http://www.cnn.com/2011/US/08/28/irene.new.jersey/

Street surfing in 'Jersey!
How did it go, Ed?

--Winston

"Winston" wrote in message
...
http://www.cnn.com/2011/US/08/28/irene.new.jersey/

Street surfing in 'Jersey!
How did it go, Ed?

--Winston

I got some practice on my backstroke in the basement. g This is the first
I've been online, and I'm still on borrowed power.

So...how it went. The wind blew, and stuff flew, and the rain came down. And
down. And down. And down...

My sump pump was handling it well, and I was cleaning up the slurps with my
shop vac until 1:00 AM. Then I laid down for a rest; set the alarm for 3:00
AM.

About 2:00 AM, according to the clocks, a branch from my neighbor's tree
fell across my power, cable, and telephone feeds (the lines are across the
street). All three came down. I woke up around 7:00 AM to find 7 inches of
water in the basement, which wiped out my compressor, several boxes of
tools, my water heater, and God knows what else. I spent hours getting the
water heater pilot tube off (without breaking it), blew out the water, and
eventually got it back together and re-lit. It was making gurgling sounds.
and spitting at me.

I borrowed power from a neighbor, for the sump pump, one light and the
refrigerator. I got the last of the water out this morning. Still no power.
Cable hooked up an hour ago, so I fired up the computer on power borrowed
from my neighbor.

Now I have to get off and re-connect it to the refrigerator. g

No other damage and everyone is well. See you soon.

Oh, if you caught "Good Morning America" this morning around 7: 15 ET, they
had a live feed of a street in NJ with an oak tree around 80 years old down
across the end of a cul-de-sac, with power lines down all over. That was two
doors down from my house. They asked to interview me. Having been up for
1-1/2 nights with no shower, I declined. d8-)

--
Ed Huntress

Ed Huntress wrote:
wrote in message
...
http://www.cnn.com/2011/US/08/28/irene.new.jersey/

Street surfing in 'Jersey!
How did it go, Ed?

--Winston

I got some practice on my backstroke in the basement.g This is the first
I've been online, and I'm still on borrowed power.

Welcome back Ed! Ya had me worried.

So...how it went. The wind blew, and stuff flew, and the rain came down. And
down. And down. And down...

My sump pump was handling it well, and I was cleaning up the slurps with my
shop vac until 1:00 AM. Then I laid down for a rest; set the alarm for 3:00
AM.

About 2:00 AM, according to the clocks, a branch from my neighbor's tree
fell across my power, cable, and telephone feeds (the lines are across the
street). All three came down.

'Times like this you gotta wonder why we hang those cables
in the air like that.

I woke up around 7:00 AM to find 7 inches of
water in the basement, which wiped out my compressor, several boxes of
tools, my water heater, and God knows what else. I spent hours getting the
water heater pilot tube off (without breaking it), blew out the water, and
eventually got it back together and re-lit. It was making gurgling sounds.
and spitting at me.

Ungrateful inanimate object!

I borrowed power from a neighbor, for the sump pump, one light and the
refrigerator. I got the last of the water out this morning. Still no power.
Cable hooked up an hour ago, so I fired up the computer on power borrowed
from my neighbor.

'Sounds like that neighbor has some favors coming!

Now I have to get off and re-connect it to the refrigerator.g

No other damage and everyone is well. See you soon.

Oh, if you caught "Good Morning America" this morning around 7: 15 ET, they
had a live feed of a street in NJ with an oak tree around 80 years old down
across the end of a cul-de-sac, with power lines down all over. That was two
doors down from my house. They asked to interview me. Having been up for
1-1/2 nights with no shower, I declined. d8-)

You got through it with flying colors!

Thanks for checking in.

--Winston

On Aug 29, 4:20*pm, "Ed Huntress" wrote:

[lotsa bad stuff snipped]

Wow - sorry to hear about all that, Ed.

Fortunately (in this case only), I'm a light sleeper, and when my
power went out at about 5am The beeping from the UPS downstairs woke
me up. I had the generator going within three minutes. As unreliable
as our power has been lately, at least five of the 24 houses on my
block have generators - most in the 5KVA range, but at least one of
them is just big enough to run just a pump or a fridge, but not both.
Mine is 5KVA and I backfeed it into the house so I can run whatever I
turn on (but not all at once). I think it cost about $600 several
years ago, and that's among the best money I ever spent. Iggy can
probably find you one for 20 bucks. I also hooked it up to three
neighbor's houses to pump out their basements.

One of my customers, in East Brunswick (and five of his neighbors),
has about five feet of water in his basement and four feet of water in
his back yard, thanks to a new sound deadening wall erected by the NJ
Turnpike which is acting like a dam. They're supposed to be bringing
in a cran this evening to lift the wall and let the water out.
Unbelievable stupidity.

You'll be happy to know, however, that Rich Grise thinks we're all a
bunch of pussies (see some other thread).

My 5HP (that's imaginary sears HP) wet/dry vacuum sucks very well. It
gets the floor practically dry. Someday, however, I need to make a
quick-drain valve for it so I can empty its 16 gallon tank into the
sump pit rather than lifting it (a bucketfull at a time) into the
utility sink.

My Friedrich 70 pint dehumidifier. It just works

My wife, who finally got me to get everything off the floor before the
storm.

The Subaru engine on my generator. It starts on the third pull EVERY
time. It's getting an oil change this week.

My neighbors, who were all pretty good to each other this week. And,
as an aside, Jack Daniels "Gentleman Jack," without which, maybe a
couple of the neighbors would have been somewhat less enjoyable
company.

Lastly, and I really thought I'd choke before ever saying this, Chris
Christie has done a pretty good job so far handling this. There are
precious few things we agree on, but this week, he kept politics out
of it and just did his job. And I appreciate that. I'll go back to
beating him up soon enough, I expect.

"Ed Huntress" wrote in message
...

"Winston" wrote in message
...
http://www.cnn.com/2011/US/08/28/irene.new.jersey/

Street surfing in 'Jersey!
How did it go, Ed?

--Winston

I got some practice on my backstroke in the basement. g This is the
first I've been online, and I'm still on borrowed power.

So...how it went. The wind blew, and stuff flew, and the rain came down.
And down. And down. And down...

My sump pump was handling it well, and I was cleaning up the slurps with
my shop vac until 1:00 AM. Then I laid down for a rest; set the alarm for
3:00 AM.

About 2:00 AM, according to the clocks, a branch from my neighbor's tree
fell across my power, cable, and telephone feeds (the lines are across the
street). All three came down. I woke up around 7:00 AM to find 7 inches of
water in the basement, which wiped out my compressor, several boxes of
tools, my water heater, and God knows what else. I spent hours getting the
water heater pilot tube off (without breaking it), blew out the water, and
eventually got it back together and re-lit. It was making gurgling sounds.
and spitting at me.

I borrowed power from a neighbor, for the sump pump, one light and the
refrigerator. I got the last of the water out this morning. Still no
power. Cable hooked up an hour ago, so I fired up the computer on power
borrowed from my neighbor.

Now I have to get off and re-connect it to the refrigerator. g

No other damage and everyone is well. See you soon.

Oh, if you caught "Good Morning America" this morning around 7: 15 ET,
they had a live feed of a street in NJ with an oak tree around 80 years
old down across the end of a cul-de-sac, with power lines down all over.
That was two doors down from my house. They asked to interview me. Having
been up for 1-1/2 nights with no shower, I declined. d8-)

--
Ed Huntress
Hope you get your power back on soon. My sidewalk was covered in water and I
was paddle boarding down the street. But we never lost power although about
500,000 local utility customers did.

"Too_Many_Tools" wrote in message
...
On Aug 29, 3:20 pm, "Ed Huntress" wrote:
"Winston" wrote in message

...

http://www.cnn.com/2011/US/08/28/irene.new.jersey/

Street surfing in 'Jersey!
How did it go, Ed?

--Winston

I got some practice on my backstroke in the basement. g This is the
first
I've been online, and I'm still on borrowed power.

So...how it went. The wind blew, and stuff flew, and the rain came down.
And
down. And down. And down...

