December '08 Ice Storm Lessons Learned

[coastie]

We need a fan or two to circulate air better. Without our ceiling fan going our living room got very warm.

Got lazy and lost some of the stuff in the fridge. Next time we will empty the fridge into coolers in the garage and throw the frozen stuff in the deep freeze. I let the fridge go overnight between times I fire up the generator.

Going to build a small wheeled battery pack to power lights and a radio. The oil lamps make me nervous with the kids and the propane lantern added more heat.

Need to organize the batteries better.

Didnt follow our storm plan as we should have and had things like laundry that wasnt done and the camp stove wasnt brought from the basement. If we followed our plan than I would not have lost the stuff in the fridge.

Need a thermometer for my freezer.

Having the laptop is great. My daughter was able to watch a movie and I got some work done on a couple of projects.

Keep a couple of extra plug ends for extesion cords kicking around. I had to build a suicide cord to run a friends house and had to fight the crowds at home despot.

That is all I can think of now. We are going to make a list this weekend and try to hammer out a few things.

 

[matt]

Regarding the thermometer for the freezer: I used my wireless bbq thermometer and set the alarm at 30deg. It worked well and told me when I was in trouble.

Matt

 

[misturg]

I've got 3 generators. One in the RV, on 3.5K for the track and a 5.5K i got from my dad. The RV is topped off so plenty of fuel there. All the portable gas containers are full. Have enough food and water for a couple of weeks. We lost power for a week when i was a kid (30 yrs ago) and my dad had a generator back then. I always remembered that.

 

[Chris]

Our lessons:

#1 : If you are going to spend the $$ on a generator, Get a top brand name. Those cheap ones in the warehouse stores will work for a while, but when you need it most will turn out to be a rusted out hulk. I've never seen an engine look that bad inside.

#2 : Take the pessimistic approach. Far too often we get a power outage and several hours later it's back. Happens 8-10 times a year. Never assume it will just be a short time.

#3 : Install the new chain on the chainsaw when the weather is nice. Doing it on a cold dark morning so you can clear the driveway to get out is no fun at all.

#4 : Keep the Freezer PACKED. Both our freezers have a small supply of ice packs in them that we just keep in there. We had just packaged up meats and loaded up some BJ's veggie bags, so the freezers were stuffed (I'd even turned off the ice maker so I could store a few items in the ice bin.) Not only did we lose very little in the freezer (one tub of ice cream melted slightly and one bag of frozen peas on the door thawed too much) but we never had to open the downstairs one. Considering it was over 48 hours before I had the generator going, I'm quite thrilled with the results. In the future the upstairs fridge will get periodic power to remain frozen while the downstairs will get ice pack swaps and such. (outside in a cooler if temps are favorable)

#5 : Candle lanterns RULE! Got a bunch for camping and we used them where needed. Candles last 9 hours each and are sold in 3 packs. Never changed one candle in the 4 days. They need to be changed before I pack them away again, but it worked out great. Convenient handle to carry or hang them. AND, the heat shield on top radiates enough heat to be a great hand warmer after a run outside. EMS or REI for under $20. If you can find it, the 3 candle one works great as a table light, but isn't as compact. I'm going to get another few to give as gifts to family.

#6 : LED lights. I used 2 headlamps and the 2 NES flashlights. I don't know how long the charge lasts in these, but all of them had old batteries to start and none went dark. Had I used the old Surefire I'd have had to change out batteries several times I'm sure.

#7 : Dress like the old timers. I lived in thermal underwear. Didn't matter if the house was cold, I was comfy. Kids had multiple layers which was a PIA for diaper changes, but kept them warm too. Took a lot less generator to heat and could go a lot longer between power-ups (all night in fact) before it got 'cold'.


I'm sure there are other things.

 

[tele_mark]

One thing on the candle lanterns -- the candles seem to have a "shelf life" if not stored properly. I had three candles that burned excessively quick this weekend and filled the lantern up with wax. The the third I burned on a plate and it burned down in less than 3 hours. They normally should be good for about 18 hours.

 

[coastie]

We put 2 liter bottles filled with water in our freezer. They take up space and are handy to throw in coolers in the summer.

On another note I noticed in the local Walmart the only fuel they had left was Coleman fuel. They had both the gallon cans and the quart bottles. No propane or any lanterns of any type.

 

[Chris]

One thing on the candle lanterns -- the candles seem to have a "shelf life" if not stored properly. I had three candles that burned excessively quick this weekend and filled the lantern up with wax. The the third I burned on a plate and it burned down in less than 3 hours. They normally should be good for about 18 hours.

I had that happen one before.

No idea of the age of the candle in that case. All I know is that it was a royal PIA to clean out the holder. Ended up heating it in a ziplock bag full of water in a pan of warm water to soften the wax enough to get it out easily.

Maybe I should leave the lanterns empty and keep the candles in the baggies until needed. Not that hard to load one up when needed.

 

[dwarven1]

Try storing them in the freezer. That's one tip I've heard. Can't say if it works; never tried it.

 

[tele_mark]

Well, Part 1 of my post-Storm panic buy seems to be good 3 days since install -- a deep-cycle backed up AC/DC sump pump system. Never again having to scramble to get the generator hooked up immediately after the power goes out, no matter what time of day. Never again having to rush home from work to do the same if the power goes out during the day. Plus, as an added bonus, the AC unit uses 2.7 amps vs. 9 from my Flotec, and is like twice as fast, and the DC unit is about as fast as the Flotec.