Dealing With Weather Related Home Power Outages

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ski3pin

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I moved the power outages and preparedness posts to this new thread

Ah, Fall continues and looks like we'll loose another refrigerator/freezer full of food............


Public Safety Power Shutoff Notifications for
(530)xxxxxxxx
First Alert: October 21, 2019 4:21 PM
Within the next 36 to 48 hours, power may be turned off at the following address(es):
xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
 
ski3pin said:
Ah, Fall continues and looks like we'll loose another refrigerator/freezer full of food............


Public Safety Power Shutoff Notifications for
(530)xxxxxxxx
First Alert: October 21, 2019 4:21 PM
Within the next 36 to 48 hours, power may be turned off at the following address(es):
xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Click to expand...
Well that’s the pits! It might be time for dry ice and a cooler that can handle temps that low.
 
I can lower the chest fridge in the camper down to zero and save the stuff in the freezer. We already have frozen gallon bottles of water ready to keep the fridge cold.
 
I was thinking of selling our Honda 100wt generator, but looks like there maybe reasons in the future to keep it just to run refg and a light or two if power outage comes this way.
 
We are purchasing a small Honda to run the refrigerator. I'll convert it to propane and run it off the house's supply so no need to use and store gasoline. We'll get one when our small power tool/Saw shop gets his next shipment. It is unbelievable how many Bill sold the last go around.

pvstoy said:
I was thinking of selling our Honda 100wt generator, but looks like there maybe reasons in the future to keep it just to run refg and a light or two if power outage comes this way.
Click to expand...
 
ski3pin said:
Ah, Fall continues and looks like we'll loose another refrigerator/freezer full of food............


Public Safety Power Shutoff Notifications for
(530)xxxxxxxx
First Alert: October 21, 2019 4:21 PM
Within the next 36 to 48 hours, power may be turned off at the following address(es):
xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Click to expand...
What the power outage is based on from National Weather Service. It just went to Red Flag Warning -


Red Flag Warning
Code: 
URGENT - FIRE WEATHER MESSAGE
National Weather Service Sacramento CA
148 PM PDT Tue Oct 22 2019

...A RED FLAG WARNING IS IN EFFECT ACROSS PORTIONS OF INTERIOR
NORTHERN CALIFORNIA WEDNESDAY THROUGH THURSDAY...

.A weather system digging into the Great Basin region will create
gusty north to east winds over portions of interior Northern
California Wednesday and Thursday. Daytime minimum relative
humidity values will be very low along with extremely poor
overnight recoveries Wednesday night. These will lead to critical
fire weather conditions for the northern Coastal Range and
foothills, the Sacramento Valley, portions of the northern San
Joaquin Valley, and the Northern Sierra Nevada and foothills
below 7000 feet.

CAZ213-215>219-221-263-264-266>269-279-231200-
/O.UPG.KSTO.FW.A.0007.191023T1200Z-191024T2300Z/
/O.NEW.KSTO.FW.W.0008.191023T1500Z-191024T2300Z/
Eastern Portion of Shasta/Trinity NF-
Northern Sacramento Valley to Southern Tehama County Line Below
1000 Ft-
Central Sacramento Valley in Glenn, Colusa, Yuba, Northern
Sutter, and Butte County Below 1000 Ft-
Southern Sacramento Valley in Yolo-
Sacramento Far Western Placer, southern Sutter and Solano County
Below 1000 Ft-Carquinez Strait and Delta-
Northern San Joaquin Valley in San Joaquin and Stanislaus
Counties Below 1000 ft-Stanislaus NF West of the Sierra Crest-
Southeast Edge Shasta-Trinity NF and Western Portions of Tehama-
Glenn Unit-Lake County Portion of Lake-Napa-Sonoma Unit-
Northern Sierra Foothills from 1000 to 3000 Ft. Includes portions
of Shasta-Trinity and Butte Units-
Northern Motherlode From 1000 to 3000 Ft. Includes portions of
Nevada-Yuba-Placer-Amador and ElDorado Units-
Northern Sierra Including Lassen NP and Plumas and Lassen NF/S
West of the Sierra Crest (West of Evans Peak-Grizzly Peak-
Beckworth Peak)-
Northern Sierra Including the Tahoe and ElDorado NF/S West of the
Sierra Crest-Eastern Mendocino NF-
148 PM PDT Tue Oct 22 2019

...RED FLAG WARNING IN EFFECT FROM 8 AM WEDNESDAY TO 4 PM PDT
THURSDAY FOR LOW HUMIDITY AND GUSTY NORTH WIND FOR FIRE WEATHER
ZONES 213, 215, 216, 217, 218, 219, 221, 263, 264, 266, 267, 268,
269, AND 279...

The National Weather Service in Sacramento has issued a Red Flag
Warning, which is in effect from 8 AM Wednesday to 4 PM PDT
Thursday. The Fire Weather Watch is no longer in effect.

* AFFECTED AREA...The northern Coastal Range and foothills, the
  Sacramento Valley, portions of the northern San Joaquin Valley,
  and the Northern Sierra Nevada and foothills below 7000 feet.