My sump pump was handling it well, and I was cleaning up the slurps with
my
shop vac until 1:00 AM. Then I laid down for a rest; set the alarm for
3:00
AM.

About 2:00 AM, according to the clocks, a branch from my neighbor's tree
fell across my power, cable, and telephone feeds (the lines are across the
street). All three came down. I woke up around 7:00 AM to find 7 inches of
water in the basement, which wiped out my compressor, several boxes of
tools, my water heater, and God knows what else. I spent hours getting the
water heater pilot tube off (without breaking it), blew out the water, and
eventually got it back together and re-lit. It was making gurgling sounds.
and spitting at me.

I borrowed power from a neighbor, for the sump pump, one light and the
refrigerator. I got the last of the water out this morning. Still no
power.
Cable hooked up an hour ago, so I fired up the computer on power borrowed
from my neighbor.

Now I have to get off and re-connect it to the refrigerator. g

No other damage and everyone is well. See you soon.

Oh, if you caught "Good Morning America" this morning around 7: 15 ET,
they
had a live feed of a street in NJ with an oak tree around 80 years old
down
across the end of a cul-de-sac, with power lines down all over. That was
two
doors down from my house. They asked to interview me. Having been up for
1-1/2 nights with no shower, I declined. d8-)

--
Ed Huntress

Good to hear that things are working out.

Millions of people got very lucky with Irene.

TMT

And many more did not. The floods have killed people and destroyed a LOT of
homes.

I could myself among the lucky ones. They re-connected my power lines around
midnight.

--
Ed Huntress

"ATP" wrote in message
...

"Ed Huntress" wrote in message
...

"Winston" wrote in message
...
http://www.cnn.com/2011/US/08/28/irene.new.jersey/

Street surfing in 'Jersey!
How did it go, Ed?

--Winston

I got some practice on my backstroke in the basement. g This is the
first I've been online, and I'm still on borrowed power.

So...how it went. The wind blew, and stuff flew, and the rain came down.
And down. And down. And down...

My sump pump was handling it well, and I was cleaning up the slurps with
my shop vac until 1:00 AM. Then I laid down for a rest; set the alarm for
3:00 AM.

About 2:00 AM, according to the clocks, a branch from my neighbor's tree
fell across my power, cable, and telephone feeds (the lines are across
the street). All three came down. I woke up around 7:00 AM to find 7
inches of water in the basement, which wiped out my compressor, several
boxes of tools, my water heater, and God knows what else. I spent hours
getting the water heater pilot tube off (without breaking it), blew out
the water, and eventually got it back together and re-lit. It was making
gurgling sounds. and spitting at me.

I borrowed power from a neighbor, for the sump pump, one light and the
refrigerator. I got the last of the water out this morning. Still no
power. Cable hooked up an hour ago, so I fired up the computer on power
borrowed from my neighbor.

Now I have to get off and re-connect it to the refrigerator. g

No other damage and everyone is well. See you soon.

Oh, if you caught "Good Morning America" this morning around 7: 15 ET,
they had a live feed of a street in NJ with an oak tree around 80 years
old down across the end of a cul-de-sac, with power lines down all over.
That was two doors down from my house. They asked to interview me. Having
been up for 1-1/2 nights with no shower, I declined. d8-)

--
Ed Huntress
Hope you get your power back on soon. My sidewalk was covered in water and
I was paddle boarding down the street. But we never lost power although
about 500,000 local utility customers did.

Thanks, it was restored around midnight last night. Most of my town lost
power; people on my street did not -- except for me. d8-). It was the drops
from the poles across the street that were wiped out, which allowed me to
borrow power from a neighbor who had been luckier.

--
Ed Huntress

On Aug 29, 6:25*pm, rangerssuck wrote:

Mine is 5KVA and I backfeed it into the house so I can run whatever I
turn on (but not all at once). I think it cost about $600 several
years ago, and that's among the best money I ever spent. Iggy can
probably find you one for 20 bucks. I also hooked it up to three
neighbor's houses to pump out their basements.


Good to hear that you were prepared. We lucked out here and did not
lose power. I had moved most everything up so the basement could have
flooded and nothing would have been damaged. So now things have to be
put back where they belong. I have a generator, but this has me
thinking about maybe installing a inexpensive back up battery operated
sump pump. Getting up in the middle of the night to start a generator
is better than not having a generator to start. But I would rather
sleep in.

Dan

On Aug 29, 9:44*pm, " wrote:
On Aug 29, 6:25*pm, rangerssuck wrote:

Mine is 5KVA and I backfeed it into the house so I can run whatever I
turn on (but not all at once). I think it cost about $600 several
years ago, and that's among the best money I ever spent. Iggy can
probably find you one for 20 bucks. I also hooked it up to three
neighbor's houses to pump out their basements.

Good to hear that you were prepared. *We lucked out here and did not
lose power. *I had moved most everything up so the basement could have
flooded and nothing would have been damaged. *So now things have to be
put back where they belong. *I have a generator, but this has me
thinking about maybe installing a inexpensive back up battery operated
sump pump. *Getting up in the middle of the night to start a generator
is better than not having a generator to start. *But I would rather
sleep in.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *Dan

I've thought about that (battery sump pump), too. It ought to be
pretty easy to find, say, a 12V (or maybe 24V?) bilge pump. I don't
know anything about boats, but I can't imagine that such a thing would
be uncommon. Add a couple of forklift batteries and a float charger,
and you're in business.

On Aug 29, 9:26*pm, "ATP" wrote:
"Ed Huntress" wrote in message

...





"Winston" wrote in message
...
http://www.cnn.com/2011/US/08/28/irene.new.jersey/

Street surfing in 'Jersey!
How did it go, Ed?

--Winston

I got some practice on my backstroke in the basement. g This is the
first I've been online, and I'm still on borrowed power.

So...how it went. The wind blew, and stuff flew, and the rain came down..
And down. And down. And down...

My sump pump was handling it well, and I was cleaning up the slurps with
my shop vac until 1:00 AM. Then I laid down for a rest; set the alarm for
3:00 AM.

About 2:00 AM, according to the clocks, a branch from my neighbor's tree
fell across my power, cable, and telephone feeds (the lines are across the
street). All three came down. I woke up around 7:00 AM to find 7 inches of
water in the basement, which wiped out my compressor, several boxes of
tools, my water heater, and God knows what else. I spent hours getting the
water heater pilot tube off (without breaking it), blew out the water, and
eventually got it back together and re-lit. It was making gurgling sounds.
and spitting at me.

I borrowed power from a neighbor, for the sump pump, one light and the
refrigerator. I got the last of the water out this morning. Still no
power. Cable hooked up an hour ago, so I fired up the computer on power
borrowed from my neighbor.

Now I have to get off and re-connect it to the refrigerator. g

No other damage and everyone is well. See you soon.

Oh, if you caught "Good Morning America" this morning around 7: 15 ET,
they had a live feed of a street in NJ with an oak tree around 80 years
old down across the end of a cul-de-sac, with power lines down all over..
That was two doors down from my house. They asked to interview me. Having
been up for 1-1/2 nights with no shower, I declined. d8-)

--
Ed Huntress

Hope you get your power back on soon. My sidewalk was covered in water and I
was paddle boarding down the street. But we never lost power although about
500,000 local utility customers did

I was just in Bergenfield, NJ, and a large section of their business
district is still dark. That's pretty surprising, especially since a
new substation was recently installed (and it's where my power comes
from) right behind some of the stores that are currently without
'lectricity. I know the whole grid is something of a spiderweb, but
jeeze, if the transformer is right in your backyard and you're sitting
in the dark, well I for one would be pretty ****ed off.

Tomorrow, I'm going to take a ride up there and find some utility guy
to explain it to me. These guys love to talk about this stuff.

"Ignoramus4719" wrote in message
...
Life lesson #116: having a generator or two is essential.

In my case, in this storm, a generator wouldn't have done anything. The last
time I wished I had one was after a nor'easter 25 years ago. And all it
would have done for me then is save maybe $50 worth of food.


I have two: a 20 kW diesel, and a small 1.5 kW gas one, pretty old.

