How do you sync them?
PREP Recent power outage experience
- Thread starter dioptase
- Start date
Texas Writer
Veteran Member
Gosh. Wish I’d had you check on the installation the year after it was done. You know, to make sure the pro did everything correctly.
vessie
Has No Life - Lives on TB
My dream generator.
This was what I had installed in the runup to Y2K. 22 kVa.
I wish you lived near me back then when you were trying to sell it.
I would have bought it! V
Timberline
Contributing Member
You use a parallel cable to combine the two.
runtime :57
runtime 9:19
What turned you so sour? The fact that I called you on Black? Don’t you think that’s a bit petty of you?
Texas Writer
Veteran Member
Just so you know, I never said I would follow the AP guideline. To this day, I don’t capitalize it in my newspaper. And never will.
Well, you’re a good man for bucking the Woke race baiters.
Texas Writer
Veteran Member
Thank you. And Abby sends her best.
LoupGarou
Ancient Fuzzball
Just a few thoughts now that I have had a chance to read most of this thread:
Skip Alkaline batteries completely. Go with either Energizer Lithium batteries (These are a PRIMARY type battery (not rechargeable), but they have a heck of a long shelf life and they WON'T leak), or a GOOD NiMH battery like Eneloop or MAHA. I have switched over to only using these two types for my AA and AAA and 9V needs (which cover most of my "non-18650 or other Li-Ion powered devices). The Eneloops will hold a charge for about a year before they need to be recharged if they have not been used. The Energizer Lithium batteries have a shelf life of 15-18 years MINIMUM in my testing before you start to see any noticeable drop in run-time with them, which makes them PERFECT for low power draw devices like medical and diagnostic items (Digital Volt meters, Pulse OX units, Blood pressure cuffs, and portable EKG systems for example). The ONLY drawback with the Energizer (and other brand) Lithium Primary cells is that when they are discharged, they can produce a hydrogen compound gas in VERY small amounts that you may be able to smell when you open up the battery compartment of the device. So far I have not seen any issues caused by this offgassing, and it never has been enough to cause any pops or booms although it IS detectable by my H2 sniffer.
IF you use regular Alkalines and they leak, try using regular 3% hydrogen peroxide to clean up the mess. The chemical mess from the Alkaline batteries is NOT battery acid as most people think, but an Alkaline compound (or two) that leaks out. The Hydrogen Peroxide is a weak acid, which balances out the alkaline mess left behind, but it also does a great job dissolving the mess without dissolving or damaging any of the surrounding parts in the device. I have saved several devices that have been dumped on by Duraswells and Enerjuicers, just by using Hydrogen Peroxide (usually just on qTips for the small messes) to soften the junk and get it out. For the bigger messes, I hose the area down with Hydrogen Peroxide in the spray bottle and then work on it with a plastic brush, and then rinse it all off with either distilled water or Isopropyl Alcohol.
Most of my devices run on 18650s or larger Li-Ion batteries now, or even bigger LiFePO4 cells, but I still do need some of the "old school sizes" for some things. For the items that need "C" or "D" size batteries, I (ab)use the AA and AAA to C and D adapters, which work great with the Eneloops.
Skip Alkaline batteries completely. Go with either Energizer Lithium batteries (These are a PRIMARY type battery (not rechargeable), but they have a heck of a long shelf life and they WON'T leak), or a GOOD NiMH battery like Eneloop or MAHA. I have switched over to only using these two types for my AA and AAA and 9V needs (which cover most of my "non-18650 or other Li-Ion powered devices). The Eneloops will hold a charge for about a year before they need to be recharged if they have not been used. The Energizer Lithium batteries have a shelf life of 15-18 years MINIMUM in my testing before you start to see any noticeable drop in run-time with them, which makes them PERFECT for low power draw devices like medical and diagnostic items (Digital Volt meters, Pulse OX units, Blood pressure cuffs, and portable EKG systems for example). The ONLY drawback with the Energizer (and other brand) Lithium Primary cells is that when they are discharged, they can produce a hydrogen compound gas in VERY small amounts that you may be able to smell when you open up the battery compartment of the device. So far I have not seen any issues caused by this offgassing, and it never has been enough to cause any pops or booms although it IS detectable by my H2 sniffer.