* WIND...North to northeast wind 15 to 30 mph with gusts 35 to 45
  mph, locally higher in canyons and exposed ridges.

* HUMIDITY...Daytime minimum humidities mainly in the teens
  with poor overnight recoveries from the teens to 30 percent
  Wednesday night.

* IMPACTS...Any fires that develop will likely spread rapidly.
  Outdoor burning is not recommended.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

A Red Flag Warning means that critical fire weather conditions
are either occurring now, or will shortly. A combination of
strong winds, low relative humidity, and warm temperatures can
contribute to extreme fire behavior.
 
We loose power here in Appalachia on a somewhat regular basis.

Many people here have installed whole house generators (primarily Generac brand) that are plumbed to run off propane. They come on within seconds of loosing power and are totally automatic.
Is that an option in the West?
 
Its an option. I'm very fortunate that my electric provider is SMUD. Electricity very rarely goes out. The mobile home park sometimes blows a fuse but only a few hours.

Buddy of mine in the foothills has a military surplus generator. Very nice for the house but sometimes I forget what else the outages entail. Can't go to work. Entertainment curtailed. Gas stations, grocery stores closed and on and on.

I should see what my fridge pulls. I have a little 800w generator. I wouldn't compare it to a honda or yamaha but you can pick one up on sale for a little over $200.

 
My Honda 2000i gennie will push two standard fridges, a couple or three LED light fixtures, a small TV, and by unplugging the fridges briefly, powers a nice cup of K-cup coffee.

It helps a lot to crank it up, turn it up to WOT, plug in one fridge, then the other, then the TV, and lastly the lights. The initial start-up draws from the fridges are serious relative to the 2000 watt unit's output.

Foy
 
I figure mine couldn't handle the startup. I did fire it up to make sure it still runs. SMUD is interconnected and stranger things have brought the entire grid down before.
 
When Hurricane Maria hit the Virgin Islands a couple of years ago we had two friends who lost a lot and of course they had no power.
we FedEx’ed both of them a Generac portable generator like this and believe it or not Fed Ex delivered them both within 48 hours even though nothing could seem to get through.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Generac-GP2200i-2200-Watt-Gasoline-Powered-Recoil-Started-Residential-Portable-Inverter-Generator-7117/302134958

They used those generators daily for about two months and they performed beautifully.
i personally believe that every homeowner should be prepared to live several days off the grid so to speak. It’s one of the reasons we bought a pop up truck camper..
 
Eddie, I agree and your post caused me to laugh because on our morning walk this morning - the roar of generators so bad we could hardly talk, double the number of generators from the last outage - there was a Generac installation going in at a home below us. We are quite use to power outages due to winter storms. We have propane stove, water heater, and heat. Food storage was easy - outside, no chance of anything thawing. Our truck and camper is our go to for survival and in this outage we saved the freezer items with the solar powered truckfridge. Julie & I are debating about a generator. KISS is just a small one to run the refrigerator. But this can grow arms and legs in a hurry. "Well, if we get a generator, why not go larger with a few more normal life comforts?" No hurry to make a decision, generators are sold out all over California. :)

The easiest, and cheapest solution is to just leave and go camping and have some fun and replace anything that went bad in the refrigerator. Or, if the outage is predicted to be long, empty it before leaving. If we stay there is that constant generator noise and everyone we talk to is angry. Winter snow really muffles the generator noise. :)
smlobx said:
When Hurricane Maria hit the Virgin Islands a couple of years ago we had two friends who lost a lot and of course they had no power.
we FedEx’ed both of them a Generac portable generator like this and believe it or not Fed Ex delivered them both within 48 hours even though nothing could seem to get through.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Generac-GP2200i-2200-Watt-Gasoline-Powered-Recoil-Started-Residential-Portable-Inverter-Generator-7117/302134958

They used those generators daily for about two months and they performed beautifully.
i personally believe that every homeowner should be prepared to live several days off the grid so to speak. It’s one of the reasons we bought a pop up truck camper..
Click to expand...
 
I’ve been following the fires in California on the nightly news. Bad deal for all effected by the power outages. Maybe time to redesign the entire power grid. I’m sure there can be a engineered solution the power grid related fires. Just wondering how many of these fires are caused by discarded lit cigarettes? They never mention that as a possible cause on the news? Hopefully you guys will get some rain soon, hang in there.
Wayne
 
Yikes. Is there a calm season left in California? I have several friends who work year around on wildland fire crews in California. Up north fire season has been over for a month already.

My plan to deal with power outages is find place that is on the same circuit as the local school. We are in a very rural area and our power is the first to come back. We get some noise from the football/baseball games but small trade off.
 
Kolockum said:
My plan to deal with power outages is find place that is on the same circuit as the local school. We are in a very rural area and our power is the first to come back. We get some noise from the football/baseball games but small trade off.
Click to expand...
We are on the same circuit as our County Fire Station - about .75 mile away. It helps. :)

How should we deal with this one?


Second Alert: October 25, 2019 6:26 PM
Within the next 24 hours, power may be turned off at the following address(es):
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Meter # xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Service Agreement: xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
 
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