I also live on a hill, have a 12v backup sump pump, three extra
batteries (not great, but better than nothing), an extra 115v sump
pump, 115v utility pump, and a 115v irrigation pump.

Also a water alarm.

I did not buy all those pumps new just for the basement. Say, the
irrigation pump I am using for my kids water slide, second 115v sump
pump is from me replacing it with a new Zoeller pump, etc. But it helps.

Glad you guys made it, could have been worse.

i

On 2011-08-30, Ed Huntress wrote:

"Too_Many_Tools" wrote in message
...
On Aug 29, 3:20 pm, "Ed Huntress" wrote:
"Winston" wrote in message

...

http://www.cnn.com/2011/US/08/28/irene.new.jersey/

Street surfing in 'Jersey!
How did it go, Ed?

--Winston

I got some practice on my backstroke in the basement. g This is the
first
I've been online, and I'm still on borrowed power.

So...how it went. The wind blew, and stuff flew, and the rain came down.
And
down. And down. And down...

My sump pump was handling it well, and I was cleaning up the slurps with
my
shop vac until 1:00 AM. Then I laid down for a rest; set the alarm for
3:00
AM.

About 2:00 AM, according to the clocks, a branch from my neighbor's tree
fell across my power, cable, and telephone feeds (the lines are across
the
street). All three came down. I woke up around 7:00 AM to find 7 inches
of
water in the basement, which wiped out my compressor, several boxes of
tools, my water heater, and God knows what else. I spent hours getting
the
water heater pilot tube off (without breaking it), blew out the water,
and
eventually got it back together and re-lit. It was making gurgling
sounds.
and spitting at me.

I borrowed power from a neighbor, for the sump pump, one light and the
refrigerator. I got the last of the water out this morning. Still no
power.
Cable hooked up an hour ago, so I fired up the computer on power
borrowed
from my neighbor.

Now I have to get off and re-connect it to the refrigerator. g

No other damage and everyone is well. See you soon.

Oh, if you caught "Good Morning America" this morning around 7: 15 ET,
they
had a live feed of a street in NJ with an oak tree around 80 years old
down
across the end of a cul-de-sac, with power lines down all over. That was
two
doors down from my house. They asked to interview me. Having been up for
1-1/2 nights with no shower, I declined. d8-)


Good to hear that things are working out.

Millions of people got very lucky with Irene.

TMT

And many more did not. The floods have killed people and destroyed a LOT
of
homes.

I could myself among the lucky ones. They re-connected my power lines
around
midnight.

"rangerssuck" wrote in message
...
On Aug 29, 4:20 pm, "Ed Huntress" wrote:

[lotsa bad stuff snipped]

Wow - sorry to hear about all that, Ed.

Fortunately (in this case only), I'm a light sleeper, and when my
power went out at about 5am The beeping from the UPS downstairs woke
me up. I had the generator going within three minutes. As unreliable
as our power has been lately, at least five of the 24 houses on my
block have generators - most in the 5KVA range, but at least one of
them is just big enough to run just a pump or a fridge, but not both.
Mine is 5KVA and I backfeed it into the house so I can run whatever I
turn on (but not all at once). I think it cost about $600 several
years ago, and that's among the best money I ever spent. Iggy can
probably find you one for 20 bucks. I also hooked it up to three
neighbor's houses to pump out their basements.

================================================== ===
[Ed responds]

'Glad you made out OK. As for the generator, we've lived here for 33 years
and I only wished I had one once, 25 years ago. But even then, it only would
have saved me $50 in lost food. It wouldn't have helped remove the two huge
trees across our cul-de-sac, which kept us penned in for 2-1/2 days.

So it's an expense, and another thing to maintain, that I've decided to
forego.

================================================== ====

One of my customers, in East Brunswick (and five of his neighbors),
has about five feet of water in his basement and four feet of water in
his back yard, thanks to a new sound deadening wall erected by the NJ
Turnpike which is acting like a dam. They're supposed to be bringing
in a cran this evening to lift the wall and let the water out.
Unbelievable stupidity.

================================================== ====
[Ed responds]

Aack! I've seen those walls. Great planning. g Couldn't they just have
left some weep holes at the bottoms of the walls?

================================================== ====

You'll be happy to know, however, that Rich Grise thinks we're all a
bunch of pussies (see some other thread).
================================================== ====

[Ed responds]

They're good at long-distance judgments. I think Rich lives somewhere in
flypaper country. That's where the newspapers are published in flyover
country.

--
Ed Huntress

"rangerssuck" wrote in message
...
On Aug 29, 9:44 pm, " wrote:
On Aug 29, 6:25 pm, rangerssuck wrote:

Mine is 5KVA and I backfeed it into the house so I can run whatever I
turn on (but not all at once). I think it cost about $600 several
years ago, and that's among the best money I ever spent. Iggy can
probably find you one for 20 bucks. I also hooked it up to three
neighbor's houses to pump out their basements.

Good to hear that you were prepared. We lucked out here and did not
lose power. I had moved most everything up so the basement could have
flooded and nothing would have been damaged. So now things have to be
put back where they belong. I have a generator, but this has me
thinking about maybe installing a inexpensive back up battery operated
sump pump. Getting up in the middle of the night to start a generator
is better than not having a generator to start. But I would rather
sleep in.

Dan

I've thought about that (battery sump pump), too. It ought to be
pretty easy to find, say, a 12V (or maybe 24V?) bilge pump. I don't
know anything about boats, but I can't imagine that such a thing would
be uncommon. Add a couple of forklift batteries and a float charger,
and you're in business.

Bilge pumps I know. g Yes, you can get them in many sizes, 12V for small
boats and 24V for offshore boats with diesels. You probably can get a used
one at the boat yards down the shore.

Make sure it's self-priming, unless you have a hole in your basement floor
to submerge the pump. The non-self-priming ones are more tolerant of crap in
the water.

--
Ed Huntress

"rangerssuck" wrote in message
...
On Aug 29, 10:27 pm, "Ed Huntress" wrote:
"Ignoramus4719" wrote in message

...

Life lesson #116: having a generator or two is essential.

In my case, in this storm, a generator wouldn't have done anything. The
last
time I wished I had one was after a nor'easter 25 years ago. And all it
would have done for me then is save maybe $50 worth of food.

One of my neighbors bought his generator several years ago (after not
having one during a three-day outage) when his wife told him, "Either
get a generator or get a divorce." Interesting choice.

I can see it if you've had that experience. But aside from that 3-day stint
25 years ago, the longest we've been without power is 24 hours once or
twice, but without a water problem.

Our problem here is not widespread loss of power, although that happened
downtown here during this storm. It's limbs falling from 80-plus-year-old
maples and oaks. They're brittle as hell and they're rooted at the curb, all
over town. Power losses tend to be local and brief.

I was really impressed by the PSE&G crew that showed up here at 10:00 PM,
BTW. Those guys were working like furies, and they were at the end of a
16-hour shift.

--
Ed Huntress

"Ignoramus4719" wrote in message
...
On 2011-08-30, Ed Huntress wrote:

"rangerssuck" wrote in message
...
On Aug 29, 10:27 pm, "Ed Huntress" wrote:
"Ignoramus4719" wrote in message

...

Life lesson #116: having a generator or two is essential.

In my case, in this storm, a generator wouldn't have done anything. The
last
time I wished I had one was after a nor'easter 25 years ago. And all it
would have done for me then is save maybe $50 worth of food.

One of my neighbors bought his generator several years ago (after not
having one during a three-day outage) when his wife told him, "Either
get a generator or get a divorce." Interesting choice.

Smart wife.

I can see it if you've had that experience. But aside from that 3-day
stint
25 years ago, the longest we've been without power is 24 hours once or
twice, but without a water problem.

An electrical outage is not just loss of comfort. It is also a loss of
sump pumps, loss of refrigeration, computer use etc.

Iggy, I've lived in this house for 33 years. So far, power losses have cost
me $50. I don't need another gadget to deal with that.

