Ice Storm, Albany, NY

[velvetfoot]

We're in the midst of an ice storm.
They say it's a half inch thick so far.
Maybe will go up to one and a quarter inch.
Hard to what's going on, being dark and nasty outside and all.
I've been in others, and it can be dangerous with tree limbs and wires falling.
We've had a couple of flickers of the electricity already.
Electric utility co's supposedly brought in crews from out of town tonight for tomorrow.
Maybe the weather guys are wrong.

Anyone with suggestions?

I forgot to get kerosene for the portable heater.
I've got several kero lamps.
Tub is filled with water.
Flashlights ready. Batteries.
About 6 gallons of gas for the generator.
Wood galore for the insert but not sure how it will work with potentially no fan.
Laptop charged, celllular modem, but no way to easily power laptop without the generator.
Oh wait, I do have a low power 12/120 volt inverter around somewhere.

 

[Stevebass4]

gas for your gas grill

 

[velvetfoot]

We have a propane range top.

I put the water in the tub 'cause we have a well.

 

[LeonMSPT]

You won't need to burn the insert as hard to get all the heat you're going to get out of it, out of it. Mine will warm the living room and kitchen area pretty good without power. With power, heats the entire 1,500 sq ft. It's gets to 650 degrees and hangs there with the air supply closed up. Nice pretty blue fire about an inch above the logs... I've had a few people ask if it was a gas unit.

 

[Zzyk]

I'm enjoying the same storm. No big worries here, but I wish it would turn to all snow instead of this mix. Looks like it'll be rough driving tomorrow morning.

 

[velvetfoot]

Getting out of the driveway will be tough.
I'm taking tomorrow off.

 

[velvetfoot]

Power just went out.
Better conserve laptop power.

Insert glowing nicely.
Will try not to overheat it.

Here's hoping for a short outage.

 

[drizler]

Looks like you guys are getting a taste of what we got 10 years ag With a generator and wood insert you have the bases covered. If you have to use the gen for the extended run make sure you protect it with something of a cover. They tend to ice up and it blows out the seals so the oil escapes with the expected result. There were a lot of them that ended up like that. Not a big worry just something to keep an eye out for. Also if you have a chain then wrap it around the frame and something big with a pad lock. When generators get scarce they start walking away while they are still running. They were quickly plugging them into a long extension cord and all people noticed was a quick flicker of the lights. Then the crooks would carry it to their waiting truck or car parked nearby running. They would be on their way before the lead pulled out and someone came to check the fuel wasn't empty.
At 0:400 we only have 2 inches or so at the Border 180 miles north of you but it's still coming down hard. I hung the blade on the tractor yesterday and put the chains on this evening. Just another typical storm to us up here.

 

[savageactor7]

Got got back in from taking the dogs out...we got about 4" of a wet granular snow. Feels like it will be OK to drive in.

Ice storms are the worst imo.

 

[bbeals]

Just woke up to a dark house. Good thing I wired the generator in last summer. Quick reload on the stove and a short trip outside to fire up the generator has us back in business. Cable / internet is out as well, so had to switch over the the EVDO card, but hey in a pinch it works. Best I can tell is that we have been without power since midnight, I'll bet the non-burning neighbors are getting cold.

 

[Stevebass4]

just thinking about this - two questions when it comes to the genset

if it's snowing / raining - should i find a dog house or something to put the genset in to keep it dry?

how doyou guys run a extention cord into the house if it's not hard wired?

 

[John_M]

Just checked the radar on wunderground.com and see that this very intense storm is to the east of my area. I am about 2 miles south of Route 20 mid-way between Syracuse and Albany. The storm stayed mostly to the east of us but we did receive some of the weather on the western fringe of the storm. Your area is being hammered. The current radar looks like the most of the storm will be gone from your area in about 5 hours. Good Luck! Our area was warned about the probability of heavy icing but dodged the bullet this time.

