What are your priorities for storms?

[Epimetheus]

What are your priorities?
I mean, who really needs bread, milk, and eggs?

Our storm preparedness list:

1. Toilet paper
2. Water
3. Power
4. Internet
5. Beer
6. Wine
7. Coffee
8. battery powered light sources

 

[Homercidal]

Since we always have plenty of white gas and portable propane tanks, and Natural gas which a snowstorm won't affect, I'd say:

1. Power
2. Food

TP we can live without. Did you know that people didn't used to use TP at all?? I hear cloth diapers are making a comeback too...

Batteries for lights would be nice, but I have a fetish for flashlights so I have a BUNCH of LED lights that could provide light for a couple of weeks I think. I also have a couple of coleman lanterns and the wife has a dozen or more candles.

Water is city supplied, so unless the tower somehow loses pressure, I'm good. If it's winter I could melt snow. If it's summer I could gather water from the stream down the road and filter it with my backpacking filter.

Probably the thing I'd worry about the most is losing my sanity. It's probably the most likely anyway. I'd be worried about being bored. I've got many books to read during the day. We have games to play as a family. Not having the Internet and TV and cell phone would be the most disturbing for us as a group (not really for me, but I would share the others' grief.)

Food. We're stocked for a while. I don't think I'd worry for like 2 weeks, and this doesn't include the 2 cats and 2 dogs...

I can't see me being much more than slightly inconvenienced unless we were without power for 2 weeks. In the winter freezing temps would be a problem if I couldn't manage to purchase some additional fuel for heaters.

 

[TheCADJockey]

RDWHAHB and get the shovel from the shed before you can't find your shed.

 

[edroberts]

Camera to take pictures of people freaking out because of the storm.

 

[Airplanedoc]

I usually move some firewood from the regular pile closer to the door. Have a gas powered boiler for heat, so I generally crank up the heat the day before the "blizzard" just in case the power does go out. Obviously like most of us I have plenty of beer on hand, but I stock up on liquor, steaks, maybe a few books from the library for entertainment.

 

[Hello]

I'd probably cry a lot if we got hit with the stuff you guys get. It snows here and the whole state goes bat**** crazy. I usually just hope the power stays on, not many have generator power. Short of that, my house is often the house people flock to because of the beer supply. Dinner is sometimes provided by another neighbor if they remember to invite me. Otherwise, I usually have something I can whip up even if I really don't want it. That and I make sure my pup has a place to go to the bathroom outside. Last time the door was blocked with snow so we had to make other arrangements for her to get into the back yard.

 

[JonM]

Really, my only priority is getting my butt home. We love in a metro area, so there's really no worry about being out of food or anything, and the power company is really on top of things when we have the occasional power outage. So, if I can get back from the office (7 miles) before the roads get impassable, I'm happy.

Beyond that, I like to have hearty food around because I work up an appetite while shoveling/snow blowing. That and I learned the hard way to bring a shovel inside the night before. A while back I didn't do that and I could not get TO the garage the next morning to get a shovel.

 

[Airplanedoc]

Really, my only priority is getting my butt home.

For me the concern is not my driving but the other morons on the road.

 

[hunter_le five]

1. Beer
2. Food

Storms don't get too bad around here.

 

[kh54s10]

Got food.
Got beer.
Got wine.
Got electricity.
Got satellite tv.

Not cable internet!! WTF!

Resorting to 3G.

Snow blowing later this afternoon. Then gas fireplace, beer and/or wine.

 

[Yoseff]

Food. We're stocked for a while. I don't think I'd worry for like 2 weeks, and this doesn't include the 2 cats and 2 dogs...

Do they count towards or against the food supply?

Our two big things would be power and milk. Our little munchkin daughter goes through a lot of milk. And power because we have a lot of our food supply in two big chest freezers. But we started canning a lot of our food last fall and are well stocked.

