Posted on 02/23/2021 9:04:42 AM PST by Kaslin
Thanks to experience with numerous hurricanes, we were prepared for the Texas power outage and no one slept in the cold at our house. When you are prepared, three days is not that bad.
I have lived along the Gulf Coast my entire life, mostly in the Houston Area. I lived and worked in Louisiana when Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, and Gustav slammed into South Louisiana and have learned from my successes and failures and those of my friends.
After moving back home to Texas and a long period of relatively quiet storm activity, Hurricane Harvey was a test of different beast until one of the coldest winters in Texas history. Every storm has taught me that you need to have a plan to survive on your own or as a group for two weeks. I’ve also learned you can spend as little as $200 to survive with no city water, no power, and no heat for three days in zero-degree weather.
Every storm, and the periods afterward, have taught me something new to apply to my preparations for the next one. I’ve found that simple is better, something is going to happen that you did not plan for, and you or your friend group must solve your problems instead of waiting for someone else to do it for you.
Fresh out of college and with no preparation when Hurricane Katrina hit Louisiana, I evacuated back to Texas. I learned that you should have a plan to evacuate for hurricanes and arrive back home with a plan to survive for weeks.
When I arrived back in Louisiana for work, some areas recovered quickly and others were figuring out they were going to have no power, water, or services for the long haul. A common generator theft resulted in the unsuspecting homeowner waking up to no power and a lawnmower running in their backyard to replicate the white noise of the generator while its owners were sleeping.
Lessons: Be prepared for long-term survival and buy a lock for the generator.
After the hurricane passed, I arrived in Houma, Louisiana after evacuating while carrying all my preparations to survive for two weeks, some of which I still have today.
One thing I was not ready for was the lack of gasoline and communication systems to support credit card transactions. My lessons learned were to have cash and keep more than ten gas cans (I currently have 13).
Owning simple, shelf-stable foods was a big advantage when trying to repair our home after storm damage with no power. Our friend group pooled resources and repaired each other’s fences and roofs after the storm, saving so much heartache and money.
Lessons: Cash and gas make good friends.
Even though we did not lose power with Hurricane Harvey in 2017, I was not prepared to wake up to water in the street at the time. Many people woke up with two options: evacuate via boat or wade through water.
I had purchased a water transfer pump before the storm, which saved an entire cul-de-sac from flooding due to a stopped-up storm drain. I learned rain gear does not keep you dry when walking in water.
As part of a small group that was doing high-water rescues all over Houston, I learned to buy dry bags and waterproof waders with booties in them as well as personal flotation devices. You never know when you will have to walk out of your house in hard rain, and you will be thankful that you are dry in that moment. Also, buy flood insurance. Many, many people learned that very expensive lesson during Harvey.
Lessons: Be prepared to evacuate your home in the rain. Know where high ground is located and how you are going to get there. Buy flood insurance.
By the time COVID-19 hit, my wife and I had started to focus on shelf-stable foods and a full pantry. When the crunch on water, food, and toilet paper hit, we saw the need to own more-significant water filtration and storage because water bottles are a temporary solution and people were waiting in lines for hours for these basic necessities.
We purchased a Lifestraw Pitcher and then the Lifestraw Community filter so we would not have to run out to buy water, but could store water in five-gallon cans and have the ability to filter rainwater. In Houston, a major water main broke, shutting off water to most of the city, amplifying a panic that was already slowly building in the early days of COVID-19.
Lessons: Water filtration and toilet paper are highly valuable resources.
Due to the storm, our family, which includes an 18-month-old and a newborn, were out of power at 2:30 a.m. on Feb. 14. We were out of power with snow and freezing temperatures for 41 hours before the power came on for eight, then was off for 18 hours, before staying on—for now. The water pressure went to a trickle for us after the first day and much sooner than that for other folks.
We were prepared for the power outage and no one slept in the cold at our house. When you are prepared to be self-sufficient for two weeks, three days is not that bad. Here is what we did, and then I will explain how you can do it for far less.
Generator: We purchased a Winco HPS12000HE Tri-Fuel Generator in 2016 after a bunch of research. Generators are tricky in that fuel demand can be an issue in a disaster area if it is too big, but too small of a generator limits what you can operate in your home. As it was, our Winco burned one gallon of gas per hour, and in a prolonged power-outage we could have swapped to natural gas.
