Weather

[washnshine]

I know a lot of the country is going to be getting some bad weather these upcoming days and into the holiday weekend. Stay safe, be careful and I hope none of us sustain any property damage.

 

[Waxman]

in New England, I saw some things I've never seen before in about 20 years of operating. Things like the push buttons on the auto cashier being frozen. They would push in but then they would stay in and display would say please release button!

 

[washnshine]

in New England, I saw some things I've never seen before in about 20 years of operating. Things like the push buttons on the auto cashier being frozen. They would push in but then they would stay in and display would say please release button!

Our blizzard conditions in Western New York were severe. I have an automatic standby generator at my house and it does a normal 15 minute exercise every Saturday morning. It wasn’t able to turn over yesterday morning and I got a “overcrank” error that locks the unit. I have a battery and oil warmer kit installed, so extreme cold starts have never been a problem. When I opened the generator , the battery compartment, which is located right next to a grated air vent and screen, was totally encased in snow and ice. The 70 mph winds had forced the snow through the air vent and into into the battery compartment, totally blanketing the whole battery in snow and ice. I dug it out, blew out snow with a leaf blower and reset the controller and did a manual test start and it turned right over. Luckily, we never lost power, but if we did, it would not have kicked in until the error was cleared and snow cleaned out. That was a first for me.

 

[2Biz]

Another alternative to the more expensive Automatic Transfer Switching Generators and electric panel switches....

I heat with a Digital Controlled Coal Furnace that burns Anthracite Rice Coal. It keeps my house within 1° thermostat set point as it is infinetly variable. I have an Aims Power "Auto Switching" Backup Inverter/charger that is powered by (4) 6v deep cycle batteries for 484ah @ 12v...This will give me about 8-10 hours of continious run for the furnace and keeps the fire from going out during an outage. Fun Fact, wood pellets put out about 8000btu per pound. Anthracite puts out about 14,000btu per pound...Almost double...560,000btu per 40# bag. Anthracite burns clean, no smell...No smoke out of the chimney...Exhaust temps up the flu is about 100-120°, so the furnace I have is super efficient! The furnace only uses about 300w of 120v power to run....This amount of backup run time allows me to wait a little while to see if power comes back on or just get the 8750w "inverter gen" out and plug into the house (for clean power!). Then the aims inverter switches back to shore power and recharges the batteries automatically... I like the thoughts of an automated generator backup, but what I have works just as good only a little cheaper, maybe a little less maintenance. It doesn't have to be ran and tested weekly/monthly. I don't think I have ever seen an inverter style automated outside generator? I like the thoughts of saving fuel with the inverter gens when 100% power is not needed...If you heat with a NG, Propane, oil furnace, or pellet stove or pellet funace, the same applies with a setup like this. They don't use mutch power and something like this will work if you have an outage. An added benefit, the furnace keeps my 1000sq ft garage/work shop at 65° just from the radiant heat, no matter how cold out.

Lucky for us with this storm, we did not need the backup. Power stayed on... It got down to -8° and wind chills in the -30 to -40° range. Being prepared gives you real peace of mind!

 

[washnshine]

Another alternative to the more expensive Automatic Transfer Switching Generators and electric panel switches....

I heat with a Digital Controlled Coal Furnace that burns Anthracite Rice Coal. It keeps my house within 1° thermostat set point as it is infinetly variable. I have an Aims Power "Auto Switching" Backup Inverter/charger that is powered by (4) 6v deep cycle batteries for 484ah @ 12v...This will give me about 8-10 hours of continious run for the furnace and keeps the fire from going out during an outage. Fun Fact, wood pellets put out about 8000btu per pound. Anthracite puts out about 14,000btu per pound...Almost double...560,000btu per 40# bag. Anthracite burns clean, no smell...No smoke out of the chimney...Exhaust temps up the flu is about 100-120°, so the furnace I have is super efficient! The furnace only uses about 300w of 120v power to run....This amount of backup run time allows me to wait a little while to see if power comes back on or just get the 8750w "inverter gen" out and plug into the house (for clean power!). Then the aims inverter switches back to shore power and recharges the batteries automatically... I like the thoughts of an automated generator backup, but what I have works just as good only a little cheaper, maybe a little less maintenance. It doesn't have to be ran and tested weekly/monthly. I don't think I have ever seen an inverter style automated outside generator? I like the thoughts of saving fuel with the inverter gens when 100% power is not needed...If you heat with a NG, Propane, oil furnace, or pellet stove or pellet funace, the same applies with a setup like this. They don't use mutch power and something like this will work if you have an outage. An added benefit, the furnace keeps my 1000sq ft garage/work shop at 65° just from the radiant heat, no matter how cold out.