 

[SnakeRidge]

Not that we get too bad of weather in Nashville, but we're stocked up on home canned food and plenty of beer. My #1 priority if the weather turned really bad would be to stock up on ammo. If the power was out for an hour in my neighborhood, it would turn into zombie apocalypse pretty quick. Judging by the people waiting around for the corner store to open at 8AM every morning, these people can't manage to stockpile enough soda and cigarettes to get themselves to work in the morning.

 

[JonM]

Reminds me of one of my cousins who moved from a very snowy New England to DC, and she said something along the lines of "Back home people stock up on firewood, batteries, canned goods, and bottled water ahead of a storm. Here, they stock up in wine and chocolate."

 

[Zepth]

5. Alcohol
4. Candles = Light + Heat
3. Food
2. Rehydrating beverages (no alcohol)
1. Shelter

Having food is great. If it's frozen stiff and you're laying in a ditch for some reason that food isn't going to do you much good. Get yourself home or to a friends house, underground bunker, and batten down the hatches.

Now that I'm a city dweller power interruptions are rare and short. Fact of the matter is that when I lived in a farming community of about 300 hydro workers had better things to do than get us back up and running. Fortunately the farming community mentality of actually helping neighbours, and most people using wood as their primary heat source we made it through the ice storm of 1998 just fine. 11 days without power, one 2500w generator on a toboggan making the rounds to 6 different houses.

 

[Natdavis777]

Camera to take pictures of people freaking out because of the storm.

Yep...

 

[gratus fermentatio]

I make sure the phone is charged. I also make sure to have charcoal for the Weber, toilet paper, propane, a full tank of fuel in the truck & a full 5 gallon can of fuel. I also like to do laundry just in case the power goes out later.

I usually have all those things on hand anyway, so storm prep really isn't much of an issue with me. The biggest thing I do is set my alarm to sound earlier so I'll have enough time to shovel my way out before work & put my snow chains on the day before.
Regards, GF.

 

[Auger]

Propane for the grill and burners, gas for the generator and tractor, we're on city water so that's not a concern, human food and dog food.

The only thing that worries me right now is that we're on a propane furnace, but the furnace still needs power to work. Its hard-wired, so I couldn't plug it into a generator without some work involved. So, if we lost power in the winter, we might be in a bit of a bind. We have an electric heater and some electric blankets, so it would be doable, but not ideal. The neighbors have a wood stove if we really got into trouble. The next step for us is adding a backfeed plug into the electrical panel so if we lose power, I can flip the main breaker off and feed the generator directly into the panel. I have to talk to our electrician about that.

 

[ArkotRamathorn]

A lot of my neighsbors have dogs so I know I'd be ok on food for a couple days. Otherwise I have all kinds of beer so I think I'm good for at least a week.

Edit just in case anyone doesn't understand sarcasm: I would never hurt a dog, I love dogs.

 

[Homercidal]

Propane for the grill and burners, gas for the generator and tractor, we're on city water so that's not a concern, human food and dog food.

The only thing that worries me right now is that we're on a propane furnace, but the furnace still needs power to work. Its hard-wired, so I couldn't plug it into a generator without some work involved. So, if we lost power in the winter, we might be in a bit of a bind. We have an electric heater and some electric blankets, so it would be doable, but not ideal. The neighbors have a wood stove if we really got into trouble. The next step for us is adding a backfeed plug into the electrical panel so if we lose power, I can flip the main breaker off and feed the generator directly into the panel. I have to talk to our electrician about that.

A backfeed circuit is not that big a deal. An automatic switchover is a bit more involved and expensive, if my experience is correct. I'd go with manual. It's not a big deal to flip the switch, the only problem is knowing WHEN you have power back on!

 

[TheDudeLebowski]

What's everyone's experience on propane generators? I even saw dual fuel. I have a patch panel in my small house from the previous owner's Y2K preparedness (remember that kids?). I've never used it and I live in the middle of the woods where power goes out a lot. I have propane mainly for the grill and kitchen but thought it would be convenient for the generator. Most people I've asked don't vouch for their durability.

 

[DarthCitra]

All i need is some stouts for our "storms" here in california.