IF you use regular Alkalines and they leak, try using regular 3% hydrogen peroxide to clean up the mess. The chemical mess from the Alkaline batteries is NOT battery acid as most people think, but an Alkaline compound (or two) that leaks out. The Hydrogen Peroxide is a weak acid, which balances out the alkaline mess left behind, but it also does a great job dissolving the mess without dissolving or damaging any of the surrounding parts in the device. I have saved several devices that have been dumped on by Duraswells and Enerjuicers, just by using Hydrogen Peroxide (usually just on qTips for the small messes) to soften the junk and get it out. For the bigger messes, I hose the area down with Hydrogen Peroxide in the spray bottle and then work on it with a plastic brush, and then rinse it all off with either distilled water or Isopropyl Alcohol.
Most of my devices run on 18650s or larger Li-Ion batteries now, or even bigger LiFePO4 cells, but I still do need some of the "old school sizes" for some things. For the items that need "C" or "D" size batteries, I (ab)use the AA and AAA to C and D adapters, which work great with the Eneloops.
LoupGarou
Ancient Fuzzball
As for the rest of the "issues" that a lot of people had actually during emergencies, this is why I suggest both practicing with all of your equipment that you have, as well as use it regularly to make sure that not only does it stay charged in ready, but also cleaned, and ready for use. This is especially important with batteries and battery powered devices. If you get a good charger for your AA and AAA batteries (I like ISDT), then you can just leave them in the charger (or better yet, have your kids cycle them out as they may be the bigger users of them). But the same goes for everything else that you may have issues keeping it ready for use when the disasters hit, keep using them often enough during normal times and their upkeep will already be done for the disaster times.
Flashlight batteries charged or at least checked monthly...
Radio batteries checked once a week and charged if needed.
Check in on your fuel supplies once a month...Those propane and butane cans can leak out over time...Weigh them once a year to and mark the weight each time you check.
Once a year check for rust and other issues on your "most needed stuff" if you don't use it at least every few months.
Flashlight batteries charged or at least checked monthly...
Radio batteries checked once a week and charged if needed.
Check in on your fuel supplies once a month...Those propane and butane cans can leak out over time...Weigh them once a year to and mark the weight each time you check.
Once a year check for rust and other issues on your "most needed stuff" if you don't use it at least every few months.
Ravekid
Veteran Member
For most small electronics I am good about taking batteries out. Sometimes I forget and a TV remote that is rarely ever used might have a leak. I’ve seen the same issue with red dot optics, and that is one device one doesn’t want to fail if needed.
I have a natural gas Generac generator. Had it for about eight years now. It only failed once. I had the battery replaced during the oil change service I paid for. A little after a year that battery died and when the power went out, the generator didn’t kick on. The downside is that companies are so greedy for more profit, they make devices very hard to work on. The battery for my generator is under the control panel, which has a lot of wires right in the area. I decided not to even attempt to go and get a new battery to switch it out. Thankfully the battery had a two year shelf life so it was replaced for free.
A side note is that I felt the battery appeared used when I first saw it. It wasn’t really dirty or anything, but just didn’t have that brand new clean look to it. I do wonder now if I was given a gently used battery and the company figured it would last a few years.
If you get a generator, try to find Youtube videos on the model to determine if it is easy to change oil, filter, spark plug, belt, and battery on your own if need be.
I have a natural gas Generac generator. Had it for about eight years now. It only failed once. I had the battery replaced during the oil change service I paid for. A little after a year that battery died and when the power went out, the generator didn’t kick on. The downside is that companies are so greedy for more profit, they make devices very hard to work on. The battery for my generator is under the control panel, which has a lot of wires right in the area. I decided not to even attempt to go and get a new battery to switch it out. Thankfully the battery had a two year shelf life so it was replaced for free.
A side note is that I felt the battery appeared used when I first saw it. It wasn’t really dirty or anything, but just didn’t have that brand new clean look to it. I do wonder now if I was given a gently used battery and the company figured it would last a few years.
