The Official Hurricane Irene Thread

Luckily temp is not that much of an issue at this time of year however flow, filtration/ skimming and lighting are. You can go a bit of time without heavy overhead light as the tropical areas do have cloud cover and storm seasons where light is not as plentiful. Filtration and skimming also not that big of a deal for a few days although the nutrients will begin to build up and a larger than usual water change is necessary as soon as feasible. I think that in all of our cases that the lack of flow and O2 will be our greatest challenge. How about this, a fireplace bellows with a long air line and air stone attached to it for periodic flow and air. Just a thought...
 
Lol. That would be some good current when the wind blows that's for sure. Thank God I got a generator yesterday. I went to about 10 different stores yesterday and ended up paying out the @$$ for 1 but now I wont have to worry anymore. Hopefully I can run my tank and the fridge with it otherwise looks like I will be food shopping if the power is out for a few days. Priorities people.
 
I bought a used high-end Honda generator two(?) years ago. It was when MA had those bad ice storms and people were out of power for a week. I said "I'm not properly prepared!" But did not want either a cheap chinese genset or to pay the high dollar for a good genset. I found this Honda unit for $300 that needed work. Cleaned the fuel tank and air and fuel filters and she fired right up.

Still do not have the transfer switch installed, but I can rig extension cords and wire nuts. LOL

Also have battery-driven air pumps for the tank during generator downtimes.

But as I said yesterday Dave, won't be alll that bad here.
 
I'll be crossing my fingers here in Norwalk because I have no generator or anything of the sort lol. But I have a feeling this will just be a strong thunderstorm by the time it's here. The three years I've been here we haven't lost power once so I am not to concerned. Don't believe the hype.
 
Huge generator that powers everything in the house including a front porch light, just to annoy the neighbors. ;) Got it a few years ago and the peace of mind it provides during every impending doom is worth it's weight in gold. (well maybe not at today's gold prices!)

Highly recommend one if possible.... seems our climate is getting angrier and angrier as the years go by.

Good luck everyone.
Sue
 
Sue...how many kw's is your generator? I have one that is 7kw and it runs quite a few things (2 fridges, pumps on my two tanks, lights in master bedroom, water pump for house). Wish I had gone larger, but it works fairly well for what I need it to do.

I went to check the level of my propane tank on Wednesday and noticed it was low, so I callled hoping to get it filled by today. They scheduled me for Monday. I figured better safe than sorry, so I paid extra to have them deliver today or tomorrow before the storm hits. They said they would come on Monday if they could, but I couldn't take the chance.

Keith
 
Buckets and buckets of RODI water being filled now; water changes as often as necessary. Generators run out of gas, and so do gas stations.
 
I was in Niagra Falls for work all week and just drove home last night. Between there and home I stopped at 15 home depots and no gens! They are all being shipped this way and down south. I called the Waterford home depot and they said this. They didn't have any, there was a truck coming but they don't know when it will get here, or even what day it will get here, and they don't know how many gens are on it. So after a couple hour nap I got up and went to Home Depot at 4am. I was there first when they opened the doors at 6am. There were no gens there but I asked if I could wait for one to come on a truck or on a return. They said sure, so I stood at the customer service counter. Within 15 minutes people started joining me in the line. At this point the cool people at home depot brought us cushy lawn chairs to sit on! LOL. Then coffee and doughnuts. They explained it could be a very long wait and it was they day before as well, and there were NO promises they would even show up today. I didn't care. I have a new baby here and my fish tank so I wanted to say I did my best to try. After about 3 hours some lady comes in and returns a gen that was unopened and untouched. She said it was too big and more money than she wanted to spend. So the service guy at the front desk looks at us in line and says to me your first, do you want it? As some lady 5 people back goes I will take it, I spoke up first~ LOL. The guy ignored her, I said yep I will take it. 6800 watts of running power and 8600 starting power. It should run everything I need. I brought it home set it up and it started first pull. It's a Rigid with a yamaha motor. Good enough for me and goes to show you a little Swedish stubbornness will go a long way. If you want one go get one. It may be tough and it may take up time but it was worth it for me to go with no sleep and take the gamble. BTW waterford home depot was super friendly and had a great customer service department who did everything they could to keep us comfy and gave us frequent (although disheartening updates) After some of the updates people would give up and take off but I figured what have I got to lose sitting here for a day or so, compared to what have I got to lose going home and farting around.
Good luck everybody. I hope we all get through this safe and sound first. Corals can be regrown.
 