 

[Auger]

What's everyone's experience on propane generators? I even saw dual fuel. I have a patch panel in my small house from the previous owner's Y2K preparedness (remember that kids?). I've never used it and I live in the middle of the woods where power goes out a lot. I have propane mainly for the grill and kitchen but thought it would be convenient for the generator. Most people I've asked don't vouch for their durability.

I don't know about generators, but one of the guys I go ice fishing with picked up a new propane powered ice auger. Its pretty freaking sweet and was working great, until the regulator froze. Now, this was in the middle of Moosehead Lake in ME 2 weeks ago, when it was about 3 degrees out. My guess is that the cold temps coupled with the temperature drop associated with the release of pressure out of the tank caused the regulator to get cold enough to stop operating. Once it warmed up, it started right back up (until it froze again).

That being said, with a huge tank, the decrease in pressure wouldn't be the same, so that part is probably a non-issue, assuming you'd be hard-piping the gas lines to the generator. We have the propane furnace and haven't yet had an issue with the regulator (knock on wood).

 

[Tin4]

I don't understand. Being in Texas I have to deal with heat, but just taking your pants off can solve that.

So I guess.

1. Pants - To take off later.

Toilet Paper? It's never been so hot I can't go get more. Poptarts? I keep those on hand.

 

[broadbill]

Propane for the grill and burners, gas for the generator and tractor, we're on city water so that's not a concern, human food and dog food.

The only thing that worries me right now is that we're on a propane furnace, but the furnace still needs power to work. Its hard-wired, so I couldn't plug it into a generator without some work involved. So, if we lost power in the winter, we might be in a bit of a bind. We have an electric heater and some electric blankets, so it would be doable, but not ideal. The neighbors have a wood stove if we really got into trouble. The next step for us is adding a backfeed plug into the electrical panel so if we lose power, I can flip the main breaker off and feed the generator directly into the panel. I have to talk to our electrician about that.

what you want to ask your electrician about is a generator interlock kit or transfer switch...not a backfeed plug....A backfeed plug (as it is discussed up in this part of the country) is generally considered a dangerous way of getting generator electricity into your house.

 

[Auger]

Thats it, I explained to him what I wanted to do and he seemed to understand and think it was feasible, so I'll go with that. We've been holding off because we're looking at installing solar panels which may end up re-configuring the main panel, so once that is done I'll revisit the issue.

 

[SnakeRidge]

I don't understand. Being in Texas I have to deal with heat, but just taking your pants off can solve that.

So I guess.

1. Pants - To take off later.

Toilet Paper? It's never been so hot I can't go get more. Poptarts? I keep those on hand.

Whoa there, what about a storm of heat AND humidity? I've seen tragic incidences where the humidity made it impossible to get the pants off in a timely manner. That's why I only wear those tearaway track pants and keep plenty of ice pops on hand.

 

[Tin4]

Whoa there, what about a storm of heat AND humidity? I've seen tragic incidences where the humidity made it impossible to get the pants off in a timely manner. That's why I only wear those tearaway track pants and keep plenty of ice pops on hand.

I do love some icepops.

All the same, it's better if you just never put them on.

 

[Onkel_Udo]

Propane for the grill and burners, gas for the generator and tractor, we're on city water so that's not a concern, human food and dog food.

The only thing that worries me right now is that we're on a propane furnace, but the furnace still needs power to work. Its hard-wired, so I couldn't plug it into a generator without some work involved. So, if we lost power in the winter, we might be in a bit of a bind. We have an electric heater and some electric blankets, so it would be doable, but not ideal. The neighbors have a wood stove if we really got into trouble. The next step for us is adding a backfeed plug into the electrical panel so if we lose power, I can flip the main breaker off and feed the generator directly into the panel. I have to talk to our electrician about that.

Replace the (required almost everywhere) light switch that turns the power off the to the furnace with a combo light switch outlet. The switch should be wired to turn off both the outlet and the furnace.

Now make a double-ended male-male 12 gauge extension cord. to run the furnace, turn off the furnace switch, plug in the cord, run the generator to power the furnace.

