Power is out. (SoCal Fires) October 10, 2019, 06:26:42 pm Southern California Edison turned out our power at noon proactively for fire prevention reasons due to high winds. Have no idea when it might return. No backup generator so sure could use a RV about now! 1 Likes
Re: Power is out. Reply #1 – October 10, 2019, 07:13:45 pm I read about the power outages yesterday. It’s not limited to Northern/Central Cal they were talking about blackouts in some So Cal areas as well.“To the south, Southern California Edison said more than 106,000 of its customers in parts of eight counties could face power cuts as early as Thursday as Santa Ana winds loomed”. Quoted from AOL post on 10/9/19Another good reason to keep your LD prepared for all eventualities (If you have one. Otherwise any SOB would do).Kent 1 Likes
Re: Power is out. Reply #2 – October 10, 2019, 07:37:24 pm [RANT] Had the utility companies been proactively trimming vegetation from their lines like the were paid to, we would not have 'proactive shutdowns'. What we would have had were thousands of homes unburned, a hundred plus lives not lost, and still be able to get homeowners insurance in the foothills[/RANT] 3 Likes
Re: Power is out. Reply #3 – October 10, 2019, 08:28:14 pm Quote from: HiLola - October 10, 2019, 06:26:42 pmSouthern California Edison turned out our power at noon proactively for fire prevention reasons due to high winds. Have no idea when it might return. No backup generator so sure could use a RV about now!While the winds should blow another day, PG&E and SCE have announced it might take several days to restore the power to all areas due to having to inspect the hundred of miles of power lines that were effected to ensure none have been damaged and could start a fire when the power is restored.We bought our 1983 just months after the Northridge Earthquake. Living a quarter mile from the quake's epicenter, our neighborhood was shattered and the utilities were out for several days. We were prepared with food, water, a generator and our equipped camper van but many of our neighbors were not except the people across the street who owns a 25' Class C. I checked in with them an hour after the first quake and they were in the MH, drinking coffee and watching the news on the RV's 12-volt TV. I couldn't think of a better endorsement for owning an RV and using it as a mobile survival vehicle. It's comforting to know the LD is in the driveway and ready for use for when the power goes out or to go when the hills burn.Living across the street from the beginning of the brush, It has been packed and moved more than once when fires have threaten.Larry 7 Likes
Re: Power is out. Reply #4 – October 11, 2019, 07:58:23 am Quote from: joel wiley - October 10, 2019, 07:37:24 pm[RANT] Had the utility companies been proactively trimming vegetation from their lines like the were paid to, we would not have 'proactive shutdowns'. What we would have had were thousands of homes unburned, a hundred plus lives not lost, and still be able to get homeowners insurance in the foothills[/RANT]Try these guys. Nobody would touch us due to our remote location in the woods with an access road not only impassable to fire trucks in summer but completely snowed in during winter. Kind of spendy but they did insure us.https://www.amig.comMy rant on this would be insurance agents all said our road was impassable to fire trucks even when i told them i get log trucks up here all the time. Not worth fighting with them over it though because we dont plow it in winter so yeah its impassable then.
Re: Power is out. Reply #5 – October 11, 2019, 12:28:52 pm The hills are alive with the sounds of...helicopters and water dropping aircraft, it must be fall.We live near a helipad, used to water the copters which started flying about midnight and they have been cycling every few minutes since, working on the Saddleridge fire, to the northeast of us about eight miles. Not a great night for sleeping, or good day for breathing.Larry
Re: Power is out. Reply #7 – October 11, 2019, 04:48:06 pm Looks like our winds will start dying down this evening and hopefully power will be restored after the lines are inspected on Saturday. Stay safe, Larry!
Re: Power is out. Reply #8 – October 12, 2019, 09:45:23 am Power was restored last night, thankfully. We were able to salvage most of our refrigerated and frozen food, which seems to be the biggest limiting factor. We were able to supplement with ice from the stores in Tehachapi which had power. Things such as heating, lights, lack of television were no big deal. It wasn’t too cold (just really windy) so no one froze to death and we do have a wood burning fireplace if needed, as well as propane for the stove top (couldn’t get the oven to work as all the controls are digital).This is the longest we have ever lost power, about 33 hours. We think these pre-emptive power shut downs will become more common in the future so we are considering a backup generator for the house. What do you all use at home?
