Power outage turns on the lights...

We had some high wind gust come through the area last night. Some supposed to be in the 80mph range. Nothing too bad. We usually get at least one power outage or two per year. Last night was one such night.

The lights flickered once than go out roughly 30 seconds later. This comes in handy as we drop what we are doing and get the oil lamps and stuff ready. We light the lamps, got the scanner switched over to battery and turned on the portable radio just in time.

This past summer a local sporting good store was clearancing out their lanterns so we picked up a couple Coleman Rechargeable Retro Lanterns. These are incredible lanterns. They have a high/low/night light setting which covers a great range.



I took one out for a walk around the neighborhood and it lit up the houses on both sides of the street and one charge lasted all night.

Many of the homes had either one candle light or someone walking around with a flashlight. There were a handle full running their own generators and many in the complete dark.

I will get more of the coleman rechargables when I see them on sale as backups.

Another item I am going to buy more of is the small glow sticks. They make great night lights for little kids who panic without one!!

Anyone else go thru the blackout or other blackouts and learn from them?

I've gone through quite a few, I'm still doing the retro thing with my oil lamps, but I have two of the Rock River Led lanterns,which are very bright well made little lanterns, Led Flashlights, coleman lanterns, LED headlamps and of course my generator. And instead of plugging the electric stove into the generator I have a cook stove in the basement storm shelter converted to propane.I also have a 700 watt inverter if needed. Went without power for 2 weeks once, was a long time ago, that was the beginning of my learning to be prepared.

i use Coleman gas lamps for the few times i have lost power..
however i really like that electric Coleman--i have an older
relative who lives alone and that would just the thing for her.
lots of light and easy to use..

I wish there was a cheap way to wire in my tiny 900W generator to power just the lights in my condo. The whole house is florescent. It would be enough to light up everything. If there's a power outage now I use the battery lanterns reserved for car camping and if anything AC needs power I have a 60Ah battery pack with a built in 1000W inverter.

You might be interested in the Xantrex PowerHub 1800 - US Version at
http://www.xantrex.com/web/id/240/p/docs/pt/30/product.asp

That's super neat...but it's $900 for the Canadian version. Since I live in a condo I can't do any major modifications to the wiring anyhow. The power pack I have is very similar to one of the Xantrex models (I wouldn't be suprised if Xantrex was the manufacturer):
http://www.xantrex.com/web/id/63/p/1/pt/10/product.asp

I use it when we car camp or road trip to run the 12V cooler and other assorted goodies. Combined with the 950W inverter generator and a couple of solar panels, hotels are a thing of the past on road trips. Comes in damn handy when the power goes out too.

One thing to be careful of, is that the rechargable batteries won't last forever. You'll need to be careful to check them periodically to make sure the batteries still function.

Flourescents are a pretty good idea for this sort of work. Earlier this year, we had a storm pass through that knocked our power out for 3 days. Fortunately, since I do emergency response ham radio stuff, I have a bunch of high capacity gel-cell batteries laying around. I also have compact flourescents in a bunch of my lamps. I was able to run out to the store, get some cheap 12v to 120v inverters and plug the desk lamps into my batteries. Worked quite well. Probably a good idea to keep some low wattage (14w) bulbs around to replace the higher wattage ones for this purpose.

Also, Home Depot around here carries a $10 battery operated flourescent lamp, requires 8 AA batteries. The neat thing is that it also has a 2.1mm socket for external 12v power, and runs beautifully off my batteries. Not the brightest light, but it's enough to get around the house without killing myself.

For anybody here in the D/FW area, Costco has been carrying a single tube, battery operated single-tube GE flourescent lantern for around $15. I need to pick up a few.

Another little trick - I recently standardized on DeWalt power tools. DeWalt has a flourescent handheld light that runs off the 12/14v and 18v batteries that their tools use. Cheaper bought off eBay. It has a lot of hanger options built into it, too. I keep that hanging on a shelf for immediate use. It's not long lasting, a battery only runs it for about 4 hrs, but it does let you use those tool batteries in an emergency.

Hi Hacksaw,

There is of course a very cheap and simple way to connect your condo lights to your 900W generator in an emergency situation. All you have to do is cut the ring main wiring lighting circuit/s 3 core cable (or disconnect at the RCD or Fuse Box) and connect it up to using some terminal block to your generator or battery pack/inverter package. (just be sure that the electricity is off or could be a shocking experience)

Actually that's not a bad idea. I'd do it at the fuse box so I could isolate only the circuit(s) that the lights are connected to. Unfortunately condo living means the fuse box is in the spare bedroom. I'd have to run 70 feet of extension cable through my place LOL.

