Power outages

Frank Fusco

Member
Messages
12,782
Location
Mountain Home, Arkansas
Got up about six this a.m. and went to kick up the thermostat. No power. Electric was off. This has been happening with irritating frequency here lately. Two years ago we installed a propane fireplace downstairs for back-up heat. I turned that on. Did a nice job. But my coffee was getting cold, that's unforgivable. :coffee: After almost two hours it came back on. Five minutes later, off again. Ten minutes later, on again. Then it blinked off. Did that several times. Hard on computers. Our UPS units went bad, I haven't replaced. Good time to do that. I called the office and was told the periodic outages are caused by the workers looking for the source of the outage. Well, I dunno. :dunno: Personally, I would prefer it just stay off until fixed.
BTW, outside temp. when I got up was 9 degrees. Glad I have the back-up heat. End of rant. :soapbox:
 
BTW, outside temp. when I got up was 9 degrees. Glad I have the back-up heat. End of rant. :soapbox:
At about 4 AM, while tying my shoes and watching the weather channel, I noticed the low temps in your neck of the woods were down in the single digits. Said a quick prayer for you and yours. Had I known the power was out as well it would have been a little longer. ;)
 
my parents would lose power on yhe farm a lot during snowstorms. i bought them a big, round kerosene heater that they could heat coffee or soup on. might be an idea for you frank. heat wave here, 20 degrees. no jacket today.
 
I know that is irritating at best. We put in a free standing gas stove a few years ago (wood stove removed due to high insurance rates). It hasn't been used often for emergency heat, but having it available is a comfort. I might consider a small generator to keep the coffee pot and TV going. Good luck for the remainder of the winter! Incidentally, the low since midnight here was 1. Any heat feels good.
 
At about 4 AM, while tying my shoes and watching the weather channel, I noticed the low temps in your neck of the woods were down in the single digits. Said a quick prayer for you and yours. Had I known the power was out as well it would have been a little longer. ;)

Thanks, it will get up to 40 today and in 50s tomorrow.
 
my parents would lose power on yhe farm a lot during snowstorms. i bought them a big, round kerosene heater that they could heat coffee or soup on. might be an idea for you frank. heat wave here, 20 degrees. no jacket today.

Two years ago I installed a propane heater in the downstairs family room. It looks like a little Ben Franklin stove. Thermostat controlled. I just turned the little knob and it kept things cozy. We have other emergency measures in place too.
 
I know that is irritating at best. We put in a free standing gas stove a few years ago (wood stove removed due to high insurance rates). It hasn't been used often for emergency heat, but having it available is a comfort. I might consider a small generator to keep the coffee pot and TV going. Good luck for the remainder of the winter! Incidentally, the low since midnight here was 1. Any heat feels good.

I do have a small generator (3500k) and one of those safety double-whatever switches. It will run our refrigerator, the TV and a few lights. With that and the propane stove and bottled water, we should be good for a couple weeks.
 
I know how your feel, Frank

Back in 2003 our Co-op electric was in the ditch 3 or 4 times a week. The following year, they added a 20 Mega-watt substation and rewired the entire area, including new poles. Now are are down to maybe one outage in 2 or 3 months.

IF I were you, I would be all over the power company like a cheap suit. They need to be reminded that they are in the Customer Service Business, and their product is electricity. Call them every time you have an outage. And if this is more than a infrequent happening, consider a letter to the state utility commission.

Low temperature is no excuse for outages. Ice is another story.

Hang in there Frank.
 
We seldom have power outages here - much less often than we'd anticipated, actually, since we're well out of town. I do have a generator I can hook up to the furnace in a long outage, but so far haven't needed it.

The neat thing, though, it that the radiant gas heat in the shop doesn't need any electricity to function, so in a pinch, I can just go to the shop, and be comfortable, while enjoying a 'hand-tools-only' day.
 
We would have outages fairly regular when I first moved to Albuquerque. They have since updated the distribution system and we rarely have them anymore.
My sister in Daytona Beach was expecting 22* last night. :eek:
 
Around this bit of my town, all the utility lines are buried - everything is underground.

So - we seem to have fairly infrequent outages, and when we do have one - it tends to be short. Minutes, usually. In the 8 years at this location, I only recall one outage over an hour - and that one lasted about 4.

One of the very few things I actually LIKE about being this close to "Civilization" :rolleyes:

-Kevin in Indy
 
Getting the power back on - one perspective

My BIL is a lineman for a power company in a large city. He tells me when the power is out, managment is on top of the workers to get it restored ASAP. When the meters are not turning, money is not being made.

I am not implying that all power providers have this attitude. I can say that all my BIL work friends are great guys and tend to work the hardest in the worst weather.
 
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