diy solar

diy solar

Gas-Powered Lawn Equipment Will Soon Be Banned In Cali, a broad category that includes generators.

The frequency of mowing depends on the amount of rain. Sometimes it is every week. Sometimes only once a month or less. I have a 54" zero turn mower and a 42" riding mower as a backup.
Riding mowers won't be part of any ban...even if it does happen.
 
Just a quick Google

"Sub-zero temps may have contributed to UVM student's death."

"BURLINGTON, Vt. (AP) — The Vermont Health Department says a fourth person has died in connection with last week’s heat wave."
“In early February, UVM first-year Connor Gage was found dead in Burlington. He attended two frat parties on the night of his death and died of hypothermia and acute alcohol intoxication. UVM is still investigating the two frats he visited.”

Cold wasn’t what killed him.
Poor behavior killed him with the most readily available risk variable.
 
Cold wasn’t what killed him.

I'm sure if I looked hard enough I can find people who died from the cold. People die from the cold when there are winter storms that knock down power lines too. Point being, if you loose power and are not prepared it does not really matter what the cause of the power failure was.

Also not all of the deaths in Texas were caused by the power outage. Many were homeless people who would have been outside anyway, many were road accidents from the icy conditions, etc., etc. They all got lumped into "storm related deaths".
 
I live in Grizzly Flats ... one of the few houses still remaining after the Caldor Fire. Electricity has been shut off up here several times due to winds and we lose power often in the winter. It was out for 10 days straight one winter. Average seems to be about three days. I heat the house with wood, so need my chainsaw and log splitter. There are no chainsaws out there I am aware of that can handle a pine tree, let alone an oak. Electric splitters? They suck. I'll replace my equipment in Oregon if I need to. Meanwhile, I've got a propane generator, a hillbilly solar system to keep the fridge running, and am working on a steam engine powered generator project. Self-reliance. I don't trust anyone to take care of me.
 
sure if I looked hard enough I can find people who died from the cold.
I understand your point.

As a not-a-fan-of-cold-weather person maybe it’s odd I live where I do but my take was -power out or not- people in cold regions don’t generally die from the cold. Although they’re highly at risk to if they aren’t prepared or don’t respect the cold.
 
I live in Grizzly Flats ... one of the few houses still remaining after the Caldor Fire. Electricity has been shut off up here several times due to winds and we lose power often in the winter. It was out for 10 days straight one winter. Average seems to be about three days. I heat the house with wood, so need my chainsaw and log splitter. There are no chainsaws out there I am aware of that can handle a pine tree, let alone an oak. Electric splitters? They suck. I'll replace my equipment in Oregon if I need to. Meanwhile, I've got a propane generator, a hillbilly solar system to keep the fridge running, and am working on a steam engine powered generator project. Self-reliance. I don't trust anyone to take care of me.
I assume you meant no electric chainsaws that can handle a pine, let alone oak…

If so, I use the kobalt 80V chainsaw 18” blade, and it handles the pine, walnut, tulip poplar, and oak in my yard without complaint. Reviews I have seen say the Milwaukee M18 chainsaw is tougher, and longer lasting… but too pricy for my needs even though I already use a ton of M18 tools…
 
but my take was -power out or not- people in cold regions don’t generally die from the cold.

True, because people that live in those areas are used to it, and generally are prepared for it. Here, it rarely gets below freezing. The only reason I even have a heavy coat is because I sometimes travel up north. So when a fluke weather event happens, of course there will be problems and even casualties.

We have little to no snow removal equipment here either because it rarely snows, and 99% of the time when it does, it melts within hours. So IMO it would be foolish for the state (or regional parts of it that never get snow) to invest in snow plows, etc. that never get used. Yes, of course that meant that when we did have the snow and ice that did not melt for 3 days, it caused a lot of transportation problems (which also led to deaths). Things were at an absolute standstill here because all of the roads were snow and iced over. I could not even see my road as it just blended in with the fields.

And that brings us to the grid and the accusations that it should have been better prepared. Of course that is what will always be said anytime there is some natural disaster. But just like with the snow removal equipment, I can't see spending billions for a fluke event (that never lasts long). I personally would rather be without power for 3 days, than be paying twice what I do for electricity. Like I said, it was back up to 70 degrees on the fourth day. The ice and snow melted, and everything (here) was back to normal.
 
I get the snow plow thing. Not hard for most to stay home a few days even if unprepared.

The gas wells that froze up seemed to cause much of the problem and I would have expected those to be prepared or for the power plant to keep a week of fuel in storage for an unscheduled disruption. Could happen anytime for a multitude of reasons. This no different than filling a low tank on your vehicle before you get home even when there is no pending emergency.
 
And that brings us to the grid and the accusations that it should have been better prepared. Of course that is what will always be said anytime there is some natural disaster. But just like with the snow removal equipment, I can't see spending billions for a fluke event (that never lasts long). I personally would rather be without power for 3 days, than be paying twice what I do for electricity. Like I said, it was back up to 70 degrees on the fourth day. The ice and snow melted, and everything (here) was back to normal.

This 'fluke event' cost a lot more than twice your rate for electricity. Even if the power had stayed on, the rates went through the roof. That is the fault of Texas' ridiculous system where rates just go where they want and the state won't cap them. Even in a fluke winter emergency. So pretty much every entity, both government and private, had to borrow millions of dollars just to pay their electricity bills. The totals are astonishing. And guess who gets to pay those bills? Yep, YOU. The total costs on this are in the $200 Billion range. How much do you think winterization would have cost?