--
Ed Huntress



Our problem here is not widespread loss of power, although that happened
downtown here during this storm. It's limbs falling from 80-plus-year-old
maples and oaks. They're brittle as hell and they're rooted at the curb,
all
over town. Power losses tend to be local and brief.

I was really impressed by the PSE&G crew that showed up here at 10:00 PM,
BTW. Those guys were working like furies, and they were at the end of a
16-hour shift.

"Pete C." wrote in message
. com...

Ed Huntress wrote:

"Ignoramus4719" wrote in message
...
Life lesson #116: having a generator or two is essential.

In my case, in this storm, a generator wouldn't have done anything. The
last
time I wished I had one was after a nor'easter 25 years ago. And all it
would have done for me then is save maybe $50 worth of food.

You misunderstand the purpose of having a generator. Saving $50 worth of
food is great, but being able to go about your life as normal is
priceless.

Pete, let me repeat: I'm in a place where we don't have long power outages.
We had one once, 25 years ago. This time, and a couple of times in the past,
I've just whipped out my 200 feet of extension cords and borrowed power from
a neighbor who didn't lose his drops.

A generator would not have done anything for me this time. After 33 years, I
have acquired a sense of risk and reward on this issue, and a sense of
whether it's worth it to devote precious space to another gadget that has to
be maintained.

I have no objection to generators. They make good sense for many people. As
a college student, I sold lots of them in the farm and garden department at
Sears in Lansing, Mich. On commission. In a sale, I could scare the hell out
of someone who said he didn't need one. d8-)

For me, though, it makes little sense. Actually, I was more worried about
losing gas than electricity. My wife took a lukewarm shower yesterday before
work and *that* is where I'd be at risk of divorce.

--
Ed Huntress

"Too_Many_Tools" wrote in message
...
On Aug 29, 8:38 pm, "Ed Huntress" wrote:
"Too_Many_Tools" wrote in message

...
On Aug 29, 3:20 pm, "Ed Huntress" wrote:





"Winston" wrote in message

...

http://www.cnn.com/2011/US/08/28/irene.new.jersey/

Street surfing in 'Jersey!
How did it go, Ed?

--Winston

I got some practice on my backstroke in the basement. g This is the
first
I've been online, and I'm still on borrowed power.

So...how it went. The wind blew, and stuff flew, and the rain came down.
And
down. And down. And down...

My sump pump was handling it well, and I was cleaning up the slurps with
my
shop vac until 1:00 AM. Then I laid down for a rest; set the alarm for
3:00
AM.

About 2:00 AM, according to the clocks, a branch from my neighbor's tree
fell across my power, cable, and telephone feeds (the lines are across
the
street). All three came down. I woke up around 7:00 AM to find 7 inches
of
water in the basement, which wiped out my compressor, several boxes of
tools, my water heater, and God knows what else. I spent hours getting
the
water heater pilot tube off (without breaking it), blew out the water,
and
eventually got it back together and re-lit. It was making gurgling
sounds.
and spitting at me.

I borrowed power from a neighbor, for the sump pump, one light and the
refrigerator. I got the last of the water out this morning. Still no
power.
Cable hooked up an hour ago, so I fired up the computer on power
borrowed
from my neighbor.

Now I have to get off and re-connect it to the refrigerator. g

No other damage and everyone is well. See you soon.

Oh, if you caught "Good Morning America" this morning around 7: 15 ET,
they
had a live feed of a street in NJ with an oak tree around 80 years old
down
across the end of a cul-de-sac, with power lines down all over. That was
two
doors down from my house. They asked to interview me. Having been up for
1-1/2 nights with no shower, I declined. d8-)

--
Ed Huntress
Good to hear that things are working out.

Millions of people got very lucky with Irene.

TMT

And many more did not. The floods have killed people and destroyed a LOT
of
homes.

I could myself among the lucky ones. They re-connected my power lines
around
midnight.

--
Ed Huntress- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Ed...how are the supplies (fuel, water, food, etc.) holding out in
your area?

The grocery stores are re-stocked, after being wiped nearly clean on Friday.
I haven't checked on fuel, but I don't hear any gunshots from the corner gas
station. Water was never a problem here, but it is in some of the places
where the rivers have overflowed their banks and threatened the water
supply.

--
Ed Huntress



And for the conservatives in the group...any crazed wild eyed looters
coming over the wall where you have had to reach for your automatic
weapons?

TMT

On 8/29/2011 10:01 PM, rangerssuck wrote:
On Aug 29, 9:26 pm, wrote:
"Ed wrote in message

...





wrote in message
...
http://www.cnn.com/2011/US/08/28/irene.new.jersey/

Street surfing in 'Jersey!
How did it go, Ed?

--Winston

I got some practice on my backstroke in the basement.g This is the
first I've been online, and I'm still on borrowed power.

So...how it went. The wind blew, and stuff flew, and the rain came down.
And down. And down. And down...

My sump pump was handling it well, and I was cleaning up the slurps with
my shop vac until 1:00 AM. Then I laid down for a rest; set the alarm for
3:00 AM.

About 2:00 AM, according to the clocks, a branch from my neighbor's tree
fell across my power, cable, and telephone feeds (the lines are across the
street). All three came down. I woke up around 7:00 AM to find 7 inches of
water in the basement, which wiped out my compressor, several boxes of
tools, my water heater, and God knows what else. I spent hours getting the
water heater pilot tube off (without breaking it), blew out the water, and
eventually got it back together and re-lit. It was making gurgling sounds.
and spitting at me.

I borrowed power from a neighbor, for the sump pump, one light and the
refrigerator. I got the last of the water out this morning. Still no
power. Cable hooked up an hour ago, so I fired up the computer on power
borrowed from my neighbor.

Now I have to get off and re-connect it to the refrigerator.g

No other damage and everyone is well. See you soon.

Oh, if you caught "Good Morning America" this morning around 7: 15 ET,
they had a live feed of a street in NJ with an oak tree around 80 years
old down across the end of a cul-de-sac, with power lines down all over.
That was two doors down from my house. They asked to interview me. Having
been up for 1-1/2 nights with no shower, I declined. d8-)

--
Ed Huntress

Hope you get your power back on soon. My sidewalk was covered in water and I
was paddle boarding down the street. But we never lost power although about
500,000 local utility customers did

I was just in Bergenfield, NJ, and a large section of their business
district is still dark. That's pretty surprising, especially since a
new substation was recently installed (and it's where my power comes
from) right behind some of the stores that are currently without
'lectricity. I know the whole grid is something of a spiderweb, but
jeeze, if the transformer is right in your backyard and you're sitting
in the dark, well I for one would be pretty ****ed off.

Tomorrow, I'm going to take a ride up there and find some utility guy
to explain it to me. These guys love to talk about this stuff.

Middletown, NJ still has a lot of dark areas including a stretch of Rt.
35. Parts of Tinton Falls and Farmingdale are still out (where my sons
live). We are at 2 days w/o power and counting. The generator kept the
sump pumps going but several of the neighbors have 18" of water in
their basements. From what I have seen driving around, there seems to
be little logic in what areas kept power and what ones lost it - as well
as the restoral process. FiOS never went down, something about CO power
and home running the fiber mostly underground.

Seems like the shore area got off relatively light when compared to the
southern shore of Long Island and Connecticut. However, the flooding in
the northern part of NJ, NY, and VT is horrible. It will be some time
before they can even approach normal.

Jim

On Aug 29, 9:57*pm, rangerssuck wrote:

I've thought about that (battery sump pump), too. It ought to be
pretty easy to find, say, a 12V (or maybe 24V?) bilge pump. I don't
know anything about boats, but I can't imagine that such a thing would
be uncommon. *Add a couple of forklift batteries and a float charger,
and you're in business.

Harbor Freight has a couple of 12 volt pumps.

See http://www.harborfreight.com/12-volt...pump-9576.html

They may not be the best choice, but ought to work. I would think a
forklift battery would be over kill. I am thinking more along the
lines of being able to connect it to my truck battery when the weather
is predicted to be bad. I have connected drain pipe to the downspouts
so all the water is not dumped close to the house, so the sump pump
does not have to be very robust.

