Was, am, and will always be a Boy Scout. Be prepared, when the $%&# hits the fan in an emergency if you don't have it you ain't getting it.
Have 4 children, 2 fur babies and a grand child now 3 live at home, just yesterday during the snow event in Jersey we lost power again, 8 hours, tree went down with the power lines.
What does DA Chief mean ? Has he lost his mind ? What does this have to do with the OP question ?
Here goes gentle readers, this is gonna be a long one, have popcorn, you may need it.
1998 2 years into buying a brand new home in the wilds of NJ we lost power for a few hours.
Says I to myself this ain't gonna happen again, 4 young children, candles all over the house and me feeding the wood fireplace ain't gonna cut it. We live down a mile country road with exposed telephone poles and trees galore. Once the wire hits our cul-de-sac the wire is buried.
Next day mosey on down to Sam's club buy a Powermate Maxa extend a run holds 5 gallons, 10 hp 41 amps " i believe " unit can have 220 drawn from it.
Love Ebay, buy a transfer switch. I could have ( backfeed ) the panel, however what happens if i'm not home and DW is alone, whats gonna happen, says I to myself again Hmm.
X-Air Force crew Chief and i know enough about 220 AC to get myself into trouble, so i call up a licensed electrician that owes me a ton of favors seeings as all the electricians i called want 1200 American dollars at the time to wire in the transfer switch. That's in 1998 dollars.
He was actually doing a small development at the time around the corner, he said have beer i'll bring the fat wire we need.
He explains about backfeeding and the 300 i spent on the transfer switch was a waste of money, i explained, i want it up to code.
YK2 comes and goes, no problem, so all the supplies i laid in fuel etc. are being consumed, burned in the cars, boat, lawnmower, and snowblower firewood burned during holiday's etc.
Power is lost to the house a few times, one full day here and there, then couple of day's and then the tornado cuts us off from the main road.
Yep tornado sets down and lifts a construction trailer up into the air and drops it down on the only road into and out of the country road, and knocks down trees all over the road and pulled down the wires for a mile up the road.
Had a yellow lab at the time ( loved that dog ) he went ballistic, was laying on the bed with my wife and me and was trying to warn us, my eldest son who is a Eagle Scout, comes running into the room yelling we have to get into the basement he sees a tornado out the window.
Find out latter the damn thing sets down about 1 1/2 miles from me at the corner of a small airport, does a complete circle around my home and tears roofs off, up ends cars, and knocks a giant tree into the neighbors brick fireplace cracking it in 4-5 places, never got closer then 200 yards from my house.
Power is out to maybe 2000 houses, it's about 3 in the afternoon on a Sunday, warm nice day thunder storm and boom disaster, faster then a New York minute.
It's Official: Sunday Storm In New Jersey Was a Tornado - The New York Times
I'm off Hawkins. Dead end off a dead end off a dead end road.
Mind you people ... i have been warning all my neighbors to buy a gen-set, each time the power goes it's the same conversation with them, i hand out candles and tell them to light their gas fireplace. They have to knock on my door; because my house it lit up like a Christmas tree in a sea of darkness, and 2 rooms on the second level are wired to the gen-set and the kids are watching Barney or whatever.
Back to the tornado, told you all to have popcorn.
Have on hand always 15 gallons in 3 / 5 gallon gas approved containers, a boat with 30 gallons full at the time, and a Conversion Van at the time close to 40 gallons full. DW car full the day before, try to make it easy for her so Monday she doesn't have to stop for gas on the way in for her.
We were planning on BBQ anyway but i drag it to the front of the house under the light between the 2 garage doors, it lights up on the gen-set didn't plan it just on the right circuit i guess, planned on the garage to be powered and it is, have a stand up freezer and a small ancient apt size fridge in there, never cars go figure.
Remember the power is out, people are running all over the place, i go for a walk, lock down the front door, and the garage doors, and of course remind DW where the protection is, she says i got Buster he'll eat anyone who tries something stupid, i said shoot whats left over after he's finished.
It is actually a full blown disaster I %$#& thee not.
