thyme4change
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Post by thyme4change on Aug 15, 2021 9:19:23 GMT -5
I live in the middle of a city and we don't have hurricanes or tornadoes or anything like that. Our neighborhood has been plagued with power outages - usually less than 8 hours, but they happen several times per year, and some years they group up and we have 3 or 4 over a short time period - like the summer where we had 4 in 6 weeks. And let me tell you, my neighbors were pissed. We have stayed que sara sara about it, but it finally broke us this year when we had 2 outages in 10 days. I have researched solar a Tesla battery and the switch where I can disconnect from grid. I am still trying to figure out what it is worth to me. I keep waiting for the batteries to get cheaper - but they keep making them better, and charging the same amount.
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wvugurl26
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Post by wvugurl26 on Aug 15, 2021 9:28:40 GMT -5
When I moved in 2010 and moved in with my brother, the house had fairly frequent power outages. They would be 6-8 hours usually. It was always the transformer at the end of the street blowing up that caused it. I moved closer to my job and didn't have many issues. In that time, the power company at the original house got a lot of scrutiny for its reliability.
I moved back in fall of 2012 and those frequent outages were gone. They finally fixed the issues that caused that transformer to blow.
Is something like that causing your issues thyme?
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toomuchreality
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Favorite Drink: Sometimes I drink water... just to surprise my liver!
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Post by toomuchreality on Aug 15, 2021 11:36:14 GMT -5
Back in the late 70s, we were without electricity for a week or two. I had a toddler at the time. My grandmother, who lived about 2 miles away, was without electricity for 2 1/2 months. No microwaves. My mom cooked and took her food every other day. It wasn't fun.
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thyme4change
Community Leader
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Post by thyme4change on Aug 17, 2021 1:23:56 GMT -5
Our power is out.
This is crazy pants weather.
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toomuchreality
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Joined: Sept 3, 2011 10:28:25 GMT -5
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Favorite Drink: Sometimes I drink water... just to surprise my liver!
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Post by toomuchreality on Aug 17, 2021 2:55:32 GMT -5
Our power is out. This is crazy pants weather. Ugh. I hope it's back on VERY soon!
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Tiny
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Post by Tiny on Aug 17, 2021 9:21:42 GMT -5
I think the longest without electricity was between 24 and 36 hours - when a "transformer" blew and backlashed electricity into homes on a couple of blocks. My microwave fried (the fuse and a component in it burned/melted) and my landline cordless phone/answering machine stopped working. Everything else was ok. Neighbors lost TVs, washers/dryers, fridges and other electrical stuff. I got off light. The landline still worked so I had a phone. It's 1947 at my house - so going without electricity wasn't that bad - the stove and water heater still worked. The plumbing/sewer is all gravity driven. (even the sewer check valve at the front of my house uses no electricity). It was summer - so I wound up opening/closing/covering windows strategically (I grew up without AC). The worst thing was losing most of the food in my refrigerator and freezer. Not a whole lot - but I'm single and I used the freezer to stock up - to cover me food wise for two,three or four weeks. I couldn't eat everything and I couldn't keep it all in coolers. Right now - if I lost power the worst things would be loss of my fridge and chest freezer and not having access to the internet and probably my Cell Phone once the battery is drained. I still have a landline (and an old princess touch tone phone to use in an emergency.) I have a hand crank radio that runs for about an hour on a full crank. (bought it back in the 90's as a curiosity. It was built by a start up company and it was built not as an "emergency" radio (and never sold as a novelty in American "dime stores") - but as a household radio to be used in places in the world where there is little to no electricity in homes. ) I think the "appliances" that use electricity that I use the most are my PC/Laptop and refrigerator/chest freezer. I can entertain myself without electricity if I need to.
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gambler
Well-Known Member
"the education of a man is never completed until he dies" Robert E. Lee
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Post by gambler on Aug 17, 2021 10:22:40 GMT -5
We lost power so many times I plumber the house for gas and put in a gas stove, hot water heater and dryer. I never counted how many people cooked on my stoves after storms ( been in same home pre Frederick). No the dam stove and got water heater have a electric pilot light. Why? I can still light the burners on top but that all.
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thyme4change
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Joined: Dec 26, 2010 13:54:08 GMT -5
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Post by thyme4change on Aug 17, 2021 11:25:23 GMT -5
Our power is out. This is crazy pants weather. Ugh. I hope it's back on VERY soon! Came on this morning. It got a little warm and stale inside the house, but was worse with the windows open. I laid on an ice pack for a bit to cool down enough to fall back asleep. When the power did come back on, just about everything makes a sound. The fridge sings a little song, the TV plays some boot-up noise, clocks beep, things click, the a/c turns on, etc. Several of our lights also turn on - including our very bright LED in our main room. It has 5 LED sections, and now one of them is permanently on. I am not sure how to fix that.