Dan

On Aug 30, 6:26*am, " wrote:
On Aug 29, 9:57*pm, rangerssuck wrote:

I've thought about that (battery sump pump), too. It ought to be
pretty easy to find, say, a 12V (or maybe 24V?) bilge pump. I don't
know anything about boats, but I can't imagine that such a thing would
be uncommon. *Add a couple of forklift batteries and a float charger,
and you're in business.

Harbor Freight has a couple of 12 volt pumps.

Seehttp://www.harborfreight.com/12-volt-marine-utility-pump-9576.html

They may not be the best choice, but ought to work. *I would think a
forklift battery would be over kill. I am thinking more along the
lines of being able to connect it to my truck battery when the weather
is predicted to be bad. *I have connected drain pipe to the downspouts
so all the water is not dumped close to the house, so the sump pump
does not have to be very robust.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Dan

Before spending the money, I would run the numbers on amps needed for
how long.

Moving hundreds/thousands of water over days takes serious amps.

Those little generators running sump pumps for days will be reaching
the end of their design lives soon.

Best approach is not to have a basement to have to pump out.

TMT

On Aug 29, 3:20*pm, "Ed Huntress" wrote:
"Winston" wrote in message

...

http://www.cnn.com/2011/US/08/28/irene.new.jersey/

Street surfing in 'Jersey!
How did it go, Ed?

--Winston

I got some practice on my backstroke in the basement. g This is the first
I've been online, and I'm still on borrowed power.

So...how it went. The wind blew, and stuff flew, and the rain came down. And
down. And down. And down...

My sump pump was handling it well, and I was cleaning up the slurps with my
shop vac until 1:00 AM. Then I laid down for a rest; set the alarm for 3:00
AM.

About 2:00 AM, according to the clocks, a branch from my neighbor's tree
fell across my power, cable, and telephone feeds (the lines are across the
street). All three came down. I woke up around 7:00 AM to find 7 inches of
water in the basement, which wiped out my compressor, several boxes of
tools, my water heater, and God knows what else. I spent hours getting the
water heater pilot tube off (without breaking it), blew out the water, and
eventually got it back together and re-lit. It was making gurgling sounds..
and spitting at me.

I borrowed power from a neighbor, for the sump pump, one light and the
refrigerator. I got the last of the water out this morning. Still no power.

On Aug 29, 8:38*pm, "Ed Huntress" wrote:
"Too_Many_Tools" wrote in message

...
On Aug 29, 3:20 pm, "Ed Huntress" wrote:





"Winston" wrote in message

...

http://www.cnn.com/2011/US/08/28/irene.new.jersey/

Street surfing in 'Jersey!
How did it go, Ed?

--Winston

I got some practice on my backstroke in the basement. g This is the
first
I've been online, and I'm still on borrowed power.

So...how it went. The wind blew, and stuff flew, and the rain came down..
And
down. And down. And down...

My sump pump was handling it well, and I was cleaning up the slurps with
my
shop vac until 1:00 AM. Then I laid down for a rest; set the alarm for
3:00
AM.

About 2:00 AM, according to the clocks, a branch from my neighbor's tree
fell across my power, cable, and telephone feeds (the lines are across the
street). All three came down. I woke up around 7:00 AM to find 7 inches of
water in the basement, which wiped out my compressor, several boxes of
tools, my water heater, and God knows what else. I spent hours getting the
water heater pilot tube off (without breaking it), blew out the water, and
eventually got it back together and re-lit. It was making gurgling sounds.
and spitting at me.

I borrowed power from a neighbor, for the sump pump, one light and the
refrigerator. I got the last of the water out this morning. Still no
power.
Cable hooked up an hour ago, so I fired up the computer on power borrowed
from my neighbor.

Now I have to get off and re-connect it to the refrigerator. g

No other damage and everyone is well. See you soon.

Oh, if you caught "Good Morning America" this morning around 7: 15 ET,
they
had a live feed of a street in NJ with an oak tree around 80 years old
down
across the end of a cul-de-sac, with power lines down all over. That was
two
doors down from my house. They asked to interview me. Having been up for
1-1/2 nights with no shower, I declined. d8-)

--
Ed Huntress
Good to hear that things are working out.

Millions of people got very lucky with Irene.

TMT

And many more did not. The floods have killed people and destroyed a LOT of
homes.

I could myself among the lucky ones. They re-connected my power lines around
midnight.

--
Ed Huntress- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

I know that you are...

And you are right...millions of people have just had a terrible injury
done to them and their property.

It will take years and billions of dollars to recover.

Those who have lost loved ones never will recover completely.

TMT

On Aug 30, 9:32*am, Too_Many_Tools wrote:
On Aug 30, 6:26*am, " wrote:





On Aug 29, 9:57*pm, rangerssuck wrote:

I've thought about that (battery sump pump), too. It ought to be
pretty easy to find, say, a 12V (or maybe 24V?) bilge pump. I don't
know anything about boats, but I can't imagine that such a thing would
be uncommon. *Add a couple of forklift batteries and a float charger,
and you're in business.

Harbor Freight has a couple of 12 volt pumps.

Seehttp://www.harborfreight.com/12-volt-marine-utility-pump-9576.html

They may not be the best choice, but ought to work. *I would think a
forklift battery would be over kill. I am thinking more along the
lines of being able to connect it to my truck battery when the weather
is predicted to be bad. *I have connected drain pipe to the downspouts
so all the water is not dumped close to the house, so the sump pump
does not have to be very robust.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Dan

Before spending the money, I would run the numbers on amps needed for
how long.

Moving hundreds/thousands of water over days takes serious amps.

Those little generators running sump pumps for days will be reaching
the end of their design lives soon.

Best approach is not to have a basement to have to pump out.

TMT

If he's hooked up to his truck, he can run the engine and charge the
battery. What I'd be worrying about is the life of an HF pump.

If you don't have a basement, where do you keep all your toys?

Life lesson #116: having a generator or two is essential.

I have two: a 20 kW diesel, and a small 1.5 kW gas one, pretty old.

I also live on a hill, have a 12v backup sump pump, three extra
batteries (not great, but better than nothing), an extra 115v sump
pump, 115v utility pump, and a 115v irrigation pump.

Also a water alarm.

I did not buy all those pumps new just for the basement. Say, the
irrigation pump I am using for my kids water slide, second 115v sump
pump is from me replacing it with a new Zoeller pump, etc. But it helps.

Glad you guys made it, could have been worse.

i

On 2011-08-30, Ed Huntress wrote:

"Too_Many_Tools" wrote in message
...
On Aug 29, 3:20 pm, "Ed Huntress" wrote:
"Winston" wrote in message

...

http://www.cnn.com/2011/US/08/28/irene.new.jersey/

Street surfing in 'Jersey!
How did it go, Ed?

--Winston

I got some practice on my backstroke in the basement. g This is the
first
I've been online, and I'm still on borrowed power.

So...how it went. The wind blew, and stuff flew, and the rain came down.
And
down. And down. And down...

My sump pump was handling it well, and I was cleaning up the slurps with
my
shop vac until 1:00 AM. Then I laid down for a rest; set the alarm for
3:00
AM.

About 2:00 AM, according to the clocks, a branch from my neighbor's tree
fell across my power, cable, and telephone feeds (the lines are across the
street). All three came down. I woke up around 7:00 AM to find 7 inches of
water in the basement, which wiped out my compressor, several boxes of
tools, my water heater, and God knows what else. I spent hours getting the
water heater pilot tube off (without breaking it), blew out the water, and
eventually got it back together and re-lit. It was making gurgling sounds.
and spitting at me.

I borrowed power from a neighbor, for the sump pump, one light and the
refrigerator. I got the last of the water out this morning. Still no
power.
Cable hooked up an hour ago, so I fired up the computer on power borrowed
from my neighbor.

Now I have to get off and re-connect it to the refrigerator. g

No other damage and everyone is well. See you soon.

Oh, if you caught "Good Morning America" this morning around 7: 15 ET,
they
had a live feed of a street in NJ with an oak tree around 80 years old
down
across the end of a cul-de-sac, with power lines down all over. That was
two
doors down from my house. They asked to interview me. Having been up for
1-1/2 nights with no shower, I declined. d8-)


Good to hear that things are working out.

