Severe Weather Alert - What is your backup?

[Exmasonite]

- Wood stove which warms about 75% of the house (1.5 cords of wood ready)
- 8kW propane generator with automatic transfer/start up (will get about 60-80% of the house... fuel oil burner (hot water only, hopefully), fridge, well pump, etc)
- Propane FP in living room (opposite side of house from wood stove)
- 230 gal of propane
- 1.2 tons of pellets for Europa 75 in the basement
- 80 lbs of dog food, 30 lbs of cat food (2 week supply for the 4 large dogs and 4 fat cats)
- Beer and wine to ride it out
- Roof rake to clear roof (ice will make this TERRIBLE, if not impossible)
- 10 gal of gas snowblower
- 5 gal of gas + mix ready for chainsaw
- 4wd pickup with 350 lbs of tube sand and full tank o' gas
- 200 lbs of rock salt (probably a drop in the bucket... plan to save for pouring on edges of roof, drive is likely a lost cause)

Only regret for this season:
That i didn't rig any heated coil on edges of roof/gutters before season. GRRR!

edit: second regret: with new house, ordered "seasoned" wood in october = FAIL. it's tolerable and works but am doing weekly checks of chimney/tubing for creosote.

 

[nate379]

I keep enough stuff on hand that I'd be fine with no power for a month without much trouble. Heat the house with the stove, lantern for light and cook on teh grill or light the kitchen stove with a match. Fridge and freezer items go outside. Usually have 150-200 gals of diesel and my pump is 12v. Car gets 45-50mpg, so no worries there.

About the only thing that sucks is not having water when the power is down. I keep a couple cases of bottle water on hand, but I'm not about to dump 10 bottles in teh flush. Have 50 gals in water heater I'd be able to use, and that's about it.

In the end I don't worry too much about it since other than a few days here and there it would get to the point where FEMA or state gov would step in to aid if chit really hit the fan. I know a few guys that have several thousand gal tanks for water and enough food to last them till 2015, but personally I think it's just a bit overboard.

 

[Dakotas Dad]

Lets just say I was raised by Mormon, Norwegian, Minnesota, farmers, and was an eagle scout.. oh, and that 20 years in the Army had some effect too... This storm won't really get us much, but even if it did, we can go.. oh I don't know.. 18 months without external resupply I would guess. Backups for everything, and most of our backups have backups..

 

[velvetfoot]

I heard the hard stuff outside this morning and filled up the two tubs.

 

[robertmcw]

Well, we just lost our power. It seems the state is starting rolling outages in Houston because there is not power for the grid. Three years I installed a Guardian 15kw generator with an auto switch and it rated at 100 amps and it feeds the whole house. Then the lights work. The news says the outages can last from 15 to 45 mins. I will stand by.

Robert

 

[BrotherBart]

Well, we just lost our power. It seems the state is starting rolling outages in Houston because there is not power for the grid. Three years I installed a Guardian 15kw generator with an auto switch and it rated at 100 amps and it feeds the whole house. Then the lights work. The news says the outages can last from 15 to 45 mins. I will stand by.

Robert

Yeah. It is statewide. I just heard from my family in North Central Texas up by the Red River that the blackouts are ongoing up there too.

 

[Hiram Maxim]

Well, we just lost our power. It seems the state is starting rolling outages in Houston because there is not power for the grid. Three years I installed a Guardian 15kw generator with an auto switch and it rated at 100 amps and it feeds the whole house. Then the lights work. The news says the outages can last from 15 to 45 mins. I will stand by.

Robert

Yeah. It is statewide. I just heard from my family in North Central Texas up by the Red River that the blackouts are ongoing up there too.

BB,

Is that where you lived in Texas?

 

[BrotherBart]

BB,

Is that where you lived in Texas?

I lived out around Lubbock. Where ice is the winter deal. And high winds year around. It is three degrees there right now with a -14 wind chill.

 

[Seasoned Oak]

We dodged a bullet i guess, it warmed up just enough to be all rain and sleet, all worked up over nothing. One degree could have made the difference.
Well at least it makes you think about the worst case scenario. All calm here plenty of power time to restock the bar.

 

[BrotherBart]

Kinda strange outside. I have been shoveling snow and ice off the roof in 55 degree weather. The storm skirted just to the west of us. No ice, no snow and very little rain. The melting and run-off going on is a mess though.

Back into the twenties tonight so I checked the chimneys and am cleaning out the stoves today. First time the big stove has been cold in a long time now.