Everyone stay safe with Sandy on her way!

[patnugent]

Pretty psyched to be stuck in Florida.  Was supposed to be on a flight tomorrow at 6am but that was cancelled, wont be home till Saturday.  Apparently the building we live in in Northern Westchester didn't even lose power(been in touch with the people who live below us and are taking care of our Cat.
I feel bad for my boss who is also stuck in Florida, 5 hours away from where I'm stuck, but has a tree on the roof of his house on SI(apparently not through it at least) and has a summer house on the Jersey shore that assumably has a couple feet of sand, at best, in it.  But the important thing is that so few people have died due to the storm.  Pretty amazing. 
You can always buy new things, but you cant replace loved ones.

[petef]

I'm in central NJ. Power was out for 2 days. I learned a few things about being prepared....

Taking better care to ensure the generator is working is lesson 1. I also learned that there is a product called a fuel stabilizer that I should be using in all my gas powered equipment. It's an additive that keeps the gasoline from going stale and gunking up the carburetor while in storage for 30  days or more. I had no idea that the gasoline goes stale in just 30 days. That's probably what happened to my generator but it also applies to my chain saws, my mower, and other gas engines I have here.

Bottom line, my generator failed me! It would start and run for 5 seconds but then it would shut down. I put in fresh gasoline, checked the oil pressure switch, removed and cleaned carb. Checked the float operation of carb. Still no go!  The power is back on and I need professional help to get the generator repaired for future use.

For future reference Fuel Stabilizer...
http://shop.advanceautoparts.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_x_7080585-P_x_x?cm_mmc=ACQ-_-Google-_-enhancedRM-_-7080585&ci_src=17588969&ci_sku=7080585&ci_gpa=pla&ci_kw={keyword}&gclid=CKma2r6yp7MCFUKd4AodUk8A6w#utm_source=acq&utm_medium=google&utm_campaign=enhancedrm&utm_content=7080585


The other lesson learned was to prepare my own ice because the stores get depleted of ice more than a day before the storm hits. The easiest technique is to buy a case of bottled water, open each bottle and pour a bit out to allow for expansion and put about 12 of them in the freezer two days before the storm is expected to hit. Then you have ice for the cooler and drinking water too for a few days if the power goes out. Even if you have a generator it's still wise to work out of cooler instead of opening and closing the refrigerator because you won't have to run the generator as much.

The 3rd lesson is to buy one of those water powered pumps that operate using a water hose to pump water out of the basement if the power or the generator fails.

Water powered pump....
http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/video/0,,20260244,00.html


The 4th lesson is to have an alternative to the generator just in case the generator fails. I should buy myself a power inverter strong enough to power my sump pump or my refrigerator or my freezer. One at a time, not all 3 at once. This means about a 2000- 2500 watt power inverter that works off the 12 volt battery in your vehicle.

Power Inverter...
http://www.tripplite.com/en/products/model.cfm?txtSeriesID=817&txtModelID=181


It might seem like a lot of money to spend.. $500 for a generator, $500 for a power inverter, but it's better than relying upon an insurance company and all the hassles of buying new stuff. Most of us don't carry flood insurance anyway.


---pete---

[Don K]

Wow Pete, sorry you went through so much trouble. That's really a bummer to think that you are prepared only to find out otherwise.

I echo what you said about the fuel stabilizer. The stuff does work. The storage life of gasoline actually varies greatly, depending on a lot of factors, like the amount of ethanol added to it, environmental conditions, how long it was stored before you got it, just to name a few.

I have at least 20 gallons of gasoline in storage at any given time. In addition to using the stabilizer, I have a rotation schedule where I will eventually use the stored gas in my vehicles and then replace it with fresh.

Another thing that I will add about gasoline-powered generators: They usually have a valve on the fuel supply hose that goes from the fuel tank to the carburetor. After using the generator, instead of just shutting the engine off, close this valve and let the engine run until it has depleted all of the gas in the carburetor and stalls. This helps keep the carburetor from gumming up from leftover fuel.

[bfguilford]

Pete:

I would recommend getting Marine Stabil, which does a much better job of dealing with the water in gas with ethanol. I switched to that last year, and have found that it makes a difference.

+1 on the good Colonel's recommendation of turning the valve off and letting it run dry too.

