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Author Topic: Major Problem N.H. Mass.  (Read 28102 times)
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flintstone mop
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« on: December 12, 2008, 11:12:58 AM »

You folks in Mass and New Hampshire, even Maine and Vermont are having major electrical outage. 600,000 without power.
Nasty NorEaster???

Fred
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Fred KC4MOP
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« Reply #1 on: December 12, 2008, 12:13:34 PM »

My sister lives in Senior Housing at Hilton, NH: her entire apartment building has been evacuated and she's going to spend the weekend at a local school gym.

She said she's got some embroidery kits she can take along, and plans to hold some classes.

Bill W1AC
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« Reply #2 on: December 12, 2008, 12:27:20 PM »

Time for her to learn the code?
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Steve - WB3HUZ
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« Reply #3 on: December 12, 2008, 12:40:55 PM »

I'm guess for most, if their power is out, they won't be surfing the Web. Cry
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k4kyv
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Don
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« Reply #4 on: December 12, 2008, 05:15:50 PM »

And not a lot of New England AM activity tonight.
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Don, K4KYV                                       AMI#5
Licensed since 1959 and not happy to be back on AM...    Never got off AM in the first place.

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« Reply #5 on: December 12, 2008, 06:08:57 PM »

Quote
And not a lot of New England AM activity tonight.

Didn't hear the usual NE boys (miscreants) during the day either!  Sad

Karl
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« Reply #6 on: December 12, 2008, 07:33:42 PM »

1.25 million  homes and businesses lost power, in 7 states today....

New Hampshire had more damage than in the storm in 1998.

We didn't loose our power at all here in central Verminmont.
We got 8 inches of snow, then about 1/2" of sleet, then just a little ice (maybe an 1/8" on the ANT.)

My Mother drove from here to Southern Maine today... left here at 11am, got home at 5pm...  only an extra hour of driving, mostly because of detours around downed trees and power lines....

She said it was really pretty to look at, (but felt bad for the people who took damage to houses and cars.)


I suspect a lot of guys lost antennas, but more likely just no go-go juice for the radios.......



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WU2D
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« Reply #7 on: December 12, 2008, 10:51:47 PM »

Very lucky here in Manchester - the only explanation why I got power back in 5 hours is that we must be on the same grid as the hospital or something and got lucky somehow - it is dark just beyond us in almost every direction.

This is bad-it is getting very cold tonight -pipes will burst, basements will flood and people will have to go to shelters all over New England. Last time (98) my boss who was in a big mini-mansion was out of power for 17 days. They are saying that this is worse.

Mike WU2D
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« Reply #8 on: December 12, 2008, 11:32:59 PM »

No power here (I'm on generator now).

This storm is DEFINITELY worse than the big ice storm of 1998.

Virtually EVERY tree on the property (all 100 acres worth) has damage.   Sherrie and I spent 5 hours clearning downed trees from across the driveway.  The power lines are lying on the ground.

There is no power anywhere in town (except for generators).  During the last storm, I was out for 7 days.  So far, no estimate here as to when.

The antennas suffered some damage.  The 160 meter antenna is down about 15 feet because the tree which held one end broke off at the top.

What a pain.  I'd rather have snow any day over ice!

Regards,

Steve
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Patrick J. / KD5OEI
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« Reply #9 on: December 12, 2008, 11:38:02 PM »

Do people have natural gas to run generators with? There is also the power failure of 2003. I'd hate going to a shelter while the looters idled about the neighborhood.
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Radio Candelstein - Flagship Station of the NRK Radio Network.
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« Reply #10 on: December 13, 2008, 01:05:57 AM »

Incredible. I was reading up on the outages in close by states a little while ago. Here, I didn't see any more than a bunch of rain, that was about it.

Lots of black ice on the streets tonight however. That's not a lot of fun in a 10,000lb top heavy utility body I assure you. It makes my skin crawl when I come rolling up on a wet spot in the road and i can't hear any water under the tires.   
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« Reply #11 on: December 13, 2008, 01:30:26 AM »

Do people have natural gas to run generators with? There is also the power failure of 2003. I'd hate going to a shelter while the looters idled about the neighborhood.

Yeah, true story Pat. With no lights, no alarms, no nothing, it would be like a buffet for the POS crooks.

I have a 13kW generac I use for jobs on new construction, but I haven't needed it to power the lights and heat in the house yet, knock on wood. If it comes right down to it, I'll yank the main and wire the gen in at least for lights and the boiler, and the fridge.

I remember I walked into a no heat call a long time ago. They're power was out, and the genius of the house cut the male ends off two extension cords and wired them together, then plugged a small generator into the outlet near his panel. I was following him to the basement and I saw that, (I new the other end was going to a gen I just saw in his garage.) I pushed him out of the way, grabbed the orange cord and ripped it out of the outlet. I opened the breaker panel, and naturally, the main was still closed. I like to think there's a possibility that I may have saved some poor bastard working in the rain, in a bucket truck, somewhere in that neighborhood from getting drilled by a pole pig.

