Your last generator Maintenance Run

[3930dave]

Perhaps a million or more Californians will be without power over the next few days... the Office of Emergency Management has been activated broadcasting continual updates all in an effort to avoid a repeat of another fire storm.

PGE says some can expect to be without power for up to 7 days because lines must be checked prior to energizing.

My elderly neighbor called me at work today... they use an oxygen concentrator and worried just what would happen if they lost power.

The wife said they had a generator they kept when they sold the RV 4 years ago and asked if I could help.

Never expected to find a Honda Invertor 3000 in the shed... it was full of gas... didn't smell bad, oil looked good so I gave it a pull... first pull and it started right up... so the 4 year maintenance run was a success.

They have 10 gallons of fresh extra fuel and a pickup with 35 gallons in the tank...

Lots of people talking generators right now... at work... some are down right in a panic at the prospect of living without electricity... the reality is at home refrigeration is probably the number one rational concern... water should be ok as well as natural gas and triple digit heat was last week.

I said just think of it as camping at home sleeping in your own bed.

The Hospital looks like all elective surgery is being cancelled as a precaution...

When benefit of tech is the extraordinary life of LED battery lanterns and flashlight...

A small little bigger than a penlight LED with a magnetic base can light a room in a pinch and do so for hours.

Even at $4.29 a gallon for regular gas there is no shortage of customers today...

I heard about your extended planned shutdown, on the drive-time news here this morning. Some people won't he happy (esp. if not prepared at all), but given your fire risk in so many areas, understandable the choice made.

Medical, then refrigeration.... pretty much the top priorities. No pun intended when I say your neighbour will be breathing easier.

Let us know how things are going for you ur.

Rgds, D.

 

[ultrarunner]

I topped off the Hospital Diesel Generator this morning the hard way using my tractor 5 gallon jugs and dozens of trips to the station down the block that just happens to have diesel... about $700 at $4.29 a gallon.

Some are actually upset their power is on after receiving notice from PGE power off at midnight last night go figure?

 

[daugen]

Inside California's power shutoff: No traffic lights and days of darkness - CNN
my sister in Muir Beach left her home for a friend's house in SF that had power.
They are very serious about getting a generator now.

And here is CA which is so OCD about pollution allowing thousands, tens of thousands? generators running which have minimal
pollution controls, certainly not like our cars or trucks.

 

[grsthegreat]

I topped off the Hospital Diesel Generator this morning the hard way using my tractor 5 gallon jugs and dozens of trips to the station down the block that just happens to have diesel... about $700 at $4.29 a gallon.

Some are actually upset their power is on after receiving notice from PGE power off at midnight last night go figure?

get the hospital to fork over some cash and get one of these. . enduroplas . mine is 55 gallon, but they have larger. run off a 12v battery, pumps 10 GPM and i put it in back of my truck with tractor forks. easy peasy. beats 5 gallon jugs.. BTW, diesel here is $2.75

 

[Chilliwack Murray]

A hospital should have a safe and reliable means to get fuel when normal sources aren’t available. Around here they sign guaranteed service agreements with the fuel suppliers. If you are moving fuel yourself, with the stiff penalties for any type of spill you should really be using something like a Transcube.

Most rental units that require additional fuel use these because they are very safe. They are like a Tidy Tank, standard design that many different manufacturers build to the same spec.

 

[ultrarunner]

We do have a contract but just shows when push comes to shove what happens... 72 hours.

The topping off the tank was a decision by Admin... still plenty of fuel in the tank to meet the statutory requirement but when we built the city prohibited the large tank specified citing environmental concerns so we were cut back to a much smaller tank.

We are a low end of the pecking order... as my site is not a trauma center... Had an emergency been declared the county also promises to keep as supplied.

So I wake up this morning and think... wow... they really did it... power off at 11:45 pm last night.

As long as I have hot and cold running water I am happy so no big deal... arrive at 4 am at work and immediately start fielding calls... Docs, Staff, Patients... etc.

The good part is the Hospital never lost power... of course not because I topped off the tanks!

34 of 36 scheduled surgeries went on as scheduled... some got late starts and two patient cancellations... one could not get the car out of the garage.

