Power Just Went Out

[Golddollar]

I was just getting home from a Sons of the American Legion function and after lowering the garage door everything went black. Not too many seconds later I heard the generator starting up. I knocked on a neighbor's door and asked if his power went out and he said it had. Guess who has the only house on the street with power. How long do they make extensions cords?

 

[GaryS]

Back a few years ago when we still lived in MA we got some sort of hurricane like storm. We didn't live near the coast, but our part of town lost power. Our generator kicked in and we were all set.

A little while later my next door neighbor sent me a text. He and his wife were on vacation somewhere and they got a call that the power had gone out. He asked me if there was a way to run an extension cord into their kitchen and plug in the refrigerator.

No problem. He and his wife were great neighbors and I wish we could have packed them up and moved them to TX with us.

So, I connected to 50' extensions cords, plugged one end into an outside outlet, used the combo on their door lock to get in, and plugged in their 'fridge.

I also made sure that their cat had water and fresh kibble as the water bubbler wasn't working.

We don't have any neighbors here in Texas that we know well enough to do that for, but we do have a whole house generator.

 

[zeke]

Life is sooooo much better with good neighbors! On one side have a right wing roofer and on other a liberal gooberment duo. Everyone gets along and a lot better being able to "retreat" to home. Have gotten spoiled.

 

[The Big D]

EDIT: Power now on. Won't have to got to bed hungry!

On my way home just now from a short trip received notice power was out in my community. No apparent reason.

No worries; my lovely neighbor has a whole house generator. Dug out the 50' extension cord, plugged into one of her deck outlets, connected my fridge…voila!

Be safe.

PS: Good neighbors are the best!

 

[LVSteve]

Back a few years ago when we still lived in MA we got some sort of hurricane like storm. We didn't live near the coast, but our part of town lost power. Our generator kicked in and we were all set.

A little while later my next door neighbor sent me a text. He and his wife were on vacation somewhere and they got a call that the power had gone out. He asked me if there was a way to run an extension cord into their kitchen and plug in the refrigerator.

No problem. He and his wife were great neighbors and I wish we could have packed them up and moved them to TX with us.

So, I connected to 50' extensions cords, plugged one end into an outside outlet, used the combo on their door lock to get in, and plugged in their 'fridge.

I also made sure that their cat had water and fresh kibble as the water bubbler wasn't working.

We don't have any neighbors here in Texas that we know well enough to do that for, but we do have a whole house generator.

Extra likes for looking out for the kitty.

 

[GaryS]

Thanks. He was a black cat named Pluto. He was an inside/outside hybrid kind of cat. Sometimes he would come into our garage just to see what I was up to. He was pretty mellow. He was also a survivor considering that we had foxes and coyotes in our neighborhood.

Extra likes for looking out for the kitty.

 

[BLACKHAWKNJ]

Came home about 7PM Thursday evening, power out in part of my apartment complex, a block away they had it. Enough residual coolness in my bedroom I could get a few winks. Lent flashlights-I have about a dozen-to less well-prepared neighbors. Went out the next day, got back about 6PM, power restored. Downed wires, etc. 90 degree temperatures the next few days. We had only one partial blackout last summer, hopefully this is it for this summer.

 

[steelslaver]

I have it set up so I can kill the power where it enters the house and back feed from my shop using my portable welder which sets on a cart outside the back door of the shop. 50 amps of 220 will keep the necessaries going.

 

[Chuck24]

I told my neighbor ever since Isabel, I put in a generator and the power hasn't gone out since. You're Welcome

 

[LVSteve]

I told my neighbor ever since Isabel, I put in a generator and the power hasn't gone out since. You're Welcome

Sounds like the time in England I scored a set of spare wheels cheap for my car and fitted them with some chunky tires suitable for snow. Never saw a flake for the rest of the time I owned that vehicle.

 

[GaryS]

It's true..

I told my neighbor ever since Isabel, I put in a generator and the power hasn't gone out since. You're Welcome

 

[white cloud]

We live on a farm in rural SC. When there's a major outage like hurricane Helene or just a series of big thunder storms, we will be one of the last to get power back to normal. We have learned to prepare for this as we get about two such events a year. Some last over a week. Decent sized generator, 150 gallons of fuel for said generator and solar with batteries.

 

[Bugkiller99]

Went out yesterday, filled a few gas cans full of stabilized, non-ethanol gas to have for the generator. It's hurricane season. Current events MIGHT have added a little incentive.