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imawino
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Post by imawino on Aug 18, 2021 16:16:38 GMT -5
I live in the middle of a city and we don't have hurricanes or tornadoes or anything like that. Our neighborhood has been plagued with power outages - usually less than 8 hours, but they happen several times per year, and some years they group up and we have 3 or 4 over a short time period - like the summer where we had 4 in 6 weeks. And let me tell you, my neighbors were pissed. We have stayed que sara sara about it, but it finally broke us this year when we had 2 outages in 10 days. I have researched solar a Tesla battery and the switch where I can disconnect from grid. I am still trying to figure out what it is worth to me. I keep waiting for the batteries to get cheaper - but they keep making them better, and charging the same amount. Have you considered a generator? I'm all for going solar if you want to be green and it makes sense for you. But if the goal is to keep the fridge and some stuff on for not too much money, a generator is going to be a lot cheaper. Some of those little suitcase inverter ones are a few hundred bucks and run for 8-12 hours on a gallon of gas. I don't think that you can power literally everything in the house at once with them, but they can run quite a bit. We have one of those and while we have thankfully never had to use it here at our house that I recall (our proximity on the line to a substation helps ensure that, apparently?) my sweetie does use it at his "camp" frequently. My father, who lives in rural N Georgia mountains seems to lose power at the drop of a hat, and he has the more traditional kind of generator and it has run their house power for days.
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stillmovingforward
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Post by stillmovingforward on Aug 18, 2021 21:37:00 GMT -5
I have an rv with propane everything and I keep it tops up. I can live for days in there without an issue. I can't run the ac all the time but I can cook, clean and keep the food cold and take a shower
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thyme4change
Community Leader
Joined: Dec 26, 2010 13:54:08 GMT -5
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Post by thyme4change on Aug 18, 2021 22:17:48 GMT -5
I live in the middle of a city and we don't have hurricanes or tornadoes or anything like that. Our neighborhood has been plagued with power outages - usually less than 8 hours, but they happen several times per year, and some years they group up and we have 3 or 4 over a short time period - like the summer where we had 4 in 6 weeks. And let me tell you, my neighbors were pissed. We have stayed que sara sara about it, but it finally broke us this year when we had 2 outages in 10 days. I have researched solar a Tesla battery and the switch where I can disconnect from grid. I am still trying to figure out what it is worth to me. I keep waiting for the batteries to get cheaper - but they keep making them better, and charging the same amount. Have you considered a generator? I'm all for going solar if you want to be green and it makes sense for you. But if the goal is to keep the fridge and some stuff on for not too much money, a generator is going to be a lot cheaper. Some of those little suitcase inverter ones are a few hundred bucks and run for 8-12 hours on a gallon of gas. I don't think that you can power literally everything in the house at once with them, but they can run quite a bit. We have one of those and while we have thankfully never had to use it here at our house that I recall (our proximity on the line to a substation helps ensure that, apparently?) my sweetie does use it at his "camp" frequently. My father, who lives in rural N Georgia mountains seems to lose power at the drop of a hat, and he has the more traditional kind of generator and it has run their house power for days. I got something else planned. www.dcbel.energy/blackout-power/Several companies are working on a way to be able to use your electric car as a backup battery for your house. I have an electric car, so I just have to wait until this thing becomes available and compatible with my car. Power goes out, plug in my house, I'm good for awhile. If it gets me through one night it likely will be enough. The only thing I really want to run when the power goes out is the air conditioner. I can sleep in the dark without internet, but when it gets over 80 in the house, I am just miserable. I think you have to go pretty big to get the a/c working on a generator.
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tractor
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Post by tractor on Aug 19, 2021 8:34:56 GMT -5
Have you considered a generator? I'm all for going solar if you want to be green and it makes sense for you. But if the goal is to keep the fridge and some stuff on for not too much money, a generator is going to be a lot cheaper. Some of those little suitcase inverter ones are a few hundred bucks and run for 8-12 hours on a gallon of gas. I don't think that you can power literally everything in the house at once with them, but they can run quite a bit. We have one of those and while we have thankfully never had to use it here at our house that I recall (our proximity on the line to a substation helps ensure that, apparently?) my sweetie does use it at his "camp" frequently. My father, who lives in rural N Georgia mountains seems to lose power at the drop of a hat, and he has the more traditional kind of generator and it has run their house power for days. I got something else planned. www.dcbel.energy/blackout-power/Several companies are working on a way to be able to use your electric car as a backup battery for your house. I have an electric car, so I just have to wait until this thing becomes available and compatible with my car. Power goes out, plug in my house, I'm good for awhile. If it gets me through one night it likely will be enough. The only thing I really want to run when the power goes out is the air conditioner. I can sleep in the dark without internet, but when it gets over 80 in the house, I am just miserable. I think you have to go pretty big to get the a/c working on a generator. AC uses a ton of power, so you'd probably need a decent sized stand alone generator or you risk burning up the AC motor/compressor. That's probably the hardest appliance to run on a backup generator. Be sure to check voltage requirements of your AC before relying on a battery backup system.