Built my house about 4 years ago and installed a Gen-Tran transfer switch with a Gen-Tran 30A 120/240 volt inlet box during construction. Purchased a Honda EU6500is generator about two weeks ago and am now prepared for power emergencies. For health reasons I need running hot water.

No woodstove here yet but had a Quadrafire 3100 pedestal when I lived in Alaska then Idaho and was happy with its performance. Am now looking at a Jotul F500 Oslo or a Napoleon 1400 PL, with the Jotul in a very strong first place position. Will hire somebody to do all the ceiling and roof prep work for the stove this spring/summer. I am as nervous as a bankrobber about letting someone cut a hole in my ceiling and roof. I am certain there are conscientous workers in my area who do excellent work but it is difficult to determine who they are. A roof leak would drive me about half crazy. Am getting "longer in the tooth" and cannot take the risk of climbing ladders and working on roofs so I must hire someone to do this work.

Have been hanging out at hearth.com for about the last month or so. Have learned a whole lot about the newest stove technologies, log splitters and hearths. Will continue hanging out here and will post results of the stove install when the work is completed. Am currently leaning toward an Iron and Oak or Huskee log splitter. Will be more decisive when needed.

Best wishes and good health!

 

[CowboyAndy]

Luckily the nastiness is missing us here north of the adirondacks... dont need a repeat of 10 years ago!

But I feel for you downstate guys.

 

[John_M]

Stevebass4, I cannot help you with running an extension cord into the house because my connections are hard wired.

For safety and maintenance reasons I would strongly suggest you protect the generator from wetness under a roof overhang on the leeward side of the house, in a dog house, under the roof of a woodshed, under a temporararily erected tent, etc. I somewhat violate current health recommendations by running my generator just inside a garage door. My garage is attached to the house and two firedoors separate it from the house. The garage has three overhead doors: two on an east facing wall and one on a south facing wall. A third wall faces west and it has three, 3ft. awning windows about 6ft above the garage floor. I open the three garage doors about 2-3 feet and the three awning windows about 8-10 inches when I start the generator. The cross currents generated by the open doors and windows on opposing walls allows the generator exhaust to dissipate pretty quickly. I've spent two hours in the garage with the generator running at full output and noticed no strange odors (carbon monoxide has no color or odor) and felt no dizziness or confusion.

 

[carbon neutral]

I just watched a video clip of the weather you are getting in Albany, pretty nasty. On a positive note it looks like there will be plenty of wood to scrounge for the next couple weeks!

 

[velvetfoot]

Still no power this AM.
Utility not predicting restoration date/time.

I've got an outside inlet and a panel interlock for the generator.
Since it's still raining, I might try running it at the end of the garage with the door and the garage windows open for a breeze. Will use a CO detector.
I have a well pump.
Naturally the tub's stopper didn't hold the water overnight and there's no water for the toilets.

Later.

 

[Stevebass4]

great tips!! thanks guys

 

[John_M]

Another part of this storm has been covering our area for about the last hour or so. This storm was not on the radar about 3 hours ago but it is certainly here now. Earlier this am the storm was moving more south to north. Now it is moving west to east and should be the Albany area in about an hour. We are getting medium snow with 15 to 20 mph winds and the winds are increasing. Strong gusts are blowing the snow horizontally.

Man, I love living in upstate NY: snow, wind, freezing rain, sleet, wonderful (but short) summers and the most gorgeous autums (with all of New Engand) on earth. Others can have the hurricanes, heat and humidity of Florida and the tornadoes of the mid-west. I want four distinct seasons.

I believe we will soon lose power so I had better check out the generator and prepare myself. This is perfect weather for having the calming influence of a warming fire in a wood stove. "The good Lord willin' and the creek don't rise" by this time next year I'll have my stove.

 

[Cearbhaill]

how doyou guys run a extention cord into the house if it's not hard wired?

You just run the extension cord in.
You find a door that can close over a cord, take out some weather stripping, use a window and stuff the crack with towels- whatever it takes.

