Wind & rain Coastside of Northern California..

[Rupunzell]

It's been 60+ mph wind and rain on Feb. 4th resulting in wide spread power, data and other outages for days.
Big trees down, power poles down and more..
Quite messy..

Prep for this happened in early Sept 2024 which was an extension of what was done previous years. This pair of Honda EU2200i (there is a third as a spare)
were the star performers all that time running the home power needs for days on end.. Only asking for more fuel..

They are connected to an external muffler, sits on concrete slabs with bath mats to prevent slippage and abrasion. Insulation further helps to reduce noise and the mobile shack keeps then out of the wind & rain..

PGE took over a shopping center parking lot as a logistics & supply depo.. some fotos from this area..

Storm still quite active today, power, dat and etc back on. Back ups remain in place ready when needed.
Bernice

 

[tvmaster]

It's been 60+ mph wind and rain on Feb. 4th resulting in wide spread power, data and other outages for days.
Big trees down, power poles down and more..
Quite messy..

Prep for this happened in early Sept 2024 which was an extension of what was done previous years. This pair of Honda EU2200i (there is a third as a spare)
were the star performers all that time running the home power needs for days on end.. Only asking for more fuel..
View attachment 81425

They are connected to an external muffler, sits on concrete slabs with bath mats to prevent slippage and abrasion. Insulation further helps to reduce noise and the mobile shack keeps then out of the wind & rain..

PGE took over a shopping center parking lot as a logistics & supply depo.. some fotos from this area..

Storm still quite active today, power, dat and etc back on. Back ups remain in place ready when needed.
Bernice

What’s the closest city to this?

Frenchman's creek & HWY 1​

Half Moon Bay area, correct?

 

[carl]

Whole house generators are becoming popular on the east coast but they are not cheap. California is always in the news cycle due to drought or too much rain. All of a sudden Virginia doesn't seem so bad. I will admit that the "normal" weather in San Diego when I would visit my sister was delicious.

 

[86X]

Stay safe! Having a generator is a life saver. Storms rolled through in June. I ran my generator for a week.

 

[Rupunzell]

What’s the closest city to this?

Frenchman's creek & HWY 1​

Half Moon Bay area, correct?

Closest city would be Half Moon bay, near by would be San Francisco.


Bernice

 

[dllubin]

When storms come through the Bay Area, we usually get hit pretty hard being on top of a mountain. Fortunately, we just happened to luck out and only had the power out for an hour. My neighbors who are on a different circuit were out for days. Living around here, I consider having a generator and a backup generator as a necessity. Without a backup, you can find yourself having to fix generator regulator boards and system controllers by candlelight although there are some tricks you can use to make a generator produce power without any of the electronics working.

 

[Rupunzell]

Whole house generators are becoming popular on the east coast but they are not cheap. California is always in the news cycle due to drought or too much rain. All of a sudden Virginia doesn't seem so bad. I will admit that the "normal" weather in San Diego when I would visit my sister was delicious.

Those "whole house" generator have become a "thing"due to their automation and perceived sense of security. What is not often discussed about them.. they are no maintenance free or be run continuous for 24 hours at a whack day after day.. why, oil consumption.

Turns out after doing a bit of digging both Kohler & Generac & Cummins offering for auto self start/self transfer installed generators are oil consumers and recommended oil levels be checked every 8-12 hours of running time by stopping the generator and checking/adding oil as needed. How much oil consumption, Generac service folks note oil consumption could be in the 1/2 to 3/4 qt per 12 hour range. These generators are not specifically designed for continuous running 24/7, they are designed to fill for a moderate amount of time when the power goes out..

These installed whole home generators are pricy once all added up, wiring, natural gas plumbing, permits required, foundation for the generator, auto transfer switch & related stuff and all related. Then there is running cost, figure about $40 to $200 per day (24 hours) depending on generator size and power demands.

Add to this, maintenance cost. oil change, oil filter, new spark plugs, air filter, starting battery check/replace, systems check... and the generator should be test run no less than once a month to assure proper operation.

Then there is the constant pounding noise from these generators that are not kind to ears or sanity..

Their marketing and primary appeal are to those that want auto go and forget if and when the power goes off, reality this believe is not completely correct or true due to the very nature of vintage Dino Juice fired (yes, this includes natural gas & propane) devices..

Bernice

 

[carl]

Interesting. I have never looked into them as power loss is a rare and usually short term issue in my neighborhood. Most of us are children of modern tech and can't seem to survive more than five minutes of power loss.

 

[Rupunzell]

Interesting. I have never looked into them as power loss is a rare and usually short term issue in my neighborhood. Most of us are children of modern tech and can't seem to survive more than five minutes of power loss.

Utility power grid stability depends on location. Some places have excellent power grid stability and their grid is very robust. Other places have no central utility connection or grid. There are folks that have decided to live off grid, essentially excusing those modern tech things in most ways.
It's all a set of trade offs with none as ideal for all.. where one decides to make a life can be a choice..

Bernice

 

[carl]

Thanks for that, one of my favorite songs. While west coast beaches are more stunning and the weather is nicer, east coast beaches are more user friendly in that the water is warmer and you can go into the surf without a wet suit. Says the guy who has lived his whole 75 years in Virginia. Amelia Island isn't just for an overpriced old car show.

 

[dllubin]

I don't know if those whole house generators have improved much or not over the years but I can tell you that back in the 90s most of the people in my neighborhood that had them could not get them started during a storm. Lots of power electronics issues. I suspect lack of maintenance probably did not help either especially if they were using gasoline instead of propane (no natural gas here).

My approach is to assume that a generator will fail and to make sure that a backup unit can be swapped in ASAP. I bought a new generator about 2 years ago, and am now using the old generator as the backup. It was made during the period when the better Generac units used Nagano engines (pre Briggs & Stratton buyout) that were said to be at least as good as the Honda units. After using it for 26 years, sometimes for a week straight, it is now the backup unit. The new generator has a Chonda motor (Chinese Honda copy). So far no issues but it wants it's oil changed every 20 hours (that's about a tank and a half worth of gas) so I installed an hour meter to keep track. The oil change interval on the backup generator was 50 hours. The backup to my backup failed rather spectacularly a few years ago. The adapter plate that connects the engine to the generator fractured which caused the rotor to collide with the stator all while still producing electricity. By the time I got there to turn it off, sparks, flames, and smoke were putting on quite a show. That same plate had cracked a few years earlier and was replaced under warranty by an "improved" version. Not improved enough evidently. It was a Sears.