Good suggestion on freezing some bottled water. I'll do that next time. I think I've saved my freezer food. I put a 16 lb bag of ice in the freezer, and changed it out every other day, using the ice in containers in the refrigerator to supplement the frozen cooler packs. The freezer has maintained at 26 degrees, and the refrigerator is at 41 degrees.

Power is still out, and seeing a lot of trees still leaning on wires and downed wires in our area. Our "downtown" now has power, so it's internet at the library, showers at the community center, and coffee at the local shop. The best news is our WFO place was open last night, and we helped them clean out their supplies .

Barry

[FeCheF]

I dont know about water pumps since we didnt get any flooding were im located, but more then half my town lost power except us. My uncle lives on the other side of town and lost power but he is running a 950w generator and amazingly has been powering a stand up freezer, his fridge and his 42 inch dlp tv and dvd player. Im not sure if he runs them all the same time. I think he runs the fridge and freezer right before bed and all day while at work, and then unplugs the freezer and keep the door closed and watches tv until bed. Still no power for hot water so im sure he will be asking to use our shower soon.

[Don K]

It finally stopped raining here. Halleluiah! It has been raining here almost nonstop for 6 days. I'm not sure how much we got, but the fountain in my pond is completely submerged. It usually sticks up several inches out of the water.

My dad and sister are still without power. We have heard that it could be early next week before their power is restored.

[scott123]

3 days of no power (and no generator) for me. Power kicked in tonight.  Thanks, everyone for your concern.

I have to admit, between what I recall was around 17 days for Irene (in August) vs. 3 days for this... I might opt for the 17 days.  I froze my butt off.  I think the house ended up hitting 52. I also ended up running out of gas 3 towns over because not one of the 30 gas stations in the area had gas.

One of the most frustrating aspects of this is that we had about 4 hours of really intense winds and had power up until the last 5 minutes.  The moment the lights cut out, the wind started subsiding.  Grrr...

Still, I am alive, which I can't say for a few unlucky folks in my area and my house was unscathed.  We had two massive trees touching the top of our property (we're on a hill), that, had they fallen directly downhill, they would have sliced our house (or our neighbor's houses) in half.  During the storm, they both fell to the side, flawlessly- a tree cutting service couldn't have done a better job. Basically out of 360 degrees, they only had about a 15 deg. slice where they wouldn't do major damage and they both hit that mark. One of the trees was half on my property and would have run me at least $3K to cut, and now it's just a matter of removal, so not only was I not killed, but Mother Nature ended up saving me a big chunk of change (and a lot of worry).

Considering what happened to the Jersey Shore and the coastal areas of NYC, I really do have a lot to be grateful for.

John, I'm glad to hear that you're surviving. I hope they can restore your power soon.  I think I got lucky and got it in 3 days because the downed power line was blocking a major street. JCP&L has apparently been giving priority to lines that block streets.

Norma and Steve, I'm also glad to hear that you went relatively unscathed. I had been reading the storm maps every 3 hours and the last one I saw had the eye of the storm traveling right over Lancaster with 75 mph hurricane force winds. I'm guessing that it weakened considerably faster than what they were planning.

Anyone hear from Chaz?  Considering Seaside Height's boardwalk washed away, and Tom's River is only a little inland from that, I'm a little concerned for him. The stories I've been hearing about the shore sound like a war zone.

[Jet_deck]

Still, I am alive,

Good to hear from you little buddy.

[Jackitup]

Scott, good to hear things are good, or at least not so bad. I'm sure you have, and will, say more prayers of thanks for your good luck and I and others will join you in prayers for the not so lucky.
Continued good fortune and recovery!

jon

[petef]

I have at least 20 gallons of gasoline in storage at any given time. In addition to using the stabilizer, I have a rotation schedule where I will eventually use the stored gas in my vehicles and then replace it with fresh.

Another thing that I will add about gasoline-powered generators: They usually have a valve on the fuel supply hose that goes from the fuel tank to the carburetor. After using the generator, instead of just shutting the engine off, close this valve and let the engine run until it has depleted all of the gas in the carburetor and stalls. This helps keep the carburetor from gumming up from leftover fuel.

Sounds like a good plan! I definitely learned a lot about being prepared this time.

