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| So what are your no power plans? | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Dec 11 2010, 01:38 PM (399 Views) | |
| Luke's Dad | Dec 11 2010, 01:38 PM Post #1 |
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Emperor Pengin
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So a snowstorm hits and you lose power. Likely for days or even up to a week or more. What are your no power plans? Do you have a generator? Woodstove heating? Personally, we've been lucky. In our area we might get hit with a storm that will knock out power for a day at most, but that's been the most. In our neighborhood, all the powerlines are underground. So, I've not bothered getting a generator, as we've really no practical place to store it, and as all of our heating and cooking is electric, if we lost power for a lengthy period, it would be because of something truly major. In that case, we have 4-5 friends in neighborhoods close enough to hike to, but not close enough to be likely caught in the same outage as us. We also have a hotel four blocks away. |
| The problem with having an open mind is that people keep trying to put things in it. | |
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| kenny | Dec 11 2010, 01:40 PM Post #2 |
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HOLY CARP!!!
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Move to a southern California beach city. Oh wait.
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| brenda | Dec 11 2010, 02:01 PM Post #3 |
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..............
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Generator, with fuel flashlights kerosene lamps with fuel and wicks woodburner in basement and gigantic pile of wood Charcoal grill, wood charcoal Oodles of blankets Fireplace, wood |
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“Weeds are flowers, too, once you get to know them.” ~A.A. Milne | |
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| sue | Dec 11 2010, 02:11 PM Post #4 |
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HOLY CARP!!!
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really good woodstove, with flat top so you can put pots on it to cook. 2 cords of seasoned firewood outside. my weber q no generator; I have a couple of neighbours now who have them, and the noise is awful. Unless I had someone in my home with some serious health issue, I wouldn't own one (unless I lived on acreage and knew the noise wouldn't bother my neighbours, then I'd probably change my tune) zillions of candles and candle holders, lots of flashlights (including several wind-up led ones), a cheapo runs on 2 AA batteries radio, a corded phone. I keep a few of frozen milk cartons and bags of ice in my freezer, so I can toss one in the fridge if it looks like a long outage. |
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| John D'Oh | Dec 11 2010, 02:19 PM Post #5 |
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MAMIL
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My plan is to sit shivering in the lounge, complaining about bloody American weather and how this would never have happened if they'd stayed British. Also, I'll keep trying to switch the lights on every ten minutes or so, and sighing, until I'm eventually clubbed to death like a baby seal by my irritated spouse who will then use the insurance money to buy a generator and who will no doubt go on to marry a big Swedish bloke named Sven or Bent or something, who will be very good in the cold weather, but will after a couple of years be seen to have absolutely no sense of humour whatsoever, and will then suffer a similar fate. Actually, we'll probably go to a friends house and steal all their food. |
| What do you mean "we", have you got a mouse in your pocket? | |
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| Aqua Letifer | Dec 11 2010, 02:19 PM Post #6 |
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ZOOOOOM!
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Happens all the time at our place. And unfortunately, everything runs on electricity, we don't even have so much as a generator. So far it's not been a problem. Basically, batten down the hatches, get out the blankets, candles and alcohol and hang out until power comes back. I buy plenty of dry, non-perishable food. But if things got bad enough I'd make a sojourn up to a relative's. Fireplace, plenty of wood, and a generator. |
| I cite irreconcilable differences. | |
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| sue | Dec 11 2010, 02:27 PM Post #7 |
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HOLY CARP!!!
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I am guilty of that behaviour as well. I was better when the kid was still at home, but now, pffft.
