for heat is other using forced electric hot air or oil.  A few have pellet burning system.  Our house is all electric.... so first thing moving here... bought a generator.

Whole house or portable?  Does the wifey know how to use it?

My biggest worry right now is that the power goes out during the extreme cold on Monday and the wife doesn't know how to use the generator...

5 minutes ago, siderman said:

Not only did I invest in one I also pioneered the way for hooking portable gens up to the house around here lol. Town didn't know how to deal with it neither did the few surrounding towns.... I made mine a tri fuel using natural gas as the first source and plugged into the breaker panel. Basically typical plumbing/ electric permits plus I had to sign a pledge to not run it within 10' of a structure.

Interlock switch

Just now, Zeke said:

Interlock switch

Yup.

9 minutes ago, Maksim said:

So moving to rural America, there is no natural gas here.  Pretty much every house for heat is other using forced electric hot air or oil.  A few have pellet burning system.  Our house is all electric.... so first thing moving here... bought a generator.

But do you have it set up to feed the house?

2 minutes ago, siderman said:

Yup.

I need to get the us carbs kit for mine 

24 minutes ago, Krdshrk said:

Whole house or portable?  Does the wifey know how to use it?

My biggest worry right now is that the power goes out during the extreme cold on Monday and the wife doesn't know how to use the generator...

I've had a 14kw whole house since 2 weeks before Sandy.   I did much of the install myself.   It's been great.   Power goes out for about 20 seconds max.   

I did have a portable prior that was used for the fridge and lights.  I also had a 12v deep cycle with an inverter.  I used that to run the fans on the fireplace insert.  

If you live remote at all, or your wife can't get the portable going, just breakdown and do a standby.  Years on you'll be glad you did.

44 minutes ago, Displaced Texan said:

I invested in a generator several years ago, prior to Sandy. Other than running it for PM purposes, I’ve never had to use it. 

I’d rather have it and not need it, than need it and not have it. 

Same here.

When I moved to the new house, I installed a transfer switch at my panel, so it makes it easy to feed certain circuits. Actually never had to roll the Genny out since then, except to regularly test.

I also bought a propane generator, so I don't need to worry about gas going bad or scrounging around to find it. This generator runs off of standard 20 lb propane tanks, and propane never goes bad and I don't need to worry about gummed up carbs from old gas.

Plus, in a pinch, if I run out of tanks in a SHTF situation, just about every backyard in town has 20 lb tanks for their grills. Plenty to "pick up" during midnight runs. 

8 minutes ago, Malsua said:

I also had a 12v deep cycle with an inverter.  I used that to run the fans on the fireplace insert.  

If you live remote at all, or your wife can't get the portable going, just breakdown and do a standby.  Years on you'll be glad you did.

I did something similar. I have the 12v batteries, inverter and some solar. If power went out when I wasn't home, wifey wouldn't attempt to hook up the generator. If she needs lights, she knows where the lanterns are and she can easily run an extension cord to the inverter, to plug in what ever she wants.

If it's cold, she can fire up the gas fireplace, which heats half the house.

7 minutes ago, Sniper said:

Same here.

When I moved to the new house, I installed a transfer switch at my panel, so it makes it easy to feed certain circuits. Actually never had to roll the Genny out since then, except to regularly test.

I also bought a propane generator, so I don't need to worry about gas going bad or scrounging around to find it. This generator runs off of standard 20 lb propane tanks, and propane never goes bad and I don't need to worry about gummed up carbs from old gas.

Plus, in a pinch, if I run out of tanks in a SHTF situation, just about every backyard in town has 20 lb tanks for their grills. Plenty to "pick up" during midnight runs. 

Just curious, do you know the approximate run time of propane vs gas, say lbs vs gallons? 

2 minutes ago, siderman said:

Just curious, do you know the approximate run time of propane vs gas, say lbs vs gallons? 

I don't run my generator the normal way, by firing it up and letting it run all day. I usually run off of batteries/inverter for normal lights, TV etc., and only fire up the generator to recharge the batteries and get the fridges cold again.

This way, the genny only runs for a hour or so at a time, and a few times a day. I can get almost 3 days from one 20 lb tank with this method. Otherwise, I think continuous run time on one tank (4 gallons) is like 10 -12 hours, based on load.

Update this morning on potential ice. Seems the NWS has moved the ice line down, and isn't sure on amounts. Here's the chart:

 

Also, here's the latest snow fall prediction:

55 minutes ago, Krdshrk said:

Whole house or portable?  Does the wifey know how to use it?

My biggest worry right now is that the power goes out during the extreme cold on Monday and the wife doesn't know how to use the generator...

This is the reason why I got a dual fuel generator with an electric start. It came with a poster of the start up procedure for both gas and LP. I put the poster on the wall over the generator in the garage. 

The ice is the real issue with this storm.   If the ground temps hold and the upper air is still super warm, it's going to be a really nasty ice line for a huge area.

If the storm tracks colder, the ice won't be an issue at all.  If it tracks northward, it's all rain, again, not an issue at all.

This is a tough storm to forecast.

 

5 minutes ago, fishnut said:

This is the reason why I got a dual fuel generator with an electric start. It came with a poster of the start up procedure for both gas and LP. I put the poster on the wall over the generator in the garage. 

Ha

I hope you have it all ready to go, your weekend looks very "interesting"!

19 hours ago, Maksim said:

 

Good parts of living in America.... FREEDOM.

Bad parts.... 11" freaking snow. + high winds and general goodness of living in the mountains. 

I hate snow but that’s a price I would happily pay to live in free America. Hopefully by end of this year it’ll happen. 

1 hour ago, Krdshrk said:

Whole house or portable?  Does the wifey know how to use it?

My biggest worry right now is that the power goes out during the extreme cold on Monday and the wife doesn't know how to use the generator...

I instructed my wife on how to use both the portable generator, and the snowblower, should either be needed when I'm out of town.

She instructed me that should either be needed when I'm out of town, she's going to a hotel.

 

14 minutes ago, 10X said:

I instructed my wife on how to use both the portable generator, and the snowblower, should either be needed when I'm out of town.

She instructed me that should either be needed when I'm out of town, she's going to a hotel.

 

If she can go out the door.

4 minutes ago, Maksim said:

If she can go out the door.

She'd leave early.   We're in a neighborhood that has had a couple of 8-9 day outages since we've lived here.  Now I see her on hotels.com when the first flakes start to fall, and that's when I'm home.