With recent hurricanes, ice storms, mud slides and forest fires many people have been faced with the reality of no electricity for several days. Enduring a power outage is inconvenient if it doesn’t happen to be minus 10F. Yet, those with tropical fish aquariums or gas furnace requiring only enough electricity to operate one appliance may post pone running down to the hardware to buy a thousand dollar noisy generator. I was faced with such a problem a few months ago when a tropical storm nearing hurricane strength passed over the island and had power off for a week.

I had planned ahead for such disaster and have several 12volt deep cycle batteries to power a small power inverter that changes the 12 VDC to 120VAC so we could watch TV and the fish were fine. Well, that was until the blowing rain blew up my power inverter. All of the roads were blocked with downed trees so we started taking turns with a bicycle pump to aerate the aquarium. Feeling hopeless that I would have night shift on the aerator I really started thinking of alternatives for power.

It was a forehead-smacking event when I realized the solution; I had a UPS, uninterrupted power supply device for my computer. The thing has a .07 12 VDC battery installed to operate the computer while it safely shuts down with an output of up to 250 watts with four power receptacles. I removed the small 12VDC battery and ran leads to my battery bank and retired the foot pump. With more time to think I realized the UPS wasn’t designed to operate for extended periods of time and may overheat, so I removed a fan from a computer I was getting ready to throw out to keep the UPS running cool.

After my battery bank was totally discharged we were back to hand pumping until I realized I could use jumper cables to connect the UPS to my car battery and have enough power to both operate the aquarium and recharge my battery bank for night use.

I would love to have a generator; it is definitely on our list of things to get.

In the meantime, we have flashlights with batteries all ready, filled kerosene lamps, a fireplace with plenty of wood, blankets, canned food and radios. We try to plan for the unexpected. We also have a basement to go into should there be a tornado warning.

If you feel handy, have a few tools and only need basic power you could consider this alternative. Make the homebrew at link and then connect to a deep cycle battery the type used for trolling motors or golf carts, about $60.00 and then connect a power inverter. You can buy a power inverter for about $40.00 to power some lights and TV. Check out the link to see if it would do the trick for your basic needs.
http://theepicenter.com/tow02077.html

Thanks, Ol Sarge!

I'll run it by Curmudgeon since he's the handy one in the family.

We're relatively lucky in Michigan when it comes to extreme weather, but there are times when we lose power due to snow, ice or thunderstorms. It's best to plan ahead.

If you have power concerns, just go out and buy a portable generator. You can pick one up at Lowes for around 500 bucks that will run your fridge, computer, TV, lights and fish tank for hours on a gallon of gas. I added an external stub to my house breaker box to hook it directly into the house power circuit so I don't even have to run any extension cords. NOt as creative as Ol Sarge's solutions, but one heck of a lot simpler I think.

You are 100% correct, but be safe! After every hurricane here at least two people are electrocuted using generators directly connected to their homes. Have a professional electrician install the hookup. If you are electric savvy you can turn off the main breaker to the house and use an extension with a double male plug to connect to a 220 outlet, maybe the clothes dryer outlet & generator. Really be sure you know what you are doing before trying this and check and double check generator off and main house breaker is off each time you plug or unplug. Be sure the generator is grounded and be sure to disconnect it before turning the breaker back on when normal power is restored.

The funny part about my original post is that I had did that exact thing about five years ago, that is bought the $500 10KW generator. I failed to do the monthly start up and the gas gummed up in the carburetor so the darn thing wouldn’t start. The key to all type engines is to either run them dry of gas or put a fuel stabilizer like StaBil to keep the gas from gumming up. Another tip for generators is when you aren’t going to use it for a while pull the starting rope until you feel the peek compression and stop. This action causes all valves to be closed so moisture won’t enter the cylinder through air humidity, which will cause rust and shorten the life of the engine. Do the same on your lawnmower when storing.

You are right about being careful messing with the house electricity, Ol Sarge. Unless you really know what you're doing, you should have it done by a professional. We set up a "switched Y" type junction with the city power and the generator stub inputs. If the city power goes out, I just have to switch to the generator side, plug in and fire it up. Even if the city power comes back on, it's not going into the house until I switch out the generator, the two sides can't both be active at once.

You're also right about running the generator frequently. I try to run mine every week, usually use it to power my yard care equipment and that's a year round task in So California. Back when I was running a satellite television truck I had a lot of guys with RVs coming up to me and asking what kind of generator the truck used. Turns out it was the same as they had in their RV and they were constantly having problems with it. I never had any problems because I was using the truck generator every day, not every 6 months like they did.