Re: Power is out. Reply #9 – October 12, 2019, 11:07:40 am Longest power outage here was 14 hours many years ago. The motorhome in the driveway was our backup generator. RonB 1 Likes
Re: Power is out. Reply #10 – October 12, 2019, 11:54:43 am Power was out to thousands up here due to a record September snowfall in Spokane and in times like those as I sit watching the morning news in my cozy wood heated off grid home I can't help but gloat just a little bit. When people visit they think it must be so awful to not be hooked up to unlimited electricity and not be able to have coffee pots, microwaves and hair dryers. We may not have lots of electricity but we have it all the time regardless of weather and it's a nice feeling to not be dependent on someone else for it.No option where we live due to location but now that I've lived this way ten years I think I'd stay off grid even if I moved somewhere hooked up power was available especially since we already have propane appliances including a stove that lights from spark generated by D cell batteries. It might be time for people in California subject to policy outages to think along these lines and cut the umbilical cord that tethers you to corporations and whims of government. Really not that difficult or expensive to transition to and far cheaper electricity in the long run. A sunny state like California would be ideal for this solar option . We do it in NE Wa where winters are long and dark ( battleship grey day after day) and get by fine so it would be a breeze in Southern Ca. 1 Likes
Re: Power is out. Reply #11 – October 12, 2019, 03:48:03 pm Power is a very interesting topic be it solar, propane, oil or coal. The electrification of the USA was a socialist drive of FDR. Probably the US Supreme court ruling that aloud the federal government to built dams and sell electrify is in the top ten of most changing of the USA. The electric companies were and are still not happy about that. BUT that is topic for another day.In the 30 plus years we lived in Portland we only lost power for a significant time last year. And <smile> it was because my next door neighbor was backing out of her driveway when a ice covered tree came down on her, the electric wire and her car. When you call the electric company with a downed wire they disconnect the local power transformer. As there was only 10 or 12 houses we were last in line to get reconnected. It lasted I think two days. Sadly she was without power for a week or more.glen 1 Likes
Re: Power is out. Reply #12 – October 12, 2019, 05:21:12 pm Just finished stocking my new fancy firewood shed so at least we will have heat if the power is turned off this winter! 1 Likes
Re: Power is out. Reply #13 – October 12, 2019, 05:32:06 pm "...fancy firewood shed..."That is a slick "firewood" shed, no doubt. But when the rains come again you shouldn't have to worry about a lack of electricity, no?But to me, the spoken word 'woodshed' was a thing of terror... as in "Son, meet me behind the woodshed." Can't think of words I liked less than those! 2 Likes
Re: Power is out. Reply #14 – October 12, 2019, 08:08:05 pm Happiness is a full woodshed and in my case that includes 55 gallon drums full of gas for my generator and diesel for my tractor. 1 Likes
Re: Power is out. Reply #15 – October 12, 2019, 08:42:04 pm Quote from: HiLola - October 12, 2019, 09:45:23 amThis is the longest we have ever lost power, about 33 hours. We think these pre-emptive power shut downs will become more common in the future so we are considering a backup generator for the house. What do you all use at home?The generator in our Lazy Daze. We don't have as many big wildfires or earthquakes here in the southeast, but we can lose power for days when a hurricane or ice storm hits.I fill the LazyDaze with fuel and can run the generator for days on that. It won't power the whole house, but it will keep the fridge working and the septic pump active. I run extension cords from the RV into the house. Worst case, we can shower and sleep in the RV with heat, stove, and solar. Luckily it has never come to that. Rich 2 Likes