DIY'ers like this guy in particular are dangerous to more than just himself.
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n2bc
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« Reply #12 on: December 13, 2008, 09:48:34 AM »

Power outages and idiots with generators don't mix.  There was a lineman killed in WNY a couple years back.

If you have a Square-D panel, there is a nifty transfer interlock. 

Here:  http://ecatalog.squared.com/techlib/docdetail.cfm?oid=0900892680126e4f

Mechanically interlocks the main breaker and a dedicated generator backfeed breaker.  Much cheaper than a transfer switch and has the major benefit of being able to select whatever circuits you want to power. 

Of course the real benefit of buying a generator and setting up the panel after our 5-day flood related outage some years back is that I haven't needed it once since then.  Sometimes Murphy is your friend!

73 Bill  N2BC
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« Reply #13 on: December 13, 2008, 11:22:20 AM »

No power here (I'm on generator now).

I told my wife about my sister going to a shelter, and suggested for the umpteenth time that we get a generator.

I'm making progress: this time, she said "OK, if it costs less than $300".

Anybody know where ...

Bill W1AC
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Sam KS2AM
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« Reply #14 on: December 13, 2008, 12:00:09 PM »


I told my wife about my sister going to a shelter, and suggested for the umpteenth time that we get a generator.

I'm making progress: this time, she said "OK, if it costs less than $300".

Anybody know where ...

Bill W1AC



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« Reply #15 on: December 13, 2008, 12:34:36 PM »

No power here (I'm on generator now).

I told my wife about my sister going to a shelter, and suggested for the umpteenth time that we get a generator.

I'm making progress: this time, she said "OK, if it costs less than $300".

Anybody know where ...

Bill W1AC



http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/CatDsp?storeId=6970&Ns=P_Price&N=36%20280777%20770942

http://search.harborfreight.com/cpisearch/web/attributeSearch.do?catPath=All%2BProducts%252F%252F%252F%252FUserSearch%253Dgenerator&currentPage=1&lastPage=4&isNext=&isPrevious=&category=&attributeValue=Between+%24100+and+%24300&attributeName=Price+range&requestedPage=1&resultsPerPage=10&resultsPerPageBottom=



Then of course there's ebay.........
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KA1ZGC
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« Reply #16 on: December 13, 2008, 08:12:11 PM »

I told my wife about my sister going to a shelter, and suggested for the umpteenth time that we get a generator.

I'm making progress: this time, she said "OK, if it costs less than $300".

Sounds like she thinks a generator is just a toy.

You might consider adding up the costs of everything in your fridge, and everything in your freezer. I guarantee it will add up to far more than $300.

That's how much money you would lose by not having a generator if you were to lose power for more than two days.

A generator is also something you don't want to cheap out on. Your less-than-$300 will be completely wasted if the thing craps out after just a few hours of operation, which you can add to the cost of the spoiled food that will soon follow.

Sometimes it's better to ask forgiveness than permission.
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W3RSW
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Rick & "Roosevelt"


« Reply #17 on: December 13, 2008, 08:33:37 PM »

Say nothing,
Cool as ice is the word.
A better stoic was n'er minted.

-let her freeze,
take the salvagable food and wrap it in newspaper /styrofoam/ blankets in the garage, hopefully stays cold.

line up all the spoiled food in the driveway.

Huddle around the fireplace in triple gortex (if you have a fireplace.)

Mention all the shelter horror stories you can remember or the new ones just occuring.

Listen to the portable radio until the batteries run out.

Light a candle; consider other uses for it if your still denied power.

And after about two weeks of this
go buy the best generator YOU think you can afford.

She'll be grateful.

Who's wearing the pants anyway?  Grin

(Then again you may have saved a bundle of money on utilites, relatives not coming for Christmas..... etc.)
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RICK  *W3RSW*
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« Reply #18 on: December 13, 2008, 09:36:37 PM »

Who's wearing the pants anyway?  Grin

I will quote Margaret Thatcher's husband, Dennis, who, when asked the same question, responded, "I do - and I wash 'em and press 'em too."
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Jim, W5JO
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« Reply #19 on: December 14, 2008, 10:48:37 AM »

A 300 dollar generator will only get you 1-2 KW.  That will run one of the ceramic heaters for her.  Remember to keep the refrigerator going and have a hot plate for warming food and a couple of lights, you are going to need something that gives you at least 5 KW.  Do as the boys have said, add up the necessities and buy that.
Anything less is just a waste of money.

Might ought to do something soon, another storm is over the Dakotas and Minn. right now headed your way.  It promises to be a bogger too.
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Bill, KD0HG
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« Reply #20 on: December 14, 2008, 11:36:54 AM »

A 300 dollar generator will only get you 1-2 KW.  That will run one of the ceramic heaters for her.  Remember to keep the refrigerator going and have a hot plate for warming food and a couple of lights, you are going to need something that gives you at least 5 KW.  Do as the boys have said, add up the necessities and buy that.
Anything less is just a waste of money.