Curmudgeon was an electrician by trade, so I am not worried that he would not know how to maintain a jury-rigged or store-bought generator. Plus,
he reads the instructions!

His attention has been focused elsewhere lately, but I have told him about this thread. I appreciate the good suggestions, Ol Sarge and Aquilla.

Interesting tips here. I've considered getting a power generator if we should lose electricity for a long time, but have shelved the idea due to a couple of things unique to this particular spot on the planet.

I like the idea of having a pro electrician do the power box take-off. Shoot, we've had a couple of pro electricians try to figure out this house's wiring. Each had a different story, and neither were very elegant. Who wired this place, drunk monkeys? It hasn't caught fire over its 25-year life. That's a good sign.

A long power outage will mean eating up as much food out of the fridge as possible, dumping the rest, finally cleaning the freezer, and burning stuff in the fireplaces. You know, dead branches/standing dead from the forest, scrap wood from various projects -- maybe a chain saw is a better investment than a generator for this place.

We have some reserve food and water just in case, but realistically, we're too close to civilization to worry much on that end. Flashlights and candles, sure. Emergency radios and abodes are our vehicles, couple of tents, other camping gear. One vehicle has blizzard emergency stuff, the other is a Jeep that only I drive -- and if I get stuck, then maybe I deserve what comes next.

You are blessed to live where you do; I used to pass through your community on the way to 11-mile lake for ice fishing if memory serves me right when I was stationed at Ft. Carson. If you enjoy ice fishing using a mobile hut and would be interested in a solar hand and foot warmer send me a PM and I'll fix you up with an inexpensive concept I came up with.

I just recalled another use for the computer UPS I thought I'd share with you guys. The thing can be used to charge your car battery or get it hot on those really cold mornings when you need a few extra cranking amps and your neighbor forgot to return yours. Just remove the factory battery from the UPS and connect leads to the positive and negative terminals of your battery and plug it in with the power switch off. It charges with the switch on or off so since you don't need output power just leave it in the off position. I use mine to charge five very large solar storage batteries on cloudy days when my PV charge maintenance panels are less efficient.

Ol Sarge,

Oh man, I do know how blessed we are to be here! It only took the better part of two lifetimes to return to where we are supposed to be. As long as we can do the stairs (lots of 'em), we'll stay by hook or crook in this place. Lydia tells me that's being a mountain person -- do whatever it takes to stay. If we can't do the stairs, then a flatter place will be in store, maybe near the Arkansas River, out toward Buena Vista or Salida. Gotta be within 15 minutes of a hamburger joint, according to Lydia. McDonalds doesn't count.

I'll pass on the icefishing gear. Grew up in Minnesota and got my belly full by my teen years. Might you be thinking of the lakes near Granby? Grand Lake, just off of Rocky Mt. Natl. Park? Lots of ice fishing up there.

Interesting use of a UPS to charge a car battery. Clever! I'll keep that in mind should the 50-amp jolt charger belly up.

I keep meeting Carson folks when out doing my street music. Interesting people to talk with, always full of stories. This one guy from Indiana and heading out to Iraq on his second tour wanted to sing Man of Constant Sorrow, but couldn't remember the words. I got him going on it, and by gosh if he didn't have the voice for it. Hope he's okay and continues with his hopes and dreams. Same for all the soldiers out thataway.

Anyway, sounds like you have some solar going for electricity. We're thinking of doing that with a small array to get started, pipe the juice into the grid, save on the electric bill. Pikes Peak sets on a magma dome -- and there are big water well drilling rigs around here -- geothermal? How far down is the heat? It'd be quite a hoot to run a steam generator like that.

Ah well, when we win the lottery, eh?

I just thought of another inexpensive way to merge into solar if you are thinking of using PV panels. My computer/TV repairman and I became friends due to my computer and TV’s getting sick because of a wiring problem in my main circuit breaker and I spoke to him about my solar interests. He gave me a great tip for power conversion that he uses during outages; he went to the junkyard and removed the power inverter from a wrecked ambulance. He explained these inverters are sine wave top of the line equipment that will run everything from a laser printer to the refrigerator and lights. The problem is here a lot of people are savvy to alternative energy and they are hard to find. Perhaps you could find one in your area for pennies on the dollar for what you would pay for a similar device off the shelf. Google ICP solar and they have a FAQ to answer all types of questions on starting and adding to a solar power system. Good luck and enjoy your little piece of heaven on earth.