There are ways to run your house on a generator if you don't have a transfer switch and don't want to run cords everywhere. It's very straight forward and simple to do, but if you don't turn off your main you will backfeed power onto lines which could hurt or kill a lineman. Backfeeding power onto lines is illegal and you could get into trouble if you do it so Just be careful with what you do. So if you take this route please make sure to turn off the main! Just a reminder for those of you who already know how to do it.
 
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Thanks for the advise on the generator. I bought one a few days ago, but I'm hoping I won't have to open it.

My family still lives in Niagara Falls. We go back every Christmas. Next time you go, check out Saltwater Paradise in Tonawanda. Very nice store. He will pack your stuff well for the 8/9 hour drive home. There are three stores I usually go to in the area, but that is my favorite.
 
Living in RI..A bad rain storm..some wind.. and then sun..powerloss maybe a hour or two... Already downgraded to a tropical storm for my area by the NWS.
 
Rich, you're pretty far north and at a much higher elevation than me. You get all the snow when we get rain. Washington County is still under hurricane warnings. We couldn't even buy flood insurance because even though we are not on the water, we are in the flood plain if the waves get too high. What I don't like is every weather forecast has a different prediction, and they've cried wolf so many times. It's hard to tell what I should be prepared for. It should at least be an interesting weekend.
 
well i got all my lawn darts put away and everything is secured. now to sit back with a bone or 3 and watch the show until its time to be a return pump lol. good luck everyone. i hope for the best.
 
argi said:
Sue...how many kw's is your generator? Keith
Click to expand...
7,000 constant with a 12,250 start-up. Powers 2 refrigerators, one freezer, AC throughout the house, all the tanks, all the computers, all the TV's, microwave, coffee maker, washer/dryer, and a bunch of lights. I really don't even know our area is without power once the generator kicks in.


Gillundr said:
The guy ignored her, I said yep I will take it. 6800 watts of running power and 8600 starting power. It should run everything I need. I brought it home set it up and it started first pull. It's a Rigid with a yamaha motor. Good enough for me and goes to show you a little Swedish stubbornness will go a long way.
Click to expand...
Way to go, Roman! You're such a good Daddy!!!!

Gillundr said:
Backfeeding power onto lines is illegal and you could get into trouble if you do it so Just be careful with what you do. So if you take this route please make sure to turn off the main! Just a reminder for those of you who already know how to do it.
Click to expand...

Ssssssshhhhhhhhhhh.......: I won't tell if you don't. thumbsup:

I love the peace of mind and convenience of having the generator, but yes, SAFETY for your family and that of the linemen should ALWAYS be first and foremost. If you don't know what you're doing, please find someone who does.
Sue
 
Last ditch effort. I was able to find this battery operated pump in the marine section of Walmart tonight. (Pic coming soon) Operates on 2 D batteries for 70 hrs supposedly. The real trick was finding batteries. There were none in any store we visited today. Luckily my parents had a seemingly never ending supply so I drove to help them out battening down their hatches and getting the batteries. I hope it's enough to sustain life. I plan on moving the water with a turkey bastet for flow and use this for o2. Good luck all.
 
i just found out the battery operated pump i bought last year doesnt work oh well i made up 15 gallons of fresh water.sure hope i dont loose power too long if at all.
 
DLANDINO said:
Last ditch effort. I was able to find this battery operated pump in the marine section of Walmart tonight. (Pic coming soon) Operates on 2 D batteries for 70 hrs supposedly. The real trick was finding batteries. There were none in any store we visited today. Luckily my parents had a seemingly never ending supply so I drove to help them out battening down their hatches and getting the batteries. I hope it's enough to sustain life. I plan on moving the water with a turkey bastet for flow and use this for o2. Good luck all.
Click to expand...

Those things saved me when an ice storm knocked my power out in the winter. Always good to have on hand just in case!
 
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