Preparing for Sandy

[Rob-D]

OK, it's now 10/29/2012, 10:10:00 EST. I just checked the wind on my weather monitoring system and it's starting to pick up, it's been very quiet in the Catskills (42 lat.) and the wind speed is still in the single digits. I'll try to keep everyone posted as to wind direction and speed from my monitoring system.
I was just informed that wind will be the culprit here, more so than the rain.
Rob

 

[Andy in Gap]

I'm here in Lancaster PA, and the winds are really starting to blow. Should be sustained winds of 30-40mph till sometime tomorrow, with gusts exceeding 50mph. Coupled with the saturated ground, I think there is gonna be a lot of free firewood on the ground tomorrow. I'll be surprised if we finish the day with power. I'll be in the market for a PTO generator after this. It's cheap peace of mind, even if I never use it.

 

[Rob-D]

Al the farmers around here use them to keep their milking machines going during power outages. They seem to work pretty well.

Rob

 

[SPYDERLK]

You could but the problem is load management. Let's say you're running just on panels into the inverter and you turn on a washing machine that draws more than the panels put out. The system would drop below the required power needed. Batteries are buffers, they can supply large amounts of power and by charging the batteries with the panels you create a reserve.
Rob

Understood, but you have batteries that could be autoconnected to buffer the panels. It wouldnt take all that much capacity to smooth power demand spikes. Just waste the excess --or use it frivolously. Seems a small price to pay to keep all panels on line while grid is down.
larry

 

[riptides]

It is good that we never forget, even when a mega-strom like Sandy is upon us, I find this comforting.

Tomb of the Unknown sentinel stands in face of Sandy - WTOP.com

 

[Carl_NH]

Since TBN is internet based, well, I'd say getting the internet working at a great percentage of TBN users is not a high priority after an event like Sandy.

A lot of cable and fiber run above ground.

Communications will be a problem for us.

Riptides,

Yes, I concur communications are likely to be down - what was I thinking! But in reality most of the time (here anyway) we have power back in a day or two, worst has been 5 days. The cleanup work is usually weeks or a month or more so thats where some "helping hands" might be nice to have.

Well, its been blowing at 30-35MPH (now 1 PM) here for last few hours 1/2 mi to ocean and we are the first highest point from the ocean off the marsh. Its not the constant wind, its the lull then the gusts that take out the pines and other trees.

We are supposed to top out @ 3-7 PM tonight at 35-40 MPH so this is more of a strong noreaster than a hurricane.

 

[CNC Dan]

Here's a little note, which some might benefit from: Fill your bath tub with water. In case the power goes off, It will allow you to flush the toilets ... a few times.

My tub doesn't seal very well. Would be gone in a few hours.:-(
so i use 5gal. buckets.

 

[Rob-D]

Understood, but you have batteries that could be autoconnected to buffer the panels. It wouldnt take all that much capacity to smooth power demand spikes. Just waste the excess --or use it frivolously. Seems a small price to pay to keep all panels on line while grid is down.
larry

That would be fine if the sun was a constant and the panel output was also a relative constant from sunrise to sunset. Batteries give you power at night and maximize the panel power by storing it so the panels action is more than buffering.
You could have minimal batteries, just enough to keep surges from dropping the power but you would have zero reserve, the batteries run the house, fridges, etc. all night.

Let's say it's noon and the panels are putting out max power but the house is only calling for a fraction of that. All that extra power is stored in the batteries and at 8 pm, when that power is needed it's there. So while buffering for surges is important so is the reserve.
Rob

 

[Rob-D]

My tub doesn't seal very well. Would be gone in a few hours.:-(
so i use 5gal. buckets.

We keep large plastic jugs here in reserve. I put a few drops of bleach in the water to keep bacteria from building up.
Rob

 

[radioman]

I just got back from grocery store shopping and getting gas. It had the feeling of christmas eve where everyone is getting stuff last min and long lines already for gas. I was like WTH? I think this storm could be overhyped a little but then it could be bad. My grocery store was out of my normal bread, had a note on shelf saying storewide shortage, no water bottles left on shelves. I just wonder if we are just acting on the katrina storm aftermath effects when it hit new orleans? I gotta get out there and put stuff away now for winter. Genny is gassed up with extra stored. I have wood stove so cooking and heat will not be a problem.

 

[riptides]

For water collection, we also have used our trash bins. This is of course for plumbing purposes.

Water in the bins also provides a nice anchor point, and cleans them out.

 

[jimmyj]

I'm a bit further north and only on the fringe but why take a chance? We are in a pretty rural area and would be low on the priority list for power restoration. We are stocked up on propane for the grill, firewood, water, gas, diesel, food, and, yes of course, beer. Mmmm, beer. We are lucky to have a big pond so flushing water is no problem and we heat with wood so we can cook and heat on the wood stove.