Re: Power is out. Reply #16 – October 12, 2019, 09:55:25 pm Sawyer, you were the first one that came to mind when I heard PG&E was shutting down the north half of the State. Thought you'd get a chuckle over our 'predicament'.I plugged in the LD and started the fridge. I didn't lose power but the outage started about a quarter mile east of me and went up to Tahoe. I have a small honda generator to run the fridge and the UPS for the router and phones.Heavy traffic at the local coffee houses for refugee pumpkin spice lattes and cell phone recharges....2017 I had 6kw solar installed, and haven't paid for electricity since. With the power credit balance and State energy rebates twice a year, I've only had to pay the $11 mo processing fee twice this year. I called the solar company and they will happily install a 13.5kw Tesla powerwall for $13.5K (what a coincidence). Not sure that pencils out. I need to determine how much power I use overnight and how long it would take to recharge the battery, then figure out how much I'd have left over to sell to PG&E for $.02/KWH.Didn't think of running the LD Genny to power the fridge, will think more on that. 3 Likes
Re: Power is out. Reply #17 – October 13, 2019, 09:52:13 am Rich, interesting that you can use your LD generator to power some things in the house. You say you can go for several days on a full tank?I learned a few things during this power outage such as removing our outdoor solar lights and bringing them in at night to use as a source of light. Also, I finally figured out how to use that French press I bought some time back to make coffee (most important)! And, I discovered I can use my vehicle jump starter, which has a 12-volt outlet, to charge cell phones! 2 Likes
Re: Power is out. Reply #18 – October 13, 2019, 10:42:27 am Quote from: HiLola - October 13, 2019, 09:52:13 amRich, interesting that you can use your LD generator to power some things in the house. You say you can go for several days on a full tank?Yes! I owned a construction generator for emergencies but sold it soon after buying the RV. I run extension cords from the RV into the house to keep our fridges cold and provide a little lighting or entertainment. I also use it for the septic pump so we can use the sinks, showers, and toilets as normal. It's not going to run our electric oven or the house air conditioning, but it will keep food from spoiling and add a few creature comforts. Luckily we live in a mild climate and have a wood fireplace for heat if needed.I suppose it could be wired into the house electrical system to run certain circuits through the house wiring, but that's more effort and expense than I want to go through. Lots of my neighbors do have a setup like that for construction generators though. The RV fuel tank is one of the coolest features. All of my neighbors are busy hauling lawn mower gas cans back and forth as part of storm prep and I just put 40+ gallons of fuel in the RV. If the storm misses us (maybe 2/3 of the time), I use the fuel on the next trip. They have a garage full of fuel cans to pour into the car 3 gallons at a time. I've read estimates of 0.5-0.8 gallons burned per hour for the Onan 4K generator I have, depending on the load. With maybe 40 or so gallons of usable fuel in the RV, that can last me a long time.Rich '03 MB in NC 3 Likes
Re: Power is out. Reply #19 – October 13, 2019, 11:11:42 am Thanks, Rich. The issue of dealing with buying, storing, and filling up with multiple gas cans has always been a turn off but the RV generator would be a good way to solve that issue. I am also considering a whole house generator that runs off our house propane tank but it’s an expensive option that might affect the timing of getting an LD so I need to decide which is the priority!
Re: Power is out. Reply #20 – October 13, 2019, 11:15:33 am Some really good ideas here on multi tasking for an RV in the driveway. The LD has a powerful generator perfectly capable of keeping a house in functioning order with refrigeration, lights etc and as mentioned draws from a very large fuel reserve.The other route i guess would be to just move into the RV and let the house go dark but transferring everything from the normal size home refrigerator to the RV size refrigerator would probably be the limiting factor here. Food aint cheap!
Re: Power is out. Reply #21 – October 13, 2019, 11:42:36 am Sawyer, the fridge and freezer was the main justification for getting a separate generator but if the RV can do it . . .But, wouldn’t you have to run extension cords into the house through an open door or window? Might get a bit cold in the winter!