A lot of folks were bringing in their phone chargers with them... would have thought a cheap car adapter would take care of cell phones on older cars and new ones just plug in.

It is times like today when the Engineer is in demand... not use to having surgeons ask me if they should come in or start cases... mostly our work is behind the scenes.

When I came home it was a little different... Mom still couldn't understand why nothing worked.

The surprise is I set mom's home up years ago for generator power with a simple transfer switch and plug to match my Honda EM 5000 so I was a little surprised to see my generator in the neighbors backyard with extension cords running to 3 homes and the refrigerators all plugged in...

It does kind of give a person pause if you are the only home in 200 with lights and business as usual... at least my 95 year old neighbor was fielding the questions from others wanted to plug in... Also... there are roving thieves hoping to score generators simply by prowling the streets.

I was also able to help some of the neighbors with getting the garage doors up... they range in age from 80 to 90... one did all the right things but she simply was not strong enough...

I'm sure some will pick up a new mindset with over a million without power and others will just complain... but it sure is a wake up call for those asleep.

I heard generator stock is up on Wall Street

 

[grsthegreat]

i sure glad im NOT a generator installer in California. Im a 1 man shop, and after the last 2 wind storms i had up here a few years back, i installed way over 100 units by myself....i got sick and tired of looking at them. I have only had 1 customer ever say that they wish they never installed it. everyone else is happy....or at least never said anything to me. One customer I just did service for has 2 generators that are 4 years old, each unit had over 240 hours on it. A neighbor less than 1/4 mile away had unit installed at same time, and his has 34 hours on it. It amazes me how people living so close together have such different power issues. Soon everyone in calif may have a generator.....or quit suing your power supplier.

 

[3930dave]

We do have a contract but just shows when push comes to shove what happens... 72 hours.

The topping off the tank was a decision by Admin... still plenty of fuel in the tank to meet the statutory requirement but when we built the city prohibited the large tank specified citing environmental concerns so we were cut back to a much smaller tank.

The surprise is I set mom's home up years ago for generator power with a simple transfer switch and plug to match my Honda EM 5000 so I was a little surprised to see my generator in the neighbors backyard with extension cords running to 3 homes and the refrigerators all plugged in...

How does the contractor refuel the hospital tank - really long hose reel ? Wondering if a permanent piping system might help when you get stuck on refill duty..... Still seems pretty BS, re. tank sizing.

Not too surprised at my end, that your gen is doing Neighbour duty too, given how many people you help - upside for you is lots of motivated eyes watching that gen, when you are at work.

Standalone (or island capable) PV systems are probably looking pretty good out your way about now...... your new place has lots of solar, IIRC.....

Rgds, D.

 

[ultrarunner]

A stand alone or usable Solar PV is looking mighty attractive... something close to 100% are grid tied here and stop when utility power is off...

Battery Backup like a Tesla Power Wall would do the trick as one option with tax credit at time of system install... there also inverters that will provide one 20 amp outlet for power failure mode as long as the sun is shining... just having one working outlet can make a world of difference.

As for my trusty Honda 5000 the neighbor has 4 five gallon fuel cans ready to go and is taking care of all the fuel... so nothing to worry about on my end.

The only downside is moving out the freezers/refrigerator to reach the power cords when I am set up for plug and play...

It kind of reminds me of the old song a country boy can survive...

Cell service has been amazing as far as personal hotspots and just simply working..

 

[ultrarunner]

How does the contractor refuel the hospital tank - really long hose reel ? Wondering if a permanent piping system might help when you get stuck on refill duty..... Still seems pretty BS, re. tank sizing.

Not too surprised at my end, that your gen is doing Neighbour duty too, given how many people you help - upside for you is lots of motivated eyes watching that gen, when you are at work.

Standalone (or island capable) PV systems are probably looking pretty good out your way about now...... your new place has lots of solar, IIRC.....

Rgds, D.

Fuel delivery is with a bobtail normally and long power reel hose... with the restrictions on testing and maintenance capped at 20 hours we can no longer run weekly.

Several local cities have passed new ordinances or will soon prohibiting new natural or propane hookups... it is all to do with green house gas... so new construction will have to be 100% electric... no good in my humble opinion to put all your eggs in one basket.