Hurricane Sandy. What did every one do right and wrong?

[2ndovc]

I had plenty of food, water and fuel for about three weeks or more. ( guns and ammo excluded, that could go years!).

The one thing I didn't do was make sure the generators were working.
I have what's been a super reliable Subaru 2300 watt generator that has always started on the first or
second pull for ten years, but last weekend it just wouldn't run. I spent hours taking it apart and cleaning components
with no luck. My cheapie back up hasn't run in years and last week was no exception.
I have a big 5000 watt job that was damaged on a job site that I haven't gotten repaired.

We were fine for the 18 hrs without power but I was really disappointed with myself for not making sure everything was
working as it should.

We got lucky. It was not that cold and we didn't get the rain we were forecast.

All three generators are going to the mechanic's tomorrow. Won't have this happen again.

Anyone else get caught short?

jb

[Ray Newman]

2ndovc: here in the pacific North West, power outages are normal. My generator is a battery start hooked up to a trickle charger. Every 15th of the month, I disconnect the charge, start the genetaor and let it run for about 10 minutes.

Whenever I hear a storm is comming, always full up the truck, check the 5 gallon gas cans, food stuffs, etc. If it will snow, I get two 45 lbs. bags of fertilizer or bird seed, etc., and put iover the van's rear wheels for increased traction. Even though the van has WD, the extra weight does help.

[Mescalero]

2ndovc,
You know better,
especially in your line of work.
This one is on you.

[AJMD429]

One of the Mormon friends I have says their family spends one weekend every month as a "family home weekend" by flipping off the main circuit breaker to their house and turning their cell-phones off. Granted, they still have an intact house and so on, so it isn't replicating a total disaster, but it makes sure the generator is up, the camping stove works, and allows (requires) rotation of their food stock (dehydrated and so on).

Sounds like a good strategy.

[2571]

We had residual rain &strong winds here in MI.

If it'd been any worse, I would have had to find my umbrella. :>)

I intend no slight to the actual victims & have been praying for them.

[jeepnik]

The biggest thing that people did wrong, was the same thing with Katrina and just about all other "predictable" natural disasters. They didn't get out of dodge when they were told to. Whether it's pride or stupidity doesn't matter.

I live in earthquake country. Believe me if I were told that in three days (and they had at least that) that a large earthquake would occur, I'd be in Texas by the time it happened. Man cannot overpower Mother Nature. Fools keep trying, and they keep failing.

[jhrosier]

I bought a 6500W generator after being without power for a week after the surprise blizzard last October last year. It has been tested every six weeks since January and is ready for 3 days to a week's duty , depending on the temperature, without getting more fuel. We depend on electricity for light, heat, and water. I live on a dead end road so there is a possibility that the road could be impassable for a day or more.

The generator is large enough to run the furnace, fridge, 3/4hp well pump, and some lighting simultaneously. I did have to get a 1000W hot plate to replace the kitchen stove.

We were surrounded by destruction but only got a bunch of rain and gusty winds here in central MA. We lost power for six hours.

It took about 15 minutes to get the generator hooked up and fueled. Everything worked as planned except my BSR X10 light switches which are on some of my lighting circuits. They couldn't reach through the electrical noise to control those lighting circuits. They will be replaced with standard manual switches at the first opportunity.

It was satisfying to not be totally a victim of circumstances.

I planned to use the generator on a 50% duty cycle to conserve fuel, with oil lamps for light when the generator is off. I did find the odor of the oil lamps bothersome so they will soon be replaced with LED lanterns. During the next few months I am going to double the amount of fuel that I store for the generator. We regularly use enough fuel for commuting to make it easy to cycle the stored fuel through the cars to keep a fresh supply always on hand.

We got lucky once again, and have an opportunity to continue preparing for the next surprise.

Jack

[RIHMFIRE]

normally i dont worry about hurricanes that develop this late in the year....
most of them stay off shore and head up north to you yankees...
but this one was so huge that we got wacked with heavy wind and rain...
But no damage ...just a mote around the house...and that soaked in and
ran off quick....no power outages.....nothing...
the last couple of years the hurricanes just stayed off shore
or went though the gulf of mexico....

Generator has not been used for a long while...
need to check that and store up on the usual stuff

[2ndovc]

2ndovc,
You know better,
especially in your line of work.
This one is on you.

Exactly! I was really angry with myself for not testing my little Subaru generator. I usually gets run
three, four times a year at my cabin or during the power outages that we often have several times a year.
Just haven't had one lately and I've been traveling lite when going to PA. Only so much room in my Jeep.

It was a really bad goof. If we had gotten the rain we should have I would have had to deal with a flooded basement
and flood insurance doesn't kick in until the water is up to the bottom of the first floor.
That would have been bad!