The problem was multilayered. ERCOT had the responsibility to spot-check, but no enforcement ability. You can argue about spending money for edge-case events, BUT - the plants that couldn't fire up lost a TON of money while idled. That is a huge financial incentive to winterize. And yet it wasn't enough until the big freeze.


Now there will be much higher financial penalties, enforceable ones, if plants don't winterize. The legislature passed a reform pretty much the first day in session, and it was signed by Abbott within a month.

 
I assume you meant no electric chainsaws that can handle a pine, let alone oak…

If so, I use the kobalt 80V chainsaw 18” blade, and it handles the pine, walnut, tulip poplar, and oak in my yard without complaint. Reviews I have seen say the Milwaukee M18 chainsaw is tougher, and longer lasting… but too pricy for my needs even though I already use a ton of M18 tools…
Yes ... I was speaking of electric chainsaws. Haven't seen the models you speak of out here in CA. Like most things, if they work, they are probably banned. I tried an Echo and a Husky. Neither were worth the plastic they were made of.
 
Yes ... I was speaking of electric chainsaws. Haven't seen the models you speak of out here in CA. Like most things, if they work, they are probably banned. I tried an Echo and a Husky. Neither were worth the plastic they were made of.
Is there a Lowe’s hardware by you? Lowe’s sells the Kobalt. Milwaukee can be purchased from Amazon, or eBay if the Home Depot doesn’t have it… they are also sold at Northern Tool, and most electrical supply companies sell them.
 
Grizzly Flats is in the middle of nowhere. Home Despot is the closest big box store, and we have a True Value that is closer, so we never make it to the Lowes that is about 2 hours away. Appreciate the tips, but I know my gas powered saws and have all the stuff I need to keep them running. Not sure I'd be able to spend a day harvesting wood with a battery powered set up, unless I had a bunch of batteries and perhaps a charger to take into the field.
 
Grizzly Flats is in the middle of nowhere. Home Despot is the closest big box store, and we have a True Value that is closer, so we never make it to the Lowes that is about 2 hours away. Appreciate the tips, but I know my gas powered saws and have all the stuff I need to keep them running. Not sure I'd be able to spend a day harvesting wood with a battery powered set up, unless I had a bunch of batteries and perhaps a charger to take into the field.
That is for sure! I have a 1500W inverter in the truck that powers my chargers, so my batteries are kept up. I have 2 80V kobalts, and 6 or so large Milwaukee and a dozen small Milwaukee batteries in there. No comparison to a gas can and a day of cutting trees…
Maybe someday battery tech will catch up to gasoline energy density, but it isn’t close yet.
 
I'm using the 40V chainsaw from Harbor Freight for trimming. It has worked pretty well, but just small soft stuff. The 80V wasn't yet offered.
The 40V pole saw is slow (slower than the chain saw) but I find it useful for what it does.

These haven't broken yet, are newer than other plug-in electric saws I used until they broke.
Lots of plastic crap these days. I used to see it only in cheaper tools (40 to 45 years ago when I had a job doing repairs at a rental shop). The better brands had metal frames holding bearings and gears. I still have my Milwaukee and Bosch from back then.

If you have the money to spare, a cordless chainsaw could be useful for quick trims. With two batteries, might keep up with moderate workload.
Of course, if you use gas tools regularly then are more reliable. Lots of my stuff gums up with infrequent use, although some (Onan on a trencher, Briggs on a tiller) start up after years of disuse.

 
I'm using the 40V chainsaw from Harbor Freight for trimming. It has worked pretty well, but just small soft stuff. The 80V wasn't yet offered.
The 40V pole saw is slow (slower than the chain saw) but I find it useful for what it does.

These haven't broken yet, are newer than other plug-in electric saws I used until they broke.
Lots of plastic crap these days. I used to see it only in cheaper tools (40 to 45 years ago when I had a job doing repairs at a rental shop). The better brands had metal frames holding bearings and gears. I still have my Milwaukee and Bosch from back then.

If you have the money to spare, a cordless chainsaw could be useful for quick trims. With two batteries, might keep up with moderate workload.
Of course, if you use gas tools regularly then are more reliable. Lots of my stuff gums up with infrequent use, although some (Onan on a trencher, Briggs on a tiller) start up after years of disuse.

Yeah, that’s why I went with the kobalt saw, I already had the kobalt weed eater that takes the ryobi attachments, I have the pole saws, and leaf blower, and tiller, and a few other attachments.
 
Even if the power had stayed on, the rates went through the roof.

Nope, not for everyone. The issue with the jacked up rates rates was those who signed up for cheap plans that flow with the market price. Those people took a gamble and came out on the loosing end.


"Here is what we know about the costs so far:
The incredibly high bills you are seeing in news reports are for people who buy electricity from providers who are heavily involved in market pricing. Do not use those news reports as your gauge for what your bill might look like. That is not the situation for the cooperative. We purchase power through our wholesale power supplier and they own generation, or what is used to produce power. This means they do not have to make market purchases like some other participants do."



And guess who gets to pay those bills? Yep, YOU.

Nope. Not me. My rates have not changed at all.
 
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Nope, not for everyone. The issue with the jacked up rates rates was those who signed up for cheap plans that flow with the market price. Those people took a gamble and came out on the loosing end.
This here. It was a custom power plan rate people could sign up for. Everyone who was on a normal fixed rate plan, did not have the bill go up.
 
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