If you get a generator, try to find Youtube videos on the model to determine if it is easy to change oil, filter, spark plug, belt, and battery on your own if need be.
dioptase
Veteran Member
Thanks, Loup. Your tip for using H2O2 to clean up after leaked batteries is really helpful.
I have LONG since switched to lithium batteries for AA, AAA, and 9 volt. (Even so, my GPS eats batteries.) The only alkaline batteries I have here are C (?? which must have been for large flashlights that we have long since upgraded ??) and D (for the lanterns).
Someone else upthread (Luddite?) mentioned the ENELOOP batteries and adapters, so I have some D adapters on order. I also bit the bullet and ordered some rechargeable D batteries (and a charger for them). It would be helpful to know how often I will need to charge them (if they are not being used).
DH has ordered a new power brick for our large external battery; it will be here in a day or few. (That battery was something that I had to talk him into at the time. Having needed to use it a time or two to recharge *his* laptop and cell phone, he's now just as eager as I am to keep it charged up.)
Yesterday I recharged 4 of my 5 small external batteries (used for the cell phone when traveling/hiking). The 5th (and my GPS) have gone MIA, so today's mission is to try to find them. (Yes, I am somewhat disorganized.)
I have LONG since switched to lithium batteries for AA, AAA, and 9 volt. (Even so, my GPS eats batteries.) The only alkaline batteries I have here are C (?? which must have been for large flashlights that we have long since upgraded ??) and D (for the lanterns).
Someone else upthread (Luddite?) mentioned the ENELOOP batteries and adapters, so I have some D adapters on order. I also bit the bullet and ordered some rechargeable D batteries (and a charger for them). It would be helpful to know how often I will need to charge them (if they are not being used).
DH has ordered a new power brick for our large external battery; it will be here in a day or few. (That battery was something that I had to talk him into at the time. Having needed to use it a time or two to recharge *his* laptop and cell phone, he's now just as eager as I am to keep it charged up.)
Yesterday I recharged 4 of my 5 small external batteries (used for the cell phone when traveling/hiking). The 5th (and my GPS) have gone MIA, so today's mission is to try to find them. (Yes, I am somewhat disorganized.)
Squib
Veteran Member
I really find these threads beneficial also.
They’re opportunities to learn and grow in our knowledge and preps.
Of course, living in rural Montana our day to day life is much like some folks’ grid down scenario, we’ve tried to have a triple redundancy for things like water, heat, light, etc.
We burn wood for our primary heat, with electric heat and kerosene as back ups.
With most of our clan hunting, my one daughter has taken to rendering the fat from the deer, Elk, antelope, etc we get into making candles…she does this on the woodstove and then adds essential oils for scent and it works good.
Theres always way to improve and the occasional power outage is a good, fun way to test your backup systems and teach the kids/grandkids!
They’re opportunities to learn and grow in our knowledge and preps.
Of course, living in rural Montana our day to day life is much like some folks’ grid down scenario, we’ve tried to have a triple redundancy for things like water, heat, light, etc.
We burn wood for our primary heat, with electric heat and kerosene as back ups.
With most of our clan hunting, my one daughter has taken to rendering the fat from the deer, Elk, antelope, etc we get into making candles…she does this on the woodstove and then adds essential oils for scent and it works good.
Theres always way to improve and the occasional power outage is a good, fun way to test your backup systems and teach the kids/grandkids!
CaryC
Has No Life - Lives on TB
Things that are small like phones and chargers for AA batteries for flashlights, can be done through your car. You can get a small one (wattage) if you only need it for that, but if you want to bump up a fridge, you can get a larger one in the 2000 + wattage range. And that's a DC/AC inverter.Thanks for all the responses (well, except maybe the one from Dennis).
Luddite, thanks for your mention of ENELOOP batteries. We have a ton of AA and AAA Lithium batteries (which I use for my GPS, hiking headlamp and flashlights, and other small things), but only alkaline C and D batteries. (At this juncture, I'm not sure that anything we still own even uses C batteries.) If I can charge AA batteries and adapt them to use as D batteries, that could be a win. (The alkaline batteries, by the way, are a mix... I don't think I have Rayovac, though.)
