Power outage

[CheapBassTurd]

We lost juice last evening and tried a full run on the off grid thing.
The stove was the savior with outdoor temps downing thru the 40's overnite,
and the cooktop doing it's thing with some warm stuff for the tummies.
We only have a tiny generator which runs 2,000 watts. Not much, but
powers lights, tv, gadjets, or power down everything to run the fridge/freezer for an hour a day.

I get outta bed to a very dark but very warm house, did a pot of Joe on the EAB processing stove,
and watching the guys out front hooking the wires back up to the poles. The battery alarm clocks
getting the fam up soon, and frying up a massive omlet breakfast for the crew.

Ooops. Time to fire up the genny as the laptop is flatlining. Laters. LOL

 

[CheapBassTurd]

This is where the old school styled stove shines. Cooking area mainly, but no fans and extra parts to concern with.
Toss in some wood, the house gets warm. Hadda make it safe and burn much cleaner but that's another thread.
I wished for a "nice" stove when we got this thing home. Maybe a nice glass front n' such, but it's doing what a stove
should do in our eyes. It's a truck, not a Cadillac. It has to work to do other than creating a warm spot to sit by in an outage.

Once solar cells and battery storage are in place we'll be fully self sufficient. Plenty of food up here in the wilderness n' farm
country. The whole family is able to drop a deer.

 

[Longstreet]

How was your router working if you didn't have power?

I'm a big fan of the portable auxiliary phone charging packs. The larger ones can get you 3 or more cell phone charges before dying. Great to have in case of power outage or stuck in a car in snowpocalypse.

 

[CheapBassTurd]

No router. Verizon Jetpack. USB charged/powered. Broadcast setting at 100 ft.

Wish list is a 6,000 watt continuous/ 7,400 initial burst. That'll run the 240 v water pump and elec. water heater.
An old school manual lift pump would work fine for a homemade overhead shower bucket. Heated on the stove.
We have currently a cupboard of gallon water jugs, and use the pond for flushwater.

gettin' er together bit by piece. The generator would be cheaper than solar but requires fuel.
That one is still a tossup.

 

[Woody Stover]

OK, I'll start off the guessing as to which stove you have...Regency Classic S2400 step-top, with brushed nickel legs and nickel door accent?

 

[CheapBassTurd]

Even worse.
I feel that site management is unhappy with me using the dreaded 2421 boxstove of death due
to it's inherent airflow issues with overfiring and chimney fire possibilities. It looked cool and was $300
on sale at Tractor. We jumped on it not knowing a thing other than it looked both warm and useful.
This led to a full teardown and rebuild resealing and also double sealing all joints. Many of which needed
filing, dremeling, a full cleaning of casting defects in the fiberglass rope groove, and a total block/seal of the
ash cleanout drawer. I certainly don't recommend this thing to a non metalworking experienced operator.
It failed the flashlight and dollar bill tests right out of the crate. None of the top pieces fit tightly.
Right away after opening the crate I saw a DIY project kit, not a woodstove.
Now it can be killed by screwing the knob shut. Same with the top butterfly damper. It can be starved in seconds,
and is very flow controllable after the upgrades. We bought it 6 weeks before it was illegal to sell in the USA.
It has sand/firebrick added three inches thick at the floor of the thing as an extra failsafe.
I don't mention much which unit I run as it's just plain unsafe. The "new" upgraded EPA model is no better.
#2469? Researched it, but forgot the model number.

 

[Woody Stover]

using the dreaded 2421

OK, that was a bit cheaper than the Regency. They don't even make it anymore so hang onto it for a few years until they become scarce, sell it on ebay for big money, then score an S2400.
I might be able to warm something up on my stove, but I certainly wouldn't be making an omelet...

 

[St. Coemgen]

It's a truck, not a Cadillac.

I personally agree. A tool needs to first do the job at hand. Appearances are then secondary issues.

But.... (yes, there is a "but")

When looking at a cooking oven my wife wanted something which appropriate aesthetic for the kitchen area. So (most important things being about equal) rather than something like this:



We bought this:



Main reason -- my wife prefered the cleaner modern lines, and tiled look in the kitchen and thought the first type was ugly. And living with this stove now for a few years now, I think she was right. Even in the middle of the summer, when it is not used, it still looks great in the kitchen .