No other circuits are affected so when power comes back the lights come on. Simple $5 fix.

 

[Auger]

That's great, except I want to use the generator to run the fridge, freezer, and potentially some lights in the house, which is why I wanted to run it through the panel, and then I can just flip off all the breakers except the ones running the stuff I need powered. That is a good solution for just the furnace though.

 

[Onkel_Udo]

That's great, except I want to use the generator to run the fridge, freezer, and potentially some lights in the house, which is why I wanted to run it through the panel, and then I can just flip off all the breakers except the ones running the stuff I need powered. That is a good solution for just the furnace though.

Then I guess the furnace is not the "only" thing that worries you...I guess I took that a bit literally.

 

[Auger]

Gotcha...that still falls under the statement "Its hard-wired, so I couldn't plug it into a generator without some work involved." Either way..there's sort of a plan. And if worst comes to worst we just let the St. Bernard in the bed and he'll produce enough heat for all of us...the challenge then becomes not letting the dog kick me out of bed.

 

[MaddBaggins]

The worst that would happen here is the power going out in the summer. I have a solar powered generator that can run some fans. I've lived here for 34 years and I don't recall power ever being out for more than 8 hours tops.
Not in my hood anyway.

 

[Onkel_Udo]

Gotcha...that still falls under the statement "Its hard-wired, so I couldn't plug it into a generator without some work involved." Either way..there's sort of a plan. And if worst comes to worst we just let the St. Bernard in the bed and he'll produce enough heat for all of us...the challenge then becomes not letting the dog kick me out of bed.

If he is anything like my Bernese...he keeps all the heat to himself and still steals the covers. We joke that we need to shave one side of him in the winter because there must be and impressive furnace in there under about 11#'s of fur (no exaggeration...he lost almost 12 #'s when we shaved him after getting him).

 

[broadbill]

Replace the (required almost everywhere) light switch that turns the power off the to the furnace with a combo light switch outlet. The switch should be wired to turn off both the outlet and the furnace.

Now make a double-ended male-male 12 gauge extension cord. to run the furnace, turn off the furnace switch, plug in the cord, run the generator to power the furnace.

No other circuits are affected so when power comes back the lights come on. Simple $5 fix.

This isn't safe for a number of reasons. You, or some lineman could be killed with this approach.

 

[Onkel_Udo]

This isn't safe for a number of reasons. You, or some lineman could be killed with this approach.

The odds of back feed to the main in this scenario is incredibly low and the amperage involved is as well in case someone did something very, very wrong.

To make it 100% safe other than a lock-out or transfer switch is virtually impossible. Breaking the neutral with a separate switch is an option but then, unless a ground rod for the generator is used, you create another hazard.

 

[broadbill]

The odds of back feed to the main in this scenario is incredibly low and the amperage involved is as well in case someone did something very, very wrong.

Tell that to the lineman who is away from their family in the sh*tty weather trying to get the power back on for you.

Aside from the issue of back-feeding (which I disagree that the odds are more than just "incredibly low") the larger issue is having an exposed male end that is connected to a 120V supply. There isn't a situation where that is a good idea.

To make it 100% safe other than a lock-out or transfer switch is virtually impossible.

Yeah, that is why you use a lock out or transfer box. Why wouldn't you want to make it as safe as possible? To save few bucks?

 

[Onkel_Udo]

Yeah, that is why you use a lock out or transfer box. Why wouldn't you want to make it as safe as possible? To save few bucks?

The only valid reason beyond money is when you do not have a 220V generator...that is pretty much it.

My solution was electrically much safer but carries its own risks. I have a 35K BTU unvented heater (with built in oxygen depletion sensor and tilt sensor), battery CO detector and spare NG nipple in the basement...plus my two Propane tanks as this heater has a flip-flop jet on it.

 

[SnakeRidge]

I just wanted to report in from the frozen wastes of Tennessee, we had a few flurries this morning. A scary morning to be sure, but we will rebuild.