Good morning!!!!

[toppop52]

Yes, my wife has a 5s and Wifi option is not available. AT&T just verified this and I switched my SE to wifi and it dropped the call while talking to AT&T so even though they want $300 more for a 6S the only option is a booster. Randy I will gladly take that booster off you hands and pay for it, I'll PM my address.

Pm sent, booster on the way. Go online and get the setup instructions, simple enough to do. I did it!

 

[txdon]

Pm sent, booster on the way. Go online and get the setup instructions, simple enough to do. I did it!

:thumbsup:

 

[daugen]

been running around like a crazy person getting ready for making dinner for friends tonight
and then the potato dig tomorrow morning.
Took a call that later gave me real concerns, a woman who wanted to bring her 42 year old autistic son with her to dig potatoes tomorrow,
if mild autism, sounds like a great outing and nothing to worry about. But she got me in the middle of something on the portable, didn't have her phone number,
and then I started to worry about all the what if's. She may have thought this was a Garden Club quiet dig them up yourself morning and all kinds of people and the tractor
running gave me visions of problems. All's well, he turns out to be a regular volunteer and worker at food pantry.
So I've got lots of help tomorrow it seems and I ordered four big pizzas from the best place in town and they will pick them up, pay for them, and
bring them to the farm. I got scolded, ever so nicely, by their head lady to not pay for these since I had picked up the tab for those
ridiculously overpriced Jersey Mikes hoagies the last time.

Things are proceeding just fine I'd say.

Thomas, if she catches a fish, it will be worth a million bucks. Or the picture of her smiling will.

 

[Kyle_in_Tex]

A wifey that tells her husband to take her fishing....doesn't get much better than that.

You be sure to charge the battery on HER boat.

 

[Ed of all trades]

Good Morning!!!! 65F @ 5:30AM. Sunny. High 84F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph.

A couple days ago, about 500,000 people in the areas the California Public Utilities Commission has designated "Extreme Risk" were notified by PG&E, the local electrical utility, that it would preemptively cut power under certain weather conditions to prevent wildfires. This is primarily in response to the firestorms kicked off by high winds blowing trees into power lines last fall in the Santa Rosa and Santa Barbara areas. The hue and cry going up from the sheeple has been immense, largely from those on well systems that rely on electricity for water pressure, but also from those dependent on various electric powered medical devices. I've been meaning to get a transfer switch installed so I can hook a Honda generator up to power the house and well, and it looks like it's time to follow through on that. I'll never forget the sinking feeling I had during the Saddle Fire as flames roared across the canyon and the water I was using to hose down the outside of the house and landscaping just stopped. Anyway, yesterday we saw what may have been the first instance of this practice when a small brush fire threatened power lines a few miles south of here and power to 1500 homes was cut. The outage only lasted 45 minutes, and I wasn't even home at the time. I have mixed emotions about the practice, as it could end up saving lives, but the utility has a history of diverting funds away from power line right-of-way maintenance, and in my opinion it is this lack of proper tree clearance that is at the heart of the problem. It is what it is, though, and the simple expedient is to install the transfer switch and be ready should the need arise. Some of you have installed stationary propane generators with automatic transfer switches, and I'd be curious to learn about any issues you've had with reliability and/or maintenance.

Uneventful trip to town yesterday; picked up motorcycle parts and groceries.

TGIF!:drink:

I used a lock out kit to lock out a 50 amp breaker on the panel. The main has to be off before you can turn the 50 amp on so it can't back feed. Just screws to the cover in the panel and is a LOT cheaper. Ed

 

[300UGUY]

I used a lock out kit to lock out a 50 amp breaker on the panel. The main has to be off before you can turn the 50 amp on so it can't back feed. Just screws to the cover in the panel and is a LOT cheaper. Ed

I have a Generac 15kw generator. I bought it about 2003, and it has done very well. I have a automatic transfer switch, but I usually leave it in manual, as I don’t find a short outage. One winter it ran 8 to 10 hours per day for 14 days after our power went out, in sub zero weather. It uses about 1.7 gallons per hour of propane.

 

[RedNeckGeek]

I have a Generac 15kw generator. I bought it about 2003, and it has done very well. I have a automatic transfer switch, but I usually leave it in manual, as I don’t find a short outage. One winter it ran 8 to 10 hours per day for 14 days after our power went out, in sub zero weather. It uses about 1.7 gallons per hour of propane.

