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What did we learn from Irma?

SOLGardener said:
I'm still without power to the house. I have a 10kw Generac fed by a 500 gallon propane tank, but since it's cool outside, I just cut it off. It was only powering the fridge, really. I have a 750w inverter and brought a spare battery inside last night and charged the phone and back up phone charger on the inverter. I also hooked up the wifi router since I have DSL and had wifi, but no power.

I was low on groceries anyway, so I boiled the remaining eggs, used my Camp Chef Range that I bought off ODT to cook on. Also the Maglite AA led flashlight works like a candle as the head unscrews and you can put the base in it as a stand. It's very bright and fills the room.
Click to expand...

Good thing you have the generator, I'd pulled my hair out by now w/o power.
 
I learned that my friends don't know CARP about Prepping, calling me when the storm is over your house and asking me questions is crazy. I had my wife and son placed half of our radio's, batteries, candles and matches in our 2 extra bedroom dressers for easy access.
 
After Matthew I fixed my place up so that I could back feed my house with my generator, man that is nice! I opted for a dual fuel generator so I can run it off propane as my primary and gasoline as a secondary (only in case of emergency). Two other things I haven't seen mentioned in this post that I thought would be helpful:
  • WaterBOB – These are pretty neat and will not break the bank. They fit into your bath tub and then you fill them with water. Can hold up to 100 gal of water. We just keep one at all times now and replace it as soon as we use it. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001AXLUX2/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
  • Boarding Up Windows – Something we all do when the storm threatens to come near, but how do you effectively attach the wood to your house? I live in a log home so drywall screws work for me, but I’m in the minority. A buddy of mine uses the following Hillman hanger bolts and swears by them. They screw into the house (through siding or into mortar joints between bricks) and then the plywood can be secured to the other side of the bolt with a washer and standard nut. Trick with these is you install them once and leave them for years to come. If you keep your plywood between storms and label the windows it came off of it makes boarding up for the next storm pretty quick and easy. https://www.lowes.com/pd/Hillman-2-Count-5-16-in-x-2-in-Zinc-Plated-Hanger-Bolts/3035751
Hope these ideas are helpful to others.
 
78Bronco said:
After Matthew I fixed my place up so that I could back feed my house with my generator, man that is nice! I opted for a dual fuel generator so I can run it off propane as my primary and gasoline as a secondary (only in case of emergency). Two other things I haven't seen mentioned in this post that I thought would be helpful:
  • WaterBOB – These are pretty neat and will not break the bank. They fit into your bath tub and then you fill them with water. Can hold up to 100 gal of water. We just keep one at all times now and replace it as soon as we use it. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001AXLUX2/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
  • Boarding Up Windows – Something we all do when the storm threatens to come near, but how do you effectively attach the wood to your house? I live in a log home so drywall screws work for me, but I’m in the minority. A buddy of mine uses the following Hillman hanger bolts and swears by them. They screw into the house (through siding or into mortar joints between bricks) and then the plywood can be secured to the other side of the bolt with a washer and standard nut. Trick with these is you install them once and leave them for years to come. If you keep your plywood between storms and label the windows it came off of it makes boarding up for the next storm pretty quick and easy. https://www.lowes.com/pd/Hillman-2-Count-5-16-in-x-2-in-Zinc-Plated-Hanger-Bolts/3035751
Hope these ideas are helpful to others.
Click to expand...
I am in the market for a dual fuel also, but will have to find an honest company to do the work..Until then I am gonna start saving and use the remote Genny until then.
 
Mine is also a Champion remote start..But I need a larger one that start with a switching box...It needs to come on with out me starting it..I'm thinking probably 12-14k of power
 
My house is on a community well and the service company for the well has a generator for the well, so without power there is still water pressure. However, I'm planning to have my own well drilled and have it wired for power off the house/generator. Next is to replace the water heater with a propane water heater. Oddly, I had hot water this morning and haven't had the generator running since Tuesday AM. Next goal is to make sure I can tap into the propane supply and have 50-100 gallons on hand should I run out or have a leak from the main tank. I want a two is one, one is none solution since the house is relying on the propane source.
 
I had inlaws come from FL and stay for several days. I learned WTF, they are like fish, after 3 days ...

At my old house, I had a means to back-feed my power panel via a dedicated 240 volt receptacle. Switch off the main, plug gen into the receptacle, lite off the gen, and close the breaker to the 240 volt receptacle and Bob's your uncle. I used it several time in the 15 years that I lived there - once for several days straight. 2 Years ago I moved. I had procrastinated on any type of hookup. I learned that I need to get that taken care of!
 
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