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When the lights go out...
- Thread starter kyredneck
- Start date
We don't have a backup in terms of electricity (yet), but we have other backups for "when the lights go out".
We heat our house entirely with a wood stove.
Our stove for cooking is hooked to a 500gallon propane tank that would last us years.
For light we have oil lamps and lamp oil laid by.
We have a good size branch running through the front "yard" so our water is taken care of.
We do have 3 freezers, and 2 fridge/freezers though so we'd like a gas generator for those.
We've talked about getting a wind turbine, or hydroelectric setup too.
My father has a gas generator and he has enough amperage output to run his fridge, well pump and some ancillary devices.
We heat our house entirely with a wood stove.
Our stove for cooking is hooked to a 500gallon propane tank that would last us years.
For light we have oil lamps and lamp oil laid by.
We have a good size branch running through the front "yard" so our water is taken care of.
We do have 3 freezers, and 2 fridge/freezers though so we'd like a gas generator for those.
We've talked about getting a wind turbine, or hydroelectric setup too.
My father has a gas generator and he has enough amperage output to run his fridge, well pump and some ancillary devices.
Did that for decades, still have the wood stove & chimney so could be back burning wood in about 1/2 day. We heat primarily with propane now.
Our primary tank is 500 gal, supplies furnace and cook stove though now we use counter top appliances for most of our cooking - Instant Pot, air fryer, George Foreman grill, microwave, Betty Crocker pizza maker (countertop oven with multiple uses, very handy), the portable power supply can handle them all.. Average winter we fill the tank once a year in the Spring.
Lol, same here. We've a small collection of vintage oil lamps and they'll heat our house in the winter but run us out in the summer, so I have solar lanterns for summer lighting.
Drought of 88 our well went dry, I built an 11,000 gal cistern that year and we've lived like city people ever since.
I'd say you get some wind where you're at. Hydroelectric would be cool but I think you'd need a deep dam to obtain the pressure required for a turbine, right?
The portable power station I've got comes with four 100w solar panels which I've tested. The solar panels charged the unit from 25% to 100% in <4hrs. I was pleasantly surprised.
That's similar to what I have, and yes a gasoline generator should handle those, I'd suggest at least 5kw. My Generac 5.5kw (around $600 in 2015) will handle anything I've got in the house, including electric water heater and water pump selectively, one at a time.
Cool. Thanks for sharing!
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It's something to think about, whether to take the plunge. If you're handy enough with electric to make you're own quick connect at the breaker box for a gasoline generator (as opposed to an automatic changeover), it's the more affordable way to go. (just remember to shut off the main breaker before energizing the generator
)Power outages are fairly frequent at our location mostly due to the particular line that we're on. Ice storms are bad news here. We've gone seven, four, three, and many single day outages due to weather alone.
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I am handy enough. I'll have to check into it.It's something to think about, whether to take the plunge. If you're handy enough with electric to make you're own quick connect at the breaker box for a gasoline generator (as opposed to an automatic changeover), it's the more affordable way to go. (just remember to shut off the main breaker before energizing the generator
Power outages are fairly frequent at our particular location mostly due to the particular line that we're on. Ice storms are bad news here. We've gone seven, four, three, and many single day outages due to weather alone.
likewise!! We have a power outage only about 3 time a year, and 90% of the time we're back online in less than 6-8 hours, & usually in less than 1 hour.
Although at the time we declare we're going to get one, have never felt the pressure enough to follow through.
'Course with the way the country is going right now, might ought to get one just as "BIDEN" insurance!
Precisely!
That's my issue. I have never been without power during the 3 years I have lived here. I guess it's more about peace of mind.likewise!! We have a power outage only about 3 time a year, and 90% of the time we're back online in less than 6-8 hours, & usually in less than 1 hour.
Although at the time we declare we're going to get one, have never felt the pressure enough to follow through.
'Course with the way the country is going right now, might ought to get one just as "BIDEN" insurance!
I like @kyredneck 's recommendation.
Same here, mostly just annoying but almost always at inopportune times. That's where the portable power station fits perfectly. It's basically a smart lithium ion battery equipped with an inverter to power AC appliances that can be charged three different ways - wall receptacle, car cigarette lighter, and solar panels (also portable). It can be stored for months in a closet without losing it's charge. It's quick, quiet, clean, with no CO gas to be concerned with, very popular with RVers, campers, etc.... but pricey. Trump, or Biden, or somebody
, direct deposited into our account 'stimulus money', to which I promptly obliged to stimulate the economy. and purchased the unit. One of the most annoying times for these short outages has been when we're settled in for the evening and the program we're watching is interrupted. I tested the unit by powering the TV, satellite receiver, ROKU, and WI-FI for five hrs, and it still had 60% left to go. It powered one of our small refrigerators for over 24 hrs with about 25% capacity left. It will power every countertop appliance we have, so, I'm very pleased to have it. Thank you Lord.
Is this what I check on, “portable power station”?
Sounds like a winner!
Sounds like a winner!
There's many on the market (it's an emerging technology and a new market), the one I have comes with or without solar panels.
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There IS a difference between these two units. One of the biggest negatives/complaints about solar generators was the long charge time (like 10-12 hrs) using solar panels. Jackery designed their solar version (the one w/panels) with dual input ports that basically cut the charge time in half. FYI
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