A day without electricity
- Thread starter Johneb
- Start date
RDuke
New Member
I can relate. I spent 3 days feeding gasoline to a generator from a hurricane outage this year and that was no fun, but at least we managed. Now I want solar plus storage and generator backup. It seems like overkill until you need it.
CaliSunHarvester
Solar Addict
Around here in the hills, we have had 72h to 120h straight without power. Combined outage during the past 12 months.. at least 8 days dark. No power = no water for most people. Personally, I have multiple water tanks with gravity flow. Even the folks who have generators, they don't hook them up to their well pumps. Understandable, as the well pump would need a dedicated generator capable of delivering 240V 20A+
We are on the verge of having an 8000w inverter, 12,000w of solar, 48k of storage with a Predator 9500 w generator for backup. The predator can give 240v 30amp service. Our power company has started rolling blackouts. We have had such an influx from people fleeing blue states and the power company is not able to keep up. After seeing my better half’s response to only one day without power I am not taking any chances.
CaliSunHarvester
Solar Addict
It gets really nasty for people who have a sewage ejector pump.. in an outage. I know of 2 such properties. County would not allow a leech field downhill from the house as there was a seasonal creek (I haven't seen water in it for 15 years). So they have their leech field above the structure. Has to be pumped up. The holding tank is less than 100G. Old plumber rules:
1) sh*t flows downhill
2) don't chew your finger nails
Any way, in an outage, it's for the better that they have no water.
1) sh*t flows downhill
2) don't chew your finger nails
Any way, in an outage, it's for the better that they have no water.
CaliSunHarvester
Solar Addict
What state are you in?
Idaho
SolarScott
Solar Enthusiast
- Joined
- Sep 27, 2022
- Messages
- 513
The freedom of being semi independent of the power company is worth more than most people will ever know.
We had an outage last Sat morning when the wind was blowing hard, neighbour got hit too but as I took 1 min to switch over to batteries he thought it was just him as we share the transformer and all my lights were on when he looked. I rang him up 20 mins later to ask if he had an issue and he had been speaking to his electrician, anyway we then knew it was the transformer and it was reported. He has a generator so no issues other than the inconvenience or switching back once the transformer fuse was replaced.
Got a planned days outage in a weeks time, the Electric supplier is bring a generator, the battery may get 100% charged
Got a planned days outage in a weeks time, the Electric supplier is bring a generator, the battery may get 100% charged
Frugal Devonian
Solar Enthusiast
I haven't got any utilities, just another day at the coalface for me.
Once our system is up and running I will monitor it and see if adding a second inverter will get us to totally independent.
About to mount my panels and same questions as to whether a single inverter is going to be enough .
Just having power to run water pumps during fire season when the POCO decides to shut down power may be "Priceless'.
DPC
Canada, Great already
Everyone should have a lantern but if your indoors you want a lamp.
I have a 157 princess made in 48. ( made in Canada up to 1970 so they are not that hard to find )
Its made from parts used in the early American 220 series.
This one like the one I have uses gasoline but there were kerosene versions......
Like the American 220 it uses the T44 gas generator, a very common part most sporting good shops have.
But if you swap the gas jet out for a #6 from a model 200 or 242 lantern now your jetted correctly for K1 and this is much safer to have in the house VS gasoline.
You will need a pre-heat cup for Kerosene.
The part you want can be had pretty easy from a Canadian 247 lantern...
Just google the parts you can build the kerosene parts...
These throw off a lot of heat.
It can pretty much help heat a room in winter.
When its cool my wife likes to sit in her Gazebo with the princess burning for light and some warmth.
I burn normal pump gas in it as intended...
Inside with pump gas its just fine too its designed to burn gasoline, but....
Do you want gasoline in the house?
Im not worried about it, but im not you..
Aladdin is still in business and they make a great lamp too.
Its not going to be quite as bright as a pressure lamp but its very safe and provides lots of light and warmth to a room
I have a 157 princess made in 48. ( made in Canada up to 1970 so they are not that hard to find )
Its made from parts used in the early American 220 series.
This one like the one I have uses gasoline but there were kerosene versions......
Like the American 220 it uses the T44 gas generator, a very common part most sporting good shops have.
But if you swap the gas jet out for a #6 from a model 200 or 242 lantern now your jetted correctly for K1 and this is much safer to have in the house VS gasoline.
You will need a pre-heat cup for Kerosene.
The part you want can be had pretty easy from a Canadian 247 lantern...
Just google the parts you can build the kerosene parts...
These throw off a lot of heat.
It can pretty much help heat a room in winter.
When its cool my wife likes to sit in her Gazebo with the princess burning for light and some warmth.
I burn normal pump gas in it as intended...
Inside with pump gas its just fine too its designed to burn gasoline, but....
Do you want gasoline in the house?
Im not worried about it, but im not you..
Aladdin is still in business and they make a great lamp too.
wpns
Solar Joules are catch and release
If it wasn’t for the Acrel grid monitor I installed I wouldn’t know when the grid fails. 
OffGridForGood
Catch, make or grow everything you can.
...I know, when the neighhours tell me !If it wasn’t for the Acrel grid monitor I installed I wouldn’t know when the grid fails.
crossy
Solar Wizard
Mine come round "for their kids to use the internet for homework". Sure they do!!
They actually end up gassing with Madam for hours whilst drinking my Thai hooch and eating our food!
Always good to keep in with the neighbours
Yep. I love the feeling of watching TV with the and using the computer while the entire area is black for hours. My security cameras stay active, and my fridge and freezer stay cold. The system isn't even very big, I just have solar and a generator to charge my batteries, so I have almost zero worry about an outage other than A/C, but I have a useable wood stove for winter. I can run fans, and if I rely heavily on my generator, I can also run a window unit or two in the summer, so it's all good.
The peace of mind is what really makes it worth it. Even a simple 100ah, 12v simple setup (with the accompanying panels) will handle all your basic needs.
dopeassjackson
Solar Enthusiast
1day with out power and it was planned and she jumped ship?
There is a way to put a new service in and not loose power for more than a few minutes. I did my own service and did it this way.
There is a way to put a new service in and not loose power for more than a few minutes. I did my own service and did it this way.
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