BTW: I think I found out what's wrong with my Generator. Thanks to youtube, I found a guy with the same troubles and how to test and fix it. It looks like it's the oil pressure sensor that went bad. Easy fix, once I locate a source for the part.

Generator runs then shuts off

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6esHkPyygWw" target="_blank" class="aeva_link bbc_link new_win">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6esHkPyygWw</a>

Again one youtube video leads to another and I found they sell a conversion kit that adapts to most any gasoline generator allowing it to run on gasoline or propane or natural gas.

Propane conversion for Generator. Tri fuel kit.

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mcv4cu1oJ4g" target="_blank" class="aeva_link bbc_link new_win">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mcv4cu1oJ4g</a>

Lessons learned re: Generators & fuel

+ Always have a spare oil pressure switch on hand.
+ Have a spare carburetor or at least a rebuilding kit on hand.
+ Use a Marine Fuel Stabilizer on all gas stored for more than 30 days.
+ To store the generator, run stabilized fuel and close the fuel shut-off to allow engine to run out of gas.
+ Buy & install a tri-fuel conversion kit so your generator can run on gasoline, propane or natural gas.
+ Rotate your stored gasoline by using it in your car/truck to always have a fresh supply on hand.
+ Consider using propane instead of gasoline to reduce the many problems associated with gasoline.
+ Have some spare pull cord on hand, just in case the engine pull starter cord breaks.
+ Have a spare spark plug on hand too.
+ Change the oil in your generator at recommended intervals.
+ 5 gallons of gasoline will run the average 5 to 8 HP generator about 6 to 8 hours.
+ One 20 pound propane tank is equal to about 5 gallons of gasoline.

Tanks everyone for the suggestions!

---pete---

[PowerWagonPete]

In order to counter the mainstream media hype concerning Superduperstorm Sandy and the onslaught of climate change propaganda which is sure to follow, here's a website which helps put the proper perspective on this not-so-unusual late-season hurricane...  LOL  

http://www.midatlantichurricanes.com/index.html  

[Ev]

In order to counter the mainstream media hype concerning Superduperstorm Sandy and the onslaught of climate change propaganda which is sure to follow, here's a website which helps put the proper perspective on this not-so-unusual late-season hurricane...  LOL  

http://www.midatlantichurricanes.com/index.html  

Yeah, sure. Tell it to all the people suffering through the aftermath of Sandy right now. I'm sure they'll get a kick out of it too.

[Woodfiredovenpizzero]

Hey! Hear I am ! Thank god I have Ll this catering crap ! Big coolers generators .... All is good expect power out  for another 7 days! Ughh! Good new is I have a wood fire oven and garage is yep 58 degrees  made dough yesterday 11 am balled this am around 9 am and baked 5:30 pm used the generator to power the Bosch and made 15 pies that Ted the neighborhood what a great night fire in fireplace full bellies and food company ! What are neighbors for anyway !

Good to hear you are OK John.

Edgar

[PowerWagonPete]

Yeah, sure. Tell it to all the people suffering through the aftermath of Sandy right now. I'm sure they'll get a kick out of it too.

Every large tropical cyclone causes mayhem and destruction when it tracks inland, Steve.  I wonder what that bubble-headed bleached blonde on the evening news would've labeled the "Long Island Express" storm of 1938 or 1954's Hurricane Hazel if they had occurred these days...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1938_New_England_Hurricane

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Hazel  

[Don K]

Climate change is one of those hot button topics that IMO would be better off discussed elsewhere on a more appropriate venue.

[Ev]

Climate change is one of those hot button topics that IMO would be better off discussed elsewhere on a more appropriate venue.

That's my point. Why even bring it up, and surround it with LOLs and smiley faces?

[Jackitup]

Climate Change is tooo close to politics, Sprechen Sie nicht über es

[sajata]

humm... tri fuel conversion kit.  Sounds like a plan i have 1000g of propane on site...  could run a while on that...  and given i have a sump pump may be a good idea...

[PowerWagonPete]

That's my point. Why even bring it up, and surround it with LOLs and smiley faces?

Because I'm a big picture thinker, Steve, and I'm not really in the mood right now to pay some sort of carbon tax on my pizza cheese.   

[PowerWagonPete]

Climate Change is tooo close to politics, Sprechen Sie nicht über es

Too close to a religion as well, Jack.  LOL