I've gotta go out now and put away a few items that may blow away such as lawn furniture, and I'm gonna park the truck where it will block the wind by one of those portable garage thingees. I think we'll be ok but I'm going to test the genny just in case.

Good luck to those of you in the NE USA.

 

[Tig]

There's a lot of land between here and landfall. The brunt of the storm will certainly be faced by those to the south east. Stay safe!
Here winds are picking up from the north, off the bay. I filled the wood box. If the winds get any stronger I'll be able to check "clean up leaves" off my to do list.
Need to get:
Chain saw and tractor fueled up
Inverter set up for work tomorrow. I imagine we'll see some power issues from the wind.

Rain will add up before this is over. The river on the east edge of my place drains about 50,000 acres. It's due for a good flush. Glad I raised my house three feet when I rebuilt.

 

[Rob-D]

I'm a bit further north and only on the fringe but why take a chance? We are in a pretty rural area and would be low on the priority list for power restoration. We are stocked up on propane for the grill, firewood, water, gas, diesel, food, and, yes of course, beer. Mmmm, beer. We are lucky to have a big pond so flushing water is no problem and we heat with wood so we can cook and heat on the wood stove.

I've gotta go out now and put away a few items that may blow away such as lawn furniture, and I'm gonna park the truck where it will block the wind by one of those portable garage thingees. I think we'll be ok but I'm going to test the genny just in case.

Good luck to those of you in the NE USA.

That's a good idea using the truck to block the wind!

I think people living in truly rural areas are always a little bit better prepared for emergencies, just by the nature of where they live. You never know when the weather is going to kick up here.
With that said, by all means be prepared but I wonder about the hype of these things. Sure coastal areas are always hit hard but I look at the path maps and I wonder how good computer simulations are. There are a lot of variables and when you have two storms coming together you multiply those variables 10 fold. Truth be told I'll bet the weather guys love the attention and being alarmists. For example, it's pretty hard to pick wind speeds a thousand miles away and inland from a storm in the Carolinas, so how accurate can wind predictions be in the Catskills really? Again, be prepared I'm not saying this will be a cake walk but there is no reason to be alarmists predicting this could be the worst storm ever like I have read around the net.
Rob

 

[tmajor]

How many people from Pa. an New York fear the worst from Sandy. Is it coming were they say it is.

I'd say, the forecasters have been pretty accurate, so far. Here in NE PA the wind has gotten to be a pretty constant "low howl", with occasional gusts, which rattle things pretty good. There is kind of a fog moving near the ground, with intermittent heavy rain. All of which, seems to be intensifying. The lights have flickered a couple of times. I'll have a much better feel for the outcome of things tomorrow. :laughing:

 

[Rob-D]

I'd say, the forecasters have been pretty accurate, so far. Here in NE PA the wind has gotten to be a pretty constant "low howl", with occasional gusts, which rattle things pretty good. There is kind of a fog moving near the ground, with intermittent heavy rain. All of which, seems to be intensifying. The lights have flickered a couple of times. I'll have a much better feel for the outcome of things tomorrow. :laughing:

I have a pretty accurate weather station here. NOAA is predicting winds as high as 55 mph (yesterday they said 65 and the day before 55). Anyway the highest I've seen so far is 27 mph with average wind speeds around 10 to 14 mph. Daily rain so far is .1 inch, barometer is at 29.19 inches with an outside temp of 51F.
In order to predict the path of the storm going northward from interior PA several factors have to be known and they are all variables so I'll say again, prepare for the worst but my guess is that as the storm progresses inland it will drop in intensity.It could go into Ohio or north to the Buffalo area of NY depending on what happens when it meets the inland storm.

Rob

 

[Ductape]

Breaking news............

 

[Sutol]

Humour me please with this one.
I know I'm just a stupid Limey but why buy water from Walmart when you can fill containers from the tap?

Is it me ??

 

[riptides]

Humour me please with this one.
I know I'm just a stupid Limey but why buy water from Walmart when you can fill containers from the tap?

Is it me ??

A lot of people just don't want open water containers all over the house.

Some rural areas, like my own, have well water. I don't mind it, but my kids do not drink it.

 

[Sutol]

A lot of people just don't want open water containers all over the house.

Some rural areas, like my own, have well water. I don't mind it, but my kids do not drink it.

We store drinking water in gallon plastic containers with screw tops, keep em in the dark an they will keep weeks.We have a cleaned out IBC which is 1000litres and can be filled if water is going to be short like when mains pipes burst etc (they are 150 years old round here and cast iron)

Not many people are prepared for more than a few hours without anything over here lol