@hchavers@spacemart Kids today don’t appreciate just how cold that water was, out there harpooning a whale to bring back and render down for lamp oil. They think you can burn stuff somebody pumped out of the ground, but we know what really works.
I know the layout of my own home well enough to just deal with it being dark, and it’s not like I don’t accidentally piss all over the floor even when the lights are working anyway.
@awk My brother in law says a man can’t have too many screwdrivers (not the kind you drink LOL). My sister says flashlights. Actually I have a fair number too but many aren’t all that bright. I need more lanterns that are bright (these aren’t bright enough) rather than flashlights at this point.
@hchavers Move to a different time zone like GMT+7. 12 hour time difference from EST and boom! Your day is now Meh’s night. Of course, they don’t ship outside the US, but that’s not a problem if you never buy anything anyway…
EDC pocket flashlight. We have some battery lanterns for getting around and bathrooms. We do have candles, a couple of Deitz lanterns, and even an Aladdin kerosene lamp but those would be for longer term and/or winter outages.
Generator won’t get hooked up unless its 12 hours or more and we need to keep the fridge and freezers cold but we do have circuits with lighting that it would power.
After the derecho, I had no power for 4 days. And suddenly a whole lot of Meh impulse buys were worthwhile!
But also firelight outside; no power meant no electric cooking and also pressure to use up fridge food before it could spoil, ergo outdoor wood fired grill. For 4 days. I was smoky.
@brainmist I never lost power when the derecho hit; the power lines in my area are underground. I didn’t even know there’d been a storm until the next day when my mom called to tell me the place we were supposed to have my birthday dinner at had no power.
Meanwhile, my parents and brother/SIL didn’t have power for days. The area they live in always loses power, so my parents had finally had a big generator installed. It’s big enough for HVAC, refrigerator, and, of course, cable. My brother and his family ended up staying with my parents until they got their power back.
@brainmist@lisagd They’ve started the process to bury power lines here - I’m excited! They had huge trucks parked behind my yard for over a week, drilling into the ground - an infernal racket, but kind of interesting to watch. Now there’s weird tubes sticking out that will initially just be for city-owned wireless, but the guy said the power poles and lines will eventually come down. It was in May and nothing’s happened since, so I think it’s going to be slow.
I’ve got the power!
I have an AGM 27 series battery in a box along with a 1000 watt inverter ready to go, I also have another 27 deep cycle and an Optima red top that aren’t in anything right now, and an iffy 3000 watt inverter. The truck has a 400 watt inverter in it, I like to plug the battery charger into that and just let it idle for hours to recharge everything. Far more environmentally friendly to let the V8 idle than run a single cylinder inverter-generator!
I actually have a sickening amount of battery packs, 18650 and 26650 cells, flashlights, and I even found some cool USB PCB flashlights on eBay that plug right into the ports on the banks. It’s been the best way to repurpose the cute little power banks that come in Irks and promotional stuff.
I also have Milwaukee and Ryobi jobsite lighting, along with a ton of magnetic 12v work lights I’ve collected over the years. I’m not afraid of the dark, I embrace it. Then I obliterate it.
After being without power for 8 days during Superstorm Sandy, we swore we would get a generator. That was 2012, and, well, we still don’t have one. But we do have lots of lanterns, flashlights, C and D batteries, and power banks for the phones. Probably still need a generator, though.
Growing up in South Florida and losing power almost every time a hurricane came by, we have a whole house generator. Add natural gas to that, we don’t worry about outages.
I said generator, but I realize that is mostly for my fridge/chest freezer. Lighting is battery powered for portability. If I were to stay in one room I would plug in a light, but when the lights go out, I want something to go with me.
@mike808 Well, that’ll light up the side yard, but that bog at the other end of the house is still gonna be a bit murky. And move the hooptie in front of the other neighbor’s place first, you don’t want to get your paint blistered.
@werehatrack Move the hooptie? I ain’t putting wheels on it. It done just fine up on cinder blocks since last century. And nothing a little more Bond-O and duct tape can’t fix. This is from back in the day when I be rollin’, and they be tryna catch me ridin’ dirty.
We finally got a generator! It took almost two years for the permits and the work and honestly, we are still waiting for the last inspection, but it works! I have now insured that Long Island will never have a black out again!