At Wally World they had flourescent battery operated lanters on sale, with spare bulbs, for an insanely cheap price. I took advantage and stocked up. The only gripe about those lanters that I got is that the original bulbs that come in the lanters, for some odd reason, seem to conk out after periodic use (they'll light up on "high" mode, but only half the bulb will light up on "low"). I put the spares in though, and they work just fine.

Also, at my local Target some Energizer Hard Case flashlights of the AA variety also went on sale, for about $2-3 each. I stocked up on those too, and bought four in all, marking numbers on them from #1 to #4 with a Sharpie. Now part of my contingency plan for a blackout is that I take those four flashlights, leave one for myself, and give one each to my three neighbors in our apartment building to borrow. When it's all over they give them back. It's a good way to get invited to a grill cookout when the power's out. After all, sharing means caring...

I've also got one of those portable battery chargers with built-in outlets. Works pretty darn good and once we used it for a film shoot to run a camcorder through the outlet for a few hours! It won't do anything crazy like run the refrigerator or light the whole building but it'll recharge the battery on my laptop or other handheld devices for a little while, if need be, which is all I would really want it for. Wouldn't it be possible to divert power FROM a car battery, and not just charge it with one of those things? Just curious.

Probably not. There's probably a current direction circuit built into the charger. Go for either an inverter or cigarette lighter socket with a couple of clip connectors (like small jumper cable ends). I used to have one of those where the inverter could be removed from the main unit & had connector wires for just that set-up.

Well, this isn't exactly Kosher, but...

You could go even easier and just switch off your main at the panel altogether. You could then run an HD extension cord from your generator to an outlet, you'd have to replace the female end on the cord with another male end to get it to plug into both the generator output and any wall receptacle. At only 900w, you wouldn't need to worry about overloading any of the household circuit, as the outlets themselves should easily handle 1300w. Then just switch out the circuits you don't need on the circuit breaker panel until you are left with just the essentials for lighting. It is a simple fix that doesn't require rewiring your lighting fixture circuits.

Of course, you might have to guess at when the utiltiy power comes back on, but if you live in a neighborhood you will know soon enough.

Just so I understand, will switching off the main guarantee that you won't be zapping some poor linesman somewhere trying to make a repair? If so it sounds like a handy thing to know.

Actually that makes sense...I think. There's even an outlet on my patio.

Hi Benjammin,



Excellent idea, do you know if this will work with a combined RCD/fuse circuit breaker box? Or would you have the replace the RCD/fuse circuit breaker on the ring main the generator is connected to with just a simple fuse.

Not kosher meaning not legal...and possibly deadly to power company workers if you don't kill the main.

Hi benjammin,

This reverse double male-ended plug technique is how we power our remote hunt camp. The generator (1400watt Honda) is behind the camp and a heavy duty power cord goes from it to the building. A one foot long double male connector then attaches the power cord to a plug-in on the outside wall and into the camp wiring. We have also run the camp lights for a short time off a rechargable power box using this short adaptor by pluging it into the inside plug.

The camp is like an old shed and was wired by a camp member (4 lights and 2 plug-ins), we only use the electricity in the early morning and evening, never at night when people are sleeping. The camp also has propane gas lights and portable gas/battery lights for when we do not bring a generator.

The area is off the grid so no chance of any power company workers getting hurt.

The camp is one room heated by a wood stove and has no inside plumbing, we (the men in the family) love it there.

Mike

That is an extremely dangerous thing to do. The reason that power sources are fitted with a socket (female) is to make the live conductor inaccessible. Your male-male cord bypasses that inherent safety. Imagine you plug the cord into the generator then take the free end (male plug) to the building and the generator starts up before you plug it in. You now have a live and accessible conductor in your hand, which is dangerous.

Imagine the plug comes out during the night, and someone has to root around to find it (without turning of the generator). You'll know when they've found it!

Imagine someone wants to plug a power tool in to work outside. They see a socket, but it is occupied by the male-male cord. They unplug the cord so they can plug the power tool in, not realising it is live.

You should have a permanently wired flying lead from the building to the generator, or a male plug attached to the building in the same way as an RV receptacle. This would allow you to plug a male plug into the generator and carry the (potentially live but safe) female end to the building.

Sorry to be such a pedant, but it's so easy to do this safely.

A

Well, like I said, it ain't kosher, but it will work.

If you switch out the main, there may still be an issue with neutral ground loop current being generated, but any lineman worth his salt is going to take appropriate steps to safegaurd against such stray currents anyways, or they ought not be doing that sort of work. I am no lineman, but I do know to check any circuit and isolate it before working on exposed leads. I am pretty sure that is something not only taught to but required of anyone who intends to earn a living working on electrical supply systems in this country. If the lineman do not take such precautions, well, I won't go so far as to say they deserve what they get, but they will get to learn the lesson the hard way I suppose.