Millions of people got very lucky with Irene.

TMT

And many more did not. The floods have killed people and destroyed a LOT of
homes.

I could myself among the lucky ones. They re-connected my power lines around
midnight.

On Aug 29, 10:27*pm, "Ed Huntress" wrote:
"Ignoramus4719" wrote in message

...

Life lesson #116: having a generator or two is essential.

In my case, in this storm, a generator wouldn't have done anything. The last
time I wished I had one was after a nor'easter 25 years ago. And all it
would have done for me then is save maybe $50 worth of food.

One of my neighbors bought his generator several years ago (after not
having one during a three-day outage) when his wife told him, "Either
get a generator or get a divorce." Interesting choice.

On 2011-08-30, Ed Huntress wrote:

"rangerssuck" wrote in message
...
On Aug 29, 10:27 pm, "Ed Huntress" wrote:
"Ignoramus4719" wrote in message

...

Life lesson #116: having a generator or two is essential.

In my case, in this storm, a generator wouldn't have done anything. The
last
time I wished I had one was after a nor'easter 25 years ago. And all it
would have done for me then is save maybe $50 worth of food.

One of my neighbors bought his generator several years ago (after not
having one during a three-day outage) when his wife told him, "Either
get a generator or get a divorce." Interesting choice.

Smart wife.

I can see it if you've had that experience. But aside from that 3-day stint
25 years ago, the longest we've been without power is 24 hours once or
twice, but without a water problem.

An electrical outage is not just loss of comfort. It is also a loss of
sump pumps, loss of refrigeration, computer use etc.

Our problem here is not widespread loss of power, although that happened
downtown here during this storm. It's limbs falling from 80-plus-year-old
maples and oaks. They're brittle as hell and they're rooted at the curb, all
over town. Power losses tend to be local and brief.

I was really impressed by the PSE&G crew that showed up here at 10:00 PM,
BTW. Those guys were working like furies, and they were at the end of a
16-hour shift.

Ed Huntress wrote:

"Ignoramus4719" wrote in message
...
Life lesson #116: having a generator or two is essential.

In my case, in this storm, a generator wouldn't have done anything. The last
time I wished I had one was after a nor'easter 25 years ago. And all it
would have done for me then is save maybe $50 worth of food.

You misunderstand the purpose of having a generator. Saving $50 worth of
food is great, but being able to go about your life as normal is
priceless.

Ed Huntress wrote:

"Pete C." wrote in message
. com...

Ed Huntress wrote:

"Ignoramus4719" wrote in message
...
Life lesson #116: having a generator or two is essential.

In my case, in this storm, a generator wouldn't have done anything. The
last
time I wished I had one was after a nor'easter 25 years ago. And all it
would have done for me then is save maybe $50 worth of food.

You misunderstand the purpose of having a generator. Saving $50 worth of
food is great, but being able to go about your life as normal is
priceless.

Pete, let me repeat: I'm in a place where we don't have long power outages.
We had one once, 25 years ago. This time, and a couple of times in the past,
I've just whipped out my 200 feet of extension cords and borrowed power from
a neighbor who didn't lose his drops.

A generator would not have done anything for me this time. After 33 years, I
have acquired a sense of risk and reward on this issue, and a sense of
whether it's worth it to devote precious space to another gadget that has to
be maintained.

I have no objection to generators. They make good sense for many people. As
a college student, I sold lots of them in the farm and garden department at
Sears in Lansing, Mich. On commission. In a sale, I could scare the hell out
of someone who said he didn't need one. d8-)

For me, though, it makes little sense. Actually, I was more worried about
losing gas than electricity. My wife took a lukewarm shower yesterday before
work and *that* is where I'd be at risk of divorce.

--
Ed Huntress

If the power is out more than 10 minutes I start a generator (before the
UPSes run out of battery). I expect to be able to go about things
normally regardless of external events. I also work from home, so I need
to be able to keep my computers online for that as well. If the cable
modem goes out I have 3G backup for that as well. If both cable modem
and 3G are out I'll hop in the truck and move to an alternate location
to get online.

On Aug 29, 8:38*pm, "Ed Huntress" wrote:
"Too_Many_Tools" wrote in message

...
On Aug 29, 3:20 pm, "Ed Huntress" wrote:





"Winston" wrote in message

...

http://www.cnn.com/2011/US/08/28/irene.new.jersey/

Street surfing in 'Jersey!
How did it go, Ed?

--Winston

I got some practice on my backstroke in the basement. g This is the
first
I've been online, and I'm still on borrowed power.

So...how it went. The wind blew, and stuff flew, and the rain came down..
And
down. And down. And down...

My sump pump was handling it well, and I was cleaning up the slurps with
my
shop vac until 1:00 AM. Then I laid down for a rest; set the alarm for
3:00
AM.

About 2:00 AM, according to the clocks, a branch from my neighbor's tree
fell across my power, cable, and telephone feeds (the lines are across the
street). All three came down. I woke up around 7:00 AM to find 7 inches of
water in the basement, which wiped out my compressor, several boxes of
tools, my water heater, and God knows what else. I spent hours getting the
water heater pilot tube off (without breaking it), blew out the water, and
eventually got it back together and re-lit. It was making gurgling sounds.
and spitting at me.

I borrowed power from a neighbor, for the sump pump, one light and the
refrigerator. I got the last of the water out this morning. Still no
power.
Cable hooked up an hour ago, so I fired up the computer on power borrowed
from my neighbor.

Now I have to get off and re-connect it to the refrigerator. g

No other damage and everyone is well. See you soon.

Oh, if you caught "Good Morning America" this morning around 7: 15 ET,
they
had a live feed of a street in NJ with an oak tree around 80 years old
down
across the end of a cul-de-sac, with power lines down all over. That was
two
doors down from my house. They asked to interview me. Having been up for
1-1/2 nights with no shower, I declined. d8-)

--
Ed Huntress
Good to hear that things are working out.

Millions of people got very lucky with Irene.

TMT

And many more did not. The floods have killed people and destroyed a LOT of
homes.

I could myself among the lucky ones. They re-connected my power lines around
midnight.

--
Ed Huntress- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Ed...how are the supplies (fuel, water, food, etc.) holding out in
your area?

And for the conservatives in the group...any crazed wild eyed looters
coming over the wall where you have had to reach for your automatic
weapons?

TMT

On Aug 29, 9:57*pm, "Ed Huntress" wrote:
"rangerssuck" wrote in message

...
On Aug 29, 10:27 pm, "Ed Huntress" wrote:

"Ignoramus4719" wrote in message

...

Life lesson #116: having a generator or two is essential.

In my case, in this storm, a generator wouldn't have done anything. The
last
time I wished I had one was after a nor'easter 25 years ago. And all it
would have done for me then is save maybe $50 worth of food.
One of my neighbors bought his generator several years ago (after not
having one during a three-day outage) when his wife told him, "Either
get a generator or get a divorce." Interesting choice.

I can see it if you've had that experience. But aside from that 3-day stint
25 years ago, the longest we've been without power is 24 hours once or
twice, but without a water problem.

Our problem here is not widespread loss of power, although that happened
downtown here during this storm. It's limbs falling from 80-plus-year-old
maples and oaks. They're brittle as hell and they're rooted at the curb, all
over town. Power losses tend to be local and brief.

I was really impressed by the PSE&G crew that showed up here at 10:00 PM,
BTW. Those guys were working like furies, and they were at the end of a
16-hour shift.

--
Ed Huntress

Those crews are unsung heroes.

TMT

On Aug 29, 10:16*pm, "Ed Huntress" wrote:
"Ignoramus4719" wrote in message

...





On 2011-08-30, Ed Huntress wrote:

"rangerssuck" wrote in message
....
On Aug 29, 10:27 pm, "Ed Huntress" wrote:
"Ignoramus4719" wrote in message

...

Life lesson #116: having a generator or two is essential.

In my case, in this storm, a generator wouldn't have done anything. The
last
time I wished I had one was after a nor'easter 25 years ago. And all it
would have done for me then is save maybe $50 worth of food.