@dontwantaname Permits? We don’t need no stinking permits.
Seriously though, I hired a licensed electrician (local guy, been in business in this area for years) to install the interlock and receptacle to connect my generator to the house wiring. It was a fairly simple job - he came out once to see what he needed, then once more to install it once he got the parts - he didn’t pull any permits. All has been working great for 14 years now. Maybe the rules are different in my state?
@dontwantaname@macromeh In much of Texas, it’s “What permit?” In some more of Texas it’s “As long as it meets code, you’re good.” In Plano, it’s “YOU DIDN’T ASK PERMISSION THE RIGHT WAY, NOW YOU MUST HAVE A REAL ELECTRICIAN RIP IT ALL OUT, PAY A BIG FINE, HAVE AN ADMINISTRATIVE HEARING, AND ONLY THEN WILL WE LET YOU APPLY FOR A PERMIT TO START OVER.” [unless you have lots of money and know the right people in which case oopsie we’ll just inspect it and everything will be okay, see you in church on Sunday.]
Houston has permits, and a healthy dose of “if it meets code, you’re cool” for those who decide to DIY. But getting the power company to yank the meter while you reroute to the isolator on an old setup with no main switch is not a DIY-friendly thing. Don’t go there, mmmkay?
@dontwantaname@werehatrack I watched the electrician make the changes - not only did he not pull the meter, he didn’t even switch off the main breaker to do the rewiring. He fished the new wires, inserted them into the new (unattached) breaker, then snapped the breaker into the (live) rails, easy-peasy. I commented that I had always pulled the meter when I did any work on the main panel and he just chuckled and muttered something about how long he had been at this trade.
BTW, I have pulled my meter several times in the past - no big deal here, just call the utility to let them know and they will come out and attach a new seal when they get a chance. (However, if you pull the meter and don’t let them know, big trouble when they discover the missing seal.)
@macromeh An electrician I hired for a job I didn’t want to tackle (running three-phase to the garage out back) told me that the local powerline company (separate from the power generation outfits) didn’t care whether you had a permit, but I have never tested this. I suspect that they just have a service charge for the trip out, and since they can tell when a meter’s power is interrupted, they’re probably cool with a call to let them know it’s coming off the wall and another to let them know to come by and seal it back up. In my case, since my panel is from the days long before a main switch or breaker was mandated, I’d be really nervous about trying to hook up an isolator. I would be considering the idea of a whole-house rewire if I could afford it and if I thought I had much of a chance of still being at this address in 20 years.
I have an emergency light plugged in the bathroom that turns on when the power goes out. Doesn’t last forever, but usually long enough. Also, I have several 3-wick candles that I can use, but I don’t leave them burning overnight.
@katbyter
Same here. It was the first ‘induction’ charging light I ever saw. Way before Qi charging was a thing. Light sits in a ring that plugs into the wall outlet and turns on automatically if the power goes off. Pulls out to be a flashlight…
oil lamps
@spacemart i remember those days
@hchavers @spacemart Kids today don’t appreciate just how cold that water was, out there harpooning a whale to bring back and render down for lamp oil. They think you can burn stuff somebody pumped out of the ground, but we know what really works.
My husband an I are old school gays – we just flame the dark away!
I know the layout of my own home well enough to just deal with it being dark, and it’s not like I don’t accidentally piss all over the floor even when the lights are working anyway.
@brennyn One time when being a woman is an advantage.
Bicycle lights.
@yakkoTDI What, no clever repurposing of things from the trunk?
@werehatrack No lights usually means no A/C and I don’t want things to spoil.
@yakkoTDI Kind of awkward, isn’t it - rolling your bike into the bathroom for that zero-dark-thirty whiz?
I have a comical amount of flashlights, lanterns, batteries, power banks, candles, etc. I’ve been through too many multi-day power failures.
@awk Same here. I haven’t used a candle in ages, but I still have two hurricane oil lamps on hand in addition to the battery-powered stuff.
@awk My brother in law says a man can’t have too many screwdrivers (not the kind you drink LOL). My sister says flashlights. Actually I have a fair number too but many aren’t all that bright. I need more lanterns that are bright (these aren’t bright enough) rather than flashlights at this point.