There may be some issue with certain control/safety devices in the wiring that might not like all that AC load, but I can't think of any configuration that will trip unless the power limit is exceeded, which based on the initial criteria ought not occur. If it were a DC circuit, I would worry about diode isolation or maybe a crowbar SCR circuit protection or some such, but about the only things you can do to protect AC circuits is GFCI or current overload vis-a-vis fuses and circuit breakers, which don't care which direction the source comes from. What little resistance/inductance coupling might be in the wiring between the generator and the ground retrun is probably insufficient to establish stray ground loop or voltage division anyways, unless you are running an extension cord more than 30 feet away from the gen to the outlet.

There are inherent hazards in using my suggestion. It is a survival technique in case you find you have not prepared in advance by adding the hard wiring to your household circuit for such an event. It is easy to do it the right way if you have the materials, equipment, knowledge, and time to do so. If not, then the extension cord method is as simple and easy as it gets, and can be deployed in less than a minute.

If you are concerned about frying the lineman, make a checklist and make the first step switching out the main before lighting off the gen, and the last step switching the main in after shutting the gen off AND uplugging the stub.

Wouldn't this result in the male plug being hot when operating with mains power?

Hi ame,

I appreciate the safety lesson on connecting our hunt camp wiring to a generator.

I am not skilled in electrical techniques but I will print out your message and provide it to the member in our camp who is.

Even from reading your post I can understand how it would be much safer to hardwire a connection into the camp system.

Thanks for the advice,

Mike

"... but any lineman worth his salt is going to take appropriate steps to safegaurd against such stray currents anyways, or they ought not be doing that sort of work."

Linemen can be just as stupid and careless as plumbers, septic tank cleaners, veterinarians and soldiers.

I was recently driving a RR crew member who used to be a lineman, and he was telling us all the different ways that they get killed. Some were true accidents, some were from stupidity.

Don't assume.

Sue

Hey Ame,

I spoke to the electrical guy at my camp today and we are on that safety "double male plug" problem first thing in the spring, it is an easy fix.

Thanks again,

Mike

When I connect my generator up to the home-20, I do the following:

1) Isolate the house from the electric grid at the main breaker.
2) Pull the stove's circuit breaker.
3) Connect a 220vac wire to the stove circuit breaker and re-install the stove circuit breaker.
4) Plug the 220vac wire into the generator receptacle for 220vac.
5) Secure every circuit breaker on the circuit breaker box.
6) Start the generator and then enegize those circuits that you wish to use.
7) You must know the power draw of the equipment that you wish to run in your house. A 60w light bulb draws 60 watts. Don't try to run more equipment than what your generator can support.

I run the lights, TV, Computor, and cable box. I secure everything when I want to run the refrigerator and freezer, after I pull out what I want for the day.

That's how I do it!!

Yes, it would, except that in SwampDonkey's case there is no grid power. The generator is the only source of power.

A

My parents house and my grandmothers house both have emergency lighting and backup generators. My apartment, I probably wouldn't even notice if the power went out, except for my TV and electric stove not turning on. Wouldn't really bother me though.

I was thinking how to set it up for the posts that started the topic. For SwampDonkey, an RV set-up with cold male from the wall to hot generator would work great.

Yep, "Stupid is as Stupid does..." is a good topical quote for the human factor.

I've circumvented procedure for whatever reason more than once and been nailed for it too. It happens to the best of us I suppose. We all have our stupid moments; the lucky ones survive and hopefully learn an unpleasant but important lesson.

Now, as with firearms, I assume the item in question is in a potentially lethal configuration until I've proven that it isn't, such as using a probe, locking out the circuit, etc. I go through the checklist, and if I am not familiar with the circuit, then I don't proceed until I am. I don't rely on someone else to tell me it is okay anymore. I check it myself, and check my test equipment against a known standard so I know the test equipment is working as it should. You can never be too careful.

Even so, there are inherent risks in such endeavors that simply cannot be totally mitigated. There is no such thing as foolproof, or 100%, or totally isolated. But if you take the necessary steps to eliminate the most likely threats, and be wary of the murphy factor, then there is a certain amount of hazard that I guess we can live with, or else we'd never get anything done I suppose.

It took time and experience for me to become worth my salt as a technician, even with the best training up front money could buy. I don't make the sort of mistakes that created unnecessary hazards in the past, but I still make mistakes, and I still face hazards even now. I am not as sloppy nor as hasty about things as I was at first. Taking 500 volts across the chest will educate you pretty well I reckon, if you survive it, which I was fortunate enough to do.