Re: Power is out. Reply #22 – October 13, 2019, 11:50:19 am "This is the longest we have ever lost power, about 33 hours. We think these pre-emptive power shut downs will become more common in the future so we are considering a backup generator for the house. What do you all use at home?"When I was thinking about a backup generator, the most important considerations were determining our essential power requirements, if I wanted to fuss with getting out a portable standby generator, running cords, fueling, etc., or if I wanted the generator to be 'whole house', permanently connected to a propane tank for fuel, which would automatically and safely switch between utility power and standby power to our home's electrical system. The latter of course is significantly more expensive, but pretty effortless once the installation is completed and paid for. One other consideration for me was if I needed power somewhere besides the house, I could move it to where it was needed, so that helped me decide to go with the portable.We've had our Honda EU3000is for 15 years or so. When I bought it, I made up extension cords specifically to be used with it for power outages. Each cord, coming off of the main feed into the house from the generator, was sized and made up to supply and in some cases control power to essential appliances, as well as to provide for lighting, charging devices, TV and satellite dish, without overloading the cords or the genny. Our house is small and all electric, so our cook stove and water heater wouldn't be available, but we heat with wood as our primary source. In 2009 when our power was out for 11 days due to an ice storm, we had everything we needed to get along. Nothing fancy of course. Cooking between the wood stove, a Coleman camp stove and the microwave, we weren't in need of anything. Cords strung around were an annoyance, but otherwise no complaints. We've had a couple of other occasions when I've had to get the generator out and run everything into the house and hooked up, but I can have it all up and running in an hour when I need to. A couple of times I've waited thinking the power would come back on, finally given up and got everything connected, only to have the utility power come back on within an hour or two. That's the downside to not having a permanent installation and automatic switching. With regard to fuel usage, I honestly don't remember usage during the eleven days we were running the generator, but don't recall it being a problem. I know I had enough on reserve to go for several days before I needed to get more. One feature of the Honda I like is the 'Eco Throttle', which lowers the rpm the generator runs at when there is little demand on it, which helps to lower fuel consumption, and noise. Bill 2 Likes
Re: Power is out. Reply #23 – October 13, 2019, 11:54:34 am Quote from: HiLola - October 13, 2019, 11:42:36 amSawyer, the fridge and freezer was the main justification for getting a separate generator but if the RV can do it . . .But, wouldn’t you have to run extension cords into the house through an open door or window? Might get a bit cold in the winter!Yeah you'd have to run an extension cord in through a cracked window and then run more off off of that to different things you wanted to power like fridge a lamp, tv etc. Not a long term way of life but in a pinch it would keep you in business
Re: Power is out. Reply #24 – October 13, 2019, 12:12:11 pm Quote from: krmugn - October 13, 2019, 11:50:19 amWe've had our Honda EU3000is for 15 years or so. When I bought it, I made up extension cords specifically to be used with it for power outages. Each cord, coming off of the main feed into the house from the generator, was sized and made up to supply and in some cases control power to essential appliances, as well as to provide for lighting, charging devices, TV and satellite dish, without overloading the cords or the genny. Our house is small and all electric, so our cook stove and water heater wouldn't be available, but we heat with wood as our primary source. In 2009 when our power was out for 11 days due to an ice storm, we had everything we needed to get along. Nothing fancy of course. Cooking between the wood stove, a Coleman camp stove and the microwave, we weren't in need of anything. Cords strung around were an annoyance, but otherwise no complaints. We've had a couple of other occasions when I've had to get the generator out and run everything into the house and hooked up, but I can have it all up and running in an hour when I need to. A couple of times I've waited thinking the power would come back on, finally given up and got everything connected, only to have the utility power come back on within an hour or two. That's the downside to not having a permanent installation and automatic switching. With regard to fuel usage, I honestly don't remember usage during the eleven days we were running the generator, but don't recall it being a problem. I know I had enough on reserve to go for several days before I needed to get more. One feature of the Honda I like is the 'Eco Throttle', which lowers the rpm the generator runs at when there is little demand on it, which helps to lower fuel consumption, and noise. BillCan't beat those Hondas for fuel consumption and they have pure sinewave inverters which is important for running computers or any appliance with computers in it like modern washing machines. We run our whole house on a gas sipping 2000 watt honda when the sun hasn't been out for solar. It will charge six trojan batteries as it simultaneously runs the washing machine, lights the kitchen and keeps the TV on. The 3000 like you have is great if you also need to run the refrigerator which takes more power than people think and why we chose to go the propane route for that. Still may upgrade to the 3000 when the 2000 kicks the bucket though because in winter the 2000 wont run the engine heater in my tractor at the same time I'm powering up the batteries in the house in the morning so i have to run my construction generator at the same time. Its a big old gas hog that runs full throttle full time.
Topic: Power is out. (SoCal Fires) (Read 1843 times)
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Topic: Power is out. (SoCal Fires) (Read 1843 times)
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