Crazy weather

[Fox Mike]

A storm came through my neighborhood on Tuesday night. It lasted, from first boom till over, about ten minutes. We, in my Country, were hammered! What we had was called straight line wind. Damaging winds from a thunderstorm blow in a straight line and can cause damage for several miles, usually a much wider area than a tornado. This is where the term 'straight-line winds' comes from. Most of these straight-line wind events produce winds of 50 or 60 mph, which can cause some minor damage.
In my neighborhood and County it was more than minor. 14,000+ without power. Took out part of one of my huge maples and took down power lines while doing it. Huge tree torn apart across the street. Tree through the roof of the house around the corner. I lost power and cable at 5:15 pm on Tuesday. I am still without power from the electric company. Fortunately we installed a whole house generator some time ago. So far it has run continuously for 64+ hours (now13:20 Friday). Cable restored about 11:00 today ... still no electricity. Awaiting the truck that can get the tree and electric lines separated in my yard.

 

[noahmercy]

Glad you made it through okay and had a genny so you didn't lose all your refrigerated and frozen food. Sorry your maple took a hit. We had straight-lines of 70-80 MPH the other day. Happens a few times a year here in northern Wyoming and more often down along the I80 corridor.

 

[hittman]

Yikes! Sorry to hear about the storm but glad you and yours are okay.

 

[turd]

Straight line winds are often more damaging than a tornado. Much wider front and more extensive damage. Glad you are OK and have a way to keep things alight.

 

[Fox Mike]

Still without power. My generator has now been running over 72 hours straight. We and the lady down the street are the only ones with whole house generators. The rest if the neighborhood is BLACK at night. Absolutely the best purchase we ever made.

 

[Fox Mike]

FINALLY we have power, TV, and Internet. 91 hours the generator ran without a hiccup. I will let it cool down then check the oil. Now the yard/tree clean up begins. I will call a friend that is a "tree person" and have him come by. I can barely see my back yard for branches and large hunks of maple.

 

[kcsteve]

Where I live it is very hot and very dry.
I saw a catfish with ticks on it.

 

[Colonialgirl]

Well; You Are WELCOME to come down to the Mid-Florida Sauna and Steam Room if you like; It rains at night and the next morning the Sun COOKS the water out of the ground.

 

[Fox Mike]

This entire episode didn't last 10 minutes, from the first "boom" till the sun was shining again. As I said 91 hours from the time the neighborhood lost power till it was restored. My generator fires up 30 seconds after power loss and shuts down 30 seconds after power is restored so I know how long all were powerless. Been a long week.

 

[jimbo1096]

Had those a couple of times. Turned the bosses plane upside down
Glad you are ok.

 

[Richard C]

A storm came through my neighborhood on Tuesday night. It lasted, from first boom till over, about ten minutes. We, in my Country, were hammered! What we had was called straight line wind. Damaging winds from a thunderstorm blow in a straight line and can cause damage for several miles, usually a much wider area than a tornado. This is where the term 'straight-line winds' comes from. Most of these straight-line wind events produce winds of 50 or 60 mph, which can cause some minor damage.
In my neighborhood and County it was more than minor. 14,000+ without power. Took out part of one of my huge maples and took down power lines while doing it. Huge tree torn apart across the street. Tree through the roof of the house around the corner. I lost power and cable at 9:15 pm on Tuesday. I am still without power from the electric company. Fortunately we installed a whole house generator some time ago. So far it has run continuously for 64+ hours (now13:20 Friday). Cable restored about 11:00 today ... still no electricity. Awaiting the truck that can get the tree and electric lines separated in my yard.

Hello Fox Mike, Did you go with Generac or another brand? Is a "natural gas" or a propane model?

 

[Pat-inCO]

The Phoenix Basin had problems last night as well. One portion lost 14 high tension towers.
Just folded them in half. :-(

 

[contender]

Glad to see y'all are ok Frank!

 

[Fox Mike]

Hello Fox Mike, Did you go with Generac or another brand? Is a "natural gas" or a propane model?

It is a Kohler that operates on propane. Cost considerable but well worth the outlay.

 

[Richard C]

It is a Kohler that operates on propane. Cost considerable but well worth the outlay.

Thanks for replying. Were you able to measure how much propane you used in that long run? Just curious. I have Georgia power, which is very dependable, so I just use a 1400 Watt UPS to back up my Computer, my WIFI, my DirecTV DVR, and my VOIP phone service. It gives me about 1 hr... It sounds like you haven't needed this whole home generator much until now, but with peace of mind for all that outage time - a good investment!

 

[Fox Mike]

Thanks for replying. Were you able to measure how much propane you used in that long run? Just curious. I have Georgia power, which is very dependable, so I just use a 1400 Watt UPS to back up my Computer, my WIFI, my DirecTV DVR, and my VOIP phone service. It gives me about 1 hr... It sounds like you haven't needed this whole home generator much until now, but with peace of mind for all that outage time - a good investment!

I have never actually checked on how much propane it uses. I have two large tanks (no idea what gallon capacity). They are about 5' high and about 3' diameter. The generator automatically runs 30 minutes each Monday to charge the battery. I just had them topped off (after last weeks event) and I had used 137.1 gallons in literally years since they were topped off before. I was told that it would run easily for a week with what I have. Hope I never have to find out if that is true.

 

[Mobuck]

" 91 hours the generator ran without a hiccup. I will let it cool down then check the oil."
IMHO, that's WAY too long w/o checking oil. I'd guess these units have a 'low oil sensor' that will prevent total failure BUT still not a good practice from a longevity perspective. Keep in mind, we CHANGE engine @ 100 hours on farm equipment. It's tough enough on these generator engines to go from dead cold start to full rated RPM/load in an instant w/o any warm up. I wouldn't want to contradict any manufacturer's advice but if it's acceptable, I intend to run full synthetic oil in my new genset(when I have enough $$ set aside to own one)--and it WILL get a shutdown, check oil, visual inspection at least once every 24 hours if/when in use.
FWIW Propane is a far better fuel for generator use than gasoline. Burns cleaner, less chance of moisture buildup, safer because the user isn't refueling a hot unit, usually cheaper, and a 500 gallon propane tank will run a generator for weeks.

 

[Fox Mike]

Checked the oil and it is less then a quart down. Mine is set up so it isn't under max load on startup. It sequentially sets up. Lights, then heat/air. The last things to come on line are the garage, the clothes dryer, and the oven.

 

[Colonialgirl]

Well in the midst of refinancing so I can re-roof for $7000; the place (Mfg Home) is 22 years old and a reliable roofer I've used for repairs in the past recommended the FULL thing this time.

 

[Pat-inCO]

the place (Mfg Home) is 22 years old and a reliable roofer I've used for repairs in the past recommended the FULL thing this time.

Sounds like a very good idea. At best, composition is good for thirty years. On manufactured homes,
they tend to be "as economical" as they can. - - - I replaced the roof on my place in CO (which was
"stick built) at thirty years, and I got lucky I did it when I did. My place here (also mfg) was twenty
seven years and it really needed it.

Interesting how "preventative maintenance" can save you a lot of dollars down the road.