Sounds like a good generator and a transfer switch are in your future! If you move, don’t move to California.Don't make this political please.
Because of the major Texas wildfire my shop Utility provider now disconnects power during high wind/fire danger. So this weekend no power. Time to move or is a diesel generator in my future?
No LP or NG without adding a tank. I have a handful of three phase machines that I run through a phase converter. Seems this is starting to be three steps forward and two back. I do have a 60k vintage Cummins project generator that probably isn't cost effective to fix. The shop is the only priority.Why not LP or NG a powered generator instead of diesel? Fuel stays good in storage (LP) or you’re hooked to the NG line (if available).
Something to think about when adding a backup generator is having its own dedicated fuel supply and how much fuel you’d need to have on hand in the event of an emergency. Running a generator from a bull storage tank that you use for other equipment may be work just fine, unless your tank is low and you need the generator. Say you have a 1,000 gallon tank and it’s down to 200 gallons when the power goes out. Do you have enough fuel on hand to meet all your needs for the expected time you’ll be out of power?No LP or NG without adding a tank.
If there is a fire warning and high winds, is that the right place to be?This is kind of an odd situation, in that this is an hour away from our main residence. So the priority is nil if I not there. If I'm out there regardless of the weather I want power.
I did this as well ... I have enough battery to power my medical equipment and my WIFI for days without the sun. I have 2 x solar panels (still in their box)... and that small generator to charge the battery too.If there is a fire warning and high winds, is that the right place to be?
Again, how much power do you need? Can you make due with a solar panel portable battery pack?
When did this start? I had power all through hurricane Sandy despite 30" of water on the ground and a flooded house. I have not had any shutdowns at all. How many shutdowns have you had? My poco is ACE.I live on the Jersey Shore... when we have a hurricane "coming"... they shut our power down prior to the storm taking place. I went the generator route. I got a small one... to only power what I need at a moment in time. In hind sight... I wish I went whole home power with a transfer switch. I muddle thru... with my little Honda.
You need to decide... do i need to run the 3 phase stuff... or just keep my beer cold.
I am right on the bay side near the water. During Sandy... the power went out Sunday Afternoon before the storm hit. Not for any "outage"... it was SHUT OFF to prevent problems with downed wires. Thankfully... I live above the flood zone but for a short time... during Sandy... I was "water front". We didn't get power back for 6 days which is fast considering only 3 houses were "down" here after they turned the power back on. It pays living next to a Town VIP... A tree took out a transformer that tripped the next 3 telephone poles down the line. We each have our own telephone pole transformer here. If one trips... it sets off all of the transformers down stream... until the one that tripped is reset.When did this start? I had power all through hurricane Sandy despite 30" of water on the ground and a flooded house. I have not had any shutdowns at all. How many shutdowns have you had? My poco is ACE.
I'm on the bay. If they had shut off our power, all the wire nuts in all the JB's in my crawl space would not have burned off.....I am right on the bay side near the water. During Sandy... the power went out Sunday Afternoon before the storm hit. Not for any "outage"... it was SHUT OFF to prevent problems with downed wires. Thankfully... I live above the flood zone but for a short time... during Sandy... I was "water front". We didn't get power back for 6 days which is fast considering only 3 houses were "down" here after they turned the power back on. It pays living next to a Town VIP... A tree took out a transformer that tripped the next 3 telephone poles down the line. We each have our own telephone pole transformer here. If one trips... it sets off all of the transformers down stream... until the one that tripped is reset.
Thousands here were without power for weeks during Sandy,
We are ACE too... We had our power shut off twice. Once during Sandy and once during that 20,000 acre fire started by the flare the fighter jet dropped. Mind you... we were a direct hit for Sandy... it hit us with a 10 foot surge on top of high tide at the time.
wow thats nuts. just like here in cali.Don't make this political please.
Because of the major Texas wildfire my shop Utility provider now disconnects power during high wind/fire danger. So this weekend no power. Time to move or is a diesel generator in my future?
NG shutdown isn't done a lot, but a few situations come to mind. Sandy's NG shutdowns (that I'm aware of) were all due to flooding. Both flooding of gas infrastructure, but more importantly flooding of gas furnaces requires inspection and care when the service is turned back on. Entire neighborhoods have burned from mistakes like this, but if you're far from a flood zone, this isn't likely to affect you....
One side note ... I know you don't have it... but I have NG. but AGAIN during a storm... it's a possibility for them to SHUT down the NG here. They did during Sandy in a small area of the town.
Our fire dude... said ... they shut the gas off to prevent gas leaks in the days/weeks after the storm. The good news... if the NG main 1000 feet up the road goes ... it's a 12" line I think... goes up... Pelican Pines will be renamed Seagull Coal.NG shutdown isn't done a lot, but a few situations come to mind. Sandy's NG shutdowns (that I'm aware of) were all due to flooding. Both flooding of gas infrastructure, but more importantly flooding of gas furnaces requires inspection and care when the service is turned back on. Entire neighborhoods have burned from mistakes like this, but if you're far from a flood zone, this isn't likely to affect you.
The big power outage in Texas was primarily due to a NG grid failure caused by the cold snap. That took a huge proportion of the state's NG generation offline, and while I have not read reports of it affecting at-home NG service, I wouldn't be too surprised if it did. Even if it didn't happen, it surely was uncomfortably close to a complete NG grid failure across Texas, so if you're in Texas, maybe NG isn't the best power backup option.