 

[Nevada Ed]

Yesterday, June 22nd in Nevada where we have had 90* days, this week................

at 7am in the morning......................
the heater came ON !!

Mother Nature, messing with us.

 

[Greyman50]

Guess we are close as I'm on Fl. Ga line and have 3 gas generators and 2 solar powered ones. Bought another gas can and filled it last week and need to fill 2 more and guess be good to go..

 

[65-2x2]

The last time we had a hurricane blow through here, (Michael) I had no power for ten days. Except for the high temps, I was fine.

 

[viceunit]

Last summer we had a tornado touch down nearby and trees pulled down poles/wires and we were without power for 6 days. Have a whole house Generac and this was the first time it got extended use. Ran an extension cord over to my neighbor from an outside outlet so she could run her refrigerator, some lights and keep her phone charged.

 

[Mike SC Hunter]

Ya gotta remember making long runs with those 14 ga wire drop cords causes a BIG volt drop and that can burn out appliance motors.

 

[GaryS]

Originally my plan was to get as large a portable generator as I could and go with that. The problem was, as my wife pointed out, that she wasn't able to drag that out of the garage, plug it in, start it up, etc...

Also a friend who had a portable generator pointed out that if it was more than a couple of days, he had to drive up to an hour away to find a gas station that was open.

So, a whole house generator it was, which turned out to be the better if more expensive way to go.

 

[bgrafsr]

Ya gotta remember making long runs with those 14 ga wire drop cords causes a BIG volt drop and that can burn out appliance motors.

50 to 100 ft. = 12 gauge. Over 100 ft. = 10 gauge.

 

[Golddollar]

The generator has been running all night. This is the longest continuous run it has had. The power company doesn't anticipate restoring power until 7:00 tonight.

 

[Golddollar]

Last summer we had a tornado touch down nearby and trees pulled down poles/wires and we were without power for 6 days. Have a whole house Generac and this was the first time it got extended use. Ran an extension cord over to my neighbor from an outside outlet so she could run her refrigerator, some lights and keep her phone charged.

That's good to hear. My Generac generator has just run for 24 hours straight.

 

[Tex1001]

We've lived in an upscale neighborhood for 28 years,
I can't count how many times we've been the only
home around with power due to our generator.
you'd think that the neighbors would buy a clue.

 

[gjgalligan]

10 years ago I had 22kw unit installed and my neighbors thought I was crazy. It was 2 or 3 years that it wasn't needed as the power never went out. Now days almost all the neighbors have their units.
Their units cost considerably more then mine did.

 

[Mike SC Hunter]

50 to 100 ft. = 12 gauge. Over 100 ft. = 10 gauge.

Very true.........However most folks only buy those 14 ga cheapies

I made a suicide cord(male on both ends)from #6 copper wire. One end I plug into the generator. The other end I plug into my stove recepticle........I back feed to the breaker box.........Can run whole house & pump......But not AC........Has worked over several outages that lasted several years.

 

[Golddollar]

I was just getting home from a Sons of the American Legion function and after lowering the garage door everything went black. Not too many seconds later I heard the generator starting up. I knocked on a neighbor's door and asked if his power went out and he said it had. Guess who has the only house on the street with power. How long do they make extensions cords?

I'm happy to report that the power was just restored to my neighborhood. For what it's worth, my whole house Generac generator ran continuously for over 2 1/2 days. I already received one inquiry about my generator.

 

[Narragansett]

When I lived in Lancaster County , PA we never lost power. No trees to fall on the wires. The only time we lost power was at 2AM, when the local VFW hall cleared out. That's when the poles got taken out.

 

[Greyman50]

When I lived in Lancaster County , PA we never lost power. No trees to fall on the wires. The only time we lost power was at 2AM, when the local VFW hall cleared out. That's when the poles got taken out.

LOL, I really fear some guys that " occupy" the VFW driving. Most of us are of age and don't see how they sit there drinking for 4-6 hours….

 

[Bald1]

I have 2 portable generators on wheels I keep in the barn at home. We seem to looose power EVERYTIME the wind blows. I also keep a generator at the cabin. Only used it once. …… the new house we're building in WV will get a Generac for sure. It'll run on propane

 

[ladder13]

My builder thought we were crazy when one of our priorities was a whole house generator. Very few people in our development have one, you can tell when there's an outage, though not common.
Peace of mind is priceless