Well the storm we had on the Saturday the 29th knocked out our power at 11:00 pm and we just got back on the grid about 3 hours ago. We got about 8" of heavy wet snow and several of the ornamental trees in my yard took a big hit (my wife was sick over that) and a big limb across the road took out a main power feed line. 1 or 2 days I can handle, but 5 days off the grid starts to get a bit old.
Monday morning I went out at 7:00 am to get coffee and bagels for the family (school was cancelled) and decided to go by the local Home Depot and see if by a stoke of luck they had any generators left. I decided to give this a shot after contacting National Grid that morning and was told to not expect any power until Thursday at 11:45 pm (seriously!). I walked through the doors and saw quite a few snowblowers which I felt was a good sign as all the news reports leading up to the storm were stating that there was not a snowblower to be found due to the impending nor'easter. I headed to the hardware section in hopes of finding any generator I could find and at the first endcap was this little Ryobi i2000 power inverter generator. I looked at it a bit and said to myself, "self - you better put that in the carriage just in case there is nothing else". Sure enough, that was it! So $600.00 later I was filling it up with 10W30 oil, some fresh gas and getting some power to my home.
It's only 1600 continuous watts (2000 peak) but it was good enough to power the fans on my wood stove (plenty of heat for the whole house) and power up some small appliances and the TV. We did not have any cable or internet service but we could run DVD's and keep ourselves entertained and provide some relief from the toils of dealing with the little things in life we take for granted I'm on a well pump and septic so having no electricity to power the water pump creates it's own set of obstacles to overcome. Flushing the toilets (a no flush unless needed rule took effect) can be become a challenge. I would skim the water off my pool cover with a small bucket and fill (2) 5 gallon buckets that I would use to fill the 3 toilet tanks. A "do number 2 in the first floor bathroom" rule was also mandated so I did not have to carry 5 gallon buckets upstairs to refill those toilet tanks more than once a day.
I learned my lesson after living here for the last 10 years or so to have an ample supply of emergency potable and non potable water on hand in case of a power failure. I always keep 50 gallons of drinking water stored in my cellar in used 2 liter Polar Springs Seltzer water bottles. I have a propane cook stove so I can heat water to do a "bums bath" (probably not a PC statement these days) and to cook with so it becomes fairly bearable once you get the hang of dealing without the flick of a switch or knob, etc... type of convenience. I have several types of battery operated lights that work quite well and are actually quite efficient at illuminating a room - you just have to bring the light along with you everywhere you go!
One of the biggest challenges was keeping morale high as this type of situation can become very old, very quickly. My kids (girl 14, boy 15) handled everything pretty well and adapted easily to their new set of circumstances. The wife on the other hand, began to grow tired of the conditions fairly quickly regardless of the fact that it was basically a "it is was it is" type of situation and it could be much worse. I think anyone that's been married for some time can attest to the usual demands of a husband/wife dynamic but throw this type of situation into the mix and WOW - it can really become interesting!
I think everyone should have to deal with this type of inconvenience occasionally so that they can appreciate what they have just a little bit more than they realize!
This message was modified Nov 4, 2011 by FrankMA
Toro Wheel Horse 522xi GT, Honda HS928TA, Honda HS621AS, Honda HS520A, Toro CCR3000 (work in progress), Honda HS624WA (sold 08/23/2010), Stihl BR550 Backpack Blower, Stihl MS250, McCulloch MS1635, Honda EM6500SX Generator
