Lc jones
Senior Member
Thanks RadishGlad to hear this, Lc.
Thanks RadishGlad to hear this, Lc.
So glad you got through it! Highly recommend a good generator to make those dark days way better. We have a Yamaha and its wonderful when you need it. It kept our big screen TV, freezer & fridge, fans, lights, and other electronics going strong. The fuel really lasts, too. We've had other generators that were so noisy and really ate up the fuel, but this little compact "hummer" is leaps and bounds above it. Just be sure to run it dry when the lights come back on and follow the manual for "long term storage" on any generator you might buy.Well,we survived! It really wasn`t too horribly bad,but that was because I prepared for it. We ended up with still having our bathtub full-didn`t even need it. The frozen gallon containers I had frozen previously kept the fridge cod and the ones I left in the freezer kept everything but the ice cream frozen. So we didn`t lose much. Our daughter lives less than a mile away and they do have a generator,so we could have showered there if we wanted to,but just pretended we were camping and took "horse baths" lol. Hubby missed TV though,so I guess a generator is in our future. I didn`t want to be storing fuel here, but our garages and storage barn are far enough away from the house that I guess it`ll be OK. Also,we could drive less than 30 minutes away for meals-the next county over-or at least the main city in that county-had power as they have their own company-not PG&E. Son in law,who is a lineman for PG&E says this will not be the last shutdown we have this year. We`ll see.....
How long was your power shut off, Mrs. R?Well,we survived! It really wasn`t too horribly bad,but that was because I prepared for it. We ended up with still having our bathtub full-didn`t even need it. The frozen gallon containers I had frozen previously kept the fridge cod and the ones I left in the freezer kept everything but the ice cream frozen. So we didn`t lose much. Our daughter lives less than a mile away and they do have a generator,so we could have showered there if we wanted to,but just pretended we were camping and took "horse baths" lol. Hubby missed TV though,so I guess a generator is in our future. I didn`t want to be storing fuel here, but our garages and storage barn are far enough away from the house that I guess it`ll be OK. Also,we could drive less than 30 minutes away for meals-the next county over-or at least the main city in that county-had power as they have their own company-not PG&E. Son in law,who is a lineman for PG&E says this will not be the last shutdown we have this year. We`ll see.....
How long was your power shut off, Mrs. R?
57 hours is a long time to be without power.
Since it appears the fire that hit our area was sparked by power lines, DWP (Department and Water of Power) will likely start shutting off power during Santa Ana events, so I need to start thinking about alternate power sources.
We share similar concerns about storing fuel on our premises. With a barn and outbuildings your property is obviously much bigger than my under 1/4 acre postage stamp. We were gifted a brand new generator about 20 years ago in case of emergency, but hubby has surely not fired that sucker up in 15 years. Maybe I'll give him a push on it...Yes,time to start thinking about it. I didn`t want a generator but now I`m thinking we may get one anyway. We did OK,but if it had been 5 days,or if it had been really hot weather,we could have had a problem.
We share similar concerns about storing fuel on our premises. With a barn and outbuildings your property is obviously much bigger than my under 1/4 acre postage stamp. We were gifted a brand new generator about 20 years ago in case of emergency, but hubby has surely not fired that sucker up in 15 years. Maybe I'll give him a push on it...
I didn't think about making sure that our vehicles remain topped off. Thanks for the tip. Wouldn't want to revisit the experience of gas lines from the 1970s - it wasn't all that much fun the first few times...And now we know what it`s like to try to GET fuel during an event like this. Fortunately,I did take their warnings of a possible shutdown seriously (most people didn`t)and filled my car up a couple of days before. Hubby still wasn`t driving then because of his knee surgery so we were OK on his truck. But the lines at the stations that WERE able to pump gas were horrendous-people had to wait forever to get gas. And then,of course,there were those people that would come in the back way and shoot into a space as a car was leaving and proceed to fill their tank. Nice. So there were fights. My son in law says they are being told there will be at least one more shutdown this year,so we`ll see....