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anciana
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Joined: Sept 20, 2011 11:34:57 GMT -5
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Post by anciana on Aug 19, 2021 10:41:08 GMT -5
I live in the middle of a city and we don't have hurricanes or tornadoes or anything like that. Our neighborhood has been plagued with power outages - usually less than 8 hours, but they happen several times per year, and some years they group up and we have 3 or 4 over a short time period - like the summer where we had 4 in 6 weeks. And let me tell you, my neighbors were pissed. We have stayed que sara sara about it, but it finally broke us this year when we had 2 outages in 10 days. I have researched solar a Tesla battery and the switch where I can disconnect from grid. I am still trying to figure out what it is worth to me. I keep waiting for the batteries to get cheaper - but they keep making them better, and charging the same amount. Have you considered a generator? I'm all for going solar if you want to be green and it makes sense for you. But if the goal is to keep the fridge and some stuff on for not too much money, a generator is going to be a lot cheaper. Some of those little suitcase inverter ones are a few hundred bucks and run for 8-12 hours on a gallon of gas. I don't think that you can power literally everything in the house at once with them, but they can run quite a bit. We have one of those and while we have thankfully never had to use it here at our house that I recall (our proximity on the line to a substation helps ensure that, apparently?) my sweetie does use it at his "camp" frequently. My father, who lives in rural N Georgia mountains seems to lose power at the drop of a hat, and he has the more traditional kind of generator and it has run their house power for days. I have considered getting a generator, something small that will help keep the fridge/freezer going if needed and get few lights/phones charged but have no idea what to look for. Anyone has any suggestions or recommendations?
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thyme4change
Community Leader
Joined: Dec 26, 2010 13:54:08 GMT -5
Posts: 40,327
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Post by thyme4change on Aug 19, 2021 11:07:40 GMT -5
I got something else planned. www.dcbel.energy/blackout-power/Several companies are working on a way to be able to use your electric car as a backup battery for your house. I have an electric car, so I just have to wait until this thing becomes available and compatible with my car. Power goes out, plug in my house, I'm good for awhile. If it gets me through one night it likely will be enough. The only thing I really want to run when the power goes out is the air conditioner. I can sleep in the dark without internet, but when it gets over 80 in the house, I am just miserable. I think you have to go pretty big to get the a/c working on a generator. AC uses a ton of power, so you'd probably need a decent sized stand alone generator or you risk burning up the AC motor/compressor. That's probably the hardest appliance to run on a backup generator. Be sure to check voltage requirements of your AC before relying on a battery backup system. Yes - those a/c's are tough to alternative power. Any of the solar batteries say you should have 2 batteries - one for the AC and one for the rest of the house. The article I read seemed to think the car would have enough power - but I am skeptical. Some days, taking an ice cold shower and laying under the ceiling fan can keep you cool enough. Other times - no way. If I can't get the ac going and it is going to be all night - especially if I have to be smart at work the next day - I could just bail to a hotel.
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tractor
Senior Member
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Post by tractor on Aug 19, 2021 17:24:03 GMT -5
Have you considered a generator? I'm all for going solar if you want to be green and it makes sense for you. But if the goal is to keep the fridge and some stuff on for not too much money, a generator is going to be a lot cheaper. Some of those little suitcase inverter ones are a few hundred bucks and run for 8-12 hours on a gallon of gas. I don't think that you can power literally everything in the house at once with them, but they can run quite a bit. We have one of those and while we have thankfully never had to use it here at our house that I recall (our proximity on the line to a substation helps ensure that, apparently?) my sweetie does use it at his "camp" frequently. My father, who lives in rural N Georgia mountains seems to lose power at the drop of a hat, and he has the more traditional kind of generator and it has run their house power for days. I have considered getting a generator, something small that will help keep the fridge/freezer going if needed and get few lights/phones charged but have no idea what to look for. Anyone has any suggestions or recommendations? Any small generator will work. I have a very cheap 1500 watt gas generator that easily ran two fridges and a freezer last week. It's a no name brand (paid @ $100 for it 10 years ago). Loud as hell... Honda makes several nice small, quiet generators, but they are more expensive. Anything designed as portable and for camping should work great.
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tractor
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Post by tractor on Aug 24, 2021 19:57:32 GMT -5
Ugh, another storm, another power outage. At least there's no big trees down on my property. What a pain in the ass.
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toomuchreality
Senior Associate
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Favorite Drink: Sometimes I drink water... just to surprise my liver!
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Post by toomuchreality on Aug 24, 2021 20:19:44 GMT -5
Ugh, another storm, another power outage. At least there's no big trees down on my property. What a pain in the ass. Ugh. You're right. It's an absolute PIA. Any idea how long it will be?
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tractor
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Post by tractor on Aug 25, 2021 7:15:56 GMT -5
They say 24 hours...we'll see
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daisylu
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Post by daisylu on Aug 25, 2021 8:24:14 GMT -5
They say 24 hours...we'll see IME, they usually over-estimate so hopefully it is back long before then!
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