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| Piano*Dad | Dec 11 2010, 02:45 PM Post #8 |
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Bull-Carp
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Well, having endured a number of long no-power spells, this summer my wife and I installed a natural gas powered generator capable of maintaining a goodly percentage of the house. Naturally, we have not so much as sniffed a power failure since then. |
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| Copper | Dec 11 2010, 02:52 PM Post #9 |
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Shortstop
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Our infrastructure here is pretty solid - all underground. And with neighbors like Dulles airport and the FAA command center, and all sorts of secure facilities the local grid is well supplied. |
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The Confederate soldier was peculiar in that he was ever ready to fight, but never ready to submit to the routine duty and discipline of the camp or the march. The soldiers were determined to be soldiers after their own notions, and do their duty, for the love of it, as they thought best. Carlton McCarthy | |
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| RosemaryTwo | Dec 11 2010, 02:59 PM Post #10 |
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HOLY CARP!!!
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Yes, I flip light switches a lot. Try to turn on radios. Microwaves. Yell at the kids to practice piano. "I don't care if you can't see the music. Sit down and play." During the snowpocalypse we took in boarders -- a mother and children. I would move in with friends if I had to. |
| "Perhaps the thing to do is just to let stupid run its course." Aqua | |
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| George K | Dec 11 2010, 03:44 PM Post #11 |
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Finally
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Gotta have LED lamps (battery operated, of course) around the house. Though the light is harsh, they do the job. And, you can aim them at the music desk.
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A guide to GKSR: Click "Now look here, you Baltic gas passer... " - Mik, 6/14/08 Nothing is as effective as homeopathy. I'd rather listen to an hour of Abba than an hour of The Beatles. - Klaus, 4/29/18 | |
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| jodi | Dec 11 2010, 05:30 PM Post #12 |
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Fulla-Carp
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Mr. Jodi has enough single burner vintage camp stoves and fuel to feed the whole freaking town for a week. Our old house in Idaho had two centrally located real fireplaces - one on each floor. I LOVED those things. I always felt "safe" in the winter with them as a backup. Our Washington house only has gas fireplaces, not sure if we could get them lit with no electricity. We lost power for two days here (Colorado) this summer. We could still cook (gas stove, we had to light it manually) and we still had hot water (gas water heater) but nothing else. |
Jodimy artlog ~ todayatmydesk.weebly.com | |
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| Axtremus | Dec 11 2010, 05:31 PM Post #13 |
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HOLY CARP!!!
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Five years ago, I had a genuine need to use a gasoline-powered power generator. Yes, the sound was awful. It was needed for less than 2 days, but needed it was. The person who sold that generator to me owned it for almost 20 years before selling it to me. He bought it, new, after experiencing a severe power outage, but he never needed to use it for the entire period when he owned it. I needed it in the 2nd year after I acquired it from him. I haven't the need to use one since. So, really, we're talking about one to two incidents in about 25+ years. More applicable to families with infants or frail elders, less applicable to families without either. What I find often more useful are (1) battery-powered lights ... the sort you keep plugged into a wall socket all the time but automatically lights up when power is out, and (2) UPS battery backups to maintain phone and Internet access at all times. There were quite a few times when the power went out for a few hours, and it's comforting to be able to check on the Internet what's going on, check the utility company's website for updates, etc. Not to mention avoiding file system corruptions that might result from abruptly cutting off power from computers. |
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| Jolly | Dec 11 2010, 06:00 PM Post #14 |
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Geaux Tigers!
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1. Generator (access to four, actually) The shop is wired so I backfeed from the shop to the house...just cut off my main. 2. Coleman stove. 3. LED lanterns 4. I've got so many batteries, I have a "battery box". 5. Woodstove and plenty of wood. Cold is no problem. Hurricanes are a much bigger problem, which is why I also have... 6. 5000 btu A/C window units. |
| The main obstacle to a stable and just world order is the United States.- George Soros | |
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| plays88keys | Dec 11 2010, 08:16 PM Post #15 |
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Pisa-Carp
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We have a generator. Improv got the power company to come out and fix the wiring to the house so that all we have to do is plug the generator into an outlet and everything in the house will run. The only problem is this is at the cottage. We have no plan in place for our main house, other than get in the car and go there. |
| You can never get enough of what you don't need to make you happy. | |
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| jon-nyc | Dec 12 2010, 02:38 AM Post #16 |
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Cheers
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I have a battery powered radio and a flashlight. If it were out for a few days I'd go stay somewhere with power. We had 24hrs with no power during the 2003 blackout. |
| In my defense, I was left unsupervised. | |
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| jon-nyc | Dec 12 2010, 02:41 AM Post #17 |
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Cheers
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Waiting for Mark to say "wish my wife luck while I go out and enjoy a sky with no light pollution".
