Carie Posted February 2, 2011 Share Posted February 2, 2011 Well, our power went out Tuesday night about 7:30.....dh jumped into gear and with the boys help they got the generator running and the heaters set up....amazingly the generator would also run 1 lamp, the satelite dish box and the big LCD TV....so we were set. Leaving the heater on all night made me nervous so dh stayed up until midnight and refilled the generator (with 2 heaters, 1 lamp, 1 sat. box and 1 TV a full tank lasted 4 hrs) and then he went to sleep so I just doozed and set the heater timers for every hr so they would beep as they went off, waking me up to check things out and restart the heaters. With only 2 heaters running off the generator the fuel tank lasted almost 9 hrs. Dh made us oatmeal and eggs for breakfast on the camp stove. He ventured out into the ice/snow to get some gas around noon today......refueling the genny before he left. At 3 p.m. Wednesday (today) the temp in here was 63 degrees (we started at 80 - I had the furnace up to get it extra warm in here before the power went off).....and the wind chill was supposed to be really bad tonight....I was praying to God that the electric would come back on and it did! Notes for next time - I need more jar candles. That is what I prefer to keep burning in the bathrooms. My mil sent a set of candles home with dh but if this would have lasted much longer we would have been out. I also need more canned meals that can be heated. It is difficult to cook a big meal with only one burner, although I could have gotten out the crockpot, I just didn't want to. We were able to charge cell phones and computer (although there was no internet) so that and the TV kept the kids entertained...that is half the battle. We ran the fridge when the TV wasn't hooked up. If the wind wouldn't have been so bad last night/today we wouldn't have been so bad off. I also need to make some heavy duty curtain/window quilts. We lose a lot of heat through our huge windows....but we are hoping to move before summer so I will wait and see. Definately a project for our next place before winter. Dh said over and over how glad he was that he had bought the genny. I sure wouldn't have wanted to be traveling anywhere last night when the power went off Thanks for all the advice and prayers dear friends! Blessings, Carie Link to comment
Virginia Posted February 3, 2011 Share Posted February 3, 2011 Good for you. Trial run for worse storm, hope not. Jan 2009 we had the one that caused power to be off here for over 2 weeks for us and up to 3 for folks in the country. Link to comment
Amishway Homesteaders Posted February 3, 2011 Share Posted February 3, 2011 Oh I remember that ice storm. Glad things worked out for you guys and yes good for him about getting you the genny so you all had a somewhat comfortable day/night. The price he paid for it was cheaper then what it would cost to fix frozen pipes or some of you getting sick from the cold. Or from repairing the walls from the fights (mainly kids) without TV. LOL Link to comment
themartianchick Posted February 3, 2011 Share Posted February 3, 2011 I am so glad that things went well for you and your family! It sounds as though that generator was a real workhorse...May I ask what size it was? I have a generator on our prep wish list. It sounds as though yours was able to really make your family comfortable. (Bet your hubby felt like a real hero! It always feels good when we can do something that is good for our families!) Link to comment
Christy Posted February 3, 2011 Share Posted February 3, 2011 Carie I'm so glad for you and your family. This purchase meant you didn't have to leave the house with two little ones, you stayed warm and safe. Like Martian, I'm also wondering what type of genny it is. It's an item on my very long list of wants. Our BOL is equipped with 5 wood stoves and oillamps galore but I wouldn't sneeze at a good genny at some point. Our neighbours there were without power twice a few days when it froze -18C. Trees snapped all over the place so they were trapped in the woods unless they'd leave on foot. Something my dear severe asthmatic neighbour would never be able to do. They had spare batteries for her oxygen pump but they could have done with a genny as well. Link to comment
Carie Posted February 3, 2011 Author Share Posted February 3, 2011 Well, the genny isn't a huge one....3500 watts....6.5 horsepower. The house would have been pretty cool by this morning but that was because we didn't have anymore space heaters. I think we could have ran at least one more with the genny (probably not at the same time as the TV but we could have alternated). Being able to charge the laptops was a big deal because the kids could play games and we could have used them to watch movies without sucking as much electric if needed. I thought the TV was a little over the top but it was nice.....the kids are used to it and I spent yesterday afternoon wrapped up with Bear and Abby (the littlest ones) watching cartoons - I read a book - while dh and the older 2 got gas. Dh only paid $350 for the genny.....a lot of price gouging was going on around here with them. We were told that if we had the 6500 watt that we could have run the whole house.....I think that would be with a propane furnace though, not electric. But still. I am very pleased with it and so very glad we got it.....just need to get another space heater And some window quilts Some people in our county will be without power for the next week at least. I am so glad that isn't us, but we would have managed if it was. Blessings, Carie Link to comment
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