Not just for saving money

[Stelcom66]

When I came home from work Tuesday the power was out - not too surprising since it was so windy. So much so I couldn't keep the grill lit. Luckily I made home made soup Sunday, heated that and bread on the top of the stove. It's not necessary to get the soup boiling, it was plenty hot without getting to that point. I didn't intend to but the bread toasted, I never heated bread on this stove. I only used aluminum foil. The power company crew didn't arrive until about 10:30pm. I respect the job the electrical has to do, especially on a cold windy night. The temperature was in the mid 20s - by morning low 20s. Inside the house was perfectly comfortable. That's the first time I've used the stove with no supplemental heat. In fact the living room got to be almost 82 - too warm since I was putting in more wood than usual, so I let it go down a bit. When I left for work the next morning the power was still out, it was restored around 8am. The power company has been doing a good job taking down trees near wires since we lost power for 9 days in October 2011. This situation was due to one of several pine tress in a yard down the street that fell onto the wires. Very glad to have a stove for heat.

 

[JA600L]

It sure is nice to have piece of mind when these things happen. A little taste of off the grid living is fun at times.

 

[BrotherBart]

Yep they get ya through that stuff. We don't have another heat source and have done seven to ten days without power a few times. With a bunch of snow on the ground. All the time wondering about the poor folks that didn't have a stove since electric is the main heat source in most homes here.

 

[Stelcom66]

It sure is nice to have piece of mind when these things happen. A little taste of off the grid living is fun at times.

Ironically, it was almost like some typical evenings - I sometimes turn the lights off (don't watch a lot of TV anyway) and light a few candles and listen to quiet music. The only difference Tuesday night was the music was through headphones from a Tablet. One show I do miss because I downgraded my cable TV service was about real estate in Alaska. That was a very interesting show - beautiful homes showcased, with what appear to be modern kitchens with stainless steel sinks - with no faucet. Under the sink is a 5 gallon bucket since it's a "dry" house. Some had very elaborate solar and/or wind powered DC electricity connected to batteries and inverters to create 120vac. The firewood storage for those off the grid homes are impressive. I like looking at the woodshed photos on this site.

All the time wondering about the poor folks that didn't have a stove since electric is the main heat source in most homes here.

That was a concern - fortunately it wasn't too long this time.

 

[BrotherBart]

I was more concerned for those neighbors when I dropped a tree on the power lines on a hundred degree day In July.

 

[JA600L]

I was more concerned for those neighbors when I dropped a tree on the power lines on a hundred degree day In July.

That's a good way to make friends.

 

[BrotherBart]

Yeah. A long story I won't type again but it ended up with me not getting billed for it, the neighbors not knowing it was me and me asking the lineman what color he wanted his new pickup to be.

 

[Stelcom66]

I was more concerned for those neighbors when I dropped a tree on the power lines on a hundred degree day In July.

Wow - hate when that happens! I wondered if the electric company bill the homeowner who's tree fell on the power lines on my street. I also saw a new pole being towed to the site, it was quite a job. I saw them working on at least 2 other poles - I don't know if the wires got stretched which caused other fuses/breakers to blow or what.

 

[begreen]

We have several big, end of life alders leaning toward power lines here. Wish the power company would just cut them down now before they create problems but sometimes the property owners don't agree.

 

[BrotherBart]

I dropped the tree perfectly. 90 foot pine 80 feet in the woods perpendicular to the driveway and the power line. Damn tree hit another tree and sprung 45 degrees and landed on the line. When the guy went up in the bucket to cut it his saw wouldn't start. I handed him mine and said "I know one saw on this planet that can cut that tree.".

He said "All I see is a tree fell on the line." It didn't break the line, just shorted it and blew the fuse down at the transformer.

 

[BrotherBart]

We have several big, end of life alders leaning toward power lines here. Wish the power company would just cut them down now before they create problems but sometimes the property owners don't agree.

I called the right of way supervisor last year and said "Junior I have a huge oak at the top of the driveway that is dead and your pole and transformer are right in the strike zone.". He said that it is homeowner responsibility. I said fine. I ain't paying to have it done so I will just whack it myself. Look at your records for the last time I did that.

Two days later the tree crew knocked on my door and took it down in sections from the bucket truck.

 

[begreen]

Did they leave the wood for you?

 

[osagebow]

I just walked my proprty line with PL cutters a few weeks ago. My cranky neighbor won't let them cut on him at all. Sure enough a big (healthy for now) oak 10' on his side is reaching out and over. They cut some small stuff on me, but its in a horrible spot.

 

[Simonkenton]

Yeah, baby!
I am set up right now that, if the SHTF, I could do all my home heating, and cooking, on the wood stove for one year. And, I haven't even replenished my wood supply, will do that in a few weeks, then will be set up for 2 years. OPEC may triple propane costs, the electrical grid may shut down, but I can heat my home for a year. Makes me feel good.

 

[BrotherBart]

Did they leave the wood for you?

You bet. Rolled down a hill. Just pulled some of it up to the driveway yesterday with a winch on the new tractor. Man that front end loader is a back saver.

 

[begreen]

Sweet!

 

[BrotherBart]

I just walked my proprty line with PL cutters a few weeks ago. My cranky neighbor won't let them cut on him at all. Sure enough a big (healthy for now) oak 10' on his side is reaching out and over. They cut some small stuff on me, but its in a horrible spot.

The "mileage" crew came through here for the first time in years. The line runs up my 1300 foot driveway. The crew chief said "They tell us that you get a little bit of a vote. They are taking back the right of ways or they are billing if one takes out a line on your place if you wouldn't let us cut it.".

Told him he could have saved the speech but if he didn't buck them to sixteen to nineteen inches then the CEO of the coop was gonna catch hell.

They bucked'em

 

[3650]

You can get a battery back up that runs computers when the power fails and use them for lights. They will keep a LED lights burning for several hours. They will run a LED tv for a few hours. I run my Wave radio on it too. I live out in the country and we lose power all the time. Gotta love Ameren. High power bills low preventative maintenance on their stuff. They cut 10 feet away from lines here. They also use Tordon if your not home and you find your trees dead a few years later. They are eally good at cutting and killing customers trees but they don't do squat to maintain their own poles and lines. They point every which way around here. Snap off all the time. Then the cable company hangs all that extra weight on them and our rates rise.

 

[BrotherBart]

Our co-op sued Comcast and won to get paid for hanging their crap off of the poles.

Man, this one has run six miles off the rails.

 

[tarzan]

I had a looong, tall Poplar shift on me once. Threaten to take out the power lines and block the road if I didn't climb it, get a steel rope hooked up and com_a_long it the opposite direction. If anyone here is familiar with Jerry Clower, that was one time "I didn't know where I was going to be when I got where I was going!"

 

[Stelcom66]

You can get a battery back up that runs computers when the power fails and use them for lights.

I was considering that - maybe something solar powered. The laptop battery is still pretty good, having something to power the cable interface and router for a while would be good. That wouldn't require a lot of power.

I am set up right now that, if the SHTF, I could do all my home heating, and cooking, on the wood stove for one year.

That's great having a wood supply like that, for both heating and cooking. Still cold in these parts - upper teens last night. During the power failure at night I found candles did a decent job, after a while it seems like your eyes adjust. The dollar stores (more like $1.29 stores) have a good supply of them, I like to have plenty on hand.