(Actually, after reading up on the D adapter thingies, it seems that they can be used with "regular" (non NiMH) batteries too. So I'll get some of those adapters, whether or not I get rechargeable batteries (which DH is not keen on, except for his precious flashlights which charge directly from the wall). The AA batteries won't last as long as real D batteries, but they'll do in a pinch, and I have a lot of them.)
One thing that I did early January, and I am glad that I did, was go through and clean out and rearrange the storage area where I keep my batteries, light sticks, and candles. The area itself had gotten blocked by things, so first I had to move things around to even get in there, and then I had to go through all the batteries to see what was still good and what wasn't; we recycled a LOT of old batteries (yes, we can easily do that here). I also had to consolidate all the light sticks into one pile, and get all the candle holders more or less in one spot. I am SO GLAD that I did, as I had everything easily accessible for this outage, and I knew what I had and that it would work (well, other than those 2 lanterns... and the solar chargeable lanterns, which I guess I will have to give a try).
I'd seriously consider the suggestion to try to upgrade our current solar so that we *can* use it during outages, but DH is antsy to move (for a lot of reasons), and won't want to put more $ into this house. The current plan is to move once I've gone through two knee replacements (the first in less than a month from now) and recovered.
I tried one of the (3, not 2) new LED lanterns today. Works great, and is smaller than the LL Bean one. While it is adjustable (via how long you press on the "ON" button), the light is not *as* adjustable as the LL Bean lantern (which has a rotary dial). But at 1000 lumen it is certainly bright enough (too bright on HIGH, if you are sitting with it at the kitchen table), and the lantern only uses 3 D cell batteries (vs 4 for the LL Bean one). Per the spec sheet, it can run for 200 hrs on LOW. Amazon.com
I'm currently recharging my external battery packs, at least the small ones, so those will be good to go. (When we plugged in the large external battery last night, it was making noises and I had DH investigate. He said the "power brick" (?) that is used to transform the house voltage AC into DC to recharge it was super hot, and he thinks that it is failing/has failed. He's afraid of a house fire, so he disconnected it and sent a complaint to the company's customer service, so we can get that replaced. We still have a lot of hours of stored charge on that, though, so we will still be able to recharge laptops on it, in the short term. The smaller external batteries can supply our cell phones, if need be.)
I removed the batteries from the LL Bean lantern, and stored them both together. I think I'm going to leave the new lantern out for a bit, as we are expected to get Yet More Rain next week. (God help us... the soil is super saturated here - the latest round of trees that came down were (as I understand it) largely healthy, but the high winds uprooted them because of the wet soil. If we get more winds, we'll have more of the same, unless everything that is going to come down, already has.)
Re our Lil Buddy heater (which, as I said, I never tried....).... I have a couple/few small propane tanks (and 1 20 lb one) out in the shed (damaged by a falling oak back in early December... the insurance company finally agreed on how much to give us for repairs, earlier this week). I'm not sure *where* in the shed they are (things have been moved around multiple times) or even if it's safe to go in there, but maybe (if my knees are up to it) I should try to look for them this weekend, and to see if they will go with the heater.
Meanwhile, trying to catch up on dishes and laundry, before the next incoming...
Thanks again for your kind comments and help.
Here is a link to one:
2000 Watt Continuous/4000 Watt Peak Modified Sine Wave Power Inverter
Amazing deals on this 2000 Watt / 4000 Watt Power Inverter at Harbor Freight. Quality tools & low prices.
www.harborfreight.com
It hooks up to your car battery. Course a large item will drain it quickly so you will need to keep the car running.
I myself am not to keen on solar, except as a last resort, because so much can interfere with it, like a few days of rain. Etc.
And yes store batteries separately. Flashlights for short term use as in getting from Kitchen to bathroom, etc.. And then candles in jars for long term use like in the bathroom. Using the ones in jars helps prevent knock overs and fires.
AA and AAA type LED flashlights will give plenty of light, and you might think of getting a couple of headlamp flashlights so you have both hands free to do stuff with (cook).
