M
mukwah
Guest
My prayers and thoughts go out for east (and west) coast folks, they are in for a rough time over the next few days. Hope all do the same. 
Amen to that, doesn't look good.mukwah said:My prayers and thoughts go out for east (and west) coast folks, they are in for a rough time over the next few days. Hope all do the same.
M
mukwah
Guest
Looks like the west coast is out of danger of a tsunami from the Alaska earthquake, but the east coast is really gonna take a beating! :'(
My wife still has family located throughout the Northeast (NY, NJ, MD), so we are hoping for the best.
I help manage a forum about Generac standby generators (the kind that start up by themselves and automatically switch the home to the generator). Several folks on the forum who live in the Northeast were frantically trying to either finish an installation or get their older generators back into operating condition as of a few days ago. We have not heard from them in the last day or so. I hope they and their neighbors are all OK.
SkipD said:
Skip,
How does flooding affect the generators? As I understand it, they work from gas lines. I assume there may be more problems with a continuous gas supply with major flooding, but not sure. And of course if your generator floods, that is a major problem that may make it useless.
The majority of conversation in this area - fellow school district employees to be specific - is the need to invest in home generators. There is a complete erosion of belief that the infrastructure is there to return lost power in a timely manner.
You are quite correct that flooding a generator would put it out of commission. That's why folks who are thinking ahead might mount it in a higher location if their property is in a low-lying area. I have a lot of downhill around me so I'm fortunate in that I don't need to worry about that.lws380 said:
The natural gas supply could be affected by some storms. In our area, my greatest worry would be a tornado ripping up the service somewhere which requires the utility to shut off the gas supply that feeds our neighborhood.
Fortunately, I have a 6.5kW portable gasoline-powered generator in addition to our 16kW standby generator so we have an alternate source for emergency power. I also have two much smaller portable generators which can help as well. I keep enough gasoline on site for a couple of days of operation of the generators, though it's used mostly for my garden tractor and other machinery.
Our generators are critically important to us so that our sump pumps can run and for getting water out of our well. Lighting and cooking can be done with our camping equipment. Of course, it's nice to have the whole house powered when the neighborhood is black due to an "ordinary" power outage.
Planning ahead and preparing for emergency survival is one way to being able to be more relaxed in my opinion. Cindy and I volunteer our time (mostly as Ham radio operators) for the county Emergency Management Department. This helps us think of things that we need to be ready for. Of course, this extends into being equipped to deal with predators who might feel we are a good target.
I've been thinking about a generator too. We have no natural gas lines where I live. We are on a well and everything is electric. I think lots of people think about supplies they need and see lots about a bug out bag, etc. I think lots of people don't plan enough for water and food. So I'm concentrating on those two items first.
When I put in my well, I added a 3200 gallon cistern at the same time. So my well pumps water to the cistern and I then pump water from the cistern to my house with a booster pump for better pressure. I can always get water out of the cistern with a faucet that is attached and can run on gravity alone, so no power needed. I read that you should count on needing about a gallon of water per day per person. So my 3,000 cistern should be approximately 1,500 days for the two of us. I also have a pool and I think it is about 12,000 gallons that I could use if I had a proper way to filter it. Any ideas or suggestions on filtration?
I think my cistern can fill itself from the well in about 6-8 hrs. So I was thinking of a generator to at least run the well for 6-8 hrs to re-fill the cistern. One refill would give us another 1500 days. Power for the house is not that big of a concern at this point. One reason is that I don't think I could store enough gas or be able to get gas to run the dang thing for any great length of time. Gas in two cars could be used for the generator, but I'm trying to think longer term too.
I recently got about a month supply of food from Wise Foods.
http://www.midwest-tactical.com/index.php?app=ecom&ns=prodshow&ref=Wise_120_Meal_bucket
I want to add a few extra buckets of food over the coming months. It has a 25 year shelf life. I'm thinking it may not last quite that long, but if it gets 1/2 that time I would be happy. I tried one of their samples and it was pretty good. I got one of their 120 servings buckets and it stores easily in my closet in the house and does not take up much space. It is called their grab and go buckets, but I live on 10 acres in the Texas Hill Country and have no intentions of going anywhere. So I guess it is just a grab bucket for me! ;D
I feel I've got a good start on the 2 first priorities.
When I put in my well, I added a 3200 gallon cistern at the same time. So my well pumps water to the cistern and I then pump water from the cistern to my house with a booster pump for better pressure. I can always get water out of the cistern with a faucet that is attached and can run on gravity alone, so no power needed. I read that you should count on needing about a gallon of water per day per person. So my 3,000 cistern should be approximately 1,500 days for the two of us. I also have a pool and I think it is about 12,000 gallons that I could use if I had a proper way to filter it. Any ideas or suggestions on filtration?
I think my cistern can fill itself from the well in about 6-8 hrs. So I was thinking of a generator to at least run the well for 6-8 hrs to re-fill the cistern. One refill would give us another 1500 days. Power for the house is not that big of a concern at this point. One reason is that I don't think I could store enough gas or be able to get gas to run the dang thing for any great length of time. Gas in two cars could be used for the generator, but I'm trying to think longer term too.
I recently got about a month supply of food from Wise Foods.
http://www.midwest-tactical.com/index.php?app=ecom&ns=prodshow&ref=Wise_120_Meal_bucket
I want to add a few extra buckets of food over the coming months. It has a 25 year shelf life. I'm thinking it may not last quite that long, but if it gets 1/2 that time I would be happy. I tried one of their samples and it was pretty good. I got one of their 120 servings buckets and it stores easily in my closet in the house and does not take up much space. It is called their grab and go buckets, but I live on 10 acres in the Texas Hill Country and have no intentions of going anywhere. So I guess it is just a grab bucket for me! ;D
I feel I've got a good start on the 2 first priorities.
That cistern was a great idea Doug. Nice to know that it works with gravity only...good benefit. I can't believe how tough it has prolly been for the folks in NY, and NJ areas. Prepared food and water, guns ..ammo. clothing. Rx drugs..hey bud ...it's all important. Prepared is critical, and very do-able.