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.

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, 9:57*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

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


You could always get a manual bilge pump.


http://www.ebay.com/sch/items/manual...+pump&geo_id=1

John

"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

Could have run a Sawzall, with big long blades?

--
Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
..


"Ed Huntress" wrote in message
...

================================================== ===
[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.

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

"Stormin Mormon" wrote in message
...
Could have run a Sawzall, with big long blades?


The blades would have to have been around 4 feet long. g Those were
80-year-old red oaks. The Public Works crew who eventually made it down our
street had *big* chainsaws.

What a mess that was. But everyone in the neighborhood had firewood for a
couple of years.

--
Ed Huntress



--
Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
.


"Ed Huntress" wrote in message
...

================================================== ===
[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.

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

"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.

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.

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

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.

"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, 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.

"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

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

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.

"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.

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

"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