Heat in a grid down is the biggest problem. There are all kinds of work arounds for everything else. It's just a matter as to what suits you.
But heat is different. If you don't have a fireplace or wood heater, you're in dire straits, especially and if even more so no propane or natural gas. The buddy heaters with a 1 lb bottle on high only last 2 hours. You can get a rig to hook up 20 lb bottles.
A gas stove and plenty of winter cloths is about all one can do. You can also look around your home and see IF you can cut off parts of the house from the kitchen. Like hang blankets over door ways and halls?
BTW IMHO I would not try to make my house a beacon in the night, when no one else has electricity. People will notice.
A small portable quite genie, or inverter for the car with an extension cord for the fridge/freezer, a means to charge phone/batteries and that would be it. At least for me, but people are different and have different ideas. Candles and flashlights no TV, etc. would be the norm. You can get news/weather and flashlights over your phone.
I'm a long time prepper and power outages have never been scary for me. That said, I now have a person in the house who is on 24/7 oxygen. Total gamechanger!!! He got home from the hospital one day prior to our big snow storm and I just didn't have time to adjust. His big oxygen unit uses 8,600 watts a day. 
His big tank lasts a day or so at 2 liters. I cut him down to one so we got over 2 days. His portable was the best option because my generator could handle that one. We had no power for 5 1/2 days and were snowed in for 9 days. If anyone in your family has medical needs rethink your preps now!
I also found out that some people absolutely panic when snowed in. Holy cow! I had 2 people in the house who nutted up after about 3 days. My best advise is to send them out to shovel snow and burn off some of that energy.
My neighbors have whole house generators that run on propane. I learned a lot from them. One ran out of propane 3 days in but where able to get an emergency delivery. One used 500 gallons of propane in 5 days. At $3.75 a gallon that's a big hit. One had a brown-out situation due to a downed power line. It screwed up the generac and burned out his stove and 2 freezers. His electric stove actually heated up and glowed red before it fried. Most folks could not get propane deliveries due to closed roads.
Another neighbor has a solar whole house generator. He is a newby and he used all of his watts in one day. We had the talk about delegating your watts!
Our gas generator folks all had to dig out, get a ride to town, and stand in line for gas (if they could find gas!) at least 3 times during the storm.
Prepare yourselves for the worst. Sometimes the worst happens!
His big tank lasts a day or so at 2 liters. I cut him down to one so we got over 2 days. His portable was the best option because my generator could handle that one. We had no power for 5 1/2 days and were snowed in for 9 days. If anyone in your family has medical needs rethink your preps now!I also found out that some people absolutely panic when snowed in. Holy cow! I had 2 people in the house who nutted up after about 3 days. My best advise is to send them out to shovel snow and burn off some of that energy.
My neighbors have whole house generators that run on propane. I learned a lot from them. One ran out of propane 3 days in but where able to get an emergency delivery. One used 500 gallons of propane in 5 days. At $3.75 a gallon that's a big hit. One had a brown-out situation due to a downed power line. It screwed up the generac and burned out his stove and 2 freezers. His electric stove actually heated up and glowed red before it fried. Most folks could not get propane deliveries due to closed roads.
Another neighbor has a solar whole house generator. He is a newby and he used all of his watts in one day. We had the talk about delegating your watts!
Our gas generator folks all had to dig out, get a ride to town, and stand in line for gas (if they could find gas!) at least 3 times during the storm.
Prepare yourselves for the worst. Sometimes the worst happens!
dioptase
Veteran Member
CaryC, I'm afraid that I'm a dummy when it comes to batteries and inverters and such. (I just know enough to figure out that there were such things as external batteries for smaller things, and to get them and keep them charged.) I'll forward on your inverter rec to DH - it could be useful for the fridge, if we could figure out how to connect to the car (outside) without a door gap. (I'm gathering that since the battery has to be maintained at 50%, you can't just connect directly to a car battery indoors.)
I have headlamps for hiking (and tons of lithium batteries for same). We have yet had to use them in a power outage, though.
Thanks for the info re duration for the lil buddy heaters. 2hrs per 1 lb sure doesn't seem long.