@awk @Kidsandliz Vice Grips, the real ones, are something else that it’s hard to have too many of.
Sleep when the sun goes down? Then how do I check Meh!
@hchavers Move to a different time zone like GMT+7. 12 hour time difference from EST and boom! Your day is now Meh’s night. Of course, they don’t ship outside the US, but that’s not a problem if you never buy anything anyway…
/giphy thinking head tap meme
EDC pocket flashlight. We have some battery lanterns for getting around and bathrooms. We do have candles, a couple of Deitz lanterns, and even an Aladdin kerosene lamp but those would be for longer term and/or winter outages.
Generator won’t get hooked up unless its 12 hours or more and we need to keep the fridge and freezers cold but we do have circuits with lighting that it would power.
@duodec My EDC pocket lights use 14500 Lithiums, and the charger is next to my bed. I swap the cells most mornings. (I carry two of them.)
@duodec @werehatrack Hmm, I’ve never needed a flashlight to find things in my pocket.
@macromeh You need bigger pockets.
Cell phone provides all the light I need.
I use flashlights and lanterns for short outages; if it looks like it will go more than 10 to 12 hours, I have a generator.
I keep a stoned, radioactive Mr. Burns on hand for such occasions.
@SpyreFox
After the derecho, I had no power for 4 days. And suddenly a whole lot of Meh impulse buys were worthwhile!
But also firelight outside; no power meant no electric cooking and also pressure to use up fridge food before it could spoil, ergo outdoor wood fired grill. For 4 days. I was smoky.
@brainmist I never lost power when the derecho hit; the power lines in my area are underground. I didn’t even know there’d been a storm until the next day when my mom called to tell me the place we were supposed to have my birthday dinner at had no power.
Meanwhile, my parents and brother/SIL didn’t have power for days. The area they live in always loses power, so my parents had finally had a big generator installed. It’s big enough for HVAC, refrigerator, and, of course, cable. My brother and his family ended up staying with my parents until they got their power back.
@brainmist @lisagd They’ve started the process to bury power lines here - I’m excited! They had huge trucks parked behind my yard for over a week, drilling into the ground - an infernal racket, but kind of interesting to watch. Now there’s weird tubes sticking out that will initially just be for city-owned wireless, but the guy said the power poles and lines will eventually come down. It was in May and nothing’s happened since, so I think it’s going to be slow.
@brainmist @Kyeh Lucky you! I can’t remember the last time the power went out here.
@Kyeh @lisagd Oh, that’s so cool! I wish that’d happen here, but they’d have to fix a whole lot of decaying, 100 year old sewer system first.
@brainmist @lisagd I’m especially glad to reduce the possibility of wildfires. They’ve never said how the Marshall fire back in December got started but downed powerlines are one possibility. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marshall_Fire
@Kyeh @lisagd Ugh, yes!
An automatic whole-house generator and a 5 day propane supply.
I’ve got the power!
I have an AGM 27 series battery in a box along with a 1000 watt inverter ready to go, I also have another 27 deep cycle and an Optima red top that aren’t in anything right now, and an iffy 3000 watt inverter. The truck has a 400 watt inverter in it, I like to plug the battery charger into that and just let it idle for hours to recharge everything. Far more environmentally friendly to let the V8 idle than run a single cylinder inverter-generator!
I actually have a sickening amount of battery packs, 18650 and 26650 cells, flashlights, and I even found some cool USB PCB flashlights on eBay that plug right into the ports on the banks. It’s been the best way to repurpose the cute little power banks that come in Irks and promotional stuff.
I also have Milwaukee and Ryobi jobsite lighting, along with a ton of magnetic 12v work lights I’ve collected over the years. I’m not afraid of the dark, I embrace it. Then I obliterate it.
Light bulbs that were powered by electricity before the power outage.
After being without power for 8 days during Superstorm Sandy, we swore we would get a generator. That was 2012, and, well, we still don’t have one. But we do have lots of lanterns, flashlights, C and D batteries, and power banks for the phones. Probably still need a generator, though.
@ahacksaw My older generator kept the fridge going for my parents after Andrew.
@werehatrack They’re definitely a good investment. We’ll get one eventually—probably after the next multi-day power outage.
Growing up in South Florida and losing power almost every time a hurricane came by, we have a whole house generator. Add natural gas to that, we don’t worry about outages.
