Follow up on Ice Storm Gen Thread - How much power does a house take

[MossRoad]

I have a 8550 watt Troy Built generator and have used it at my last two homes. I have a generator interlock kit installed on my panel as I did also in my last home.


I have gas hot water, furnace, and stove top. I can't run my AC but can run everything else. I ran it for 11 days straight when we had a ice storm. It used right at 9 gallons per day. Main reason I left it running was 3 girls in the house and it got down to -30 at night and we are on a well pump for water. I shut it off twice a day to fuel it and check the oil, maybe 5 minutes. I did change the oil every other day or 50 hrs. It's a quick job because it has a drain hose quick valve setup.

Chris

Ice storm and -30?

 

[Diamondpilot]

Ice storm and -30?

Yes, it was 05. Temps dropped like crazy in the following days and we got something like 27" of snow on top of the ice in 24 hours. We got the snow, just north of us in Kokomo they got 4 inches of rain. It was a mess. I had to drive 50 miles each way to find gas. Days later the temps fell like crazy.

Of course it was not that cold during the ice event itself. I've never even been through or seen anything like it. I had a rope clothes line out and it was the same diameter as beer can with ice. My road was 1 mile long and there was only one power pole left standing.

Chris

 

[GPintheMitten]

Yes, it was 04. Temps dropped like crazy in the following days and we got something like 27" of snow on top of the ice in 24 hours. Of course it was not that cold during the ice event itself. I've never even been through or seen anything like it. I had a rope clothes line out and it was the same diameter as beer can with ice.

My road was 1 mile long and there was only one power pole left standing.

Chris

That's nothing. I was in such a cold wave that words would freeze while you were talking. It was a quiet winter.

But the following spring, I couldn't stand all the noise when everyone's words thawed at the same time.

 

[GPintheMitten]

In other words... you might be exaggerating?

 

[MossRoad]

Yes, it was 05. Temps dropped like crazy in the following days and we got something like 27" of snow on top of the ice in 24 hours. We got the snow, just north of us in Kokomo they got 4 inches of rain. It was a mess. I had to drive 50 miles each way to find gas. Days later the temps fell like crazy.

Of course it was not that cold during the ice event itself. I've never even been through or seen anything like it. I had a rope clothes line out and it was the same diameter as beer can with ice. My road was 1 mile long and there was only one power pole left standing.

Chris

Maybe that was wind-chill? That was in January of 2005 and the coldest temps in January of that year were about 2-3 degrees, about a week after that ice storm went through, which was brutal. Many power lines down for many days. I remember it, as I make that drive several times per year. I also recall a much larger ice storm probably 25 years ago, at least, that left some folks without power for 6 weeks! You can still see the damaged trees north of Kokomo. They were stripped of branches due to the weight of the ice.
https://weatherspark.com/history/31122/2005/Kokomo-Indiana-United-States

 

[MossRoad]

In other words... you might be exaggerating?

I doubt it. The temps may be off, but that part of Indiana has been hit by several noteworthy ice storms and large snowfalls. And then there's the endless string of tornadoes.