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| In my defense, I was left unsupervised. | |
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| Bond, James Bond | Dec 12 2010, 04:34 AM Post #18 |
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Middle Aged Carp
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I assume this thread is about what your "no electricity" plans are. When there's no electricity, there's plenty of power, if you catch my thrust. |
| Like Austin Powers, only more mature. | |
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| George K | Dec 12 2010, 04:35 AM Post #19 |
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Finally
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There goes the |
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A guide to GKSR: Click "Now look here, you Baltic gas passer... " - Mik, 6/14/08 Nothing is as effective as homeopathy. I'd rather listen to an hour of Abba than an hour of The Beatles. - Klaus, 4/29/18 | |
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| Jolly | Dec 12 2010, 05:27 AM Post #20 |
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Geaux Tigers!
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A day without electricity is usually not too bad. Rita left me without for a couple of days, Lilly and Gustav left me without juice for almost a week. Since hospitals never close, you still have to work and you really start to miss modern conveniances like washing machines or electric lights at home. |
| The main obstacle to a stable and just world order is the United States.- George Soros | |
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| Piano*Dad | Dec 12 2010, 06:05 AM Post #21 |
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Bull-Carp
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Why are all these people leaving you. You must be really hard to live with.
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| apple | Dec 12 2010, 06:53 AM Post #22 |
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one of the angels
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we were without electricity in 2002, for nine days after a massive ice storm that literally knocked the top 1/3 of all trees off. The roads were impassable for a while and things were a MESS. We have a huge generator and mr. apple hooked up four extention cords and ran them to our two rentals on either side and his dad's house in the back. He spent a lot of time getting gas and trudging back and forth to maintain the current. We kept our fridge on, and alternated lights, heat and tv. It was a lot of work. We were able to turn on the heat for maybe 5 hours a day.. We went to bed about 7 pm and pretty much ate soup and drank tea constantly. It was bitterly cold. We were one of the last areas to be hooked back up. I played the piano a lot. The roads were at first, impassable and we took turns walking to the gas station. http://www.icstars.com/IceStorm/index.htm
Edited by apple, Dec 12 2010, 07:01 AM.
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| it behooves me to behold | |
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| Mikhailoh | Dec 12 2010, 07:30 AM Post #23 |
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If you want trouble, find yourself a redhead
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We'll be freezing in the dark. |
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Once in his life, every man is entitled to fall madly in love with a gorgeous redhead - Lucille Ball | |
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| Frank_W | Dec 12 2010, 12:52 PM Post #24 |
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Resident Misanthrope
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Bitch a lot. Freeze. Write sternly worded letters to the power company. Freeze. Bitch a lot. Rinse and repeat.
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Anatomy Prof: "The human body has about 20 sq. meters of skin." Me: "Man, that's a lot of lampshades!" | |
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| 1hp | Dec 12 2010, 12:57 PM Post #25 |
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Fulla-Carp
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I have a lot of camping gear, so cooking and lighting not a problem. Plus we have a lot of oil lamps in the house, and a gas bar-b-cue on the deck. Having lived in the UK without central heating, I've always bought and used good down comforters on the beds, so lack of heat not an issue either (not that it gets that cold here). Not too mention a stack of firewood and a good fireplace that throws out a lot of heat, in the living room. Only down side would be no internet access, but could live without that for a short while. It'd be evenings of cards and Mexican train dominos. Maybe finally teach the family bridge......or Mahjong (got a couple of sets). |
| There are 10 kinds of people in this world, those that understand binary and................ | |
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