Thanks, Irv! That's exactly the kind of info I was looking for. The more I think about it, the more I like the idea of a propane fueled generator, vs. having to keep gasoline around to run the Honda. Especially these days, gasoline carbs always seem to need attention just when you need them most.

 

[Bird]

Does anyone have one of the Ford Transit Connect vans with the 2.5L Duratec I-4 engine? Specifically, I am considering the "passenger wagon". I drove one today, and of course it doesn't have the power or acceleration of our Escape, but it's adequate. I suppose my main concern right now is wondering why almost none of the Ford dealers have then in stock.

Anyway, I'd like to hear from anyone who owns one of them and your opinion of it.

 

[ronjhall]

Good Morning!!!! 65F @ 5:30AM. Sunny. High 84F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph.

A couple days ago, about 500,000 people in the areas the California Public Utilities Commission has designated "Extreme Risk" were notified by PG&E, the local electrical utility, that it would preemptively cut power under certain weather conditions to prevent wildfires. This is primarily in response to the firestorms kicked off by high winds blowing trees into power lines last fall in the Santa Rosa and Santa Barbara areas. The hue and cry going up from the sheeple has been immense, largely from those on well systems that rely on electricity for water pressure, but also from those dependent on various electric powered medical devices. I've been meaning to get a transfer switch installed so I can hook a Honda generator up to power the house and well, and it looks like it's time to follow through on that. I'll never forget the sinking feeling I had during the Saddle Fire as flames roared across the canyon and the water I was using to hose down the outside of the house and landscaping just stopped. Anyway, yesterday we saw what may have been the first instance of this practice when a small brush fire threatened power lines a few miles south of here and power to 1500 homes was cut. The outage only lasted 45 minutes, and I wasn't even home at the time. I have mixed emotions about the practice, as it could end up saving lives, but the utility has a history of diverting funds away from power line right-of-way maintenance, and in my opinion it is this lack of proper tree clearance that is at the heart of the problem. It is what it is, though, and the simple expedient is to install the transfer switch and be ready should the need arise. Some of you have installed stationary propane generators with automatic transfer switches, and I'd be curious to learn about any issues you've had with reliability and/or maintenance.

Uneventful trip to town yesterday; picked up motorcycle parts and groceries.

TGIF!:drink:

I have a Auto whole home generator. It's a Briggs and Stratton 12kw. It will run our whole house with no problems. Installed in 2005. No problems with engine or generator. My problems have been with charging and battery and starter. Replaced starter and most of problems went away. But while I was at it added a Battery Minder, maintainer/charger. Removed battery from enclosure and put in it's own battery box. Use a full size 24 car battery. The battery that is inside enclosure needs to be a AGM so it does not rust out enclosure. They cost a lot more than a standard maintenance free car battery. We get temperatures well below 0°. So I have heaters for engine oil and battery.
My ATS is a Cutler Hammer 200 amp. Had only 2 problems with it. A wire came off a relay that made generator not do a 20 minute run each week. Created a fault light on monitor. Took longer to get cover off ATS than to find and repair the wire.
Another problem that I have had is one leg of the 220 was low voltage. But Generator needs both legs low to switch on. I now have a voltage monitor to check voltage on both legs of 220. Have a 200 amp disconnect/circuit breaker between meter and ATS so I can force ATS into running on Generator.
I would hope that they have ATS that will monitor both legs of the 220 and switch the ATS to generator. RV's can have this on 50 amp. Should not be a problem to have it on a whole house system.
When I bought mine the only whole house system available in my area was Generac and B&S. There a several other manufactures today.
My generator can run on either NG or Propane. I use NG because that's what I have. The generator only puts out 11kw on NG. But it's enough for my house. The only thing that will not run on it is full size range oven.

 

[300UGUY]

Thanks, Irv! That's exactly the kind of info I was looking for. The more I think about it, the more I like the idea of a propane fueled generator, vs. having to keep gasoline around to run the Honda. Especially these days, gasoline carbs always seem to need attention just when you need them most.

One thing I didn’t know before I bought it was the size of the transfer switch. A 15 kw switch will not run my whole house. If I need to replace it, I’ll get a 20 kw unit, that will run everything. If I had a manual switch, I could run everything with this unit, but the 15 kw switch box limits the number of circuits that I can power.