[Rhodes22-list] And now for something completely different -Power outages

[Robert Skinner]

Bill and Brad,

A 1000 Watt Honda is very useful on my small
boat for my hybrid drive and small microwave,
etc.  (Wife likes popcorn!)

It is also handy for the electric weed-whacker
and hedge trimmer.  It is not adequate for my 
electric chain saw.

But note that the starting draw of the 
typical refrigerator or freezer is around 
2200 Watts.  

Also, the startup draw of even a small air 
conditioner can easily exceed 1500 Watts for 
a short time as the compressor kicks in.

I am going to a 2500 Watt unit for household 
backup, and will run heavy extension cords to 
specific appliances (rotating use) to avoid 
the incredible startup load and back-EMF 
spike that occurs when you try to start up a 
whole house.  

There are a lot of small appliances -- clocks, 
TVs and radios, every device that depends on 
an infra-red remote, etc. -- all of these are 
on standby, and collectively, they add up.

Concerning gasoline consumption:  I this era 
of wildly fluctuating gas prices, I have (in 
an outside shed) three 5-gallon cans of gas 
which I rotate, so I could generate 2500 Watts
for several days.  Generally, I don't expect 
to need much power at night in an outage, and 
the little 1000 Watt unit would keep the oil
heater going overnight.

Bottom line:  I don't think that a 1000 Watt 
generator by itself is adequate for household 
emergency backup.  There are too many essential
appliances that require more.  With two refers
and two freezers full of food, I have too much
at risk in an extended outage.

In the winter, when the temp drops below zero 
(F), it is essential that the heater burner and
hot water circulator pumps function to avoid 
damage to the plumbing.  The team of one 2500
Watt genset and the little Honda 1000 Watt unit
provide the redundancy that I want.

/Robert Skinner
----------------------------------------------
Bill Effros wrote:
> 
> Brad,
> 
> I've come round on this one.  I hadn't looked at portable generators for
> 20 years, and am just about to buy a $700 Honda 1K because of the gas
> sipping qualities and extremely low noise.  The only reason I looked
> this time was because of you and ...Wally? talking about the
> practicality of bringing one on board.  I may even try that.
> 
> Bill Effros
> 
> Brad Haslett wrote:
> > Some of you that have been here for awhile may remember the rather
> > spirited
> > discussion we had on generators a few years back.  With the power
> > outages in
> > the NYC area and other cities, now may be a good time to review the
> > issue.
> > During Hurricane Elvis (strong line of thunderstorms that knocked out
> > power
> > in Memphis for up to three weeks) my neighbors ran big Y2K generators for
> > ONE day until they ran out of gas, then went looking for filling stations
> > with power.  We're putting the finishing touches on our MS Gulf Coast
> > evacuation plan and hurricane preparedness skills.  Here's my experience
> > from Elvis.  Small is better.  You need to run one window A/C unit
> > during the
> > day (available for $60 if you buy before the crisis) and a fridge at
> > night.  One 1000 watt genset  will run on 5 gallons of gas for a week.
> > Someone on this list will go for days without power this summer for one
> > reason or another.  Don't say you weren't warned!
> >
> > Brad
> >
> > ----------------
> >
> > JULY 21, 2006Posted 5 days and 0 hours ago on July 21, 2006 Blackout
> > Survival Guide
> > <http://www.popularmechanics.com/blog/home/3391786.html?c=y&imageID=1338716&caption=%3Cb%3EBatteries+Included%3A%3C%2Fb%3E+Prepare+your+blackout+kit+now%2C+not+in+the+dark.>
> >
> > <http://www.popularmechanics.com/blog/home/3391786.html?c=y&imageID=1338716&caption=%3Cb%3EBatteries+Included%3A%3C%2Fb%3E+Prepare+your+blackout+kit+now%2C+not+in+the+dark.>
> >
> > *Batteries Included:* Prepare your blackout kit now, not in the dark.
> > When it's as hot and humid outside as it is right now in the
> > northeast, air
> > conditioning feels like a miracle. Until the lights flicker, dim, and go
> > out. With air conditioning creating massive spikes power consumption,
> > occasionally the grid calls it quits. That's just what happened on
> > Tuesday
> > evening, when more than 200,000 homes in the New York region lost their
> > power. Many people are still waiting for the power to come back.
> >
> > Before you're sweating it out in candlelight, take a look at our blackout
> > survival guide.
> >
> > Download the blackout survival podcast
> > here<http://media.popularmechanics.com/audio/Popular+Mechanics+PodcastBlackoutSurvival1.mp3>
> >
> > .
> >
> > Have a Flashlight: If you haven't done so already, go out and buy at
> > least
> > one small, inexpensive flashlight—one that takes 2 D cell or 2 AA
> > batteries.
> > If you already have a flashlight, swap in new batteries. Leave it
> > standing
> > on a book shelf, or on an easy-to-reach countertop so that you can get to
> > quickly and safely in the dark.
> >
> > Be Prepared to Empty the Fridge: A freezer packed with dry ice will stay
> > cold for days, but it's tough to find dry ice at the local corner
> > store. So
> > if you've been without power for more than four hours, start emptying the
> > fridge now. Even if the power does come back soon, chances are your food
> > won't, and you don't want to let food melt in the freezer or, even worse,
> > rot in the appliance. Cleaning that up is not a mess you want to deal
> > with.
> >
> > Shut Down Your Appliances: If your power goes out, make sure you turn off
> > your air conditioner or reset the thermostat so the air conditioner
> > will not
> > turn back on until you turn it on manually. When the power does turn back
> > on, the combined load of thousands of air conditioner spooling up
> > simultaneously can be enough to trip the grid again, starting another
> > blackout. However, if everybody turned on their air conditioners
> > individually, it would stagger the power demand on the grid. Every
> > small bit
> > of help counts during an emergency.
> >
> > (Also, now's a good time to unplug that circular saw you were using
> > when the
> > power went out.)
> >
> > Don't Overdue AC: When you do turn an air conditioner back on, don't
> > set the
> > thermostat lower than 78 F. This is good practice in general: Although it
> > doesn't seem very cool, the dehumidifying effect of air conditioning will
> > make your house much more bearable, even at 78 F.
> >
> > Use Passive Cooling: If the power goes out, open as many windows as
> > possible, especially windows and vents in the attic and the upper floors.
> > However, use shades on the sunny side of the house (south and west) to
> > minimize solar heating. This is a good practice in warm months, even when
> > you've got your AC cranking like a Pratt and Whitney turbofan.
> >
> > If you really got caught off guard, take this opportunity to learn
> > from the
> > mistake and assemble an emergency preparedness
> > kit<http://www.popularmechanics.com/home_improvement/home_owner_clinic/2076037.html?page=4&c=y>consisting
> >
> > of lighting, food, water, a first aid kit, tools and anything
> > else you'll need. —Roy Berendsohn