One of my neighbors bought his generator several years ago (after not
having one during a three-day outage) when his wife told him, "Either
get a generator or get a divorce." Interesting choice.

Smart wife.

I can see it if you've had that experience. But aside from that 3-day
stint
25 years ago, the longest we've been without power is 24 hours once or
twice, but without a water problem.

An electrical outage is not just loss of comfort. It is also a loss of
sump pumps, loss of refrigeration, computer use etc.

Iggy, I've lived in this house for 33 years. So far, power losses have cost
me $50. I don't need another gadget to deal with that.

--
Ed Huntress





Our problem here is not widespread loss of power, although that happened
downtown here during this storm. It's limbs falling from 80-plus-year-old
maples and oaks. They're brittle as hell and they're rooted at the curb,
all
over town. Power losses tend to be local and brief.

I was really impressed by the PSE&G crew that showed up here at 10:00 PM,
BTW. Those guys were working like furies, and they were at the end of a
16-hour shift.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

This is a good point that you guys are discussing...what tradeoffs do
you weigh to have or not have a resource on hand?

I am partial to having water, food and emergency tools on hand...it
costs little to have them on hand and are immediately available if
needed.

If I lived in a frigid climate, I would have an alternative heat
source available so one wouldn't freeze to death in the winter.

Generators cost money, require maintainance and storing fuel is a big
hassle.

Setting yourself up so you can live without power for days/weeks seems
to be a much easier approach.

TMT

On Aug 29, 11:12*pm, "Ed Huntress" wrote:
"Pete C." wrote in message

. com...



Ed Huntress wrote:

"Ignoramus4719" wrote in message
...
Life lesson #116: having a generator or two is essential.

In my case, in this storm, a generator wouldn't have done anything. The
last
time I wished I had one was after a nor'easter 25 years ago. And all it
would have done for me then is save maybe $50 worth of food.

You misunderstand the purpose of having a generator. Saving $50 worth of
food is great, but being able to go about your life as normal is
priceless.

Pete, let me repeat: I'm in a place where we don't have long power outages.
We had one once, 25 years ago. This time, and a couple of times in the past,
I've just whipped out my 200 feet of extension cords and borrowed power from
a neighbor who didn't lose his drops.

A generator would not have done anything for me this time. After 33 years, I
have acquired a sense of risk and reward on this issue, and a sense of
whether it's worth it to devote precious space to another gadget that has to
be maintained.

I have no objection to generators. They make good sense for many people. As
a college student, I sold lots of them in the farm and garden department at
Sears in Lansing, Mich. On commission. In a sale, I could scare the hell out
of someone who said he didn't need one. d8-)

For me, though, it makes little sense. Actually, I was more worried about
losing gas than electricity. My wife took a lukewarm shower yesterday before
work and *that* is where I'd be at risk of divorce.

--
Ed Huntress

LOL...Ed you could have taken the shower with her and raised the
overall temperature. ;)

TMT

On Aug 30, 12:47*am, "Ed Huntress" wrote:
"Too_Many_Tools" wrote in message

...
On Aug 29, 8:38 pm, "Ed Huntress" wrote:





"Too_Many_Tools" wrote in message

....
On Aug 29, 3:20 pm, "Ed Huntress" wrote:

"Winston" wrote in message

...

http://www.cnn.com/2011/US/08/28/irene.new.jersey/

Street surfing in 'Jersey!
How did it go, Ed?

--Winston

I got some practice on my backstroke in the basement. g This is the
first
I've been online, and I'm still on borrowed power.

So...how it went. The wind blew, and stuff flew, and the rain came down.
And
down. And down. And down...

My sump pump was handling it well, and I was cleaning up the slurps with
my
shop vac until 1:00 AM. Then I laid down for a rest; set the alarm for
3:00
AM.

About 2:00 AM, according to the clocks, a branch from my neighbor's tree
fell across my power, cable, and telephone feeds (the lines are across
the
street). All three came down. I woke up around 7:00 AM to find 7 inches
of
water in the basement, which wiped out my compressor, several boxes of
tools, my water heater, and God knows what else. I spent hours getting
the
water heater pilot tube off (without breaking it), blew out the water,
and
eventually got it back together and re-lit. It was making gurgling
sounds.
and spitting at me.

I borrowed power from a neighbor, for the sump pump, one light and the
refrigerator. I got the last of the water out this morning. Still no
power.
Cable hooked up an hour ago, so I fired up the computer on power
borrowed
from my neighbor.

Now I have to get off and re-connect it to the refrigerator. g

No other damage and everyone is well. See you soon.

Oh, if you caught "Good Morning America" this morning around 7: 15 ET,
they
had a live feed of a street in NJ with an oak tree around 80 years old
down
across the end of a cul-de-sac, with power lines down all over. That was
two
doors down from my house. They asked to interview me. Having been up for
1-1/2 nights with no shower, I declined. d8-)

--
Ed Huntress
Good to hear that things are working out.

Millions of people got very lucky with Irene.

TMT

And many more did not. The floods have killed people and destroyed a LOT
of
homes.

I could myself among the lucky ones. They re-connected my power lines
around
midnight.

--
Ed Huntress- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -
Ed...how are the supplies (fuel, water, food, etc.) holding out in
your area?

The grocery stores are re-stocked, after being wiped nearly clean on Friday.
I haven't checked on fuel, but I don't hear any gunshots from the corner gas
station. Water was never a problem here, but it is in some of the places
where the rivers have overflowed their banks and threatened the water
supply.

--
Ed Huntress





And for the conservatives in the group...any crazed wild eyed looters
coming over the wall where you have had to reach for your automatic
weapons?

TMT- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

I guess that we will see a bunch of conservatives posting later this
week complaining that they didn't get to shoot anyone.

TMT

On Aug 29, 11:12*pm, "Ed Huntress" wrote:
"Pete C." wrote in message

. com...



Ed Huntress wrote:

"Ignoramus4719" wrote in message
...
Life lesson #116: having a generator or two is essential.

In my case, in this storm, a generator wouldn't have done anything. The
last
time I wished I had one was after a nor'easter 25 years ago. And all it
would have done for me then is save maybe $50 worth of food.

You misunderstand the purpose of having a generator. Saving $50 worth of
food is great, but being able to go about your life as normal is
priceless.

Pete, let me repeat: I'm in a place where we don't have long power outages.
We had one once, 25 years ago. This time, and a couple of times in the past,
I've just whipped out my 200 feet of extension cords and borrowed power from
a neighbor who didn't lose his drops.

A generator would not have done anything for me this time. After 33 years, I
have acquired a sense of risk and reward on this issue, and a sense of
whether it's worth it to devote precious space to another gadget that has to
be maintained.

I have no objection to generators. They make good sense for many people. As
a college student, I sold lots of them in the farm and garden department at
Sears in Lansing, Mich. On commission. In a sale, I could scare the hell out
of someone who said he didn't need one. d8-)

For me, though, it makes little sense. Actually, I was more worried about
losing gas than electricity. My wife took a lukewarm shower yesterday before
work and *that* is where I'd be at risk of divorce.

--
Ed Huntress

FYI..

Factbox: 5.1 million customers without power after Irene
By Joshua Schneyer, Selam Gebrekidan, Eileen O'Grady, Bernie Woodall,
David Sheppard, Jeanine Prezioso, Anna Driver, Bruce Nichols | Reuters
- 19 hrs ago


(Reuters) - More than 5.1 million homes and businesses along the U.S.
Eastern Seaboard were still without power Monday evening after passage
of Tropical Storm Irene. That was down from 5.5 million earlier
Monday, but utilities said it could take days to restore electricity
in accessible areas and weeks in hardest-hit regions.

The U.S. Department of Energy reported that 5.12 million customers
were without power as of 3 p.m. EDT (1900 GMT), with the most outages
in New York state, where 888,637 customers - down from 939,000 Monday
morning - were affected.

An earlier DOE report on Sunday had identified 5.95 million customers
without power. Monday afternoon's figure implies at least 800,000
customers had power restored since then.