Don't make this political please.
Because of the major Texas wildfire my shop Utility provider now disconnects power during high wind/fire danger. So this weekend no power. Time to move or is a diesel generator in my future?
Most of the US doesn't every experience natural disasters that would justify shutting down utilities.Moving is probably not going to help unless you move out of the US. Once the utilities here in California got away with this, they are all going to try it. Here when they shut down for safety, it's a couple days at least before the turn power back on. They have to inspect the lines first.
Moving is probably not going to help unless you move out of the US. Once the utilities here in California got away with this, they are all going to try it. Here when they shut down for safety, it's a couple days at least before the turn power back on. They have to inspect the lines first.
Yes most of the US has no issues with powerlines starting wildfires.Most of the US doesn't every experience natural disasters that would justify shutting down utilities.
only certain PoCos in california are doing this though. namely Profit gouge and Execute and SoCal EdisonMoving is probably not going to help unless you move out of the US. Once the utilities here in California got away with this, they are all going to try it. Here when they shut down for safety, it's a couple days at least before the turn power back on. They have to inspect the lines first.
Most people here have propane generators. We're all already on propane because we're rural. The drawback is that when there's an outage you go through propane FAST, especially if you run the generator 24/7. And since everyone's using their propane, the propane delivery companies run behind. So they might not get to you before you run out.
Most generator installers will recommend a larger generator than you really need, probably because they don't want a call back when you can't run your AC, pool pump and two ovens all at once. But most of the time you're using a fraction of the max and the generator is not running at its most efficient output. It can get costly.
Maybe you should look at a future with solar and a battery? Same result except more money in your pocket over the long run.is a diesel generator in my future?
Most of the US doesn't every experience natural disasters that would justify shutting down utilities.
only certain PoCos in california are doing this though. namely Profit gouge and Execute and SoCal Edison
The smaller ones like SMUD, Roseville, MID(my PoCO), TID, Merced ID, etc dont do this because they properly maintain their infrastructure.
Guess we are all screwedAll of the west and a lot of the south is subject to wildfires. Much of the rest of the country gets tornadoes or hurricanes.
Not really much of a fire risk when a hurricane rolls through, either...Never heard of power being shut off because of a tornado. Those are generally really isolated events. Even large tornadoes have a very small
Seems to me the way most utilities are regulated cutting cost decreases shareholders value in the long run as the regulators limit profits to some percentage of revenues. The higher the costs are the higher the higher the rates will get set makes the highest revenues so with the same percentage of a bigger pie equals more value for the shareholders. I am sure it is much more complicated in reality.This happens because of the fire risk caused by poorly maintained power lines/right of ways. With "increasing shareholder value" the watchword of corporate America, many execs are heavily incentivized to increase the stock price . This means that "overhead" - maintenance, training, inspections, etc. get short shrift, so the money thus redirected can be called. "profits".
Poles and wires have an expiration date?The power must be cut when the poles and wires are allowed to remain in service past their expiration date.
Yeah, due the fault of those A-holes that bought SPS you are screwed. Let's just turn off power instead of maintaining our delivery infrastructure. I think you'd better get a generator, cheaper now than later. With luck they will be sued out of existence. This problem never appeared when SPS owned everything, they took care of stuff. Excel is about nothing but profit, just like PG&E. At least down here CPS is till owned by San Antonio, they take care of ****. Just a few months ago they inspected every pole in my subdivision and replaced any that were substandard.Don't make this political please.
Because of the major Texas wildfire my shop Utility provider now disconnects power during high wind/fire danger. So this weekend no power. Time to move or is a diesel generator in my future?
The only one mentioning politics is you. Demanding that power companies maintain their infrastructure instead of just turning off the power is the right thing to do. In my many years on this planet I've never had my power turned off because something bad might happen somewhere. Until recently if there was a potential issue the power company took the initiative to proactively fix it. Now it's all Why bother to fix it, we can just turn off the power in the name of Public Safety.Profits are one side of the story.
Being able to maintain right of ways and build new infrastructure meets strong resistance from regulations and public opinion.
To be safe, turning off the power is a available option. AGAIN, LETS NOT MAKE THIS political!!! It's just a fact of the way things are.
Strictly my hang out shop. Phase converter needs 50 amp 240v to run. Until I decide if this building will get new metal or another one built everything is temporary.If you need three-phase power for big machines, that's gonna be a big ol' expensive generator. But you'd only need this to work while people are there and running the machines, so you might not need as much fuel on hand if it's not going 24/7.
I'm guessing you might need two generators: a smaller setup (powered by gasoline or propane) for things like lights, computers, fart fans, beer coolers, router, etc. and a separate heavy-duty generator, maybe diesel, for the times you need to power the machinery. And do you need this to fire up automatically even if no one is there, or can it wait until someone shows up?
And then there's the question of monitoring; since you don't live there, some sort of camera/monitor system on a battery backup with a wireless (cellular) data connection would help keep you apprised.
To clarify, is this more of a personal shop, or a commercial shop, like a repair, fabrication, or manufacturing facility? Is it just you, or are there employees who will need to be able to work if the power goes out?
Well someone dropped it. When they inspected the poles around here they dug down about 10" all around every pole. The assumption was that they were looking for subsurface rot or insect damage.The lawyer has stated the poles have termites/rot damage that's why they failed. There's been utility trucks will new poles everywhere for weeks, does that mean they totally dropped the ball?