Storms

[Ed62]

Our area got hit pretty bad last night. We were lucky, getting only a few wheelbarrows of small branches to pick up.

LOML and I went into the basement with the dog, just after we lost power. We have a generator, but it wouldn't start. It was the worst storm I remember in our area. Found out this morning I had a loose cable on the battery in the generator, which wouldn't allow it to charge. Luckily, the people across the street didn't lose power, so we were able to run extension cords to a neighbor's house, so we could charge the battery. We're now running the generator for power. I don't expect power to be restored any time soon because there are so many without power.

Less than a mile from our house, the damage became a lot worse. There are a lot of large trees uprooted or broken in half by lightening strikes. Many were laying on houses or garages.

About 3 miles further east, the town of Griffith really got hit hard. One man died when a tree fell on a car he was in. I saw one building that was flattened, and there are several houses with the roofs ripped off them. The last I heard, they hadn't determined if a tornado touched down or not. But it looks a lot like a war zone.

While it was an inconvenience for us, we were among the lucky ones.

Ed

[dbhost]

The national weather service was predicting TS Edouard was going to turn into a hurricane and plow right through my neighborhood. All it has been to me today is a big rain maker. Hardly any lightning at all. Hardly even worth mentioning. But after going through evacuations with Hurricane Rita, and the disaster that was Tropical Storm Allison, I am definately of the opinion better safe than sorry...

We don't own a generator, but honestly I should.. A friend of mine has offered up a 10KW Diesel. My biggest problem with generators is the short, short, short run time on the fuel available... Most generators only offer 8hrs of run time at most.

If I were in a rural area, with no HOA, I would probably have a generator shed with a large fuel tank available for just such an emergency...

Another thing that I have heard of / read about, but never seen in person, is a steam generator. Basically a wood or coal fired boiler driving a small steam engine turning a generator. It kind of makes sense with all the dead fall that happens in a storm. The blasted apart bits of fence, dead tree limbs and such that litter the ground after every storm can be used to keep your lights, freezer / fridge and A/C on... You could probably chuck pine cones in the fire box for all I know...

[Ed62]

My biggest problem with generators is the short, short, short run time on the fuel available... Most generators only offer 8hrs of run time at most.

Ours runs on natural gas. It will continue to run until we no longer need it. It's big enough to power everything we need, including the AC (and of course the TV ).

Ed

[jhart]

Glad to hear you're ok Ed. You're right, better safe than sorry.

[cabinetman]

Glad to hear you came through unscathed.

During hurricane Katrina we only had my jobsite generator which was 4400 watts, which was adequate but it only had a 2 gallon tank. For Wilma we got a 5600 watt with a 5 gallon tank. It would run what we needed for about 12 hours on a tank of gas.

We lost power for 15 days and was without water for about 5 days. It's like illness. It makes you appreciate good health.
.

[shoottx]

The LOML has been after me to get a generator. I have resisted the idea, based on it taking up valuable shop space.

I am losing the battle. Ed, I was curious about how your natural gas generator is installed, both for connection to the electrical box and for exhaust.

[BobSch]

Here's alink to a bunch of NG-powered generators http://www.norwall.com/index.php?cPa...FQMIswod_wijqA
I've been thinking about one, but our power's pretty stable.

[shoottx]

Here's alink to a bunch of NG-powered generators http://www.norwall.com/index.php?cPa...FQMIswod_wijqA
I've been thinking about one, but our power's pretty stable.

Thanks I appreciate the info

[Ed62]

Ed, I was curious about how your natural gas generator is installed, both for connection to the electrical box and for exhaust.

Our generator is outside the home. One of our sons is a licensed electrician, so he installed it for us. It has a breaker panel that connects to the original breaker panel. Below are a couple of shots.

Our unit is a 12KW unit. It keeps almost everything going for us when the power is lost. In fact, our neighbor runs an extension cord to our garage, so he can keep his refrigerator going. They're really nice to have. We've had ours for 4 years, and the cost for the unit was $2929.73, including tax at the time we bought it. It sure is nice having a licensed electrician for a son.

I almost forgot to tell you that the engine is very much like a small car engine.
http://www.generac.com/Products/Info...owItWorks.aspx

Ed

[Ed62]

Today we drove past the worst hit area. No matter where you see the pics, they will not provide the same impact you get from actually seeing it with your own eyes. WOW! It has been determined that a tornado did touch down. I can't imagine being in one of the houses that had the roofs ripped completely off, or one of them that had the side of the house torn completely away! I can't even begin to imagine what New Orleans was like.

Ed

[LCHIEN]

Today we drove past the worst hit area. No matter where you see the pics, they will not provide the same impact you get from actually seeing it with your own eyes. WOW! It has been determined that a tornado did touch down. I can't imagine being in one of the houses that had the roofs ripped completely off, or one of them that had the side of the house torn completely away! I can't even begin to imagine what New Orleans was like.

Ed

Although Katrina was quite strong wind-wise, the wind did very little damage to N.O. Most all of the damage was from the wind driven storm surge that pushed a tide into lake Pontchartrain north of N.O. and the Levees broke and the town was flooded after the eye passed. I don't recall any tornado damage in N.O. Roofs were mostly intact, but walls were all flood damaged.

[poolhound]

Luckily we are not in a geography prone to huricane type storms but we had a real big one pass us by last night and it took the power out.

With no ambient light in the house and nothing from street ligthting you get to know what dark means!!! When we closed our eyes and then opened them you could not tell the difference.

[shoottx]

Tornados fascinate me. I know I might be about a half bubble off of plumb.

If you get the chance look at the the May 3, 1999 tornado that hit Oklahoma city. It had winds of over 318 miles per hour, highest ever clocked in a tornado. It was up to a mile wide and stayed on the ground for a long time. In some of the areas all that was left of homes were the concreate pad. The footage is absolutly unimaginable.

You Tube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4pbqGsS5iB4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XEW5U...eature=related

This tornado was 8 years after another F5 at Jarrell daown by Mildoc

It is hard to imagine the force of nature.

Glad you are OK

[MilDoc]

Edouard(can anyone 'splain that spelling to me????) was supposed to dump a lot of rain on us. 100% probability!

Right. Just enough to wet the deck, not enough for the grass.

Durn it! now I gotta water again!

[gary]

I have a brother in Cedar Lake that I've not been able to reach. Did you hear of much damage down that way?