Ice/Snow Storm, Below 0, High Winds, NO POWER . . . what do YOU do?

[absrio]

about 22 months ago while I was still in Illinois we had a major ice storm. We lost power for a little over 3 days. I think the average temp was in the teens. We live in the country less than a 1/4 mile from major feed lines. My house and my brothers house share the well pump. The well pump ran off of his electricity. He had his tractor hooked up to the 27kw generator to run his house. Our house sat with no power for the 3 days with running water which makes a huge difference to be able to at least use the bathroom and cleanup (very cold cold shower though.) Temp dropped to about 40deg in the house, but it was some of the best sleep I ever had. Laptop and dial-up internet kept me plenty busy.

Now in Indiana I am kind of in the same situation share the well pump with my MIL but no generator between the two of us. I think when I get around to buying the generator I will go with a diesel since I will always have diesel for my sub-compact tractor to move snow.

 

[Cwood]

Just a note for the people that want to run a generator to power there furnace, If your generator does not produce "clean power" the newer furnaces can't be powered with one. The furnace manufactures were replacing thousands of circuit boards under warranty that were being fried with generator power. They now have a system in place that prevents this from happening. The 12,000 watt and above usually produce clean power.

If the generator produces a THD (Total Harmonic Distortion) of less then 5% it should not be a problem with newer furnaces.

 

[indyjoe]

I'm happy that my fireplace on the new (to me) house has a good external air source. It would heat at least the living room nice. I would have to debate if I would be shutting off plumbing or not. I would worry about plumbing freezing. I would probably be able to keep everything above freezing by the fireplace, but it might not be comfortable. A decent generator is in the plans, but not here yet.

I've got enough butane cartridges for use in the butane stove for two weeks of cooking. It is safe to use inside. That would solve the food problem.

 

[Jack Ryan]

about 22 months ago while I was still in Illinois we had a major ice storm. We lost power for a little over 3 days. I think the average temp was in the teens. We live in the country less than a 1/4 mile from major feed lines. My house and my brothers house share the well pump. The well pump ran off of his electricity. He had his tractor hooked up to the 27kw generator to run his house. Our house sat with no power for the 3 days with running water which makes a huge difference to be able to at least use the bathroom and cleanup (very cold cold shower though.) Temp dropped to about 40deg in the house, but it was some of the best sleep I ever had. Laptop and dial-up internet kept me plenty busy.

Now in Indiana I am kind of in the same situation share the well pump with my MIL but no generator between the two of us. I think when I get around to buying the generator I will go with a diesel since I will always have diesel for my sub-compact tractor to move snow.

Don't buy a generator. Buy a welder that runs on gasoline. They are intended to be run and used and built to last. You also have good reason to use it and keep it in good running shape when there is no outages. In the event of SHTF a welder can come in mighty handy and could make a lot of good trades. The cost is not that much different compared to just a generator of the same capacity.

 

[Prometheus]

Coming from Florida and being single till I moved up here, a generator was never needed.

Until I had kids, I wouldn't even need anything. I've got cold weather bags that would keep me nice and toasty no matter how cold it got inside, I've got bags rated below zero.

With a 2 and a 4 y/o it's a bit different. So... living in Hammond and never having an outage for more than a few minutes (I guess it's vecause we are on the same grid as the firehouse right next door) I've put it of a long time.

I have a 20k BTU buddy type heater runs off of 1# propane cylinders and there is always the gas oven... actually the we got a new over last year... I don't think we can use it if the power is out, lol. Going to check on that. Burners would work (with a lighter to start them).

Anyway, I'd let the water run from every tap and flush toilets often if it got new 32 inside. I could always put the kids in the extreme cold weather bags if need be or one in my wifes bag and one in mine to stay warm. Now if we were talking days, we'd drive to a hotel. Over night, no big deal IMO. In any event we all go into one room and use the small buddy... along with my battery powered carbon monoxide detector just in case. I don't care what that thing says, 4 people in one room running that thing for any extended period of time makes mne parinoid. lol. My wife or I would have to sit up with it when it ran for short periods during the night, again, minimial risk taking.

I've got loads of hot cocoa and coffee for use we can use the stove top for. Going to buy a generator when we move for the new house... whenever that is.

 

[RogerB]

Kill neighbor for their fire, with my new invention, a sharpened stick... Hey, you asked!

Fire up the gas and let 'er run!

note to self....move farther away from Vern....check!

 

[indyjoe]

note to self....move farther away from Vern....check!

If he is just coming after you with a sharp stick, repeat your avatar as needed.

 

[RogerB]

If he is just coming after you with a sharp stick, repeat your avatar as needed.

good point!

