OMG! The power's out!! (article)

blackwolfXKAV

blackwolfXKAV

Homo sapiens
Apr 20, 2006
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New England Abroad.
the person you should talk to is BlueIZ or DangerDoll or one of the global incharge of the article area, but alot can be solved with a simple generator
 
That article is just some really basic stuff. Another thing I have used in the past in an emergency was an inverter in my car. I used a long extension chord and ran filters and heaters for about 3 days on inverter power. Just remember the watts on those heaters add up quick. And inverters do not put out ideal sine wave - so motors will sound loud and a bit unhappy. If you have an expensive filter like an Ehiem Pro3 I wouldnt be running it on that.

Actually our power went out last thursday. I had been meaning to get a generator for a long time, but having the power go out that night finally sealed the deal. Sam's club actually has good prices on generators. I needed a slightly bigger one for the house and they sell a Power Boss 5600W continous / 8600W surge for $599. They had a couple smaller ones too but I didnt get the specs.

I had it running in under 2 hours from pulling in the driveway, and thats including the extra trip back to the gas station (forgot my 5g gas can was empty) and also going back to lowes to get the right plug (had to make my own cord to hook into dryer outlet and bought the wrong one at first).

Anyone who goes the generator route though check local laws and make sure you arent backfeeding the neighborhood.
 
Yeah, that would be the correct way to do it... but will cost ya a couple hundred probably. Thats not something you want to do yourself. I got lucky, I got a nice nook to put the generator behind the house that happens to be right by the utility room window. Within 2 feet of the window inside is the panel box, which has a 30A 240V dryer outlet mounted to it. All I got to do is trip the main breaker. Probably not the legal way :hang:
but saves me a good chunk of change. :dance:
2 things to be aware with that though, you have to secure the plug so it wont come out (not a twistlock), and also cover the window so exhaust cant come in.

I dont have a master breaker per se either, I have a breaker that disconnects my panel into top and bottom halfs (top being hi-load stuff, bottom mostly lights and outlets). Without having a disconnect installed properly I cannot power my AC, furnace, water heater, or oven (top half still running off the mains). So I am still looking for some quotes to have it done properly. But the benefit is that right now my furnace and oven still being on the mains, I can easily tell when the power is back on (else I may look like an idiot still running a generator hours after the power is back on lol).
 
loaches r cool said:
That article is just some really basic stuff. Another thing I have used in the past in an emergency was an inverter in my car. I used a long extension chord and ran filters and heaters for about 3 days on inverter power. Just remember the watts on those heaters add up quick. And inverters do not put out ideal sine wave - so motors will sound loud and a bit unhappy. If you have an expensive filter like an Ehiem Pro3 I wouldnt be running it on that.

Actually our power went out last thursday. I had been meaning to get a generator for a long time, but having the power go out that night finally sealed the deal. Sam's club actually has good prices on generators. I needed a slightly bigger one for the house and they sell a Power Boss 5600W continous / 8600W surge for $599. They had a couple smaller ones too but I didnt get the specs.

I had it running in under 2 hours from pulling in the driveway, and thats including the extra trip back to the gas station (forgot my 5g gas can was empty) and also going back to lowes to get the right plug (had to make my own cord to hook into dryer outlet and bought the wrong one at first).

Anyone who goes the generator route though check local laws and make sure you arent backfeeding the neighborhood.
Click to expand...

thats not a bad price. we dont have very many power outs here in so cali. but it is always a good idea. when our power did go out i used portable jump starter.
 
I'm really glad this thread is here. It led me to do a thread search on "generators." I've only lived in this house for about a year and discovered that the power goes out pretty often (more so in the winter).

I decided to spend the extra cash and go out and get a generator the coming week. I had the power go out once since I've had my aquariums and I just couldn't bear the thought of something happening to my fish...my pets.

I really believe in the long run, at least for me, it'll save a lot of time and money having one in my home. Thank you all for posting.
 
My house is all electric so the need for power is more so. Plus I have 2 freezers mostly full of my hard-earned venison that I would hate to go to waste if the power ever went out during the warmer seasons. Now, if you are just wanted to power aquariums and some lights, you could do with a smaller cheaper generator and some heavy duty extension cords.

Those wanting cheaper generators might want to look at:
http://ww2.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=55270
More options go to http://ww2.harborfreight.com/ type in search 'generator'.
 
I was actually thinking about throwing a few solar panels out to power the aquariums. I figure about 1500watts would be more than enough. Haven't really looked into it in depth, I just think it's one of those cool projects that you can look back on later and think - "I really did that"
 
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