West Coast power cuts

[gf beranek]

We been out of power for 5 days now. Only reprieve is a generator to keep the fridge cold. Not enough to run the house as the same time Got wood stove to cook and heat. I can cop some power to see how things are in the House. I'm grubby, me and terry, We're both ripe for showeres.

Interestingly the traffic, at all 4 way stop lights in Ft. Bragg, is moving smoother now than when the power was on.

In the bigger picture the effect of this whole thing has wreaked chaos across the region. Shutting power to the entire immediate coast was uncalled for.

Chicken little's in bureaucracies.

Way overkill.

 

[MasterBlaster]

Damn, bummer! You need heat there? I haven't even lit my space heater yet. Man, I'd sure wanna get another generator if I lived there!!!

 

[gf beranek]

It's looking that way, Butch. We may be headed back to relying on wood and steam power in these parts sooner than you think.

 

[MasterBlaster]

You can't go wrong with a Honda. Better yet - a propane or natural gas model that is hooked into the house and come on automatically. Those are around ten grand...

 

[lxskllr]

I guess you're on a well Gerry? I've always had town water, and could count the times water didn't come out of the faucet on one hand, and those were very brief outages. Well, and the pipes would freeze at my first apt, but that doesn't count :^D I would certainly look into being more self sufficient if I had to live through that fiasco.

 

[Bodean]

I thought it was a chainsaw demo fest.

 

[BlackSmith]

California: Demands more wind generated electric, turns electric off when it’s windy.

 

[CurSedVoyce]

Been lucky here. Never lost power. My parents lost theirs for 4 days. Then when the power came back on, the pressure pump went on their well set up. Just got them water on their 6th day with out last night after I installed the new pump and switch. Still having issues from another float switch in the system, but they have water for now. This will be my third night over there fixing shat. It's even more of a clusterfuck further north and west of us.

 

[stig]

Lost power yesterday.
Idiot with a backhoe.
This morning the water was out.
Had to steal from the dog's bowl in order to make tea.

Same idiot with the backhoe.

 

[MasterBlaster]

They'd get a hella fine here!

 

[stig]

Oh, he'll be hurting a lot!

 

[MasterBlaster]

We have commercials all the time giving a toll-free number you're supposed to call before any digging and they warn you about being fined.

 

[stig]

You are supposed to do that here. But there is always the eventual moron who doesn't.

Remember last year when I lost all my appliances because of a power surge?

Another moron with a backhoe.

 

[MasterBlaster]

Sounds like a theme for a country song!

 

[Bodean]

They'll frig you up for not calling before you dig here... you can blow a dude up here.. hi volt or gas or water can be 24" down here... and 811 misses utilities occasionally,, meaning just cause they say its clear doesn't mean it.

If the power went out own SF... there would be some serious turmoil afoot.

 

[stig]

Reminds me of a story.
Back in the 80es somewhere, Denmark was playing in the finals for the European soccer tournament.
I might be the only Dane who doesn't remember the year, sports bore me.

I bet Mick knows.

Anyway, we had a deal going with a bunch of home owners in a nearby village.
They got together and hired us, we made them a fine price, since we didn't have to go back and forth giving estimates and doing the jobs.
Worked out fine for everyone.
Except for this one guy.
His comment was that he wasn't so old, he needed help cutting his trees.
So, while we were working, he decides to show off his prowess and tops a Norway spruce while standing on a ladder.
Dropped the top across a live wire and managed to take out all power in the village about 1 hour before everybody and their grandmothers were going to watch the final game on TV.













Lynching time

 

[Altissimus]

Yep , SF ... why the the big feed is still hot yet no power for thousands.

 

[Bodean]

We have 700 unit buildings to keep the airflow...

We could have dead millenial techies everywhere... system failure bro.. no APP will work...

 

[gf beranek]

Power is on today. How sweet it is. Going to Ukiah in the morning to pick up an EM 6500 Honda generator. Little things.

 

[MasterBlaster]

That's a good one! Just remember it's like a chainsaw - don't let the gas get old, no matter what type of "stabilizers" you use.

 

[gf beranek]

You got that right, Butch.

Along with our regular power outages during winter storms now we have planned summer and fall outages for public safety. Got to be prepared.

 

[Bermy]

Shares in Honda just went up...

Geeze Stig, did that guy get run out of town?

 

[MasterBlaster]

I bet he kept a low profile after that!!!

 

[Altissimus]

Power is on today. How sweet it is. Going to Ukiah in the morning to pick up an EM 6500 Honda generator. Little things.

... yep that was my upgrade , key start and with minimal electrical work it runs the whole house , much easier to run Baghdad Electric and be able to flush toilets and shower ... I can even sleep with the sound no problem

 

[Al Smith]

Even :flagging" underground utilities is not fool proof .Fact on a flagged area I once ran a 18" auger on a line truck dead center of a 3" plastic natural gas line that did not have a trace wire installed .As luck would have it it was on the low pressure side of the pressure regulator . It happens .