 

[Annie Oakley]

I've been out for as long as two weeks. No generator. As long as it is below 40 degrees the wood stove keeps us toasty and we always make sure we have wood. The stuff in the freezer goes outside as long as it is really cold and we light the house with Coleman lamps that run on white gas and cook on a Coleman stove that uses the same. The biggest benefit of the gas lamps is that they produce a good amount of heat so if one room gets a little cool they heat it right up. Actually, I always kind of enjoy it when it happens.

One year my drive disappeared due to heavy snow that downed trees. I cut from my side and the neighbors cut from the other and in about 3 days we had it opened back up. Nothing like the neighbors you have, even if you don't really know them, when you live out in the country. Wouldn't trade it for anything.

 

[Mr.Hoppes]

Sad enough I know someone who lost his job through no fault of his own. He has been living without Grid electricity for over 7 months, has not had gas on in over a year, and he and his family live in the city. They are surviving. There has been some who assisted him for short periods but his is a long term problem. I don't know what the answer is for him, but he is a hard worker, and even though his house is without power so to speak, to look it from the outside it is one of the better looking houses. He keeps it clean and mowed, no paper or trash. I have a lot of respect for him. The average person who saw him might think otherwise from his appearance, but He is making it to spite the economy and other reasons people list for failure.

 

[ChrisK]

If the generator produces a THD (Total Harmonic Distortion) of less then 5% it should not be a problem with newer furnaces.

That would fall into the clean power definition.

 

[clt46910]

I live in a small well insulated cottage on a lake. Keep four to six months of food at all times. Always a large number of unread books around. Have a lot of camping gear as well.

When the power is out the Big Buddy propane heater connected to a couple 20# tanks will keep things warm enough for a number of days. I also keep a extra tank and a number of the small 16 oz tanks around incase it goes longer. A camp stove that uses the 16 oz tanks to cook on. A number of different types of light. From battery lanterns, candles, flashlights, etc for lights. The most used light is a couple of LED reading lights that connect to the book. I always keep a lot of batteries around. I do keep water in the cottage for short term use. Have filters if I need to use lake water.

Been thinking of a small generator to use a few hours a day for the well, computers and TV. Another thought was getting a bigger generator and keeping the above things for back up incase the generator goes down.

Then again I could just take my blanket, one match, and pocket knife into the woods out back and see just how tough I am.... No, Guess I will keep that as just a pipe dream...

 

[KDUBCR250]

Id be out in it trying to get your power back on cuz thats what I do . Heck ive worked several 20hr days to get people power back on . Just this year I had a 90hr week but thats with a lil payed sleep time

 

[Indy317]

Well we lost power during the big ice/snow that rolled through the midwest, yesterday the high temperature was -2 (F), the low was -8 (F) and the wind chill, if you were dumb enough to be outside was hovering around -30 (F).

So if you find yourself in that situation, what the hell do you do?

I've got a fairly large generator, we were fine. Some had power, some had generators, none was without at that time. Looking around, especially as the sun dropped, we could see some homes with lights (obviously had generators) and others were pitch black.

Now I don't know the pitch black homes so I'm a bit at a loss, but what the heck do these people do? Do they leave and hope to find a hotel and let their house and potentially their pets freeze solid? Do they hunker down in blankets and ride it out? If you don't have a generator, what the heck do you do?

We lost power here over the summer when the tornado/high winds hit the east side of Indy. I stayed here, as it wasn't that bad in my opinion. In the summer, it really isn't that big of an issue. I am lucky to have relatives, many, living within 10 miles of me. All spread out so _someone_ is likely going to have water with tornadoes/high winds, as usually it is a small affected area. Now with the freezing temps and ice storms, which can take out huge swaths of cities/counties, I have a wood stove insert. If I had it to do over again, I would have gotten the hearth heater or a stand alone stove. Anyways, since my insert needs the blower to work, I have one boat/RV deep discharge battery with an inverter that I can use to power the blower motor (not really much power). I have been slacking, but I need to get a few more batteries, keep them hooked up, and also a small solar panel like they sell at Fry's to help charge them. I have not yet ran the numbers and don't know exactly how long all this would last. Another thing I would want to power would be my alarm system. Since it has cell back-up, it doesn't matter if the phone lines are down. The wood stove would at least keep the inside of the home cool. Still, I am on a well so I wouldn't have water.

My ultimate goal, when I finally get totally settled in a home, is to make sure it has the following:
#1: A hearth heater wood stove or free standing wood stove.
#2: A generator with a unit tied into the breaker box so I could power just the basics: Wood stove blower (they also have heat powered fans I could get for this), water well if not on city water, alarm system, and then have some additional power for a TV, radio, computer, etc. set-up for news gathering.

 

[Jack Ryan]

If he is just coming after you with a sharp stick, repeat your avatar as needed.

No no no, just buy some shackles and be aware some one who wants to carry your firewood for you will be "visiting" soon.