(Our solar system, btw, was another thing that I had to fight for, as DH kept "waiting" for better solar efficiency. Its main purpose is to lower our power bill, as we use quite a bit of power here. I really do wish we could go off-grid in power outages and have stored charge in batteries, but DH is now waiting for better battery storage density.)
Good info, Carolyn. Thankfully nobody here needs power for medical devices (yet). We have a huge paper library (and I have lots of books on my cell phone's Kindle), plus cards and board games, so we won't get bored when shut in. If energy needs to be burned off, we could always do house cleaning chores.
I have headlamps for hiking (and tons of lithium batteries for same). We have yet had to use them in a power outage, though.
Thanks for the info re duration for the lil buddy heaters. 2hrs per 1 lb sure doesn't seem long.
(Our solar system, btw, was another thing that I had to fight for, as DH kept "waiting" for better solar efficiency. Its main purpose is to lower our power bill, as we use quite a bit of power here. I really do wish we could go off-grid in power outages and have stored charge in batteries, but DH is now waiting for better battery storage density.)
Good info, Carolyn. Thankfully nobody here needs power for medical devices (yet). We have a huge paper library (and I have lots of books on my cell phone's Kindle), plus cards and board games, so we won't get bored when shut in. If energy needs to be burned off, we could always do house cleaning chores.
500 gall9ns of propane in 3 days!?! What in the world? How much power do they use in a month, anyway?!
We have a 15/25kw generator that runs off the tractor PTO. We used to run it off our 80hp John Deere, but discovered the prehistoric Zetor (actually not that old, but made in Eastern Europe, using pre-computer tech and sheet metal work that looks like Soviet 1960s stuff!) will run it fine on 45 hp, and it sips fuel compared to the JD. We used just under a gallon of diesel an hour, running the house *and barn* through milking... 2, 4 1/2 hp vacuum pumps, 2 hp compressor for cooling, 3 1/2 hp ban fans, plus an electric stove and hot water heater in the house.
But in an extended outage, I'd be using as little power as possible... turn the breaker off to the water heater, only turning it on long enough to do showers and dishwashing. No electric lights that aren't LED.
Before we had the generator, we just used oil lamps (I've got 3 Aladdins, plus another dozen flat wick lamps. In our farm house, I had one or two mounted on the wall in every room, on wooden shelved we built with a mirror mounted behind the light) They give off significant heat as well as light.
Headlamps are vital! We use them regularly now, but in an outage, everyone wore them. They make walking around in the dark much safer, and provide task lighting for whatever you're doing.
One other thing I did after I got frustrated by flashlights walking away, especially when the kids were home. So I bought half a dozen inexpensive (but decent) flashlights, put lithium batteries in them, and velcroed them to the wall in strategic spots. One on the electrical panel box, one at the top and bottom of each set of stairs, and one next to each side of the bed. We always knew right where we could out our hands on one when the power suddenly went dark.
Summerthyme
We have a 15/25kw generator that runs off the tractor PTO. We used to run it off our 80hp John Deere, but discovered the prehistoric Zetor (actually not that old, but made in Eastern Europe, using pre-computer tech and sheet metal work that looks like Soviet 1960s stuff!) will run it fine on 45 hp, and it sips fuel compared to the JD. We used just under a gallon of diesel an hour, running the house *and barn* through milking... 2, 4 1/2 hp vacuum pumps, 2 hp compressor for cooling, 3 1/2 hp ban fans, plus an electric stove and hot water heater in the house.
But in an extended outage, I'd be using as little power as possible... turn the breaker off to the water heater, only turning it on long enough to do showers and dishwashing. No electric lights that aren't LED.
Before we had the generator, we just used oil lamps (I've got 3 Aladdins, plus another dozen flat wick lamps. In our farm house, I had one or two mounted on the wall in every room, on wooden shelved we built with a mirror mounted behind the light) They give off significant heat as well as light.
Headlamps are vital! We use them regularly now, but in an outage, everyone wore them. They make walking around in the dark much safer, and provide task lighting for whatever you're doing.