Old fashioned oil lamp!
With the flames of passion.
ugh
I said generator, but I realize that is mostly for my fridge/chest freezer. Lighting is battery powered for portability. If I were to stay in one room I would plug in a light, but when the lights go out, I want something to go with me.
Now for a whole house backup. . . I wish.
I just curse the darkness.
Is setting the neighbor’s house on fire an option? Should last a couple of hours, right?
@mike808 Well, that’ll light up the side yard, but that bog at the other end of the house is still gonna be a bit murky. And move the hooptie in front of the other neighbor’s place first, you don’t want to get your paint blistered.
@werehatrack Move the hooptie? I ain’t putting wheels on it. It done just fine up on cinder blocks since last century. And nothing a little more Bond-O and duct tape can’t fix. This is from back in the day when I be rollin’, and they be tryna catch me ridin’ dirty.
Why isn’t “I can see in the dark” an option?
I mean, I’m just trying to get to the bathroom. I’m not out to read a book or anything.
I’m also way more worried about my phone and the food in my fridge than seeing where I’m going in full lighting.
We finally got a generator! It took almost two years for the permits and the work and honestly, we are still waiting for the last inspection, but it works! I have now insured that Long Island will never have a black out again!
@dontwantaname Permits? We don’t need no stinking permits.
Seriously though, I hired a licensed electrician (local guy, been in business in this area for years) to install the interlock and receptacle to connect my generator to the house wiring. It was a fairly simple job - he came out once to see what he needed, then once more to install it once he got the parts - he didn’t pull any permits. All has been working great for 14 years now. Maybe the rules are different in my state?
@dontwantaname @macromeh In much of Texas, it’s “What permit?” In some more of Texas it’s “As long as it meets code, you’re good.” In Plano, it’s “YOU DIDN’T ASK PERMISSION THE RIGHT WAY, NOW YOU MUST HAVE A REAL ELECTRICIAN RIP IT ALL OUT, PAY A BIG FINE, HAVE AN ADMINISTRATIVE HEARING, AND ONLY THEN WILL WE LET YOU APPLY FOR A PERMIT TO START OVER.” [unless you have lots of money and know the right people in which case oopsie we’ll just inspect it and everything will be okay, see you in church on Sunday.]
Houston has permits, and a healthy dose of “if it meets code, you’re cool” for those who decide to DIY. But getting the power company to yank the meter while you reroute to the isolator on an old setup with no main switch is not a DIY-friendly thing. Don’t go there, mmmkay?
@dontwantaname @werehatrack I watched the electrician make the changes - not only did he not pull the meter, he didn’t even switch off the main breaker to do the rewiring. He fished the new wires, inserted them into the new (unattached) breaker, then snapped the breaker into the (live) rails, easy-peasy. I commented that I had always pulled the meter when I did any work on the main panel and he just chuckled and muttered something about how long he had been at this trade.
BTW, I have pulled my meter several times in the past - no big deal here, just call the utility to let them know and they will come out and attach a new seal when they get a chance. (However, if you pull the meter and don’t let them know, big trouble when they discover the missing seal.)
@macromeh An electrician I hired for a job I didn’t want to tackle (running three-phase to the garage out back) told me that the local powerline company (separate from the power generation outfits) didn’t care whether you had a permit, but I have never tested this. I suspect that they just have a service charge for the trip out, and since they can tell when a meter’s power is interrupted, they’re probably cool with a call to let them know it’s coming off the wall and another to let them know to come by and seal it back up. In my case, since my panel is from the days long before a main switch or breaker was mandated, I’d be really nervous about trying to hook up an isolator. I would be considering the idea of a whole-house rewire if I could afford it and if I thought I had much of a chance of still being at this address in 20 years.
Prius!
Dad added a pure sine wave inverter.
I have an emergency light plugged in the bathroom that turns on when the power goes out. Doesn’t last forever, but usually long enough. Also, I have several 3-wick candles that I can use, but I don’t leave them burning overnight.
@katbyter
Same here. It was the first ‘induction’ charging light I ever saw. Way before Qi charging was a thing. Light sits in a ring that plugs into the wall outlet and turns on automatically if the power goes off. Pulls out to be a flashlight…