Might ought to do something soon, another storm is over the Dakotas and Minn. right now headed your way.  It promises to be a bogger too.

It hit here overnight...0 F on the porch as I write this, maybe 6" of powder overnight. The big logs are cooking in the fireplace this morning.

I agree, one needs no less than a 5 KW generator. My 6 KW guy is adequate to run our propane fueled heating system, water pump, fridge, computers, teevee and lights. Not enough for the big transmitter + R-390A and the electric dryer.
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« Reply #21 on: December 14, 2008, 01:41:25 PM »

All of this generator talk has been good, I just went out and started mine to make sure it is operating properly when it is needed.

One of the nicest things about having a generator is you no longer really worry so much about ice storms or other causes of power failure.  Before I bought ours I was always "sweating" the weather systems coming through in winter.

I went with a 7,500 watt unit because in addition to the other loads we have a deep well with a 1.5 horse pump that has a fairly high starting draw.  Other than that the load is fairly light with two forced air gas furnaces and two refrigerators as required items.  A 5,000 watt unit probably would have been fine but the price difference to 7.5 KW was pretty minimal.

To get the most out of your generator, as much as reasonably possible you should balance your load across both sides of neutral since the rated draw is based upon an equal load.  In my case one furnace and one refrigerator is on each side of neutral; even though there is no guarantee that they will be running simultaneously at least I don't have most of the commonly run items connected to one side.

I also added a second captive air tank for the well system so our total drawdown between pump cycles is about 70 gallons.  With low water use plumbing fixtures and quick showers the well pump doesn't need to cycle much.  Although I probably don't need to I keep the switch for the pump shut off and when it needs to run I shut off the other loads temporarily while the pump runs. 

I bought one of the Porter Cable branded generators when a local store was closing out merchandise a few years ago.  It is pretty typical with a Briggs engine and the basic controls and outlets mounted on the frame.  It does have wheels and wheel barrow like handles for easy movement.  I start it with the auto idle control engaged so it can warm up at slower speed and after a few minutes I switch the idle control off and gradually add the breakers for the important circuits.  The changeover switch is at the panel and the breakers that need to be turned on for the important stuff are labeled with red dots.  Shut down is the same and I let it cool at idle for a few minutes under no load.

Last year the outages were so bad I was starting to look at one of the diesel powered long run generators that would run everything.  I have been keeping an eye out at farm sales for a PTO driven unit to go on the tractor but so far no happiness.  I hope that the increase in maintenance in the last year will improve our local power delivery reliability but I am not ready to bet on that yet.

Good luck to those of you in the N. East.  I have been through this before in IL and after hurricanes in MS.  There is no prettier sight than seeing the streetlights suddenly come on after days without power!

Rodger WQ9E
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Rodger WQ9E
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« Reply #22 on: December 14, 2008, 01:57:12 PM »

Didn't Terry W2PYF's cheap diesel generator crap out and that's the reason he doesn't fire up the big rig any more?

Wasn't it made in China?

Maybe retaliation for Terry's covering up their broadcasts on 7285.
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Don, K4KYV                                       AMI#5
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Ed/KB1HYS
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« Reply #23 on: December 14, 2008, 02:14:27 PM »

We've got power, but the elderly lady right be hind me is out.  We're running her some power to keep her furnace going. (The mains and circuit breakers are OUT at the box, and we disconnected the furnace from the feed, it would be hard for someone to backfeed or fry anything).  Last time we had an outage, we were out a couple hours and she was out for DAYS.  Seems she's in a weird spot on the grid... Luckily she went to stay with her kids and we're just keeping her pipes from freezing.  I don't want to be the one to clean out her fridge when she gets home though!
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73 de Ed/KB1HYS
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« Reply #24 on: December 14, 2008, 02:32:59 PM »

Something those of you might want to consider if you don't have a generator is to talk to the regional manages of rental companies.  They typically purchase very good units and use them for about 1/2 or less of their expected life.  Usually they are very well maintained and can be bought for a very good price. 

If a company depreciated them and sells for much more than the depreciated value, they have to recapture the sale as income.  Believe me they loath doing that.  Generally you can find most any size for about 1/2 or less than retail.  Good value for the dollar. 

Also do what Rodger says, and get a throwout switch, otherwise should something happend and someone is hurt, they will be all over you,your fault or not.  Follow the code on this one. 

I have a 12 KW, 14.4 surge Industrial model on wheels.  It is a monster for the wheels and difficult to move about but supplies everything in the house but the electric heat.  A nice warm shower is sure worth it to me.  Mine is a Coleman brand put together up in Kansas.  The similar model today is 11 KW, surge to 13 and uses a Honda motor.  I found mine at a large supplier for just over 1500 dollars 4 years ago.  It gives one piece of mind when you live at the end of the grid in the country.
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