A carbon monoxide monitor is a necessity with a generator. Also, hire an electrician to connect your generator to your house or show you how. It is a simple installation and it will make your life so much easier versus cords everywhere in your home.
Water: We had already filled one of the bathtubs before the power went out, an old hurricane preparation trick, so we could maintain functioning toilets. It quickly became clear we would need water for the long term.
Melting snow and ice on the roof during the day was a significant resource, and we just needed to collect it. I emptied six IRIS 82-quart totes and started stationing them on downspouts of the gutters and other places. In 24 hours, we had collected 120 gallons of water, of which we used a small portion for flushing toilets and bath water.
In the South, crawfish pots are fairly commonplace and we have one for our annual crawfish boil. We used the crawfish pot to boil the water and then used it for baths and rinsing dishes. We used one tote for scrubbing dishes and the sink with boiled rain water for rinsing.
LOL, the money pit sounds like an interesting project, hopefully you made some money along the way.
I still deal with the occasional aluminum wired house but they were never that popular in New England for whatever reason. There’s a great sense of satisfaction ripping out knob and tubing, BX, aluminum, etc and cleaning up older homes and bringing them into the 21st Century.
See that’s the thing you don’t seem to recognize, we not in an emergency situation right now. What you want is for me to affirm your dysfunction rather than calmly address the subject of back-up power in a premeditated, reasonable manner instead of running around like a headless chicken once there is an emergency.
There’s a lot of that going around in the US these daze.
Think about it, most of us have power today but we know there’s the likelihood of losing it in the future, more frequently and for longer periods of time in the past for various reasons.
I’ve pointed out there’s nothing wrong with using portable generators with extensions cords running directly to appliances. No electrical code involved, no violations.
I’ve pointed out that once you attempt to connect any generator to premise wiring there’s a legal obligation to follow the NEC, beyond that there’s a moral and ethical obligation not to put innocent parties at risk of injury or death due to said illegal activity.
I’ve pointed out, as have others, that all you need is a listed generator interlock kit, a 2 pole breaker of appropriate size, an generator inlet installed by the panel. Total cost would be about $100 for parts but then you would need a fairly expensive cord run out to the generator and you would need to keep a door or window open for that. Another option, a better option imo, would be instead of the inlet being at the panel would be to install an exterior inlet, that would likely increase the material cost to at least $250 but you could keep all the door and windows closed, a good thing in inclement weather and keeping exhaust fumes out of the house.
You’re a big boy do what you think is best but be man enough to accept the consequences of your decisions.
I think as a practicing electrician I’ve made my point to others reading along, as a “EE” you have endorsed an unsafe practice, a shitshow over a safe and workman like installation - the NEC standard.
Buy American, hire a professional when required.
Yep. Safety first. FYI I did install this (see picture below)and 30 AMP breaker dedicated to the generator last night. I had them laying around so I went ahead and did it. I still need to get a female 30a plug to replace the male "suicide" plug as you call it for the 30a genset cable. So you did have a little effect.
There you go, now how about that interlock kit, lol.
Glad to hear life is back to normal for you, DeSoto. Yes, sadly, so many of us, me included, don’t know what we have until it’s gone.
Where the code says #14 is ok; I use #12.
The cost difference isn’t that much and I can’t accidently use 14 for a 12 circuit if I don’t have any around!
Aye; there's the rub!
The “where required” can either be when required by law or more importantly imo if one doesn’t honestly have the skill to DIY. You should see the stuff I see from DIY selfers let alone hack electricians.
Another thing about using skilled tradesmen, you’re employing a fellow American, you’re supporting Main Street USA not Wall Street.
Most tradesmen use American made tools and install American made products, so yeah they might be more expensive but you and they are not supporting China.
We get PLENTY of that exposed on these cable fix/flip programs that the wife watches.
House porn is what I call it!
'WE" can do this or that, can't WE dear?
Time to run!!!
Following silly rules are for stupid little people. I am an EE so I know what I am doing. There was nothing unsafe about how I powered MY house.
The problem is that you, an EE, are giving "stupid little people" (nice), who aren't an EE, enough info to get themselves or someone else in a dangerous situation.
Well said.
Thanks,
L
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