 

[CheapBassTurd]

Mark likes this. Awesome setup!

If the cash had been available at the time we'd have a similar or same unit.
I was laid off and the 5-700 dollar electric bills were killing us. Electric is the only
utility available out here in the stix. Many have propane tanks, and many are stovers.
The $2,000 total outlay was the best choice when figuring in those days-long outages.
There's only a few houses on our wire here at the state line so we're last to get hooked back up.

 

[kennyp2339]

It looked cool and was $300

Man you got ripped of, I thought you were cheap, we swung a deal last summer, brand new Englander NC30 for $499.00 at home depot , follow that up with the $300.00 tax rebate.

 

[toddnic]

No router. Verizon Jetpack. USB charged/powered. Broadcast setting at 100 ft.

Wish list is a 6,000 watt continuous/ 7,400 initial burst. That'll run the 240 v water pump and elec. water heater.
An old school manual lift pump would work fine for a homemade overhead shower bucket. Heated on the stove.
We have currently a cupboard of gallon water jugs, and use the pond for flushwater.

gettin' er together bit by piece. The generator would be cheaper than solar but requires fuel.
That one is still a tossup.

What I've done is get a large commercial truck battery from the local automotive store that has been traded for a new battery but is still good. I then keep it on a trickle charger and hook it up to a power converter when needed just to power the phone and router. This has worked wonderfully well and provides well over 12 hours of power. It is really easy and doesn't require that I fire up the generator.

 

[CheapBassTurd]

Kenny,
You rocked that deal !! The Cheapster is saluting you.

Ever take a 50 cents off coupon for 2L bottles of Pepsi when they are on sale for 99 cents on double coupon day?
Yes, they give you a two litre and a penny. (Learned that one from my mom.)

You are certainly out to get my title. LOL This NEVER applies at restaurants n' such.
We tip 30-50%. We know too well how hard it is working for a livin'. There's a time to not be cheap, but not many.

Cheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeap

 

[STIHLY DAN]

Kenny,
You rocked that deal !! The Cheapster is saluting you.

Ever take a 50 cents off coupon for 2L bottles of Pepsi when they are on sale for 99 cents on double coupon day?
Yes, they give you a two litre and a penny. (Learned that one from my mom.)

You are certainly out to get my title. LOL This NEVER applies at restaurants n' such.
We tip 30-50%. We know too well how hard it is working for a livin'. There's a time to not be cheap, but not many.

Cheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeap

This could be its own thread. Cheapest bastards around. That would be a fun read.

 

[CheapBassTurd]

Dan, it would be interesting from my vantage point. We rinse and reuse baggies, I get all my motorcycle tires from the recycling racks
at the dealerships. They can't sell used tires like the automotive world due to liabilities cuz a blowout can kill a rider but I know what to look for
and reference the date stamping too. I shred them off, and spoon on the next one. Movie nite is library flicks and 30 cents worth of popped corn.
Three rooms "hardwood" flooring for 238 bucks by using plywood knotty pine sheets, the "boards" traced on by Sharpie, and sealed. Looks
incredible! My 2400 dollar truck with only 162,000 on the clock should serve 3-5 years, etc. Mama scores wrapping paper n' such right after
Christmas for next year, and brings home Abercrombie stuff with the tags still on them from Goodwill. She's on board totally with cheap but tasteful.
Anyone with a quirk for not spending retail is gonna get a kick out of some of these endless tales of keeping the wallet closed amap. Our wood is all
free, Got a roadside snowblower (MTD Gold series) that needed a part, etc, etc.......

 

[kennyp2339]

LOL This NEVER applies at restaurants n' such

Oh I know the game fairly well, my buddy and I play it all the time, and yes its fun and rewarding! Last week I needed to stock up with news paper to lite the stove this season, so I went into my towns recycling and picked out a few of the neatest bundles I could find, yes I got some funny looks, turned a few heads doing my reverse recycling, but I'm not about to buy those fancy fire starters.

 

[bfitz3]

This could be its own thread. Cheapest bastards around. That would be a fun read.

"Get it done attitude" you say? So... Git er done!