Lucky for us with this storm, we did not need the backup. Power stayed on... It got down to -8° and wind chills in the -30 to -40° range. Being prepared gives you real peace of mind!

Nice set up. I have a ng furnace, but I still need the power for the blower fan and condensate drain. I also have a power vent water heater, which is ng, but still needs AC to exhaust. You’ve got a great backup heat source, though. I was not familiar with anthracite coal. Looks like a nice compact unit.

 

[Randy]

2Biz that's pretty cool. We can't buy coal here anymore. In all the years I've lived in my house I've lost power 3 times, the longest was for about 4 hours.
The weather here has really changed, Saturday it was 22 deg. this morning when I went to the car wash it was 63 and raining sideways.

 

[2Biz]

Nice set up. I have a ng furnace, but I still need the power for the blower fan and condensate drain. I also have a power vent water heater, which is ng, but still needs AC to exhaust. You’ve got a great backup heat source, though. I was not familiar with anthracite coal. Looks like a nice compact unit.

Thanks...What you have works great and would be completely hassle free....I looked into one of the automated backup gen's like you have and it wasn't feasible for me. I don't have a large propane tank or NG and I didn't have a way to get the switch gear on my 200a service panel without ripping out drywall! I have the much easier (and UL Listed) sliding switch plate in my service panel that makes you turn off the main before you can turn on the generator breaker. Both cannot be in the "on" position at the same time. When you say I have a great backup heat source, its really not my backup! LOL...Its my main source....I light it in November and it doesn't shut off till April....The fire is always lit. Stoves, Inserts, and furnaces like I have are very popular in the Northeastern states. Most of the anthracite comes from the Nepa Valley Coal minds. Anthracite cannot be used in powerplants, so it is mostly used for home heating.

I might have to get even more creative when it comes to cost to heat my home. When I put the furnace in 5 years ago, coal was about $250 a ton. Much cheaper than using electric and About same price as wood pellets but double the heating BTU's for the same price. Thanks to the out of control inflation anthracite has more than doubled in price. Its now $600 a ton...What cost me about $1000 before now will now cost me $2400 for the heating season!

THEY are trying their best to force us off fossil fuels and rely solely on electric. Try running electric heat off a generator!? 25% of the people I know have a generator for backup but can only last a few days. The other 75% wouldn't know how to start one or figure out how much it will power or what to plug into it. For both categories, I hope we never see rolling brown-outs in the dead of winter. They are constantly putting more load on the grids that can't be a good thing....

I made the switch plate below....But it can be purchased online.

 

[OurTown]

Thanks...What you have works great and would be completely hassle free....I looked into one of the automated backup gen's like you have and it wasn't feasible for me. I don't have a large propane tank or NG and I didn't have a way to get the switch gear on my 200a service panel without ripping out drywall! I have the much easier (and UL Listed) sliding switch plate in my service panel that makes you turn off the main before you can turn on the generator breaker. Both cannot be in the "on" position at the same time. When you say I have a great backup heat source, its really not my backup! LOL...Its my main source....I light it in November and it doesn't shut off till April....The fire is always lit. Stoves, Inserts, and furnaces like I have are very popular in the Northeastern states. Most of the anthracite comes from the Nepa Valley Coal minds. Anthracite cannot be used in powerplants, so it is mostly used for home heating.

I might have to get even more creative when it comes to cost to heat my home. When I put the furnace in 5 years ago, coal was about $250 a ton. Much cheaper than using electric and About same price as wood pellets but double the heating BTU's for the same price. Thanks to the out of control inflation anthracite has more than doubled in price. Its now $600 a ton...What cost me about $1000 before now will now cost me $2400 for the heating season!

THEY are trying their best to force us off fossil fuels and rely solely on electric. Try running electric heat off a generator!? 25% of the people I know have a generator for backup but can only last a few days. The other 75% wouldn't know how to start one or figure out how much it will power or what to plug into it. For both categories, I hope we never see rolling brown-outs in the dead of winter. They are constantly putting more load on the grids that can't be a good thing....

I made the switch plate below....But it can be purchased online.

Now you need to install an indicator light connected to the grid so you know when power has been restored. Otherwise how would you know? Wait until you see lights on at your neighbors?

 

[2Biz]

I live inside the towns corporation limits. So there are street lights that will come on if it's after dark. Plus I'm on an automated call list that notifies me of power outages and water main breaks. They also call to let me know when power is restored or the main break fixed.

Funny though, I have LED lights to install on the incoming power, but really hasn't been necessary yet.