Reports from utility firms and tallied by Reuters identified at least
3 million users without power at 6 p.m. EDT (2200 GMT), but that
estimate doesn't take into account all utilities.

Monday's DOE figures break out power cuts by state. New York, New
Jersey, Connecticut and Virginia -- where the outages were greatest in
number -- all had more than 600,000 users affected.

In Rhode Island, where the biggest percentage of users was affected,
about two-thirds of the customers had no power, or more than 280,000,
the DOE said.

Utilities brought service to some customers on Monday, but said the
work would take days in many areas.

Utilities spent the first hours after Irene assessing overall system
damage and deciding where to send crews to restore service. Crews were
already busy in storm-damaged areas on Monday. In some hard-hit areas,
however, the fixes could take weeks.

RESTORATION SCHEDULES

Consolidated Edison said around 121,000 customers in New York City and
nearby Westchester County were without power on Monday afternoon, down
from around 188,000 on Sunday. The utility had plans to restore
service to all customers by late Thursday.

Jersey Central Power and Light, which serves central and northern New
Jersey, said 350,000 customers were still without power, down from a
peak of 670,000 on Sunday. Most will be back by the weekend, and all
by early next week, the company said.

"There are still areas we can't get to because of flooding and
debris," said Jersey Central spokesman Ron Morano, who estimated that
restoring service would take several days.

In Pennsylvania, utilities estimated 90 percent of customers would be
restored by the end of the day Wednesday.

In D.C. and Maryland, Pepco said it expected to restore all customers
by Thursday evening. DelMarVa Power expected to have customers
restored by noon Thursday. Baltimore Gas & Electric foresaw all
customers restored by Saturday.

In Virginia and North Carolina, Dominion estimated at least 90 percent
of affected customers would have power restored by end of day Friday.

(Reporting by Joshua Schneyer, Selam Gebrekidan, Eileen O'Grady,
Bernie Woodall, David Sheppard, Jeanine Prezioso, Anna Driver, Bruce
Nichols)

(Reporting by Bruce Nichols; Editing by Bob Burgdorfer)

=========

Long Island residents frustrated by power outages
By Jonathan Allen | Reuters - 18 hrs ago


NEW YORK (Reuters) - Nearly 350,000 homes and businesses on Long
Island were without power on Monday as workers cleared hundreds of
trees downed by Hurricane Irene, fixed boardwalks and replenished
beaches denuded of sand.

In Long Beach, a barrier island community on the south side of Long
Island hard hit by the storm on Sunday, sand several feet deep was
swept into the sea or dumped further inland.

"It looked like a dried-out baseball field," Kevin Mulligan,
commissioner of public works for the City of Long Beach, said as
workers cleared and sieved large piles of sand for its eventual return
to the waterfront.

"This is the worst we've seen it in 20 or 30 years," he said.

Local officials said their priority was clearing fallen trees off
major roads but in many cases could only do so once the Long Island
Power Authority (LIPA) determined there were no dangerous or downed
power lines.

Both Long Island counties -- Nassau and Suffolk -- said the damage
done was less than had been feared. The only reported death was a man
who went windsurfing as the storm arrived, and there were no reports
of serious injuries.

But people remained frustrated by the power outages.

"If your lights are on, you're happy. If they're not, you're
miserable," said Steve Levy, Suffolk County chief executive.

He said LIPA had assured him that at least half of the county's
residents affected by power outages would have their electricity back
by Tuesday afternoon.

LIPA did not respond to a request for information about the
restoration efforts.

In Nassau County, drivers were warned to take extra care on the roads
as many traffic lights remained dark.

Residents in coastal areas, many of whom had been ordered to evacuate
ahead of the storm, were pumping water of basements and ground floors.

A mobile van from the state Department of Financial Services was
traveling to the worst-hit areas to help residents file insurance
claims.

The Nassau County Consumer Affairs Office was investigating a few
reports of price-gouging on gasoline and water, according to a
spokeswoman.

While many beaches remained closed, officials said they should all
reopen in coming days, in time for the Labor Day weekend, one of the
busiest times for waterfront businesses.

The Allegria Hotel in Long Beach said even with two feet of water
flooding its lobby, it remained open throughout the storm, hosting
journalists covering the storm.

"It did make a mess, but we're clearing it up and it's looking pretty
good," said manager Ingrid Dodd.

(Editing by Ellen Wulfhorst and Peter Bohan)

On Aug 30, 1:34*pm, Too_Many_Tools wrote:
On Aug 29, 9:57*pm, "Ed Huntress" wrote:





"rangerssuck" wrote in message

...
On Aug 29, 10:27 pm, "Ed Huntress" wrote:

"Ignoramus4719" wrote in message

...

Life lesson #116: having a generator or two is essential.

In my case, in this storm, a generator wouldn't have done anything. The
last
time I wished I had one was after a nor'easter 25 years ago. And all it
would have done for me then is save maybe $50 worth of food.
One of my neighbors bought his generator several years ago (after not
having one during a three-day outage) when his wife told him, "Either
get a generator or get a divorce." Interesting choice.

I can see it if you've had that experience. But aside from that 3-day stint
25 years ago, the longest we've been without power is 24 hours once or
twice, but without a water problem.

Our problem here is not widespread loss of power, although that happened
downtown here during this storm. It's limbs falling from 80-plus-year-old
maples and oaks. They're brittle as hell and they're rooted at the curb, all
over town. Power losses tend to be local and brief.

I was really impressed by the PSE&G crew that showed up here at 10:00 PM,
BTW. Those guys were working like furies, and they were at the end of a
16-hour shift.

--
Ed Huntress

Those crews are unsung heroes.

TMT

Yup. IBEW rules! (I'm a former member).

Jim Artherholt wrote:

It will be some time before they can even approach normal.


There's always a first time!! ;-)


--
You can't have a sense of humor, if you have no sense.

On Aug 30, 9:32*am, Too_Many_Tools wrote:


Before spending the money, I would run the numbers on amps needed for
how long.

Did that. The Harbor Freight pump only uses 50 watts and pumps about
200 gallons an hour. There is no need to pump very much. The
existing 120 volt sump pump only runs about 30 seconds every three or
four minutes when there has been some serious rain. Has not run at
all in the last couple of days.

Moving hundreds/thousands of water over days takes serious amps.

Those little generators running sump pumps for days will be reaching
the end of their design lives soon.

The generator I have is one I bought from a guy moving to Florida. It
is a belt driven unit so although the generator runs at 3600 rpm the
engine does not have to. The generator should last for years in
constant use. The engine not so long, but it is replaceable.

Best approach is not to have a basement to have to pump out.


I have attached drain lines to all the downspouts except for one.
That one runs under the deck and attaching a drain line is a bit of
work. But should get that done this next month. Then I will be very
close to not having a basement that needs to be pumped out.

Dan

TMT

On Aug 30, 1:39*pm, Too_Many_Tools wrote:

Generators cost money, require maintainance and storing fuel is a big
hassle.

Setting yourself up so you can live without power for days/weeks seems
to be a much easier approach.

TMT

I have existed without a generator for most of my life. But I pretty
much had to get one to keep up with the neighbors. Every house around
me has a generator.

To set myself up so I could live without power would require some sort
of emergency heating system. Something to work instead of the well.
And then
I would still be without TV and the internet. A generator is the
easiest approach for this house at this time.

An old friend of mine in the Houston area has a nice set up. He has a
generator that runs on natural gas so no fuel problems. It starts
automatically when the power goes out and can supply the whole house
including the air conditioning. It also starts itself and runs for a
few minutes once a month to verify it is in good running condition.

Dan

On 2011-08-31, wrote:

An old friend of mine in the Houston area has a nice set up. He has a
generator that runs on natural gas so no fuel problems. It starts
automatically when the power goes out and can supply the whole house
including the air conditioning. It also starts itself and runs for a
few minutes once a month to verify it is in good running condition.


I recently had an electrician set up a whole house transfer switch for
my generator. It is a 20 kW Cummins diesel generator. I thought about,
and decided against, an automatic switch. I think that a lot more
things can go wrong with it, and it is kind of risky and dangerous to
have an engine like that starting and running unattended.

i