It was above freezing the whole time. We went to Chicago anyway, once we were sure the ice was gone from the roads. It was disappointing to come back to darkness and cold, though. I was sure they'd get it back on before then. Some neighbors had their generators running, and the power company was still giving no information at all, so after taking care of critters we hauled ours out and let it run for a couple of hours. Refilled water reserves, let the refrigerator run, let Gary get cleaned up so he could go to midnight mass.
This morning at dawn I put the teakettle on the woodstove, and just when it boiled to make coffee, the lights finally came back on. They've stayed on for three hours now so I guess we're in the clear.
Took them about 30 hours. I have some suspicions about the incompetence involved though. It was clear that power had been back on at some point yesterday while we were in Chicago, and gone back off. Houses fairly close to us had power, where they had been out in the morning.
Around one this morning, another call to Comm Ed produced the message that "a problem had been identified but additional resources were required to correct it." My suspicion is that they had opened knife switches on a utility pole and didn't reclose them securely after making their repairs. It was dark and raining hard, and possibly the crew sent back to re-examine it were not equipped to close those switches or were unwilling to to it under those conditions. It came back at first light this morning, when someone could better see what they were doing with one of those long safety poles.
I think I know where to look, because I saw the floodlight being passed over the lines up the road around midnight last night. If there are switches there, my suspicion is confirmed.
Came back on at dawn, after 30 hours out. See note above for my suspected reasons. UPSes in the house were tripped back into life at some point during the day yesterday, while we were in Chicago. Then they went down again, so we came home to cold, dark, and "boop boop boop." But it's all going again now. Hot running water! I can hardly wait.
You were mentioning that the generator would power the pumps but apparently not the water heater. *brrr*
That's what I like about having a town with a water tower and an old all mechanical gas fired water heater. At least if the power's off and the house is getting cold, I can take a warm shower by candle light. :)
It's a small portable generator, only 5kW capacity. Our water heater is electric; we have no gas at all. That's fine with me, I really dislike the LP gas and prefer not to deal with it.
The transfer switch I had installed handles five circuits where the breaker panel for the house has about eighteen. We had to choose which circuits to serve, and the generator really can only take the load of about two of them at any given time unless we are very careful. I'd rather not strain the generator or trip the overload on it, so we limit ourselves to two circuits at once or the well pump alone. The water heater and the heat pump are not on the transfer switch, though the generator probably could run the water heater.
We heat water on the woodstove, the old fashioned way. You could do enough for a bath, even, but obviously it isn't practical for showering. A soup kettle gives enough for both of us to wash or to wash dishes in. Yes, I'm really glad the power came back on, though my first concern was the food in the fridge. XD
Yikes! Not exactly an ideal Christmas Present from your utility co. That sort of thing is the reason we have a backup generator here; It's only a small 6500/7200 Watt unit, but that's enough to run the well pump, the hot-water heating system (natural-gas fired boiler) and the fridge and freezer with some power left to spare to run LED lights and such. We're planning on getting a larger unit that can run the whole farm once we can afford one.
Yes, a generator and UPSes for computers are a must here. We have a 5kW unit, but it's a pain to haul it from the garage to the other end of the house where the meter and hookups are and connect it. I'm also leary of dealing with those 240v twist-lock connectors in the rain, but we broke down and did it last night for a couple of hours. At least that let us cool the refrigerator back down and pump some water. It's back on now, one of the most appreciated Christmas gifts I've had in years. Hot water!
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branchandroot
no subject
Date: 2009-12-25 01:04 am (UTC)Good luck. Hope you get to do your Xmas errands in spite of this.
no subject
Date: 2009-12-25 03:46 pm (UTC)This morning at dawn I put the teakettle on the woodstove, and just when it boiled to make coffee, the lights finally came back on. They've stayed on for three hours now so I guess we're in the clear.
no subject
Date: 2009-12-25 01:46 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-12-25 03:51 pm (UTC)Around one this morning, another call to Comm Ed produced the message that "a problem had been identified but additional resources were required to correct it." My suspicion is that they had opened knife switches on a utility pole and didn't reclose them securely after making their repairs. It was dark and raining hard, and possibly the crew sent back to re-examine it were not equipped to close those switches or were unwilling to to it under those conditions. It came back at first light this morning, when someone could better see what they were doing with one of those long safety poles.
I think I know where to look, because I saw the floodlight being passed over the lines up the road around midnight last night. If there are switches there, my suspicion is confirmed.
no subject
Date: 2009-12-25 06:43 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-12-25 03:53 pm (UTC)Merry Christmas to you. :D
no subject
Date: 2009-12-26 07:34 am (UTC)That's what I like about having a town with a water tower and an old all mechanical gas fired water heater. At least if the power's off and the house is getting cold, I can take a warm shower by candle light. :)
no subject
Date: 2009-12-26 01:28 pm (UTC)The transfer switch I had installed handles five circuits where the breaker panel for the house has about eighteen. We had to choose which circuits to serve, and the generator really can only take the load of about two of them at any given time unless we are very careful. I'd rather not strain the generator or trip the overload on it, so we limit ourselves to two circuits at once or the well pump alone. The water heater and the heat pump are not on the transfer switch, though the generator probably could run the water heater.
We heat water on the woodstove, the old fashioned way. You could do enough for a bath, even, but obviously it isn't practical for showering. A soup kettle gives enough for both of us to wash or to wash dishes in. Yes, I'm really glad the power came back on, though my first concern was the food in the fridge. XD
no subject
Date: 2009-12-25 07:46 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-12-25 03:57 pm (UTC)Merry Christmas to you and yours.
no subject
Date: 2009-12-27 08:58 am (UTC)