Now all three generators are at the repair shop. Won't happen again.

jb

[wilko]

Nice post.. I think we were prepared for the storm pretty decently. After last years snowstorm we bought a 7000 watt electric start generater and had a panel installed by an electrician.. talk about expensive but boy was it worth it. This generator is capable of running pretty much the whole house. Filled up the cars in time, ran the generator, had gas and extra oil for the generator at hand and made sure the chainsaw was ready for use.

We had food enough for many days and water was not a problem anymore now that we have power for the well pump. The only thing we need to improve is having a bit more gas at hand next time. We had 17 gallons but i'd like to have a bit more next time..

[Malamute]

.... Filled up the cars in time, ran the generator, had gas and extra oil for the generator at hand ...

You mentioned somethng that's important. Most generators have a low oil shutoff. It's also considered normal to use some oil. Newer Gens may not have much issue with it, but as they get some time on them, they can start to use oil. First time mine shut down and wouldn't restart it took a while to figure out it was the low oil shutoff. Keeping oil on hand is important.

If your local regs dont cause issue with it, 30 gallon steel drums are a good way to store and transport fuel. The 30's are far easier to handle than the 55's. I can load them empty into my flatbed trailer, fill them at the station, them roll/tip them out, and roll to where I store them by myself. I have a hand pump for mine. I used to keep several 30's on hand, partly because I live and work a ways out of town and don't drive my work truck to town, Many rural folks have farm tanks. The fuel companies here will loan you the tanks to use if you buy a certain amount of fuel from them. Just have to have enough money up front to buy the first lot of fuel. It's also a few cents a gallon cheaper than buying at the pump, at least it is here.

[Mescalero]

I have a 500 gallon tank at my place in N.M.
It's a big bite when the fuel truck comes around.

[Malamute]

Several neighbors have 300's. The truck comes around every couple months and tops them off I think.

[alnitak]

I picked up a generator, but don't really have gas storage capacity, other than the car tanks. I need to get 4-5 containers. Any suggestions for surplus cans? New ones are expensive (like $40-$60 per can!). Also, this CARB compliant stuff is ridiculous! I just want a good can I can use a siphon with.

[mikld]

Having spent most of my life in earthquake country (So CA) it's a habit to keep at least a week's worth of food and water. I was a member of the Civilian Emergency Responce Team (green hats) in LA so I had plenty of first aid stuff available. I also had a 30' sailboat completely outfitted with several days supplies (plus a stainless steel Super Blackhawk with ammo sealed in airtight bags) so we could just move to the boat in case. Here in Oregon, I still keep food, water and generator handy...

[L_Kilkenny]

I for one am very glad to see you folks doing what should be done, Sandy should be another lesson for all of us.

On a less happy note, I'm really sick and tired of some of the post Sandy coverage........ Fox news in particular. Fox News whined, moaned and cried foul after the other channels and the liberals bashed Bush and the slow response after Katrina, and rightfully so. The Government can't save everyone in one day or in one week for that matter and the Bush bashing was over the top IMO. But now Fox News is the one seeking all those same "the government needs to save me" types out, putting them on the air and complaining about the federal response under Obama. I mean lord help us if Obama gets re-elected but Fox News is looking like a bunch of idiots. They should be seeking those folk out, putting them on the air and then follow it up with "what the hell did you expect" comments.

Let's face it, all of us live in an area that may be effected for days, weeks or even months by weather or other natural phenomenons. Help very well may be a long time away. People need to pull their heads outta their behinds and think about what to do before it happens (as many/most of you have). And if you don't, don't go around screaming for the government to bail you out in 24 hours.

[Chas.]

Speaking of gen units, are they difficult or expensive to convert to burn natural gas. For those with NG, it would be much easier than messing with a bunch of tanks/drums. I'm not sure about the cost, but it couldn't be more expensive than gasoline.

[Mescalero]

The ones I have had contact with are known for consuming more fuel per hour than thier gas counterparts.

[Chas.]

The ones I have had contact with are known for consuming more fuel per hour than thier gas counterparts.

When you say gas, do you mean gasoline or NG?

[Mescalero]

Sorry,
gasoline.

[jeepnik]

Having spent most of my life in earthquake country (So CA) it's a habit to keep at least a week's worth of food and water. I was a member of the Civilian Emergency Responce Team (green hats) in LA so I had plenty of first aid stuff available. I also had a 30' sailboat completely outfitted with several days supplies (plus a stainless steel Super Blackhawk with ammo sealed in airtight bags) so we could just move to the boat in case. Here in Oregon, I still keep food, water and generator handy...

Hey, while Oregon may not be as earthquake prone al SoCal, it's still on the Pacific Ring of Fire. So, being prepared there makes just as much (maybe more) sense than down here. But I imagine if you tried to talk your neighbors into preparing for an earthquake, they'd just slowly drift away for the newly arrived crazy.