Natural gas lines are intact, thank G-D. I have a real wood fireplace it was the model home, but many have no NG or wood fireplace.
Get back home, fire up the BBQ the steaks are on, of course chicken for the darling, and hamburgers or whatever for the rug rats, and watch the street show.
Allen what are we gonna do as neighbors are walking back and forth, starting to get dark outside, told you to buy a gen-set years and years ago is my reply.
Stove works not the oven, damn electronic boards, timers, fancy dancy kitchen stoves, DW got to use the long lighter to light the burners, oh well we all got to rough it in a disaster. Tell DW i'm starting up the gen-set do not use the microwave, better yet i unplug it.
2 minutes latter we are up and running and the poor kids who had to read books are back to watching Barney or whatever.
Getting darker i flick the light switch watchin the food, it's done i bring it in after shutting down the BBQ grill and i make sure every time to shut off the tank, close the garage door, and eat dinner. TV in the kitchen is not on a circuit so we actually had family discussion and interaction with our prodigies, my disasters how they bring the family together.
Drag the BBQ to the backyard, gen-set is running, and it's loud and chained to the front tree, house it lit up.
People think nothing of it to knock on the door driving Buster nuts, door bell is not on a circuit. Gave up handing out candles, tell everyone to light candles, after all who doesn't have candles, we have scented this, scented that we always have candles.
4 day's no power, 3 days for the road to get cleared. Every 12 hours run time for the gen-set i have to change the oil, oh did i state i have a full case of straight 30 weight for the gen-set. Was sucking the boat tank dry.
Did any one go out and buy a gen-set on my cul-de-sac? Nope !
Ok Sandy hits, gave a old, old army gen-set that someone gave to me that the carb was clogged up and i got running good to my daughter who with her husband bought and just finished remodeling a home. Maybe a week before. Made up a boat 6 gallon tank so when the onboard tank went dry he can change to the boat tank in a jiffy with outboard fittings, safe fast and the sump pump they have will be running.
Turns out that old Army gen-set powered the houses on ether side of them also, i told him not to do that, does he listen nope.
Sandy 12 day's no power, i have over 150 gallons in cars, boat, and 5 gallon tanks on hand, go thru the boat and tanks first, now down to the cars, start with the Suburban, 20 gallons, have to drive over to the daughter to bring gas, 8 or 9 days into the disaster. He works for the township they get their onsite gas pumps powered, enough said, he set for gas.
One of the kids on the block is the manager for cotsco calls his mother up 6-7 days into the outage and says a trailer full of gen-sets pulled in and he has one in his office for them, 4 - 5 gallons of gas also, he's bringing it home but it was mayhem at the store people are fighting over them, but he has one, comes home with it and i hook it up for them.
Now all the neighbors want one, none to be had for 3-400 miles around.
He gets on the phone, turns out he's the regional trainer for store managers, and one he trained had a trailer pull in with gen-sets put 5 in his office, one for himself, one for his parents, and 3 for the kid on the block.
Power restored day 12 or 13 late into the day, next day i'm first online at cotsco, waiting for them to open, truck has maybe 1/16th of a tank of fuel and i have all my containers with me, and the boat hooked up behind me.
30 gallons go into the boat, and the car is at the forward pump being fueled, then the tanks, people behind me are going ape #$%&.
Get back home, put everything away 2 day's latter a massive snowstorm knocks out power again, but all supplies are replenished, including coffee and french vanilla creamer, i have to get my creamer or no ones happy if daddy's not happy, know what i mean ?
3 more day's no power, and it's cold, however both furnaces are on circuits no problem there.
Power is back, but the long gas lines are abated our gov. instituted even and odd days for gas stations, so i pulled the boat back and fueled her up.
Today oil changes for the snowblower and gen-set, did i mention Monday i drained the gen-set of gas and poured in fresh fuel, started her up. Gen-set old fuel went into the Suburban. When i needed it yesterday second pull she fired right up.
Snowblower took 3 pulls with a shot of starter fluid. I run the carbs dry every time, never a problem starting small engines for me.
Fortune favors a prepared mind !
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