One other thing I did after I got frustrated by flashlights walking away, especially when the kids were home. So I bought half a dozen inexpensive (but decent) flashlights, put lithium batteries in them, and velcroed them to the wall in strategic spots. One on the electrical panel box, one at the top and bottom of each set of stairs, and one next to each side of the bed. We always knew right where we could out our hands on one when the power suddenly went dark.
Summerthyme
Good post.I'm a long time prepper and power outages have never been scary for me. That said, I now have a person in the house who is on 24/7 oxygen. Total gamechanger!!! He got home from the hospital one day prior to our big snow storm and I just didn't have time to adjust. His big oxygen unit uses 8,600 watts a day.
I also found out that some people absolutely panic when snowed in. Holy cow! I had 2 people in the house who nutted up after about 3 days. My best advise is to send them out to shovel snow and burn off some of that energy.
My neighbors have whole house generators that run on propane. I learned a lot from them. One ran out of propane 3 days in but where able to get an emergency delivery. One used 500 gallons of propane in 5 days. At $3.75 a gallon that's a big hit. One had a brown-out situation due to a downed power line. It screwed up the generac and burned out his stove and 2 freezers. His electric stove actually heated up and glowed red before it fried. Most folks could not get propane deliveries due to closed roads.
Another neighbor has a solar whole house generator. He is a newby and he used all of his watts in one day. We had the talk about delegating your watts!
Our gas generator folks all had to dig out, get a ride to town, and stand in line for gas (if they could find gas!) at least 3 times during the storm.
Prepare yourselves for the worst. Sometimes the worst happens!
The part about people wigging out on you is a true fact. I'd agree - after 3 days of no power you are going to want to turn about half of them out of the house (or whack them in the head with a baseball bat). Instant entertainment and gratification demands are off the charts for too many these days.
The manual (non-electric) lifestyle is highly labor intensive.
Sleep will become the preferred entertainment.
Them whats don't feel inclined to contribute can occupy their spare time surviving somewhere else.
Yes!! Headlamps are awesome.
In case anyone is wondering about my generator it is wind and solar. Mine has 3 batteries for a total of 5,400 watts. I am finding out that the solar panels still work on cloudy days. As soon as I dug them out of the snow they started working. The wind turbine is great where we live! My generator is a Nature's Generator and it is expandable. I use it for internet, tv, and running the fridge and freezer several times a day. Now I use it for the portable oxygen unit too. No fumes, no noise, and I keep it in the laundry room.
My lighting is all either battery or solar. I keep some bright solar path lights outside and bring them in during power outages. I have oil lamps too. We have a gas stove for cooking and we have a fireplace for heat. A 1,000 gallon water tank provides water but it's not hooked up to the house. We just carry kitty litter jugs of water in for flushing and washing.
My genset will consume 300,000 BTU/hr under full load. No idea how to convert that to gallons. But I sized the genny such that even running the whole house, it was only at 75% rated load.
That's a little under 3 gallons an hour...91,500 BTUs in a gallon of propane. Diesel is @138,000 BTUs.
I think the point is, if you are planning on genny use for longer than a few hours or a daylong outage, you better either make it natural gas (and hope whatever caused the outage didn't also affect the natural gas pumping stations) or figure out *real quick* how to hugely conserve on electrical usage.
Summerthyme
That’s what you get for using ATTACH rather than direct paste into the thread. 
Agree. My genset uses NG as primary fuel. I had the 500 gallon propane tank as a backup fuel source, both for the genset and the house (furnace.) I designed a manifold with valving that would allow us to cut off NG flow from citygas and allow the propane to be used. A nipple change in the furnace burner (I had the nipples in a manila envelope taped to the outside of the furnace cabinet) and a pressure change at the furnace regulator and we'd have been good to go. No hope for the NG water heater though, but better to have heat than hot water.
As I’ve said many times in the past, I performed six months of due diligence before buying and having the genset and wiring installed.
Yeah... there wasn't ever a problem on the farm with cabin fever. DS was telling his daughter the other day(as she was cheering the snow day from school) "we didn't like snow days! We all had chores until noon... school was better!"
Summerthyme
Rough guestimate, 1 GPH on a 20kw running mostly at half throttle..maybe a little more.