Most liked posts in thread: Winter's here...

Yeah, when the furnace breaks here, real problems happen like pipes freezing, let alone people freezing!

Going to -4 tonight, +5 right now, but it will be in the 60's next week they say!

 

I have back-up for furnace failure (has never happened) and power outages.

A wood stove, a pellet stove and a diesel generator that will run the whole house.

I live out in the sticks, it takes 20 minutes to get to the nearest shopping. We are the last ones who get power restored after an outage and it happens every year. Sometimes for as long as a week.

 

Whenever I have a power outage I just shut off the furnace electrical disconnect switch and connect my portable gasoline generator to run the furnace blower motor. I can fill the gas tank and I'll have power to run through the night. Keeps the house toasty until the utilities can be restored. It could never run all of the electrical needs for the house, but my only concern is frozen pipes... For lighting.... candles work just fine... I also cook with gas so any extended outage isn't an issue... The generator is a cheap Lowe's model I got for $350.... It doesn't put out clean power, but it's just fine for the blower motor...

 

Currently 19 and snowing .

 

Woohoo!! We're into double digits.

Was a cold cold cold walk to the coffee shop this morning.

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tpp11sMXgcA"]Little Feat - Cold, Cold, Cold - YouTube[/ame]

 

Little Feat was pretty much my favorite back in the day. Saw them in DC in 73, Lowell George was the man on the slide. Some little known
info on him, Zappa had to kick him out of the Mothers for "excessive drug use", Zappa did not partake in anything that I know of.

 

I have a genset that will power the entire house except for the main A/C, it will handle 2 window units tho with no problems....along with anything else we want to run. So far I've only needed it when a summer T-Storm took out the power in the 'hood.

But if we lose it in the winter, I'm ready for it.

Just don't forget to isolate your house from the grid by opening the main breaker!

 

76 @ the Warner Theater for me. Balcony upper left side.

Zappa was as clean as they get, would not tolerate drug use in the band either.

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a7Vi1zusI3s"]Frank Zappa - On Drugs 1971 - YouTube[/ame]

 

I had a circuit breaker box installed with a transfer/interlock switch, You can't power the house and be connected to the electrical grid a the same time.

 

You'll be wanting the A/C on by the weekend!

I don't have an interconnect switch Dave, so I just open the main breaker....I made up a cable that plugs into a 220V A/C connection when I need to use the genset.

 

12 Degrees here.
When our power goes out, I use computer UPS batteries to run the furnace.
It's a steam boiler, so it only has to power the solenoids for the gas and
water inlets and sensors, so it takes almost no power to run.
Only problem is I have to take the units to the hospital doctor's lounge
1/2 mile away to recharge them (they ALWAYS have power there).

 

Hope you got your furnace fixed. A couple years ago I had the same thing happen when it was like -20. Thankfully we have a fire place! Hope you're staying warm! Worst case sit in the Mini for a bit!

 

My woodstove is an insert. It is in a huge mass of brickwork in the livingroom. Who ever built the thing really knew his onions. It draws air in the side and blows it out some masonry vents just above the insert all by convection, no fan. It blows hot air hard enough that christmas decorations hanging from the mantelpiece blow around when it gets going. (about an hour after lighting the fire)

You can put your hand on the brickwork and the longer the fire has been burning, the higher you can feel the heat coming off the bricks. If the fire is going all day, it will continue to blow hot air out the vent for a couple of hours after the fire has gone out at night.