I have lived as long as three weeks on generator power after a hurricane when I lived in South Florida. I have seen them stolen over fences- cars used to cruise the neighborhood listening for the sound of a generator and you could watch them write down your address intending to come back at night. We usually shut ours down down and brought it indoors at night anyway for the sake of the neighbors, but without formidable dogs they are easy pickins in broad daylight.

I Repeat,... To be Safe,+ not be hurting the poor guys trying to Fix your power,....Your Genny can,+ will backfeed the system,+ can Kill P/C workers...
Pull, or turn Off the Main Power Entrance to your home....

Isn't this in violation of the NEC?
I know you can be ticketed and fined substantially for it in parts of Florida.
The potential for someone getting this wrong is huge and the consequences just deadly.
If you don't want to use extension cords do the safe thing and get a transfer switch.

 

[Stevebass4]

Wow I do like the company we keep on this board.

I also belong to a car club board and talk about a bunch of unprepared men –

one guy had to go to a hotel because it was cold in his house and he had no power –

others have no idea how to clean their yards and get by without power (makes me wonder what happened to all the real men at that site) .

What a great feeling it is to be self reliant. I thank all you guys for the knowledge I gained here

 

[Henz]

so glad I dont live over there. up here in the S adks, we got 10" of snow

 

[WNY PAT]

DO NOT JUMP IN TO YOUR ELECTRICAL PANAL WITH THE GENERATOR! Not only do you backfeed the system where guys are working on wires and such, but if the power comes back on, and the main isn't thrown (or if there is not a transfer switch installed), you're going be tossing a lot of your electronics out in the trash. Have it wired properly to a separate service by an electrician or just run a bunch of extension cords from the portable unit.

I've been through my share of power outages, and they aren't much fun after the first few hours. Get the wood stove going, plug in the fridge, the tv and a couple of lights to the generator and have a glass of wine / beer / coffee / tea / whatever. Also, check on the neighbors. I have an ATV and spent a good part of the last big storm here (October 2006 - 6 days without power in my area) taking the generator around to the neighbors and letting them plug their sump pumps in and charge cell phones and such. Met more people that way.... thinking of you guys and gals up there in the Capital region.

 

[Hanko]

just thinking about this - two questions when it comes to the genset

if it's snowing / raining - should i find a dog house or something to put the genset in to keep it dry?

how doyou guys run a extention cord into the house if it's not hard wired?

Yes try to keep you gen dry, they dont like to be wet especially the plug conections. As far as the extension cord. Hire a licensed electrician. there is a way to temp them in in a pinch, but unless you have some knowledge in that area I wouldnt try it. Im an electrical contractor so i know what Im talking about

 

[begreen]

It sounds like we may not be hearing from several of our upper NY, VT, NH and ME members for a while. That was quite an ice storm. I hope it gets a chance to melt off so that the crews can get in and fix things up. Big ice storms are no fun.

We're bracing for a serious storm coming in at some point today. It will be followed by bitter cold for several days. I think I will go out and fire up the generator now and get a fresh load of gas in it. Bondo's admonition and emphasis is exactly right. We get extended power outages frequently enough that our 120 circuits are separated by a main breaker from the 220 circuits and the main is disconnected before the generator is transfered to the 120 loads. However, if I wasn't set up safely, I'd rather pull the meter than risk hurting a lineman. You could call the power co first to alert them that you need to pull the meter. In my experience, they are pretty understanding of these circumstances as long as there isn't a sudden billing anomaly. After being sure that there is no tie between the main lines and the house and before turning on the generator, turn off all the breakers in the panel. Then bring on the 120 loads, one at a time staying within the limits of the generator power output.

And don't forget, if you're worried about your food in the refrig. spoiling, there's a big refrigerator outdoors. Just protect the ice chest from critters.

 

[carbon neutral]

Does anybody know if it is actually in the NEC that an interlock or some other such device is required in order to operate a standby generator? I haven't been able to find it anywhere in the code. I did just finish putting in my standby generator and know before I can ever use it I have to disconnect from the grid but am not sure if a protective device is actually required.