7 Saltwater Tanks, 2 Reptile Tanks, and 32 Hours with no power.

Ruth · #1 12-17-2006, 11:44 AM

WOW - sounds like you have had quite an ordeal. I know that being without power can definately be a challenge (how many times can you walk into a room and actually flick the light switch before you remember, yet again, that it doesn't work). In the rural area where I live they are actually quite frequent. I have a generator and would highly recommend the Honda EU3000is model. It is very very quiet and is also electric start (I had pulling on those darn cords). This generator is quiet enough to take camping and I use it on the weekends in the summer when I go to horse competitions for my trailer.
When you really sit down and do the math of how much you have invested in your tank(s), the fact that they have multiple applications, IMO there is just no reason not to invest in a quality generator or at least have a plan to borrow one in the event of an extented power outage.
Very glad you were able to save your livestock!

Beverly · #2 12-17-2006, 01:53 PM

Great save, Diana and Raf!

You folks on the coast have been battered with weather for weeks now that I cannot even comprehend dealing with. And that's coming from an Albertan where weather can be deadly cold and unpredictable. Everyone on the coast deserves a medal for braving the storms and power outages. I'm sure there are many who have not fared nearly as well as you

Raf · #3 12-17-2006, 04:58 PM

Thanks for the comments guys

andresont,

the coil idea may work but Diana thought of a rather simple idea(works best if your have a gas powered hot water tank) is to fill 2L pop bottles with HOT water and float them in the tanks. It helped one of our clients tanks bringing it up from a frigid 55F!

SeaHorse_Fanatic · #4 12-17-2006, 05:06 PM

Good job you two.

For Albertans, the huge difference is that we have soooo many trees around here that when a huge windstorms kicks up, many of them get knocked down. Just in Stanley Park, in downtown Vancouver, they estimate THOUSANDS of trees are down, the park is closed & they expect to still be cleaning up & repairing all the damage months, even a year from now. We live in a Coastal Rainforest type region & our trees get very tall, but when developers only leave one or two standing here & there, it creates the perfect situation for the wind to knock them down onto powerlines, homes & cars.

Anthony

sumpfinfishe · #5 12-17-2006, 05:52 PM

Nice work guy's!
Great little story too

trilinearmipmap · #6 12-17-2006, 06:21 PM

A question about portable generators.

Do you hook it up to your house electric panel and run your whole house from it?

Or does it just have one power bar outlet to run a few things from?

Squiddy · #7 12-17-2006, 07:05 PM

I was over on the mainland yesterday and couldn't believe that the power was still out in Burnaby. J&L was out for 36 hours and the power had just come back online when we got there mid afternoon. The wind hit 170KM/H here! We live next to a large hospital here in Vic. and I'm pretty sure that is main reason that our power didn't go out once the whole time. When I left for work Friday morning, the power was out all around us but we were fine

.

As for connecting your generator to your house panel... DON'T! You are NOT allowed to backfeed your home with a generator if the power is out. I would hate to be a BC hydro linesman working on downed lines and hoping that no one is backfeeding their home. Just think.. you fire up the generator, plug it in to the house wiring, you forget to shut off the mains or don't connect something up correctly and all of sudden you've got 120VAC going out of your house. This voltage hits the transformer on the pole and BAM!... you've got something like 25,000VAC on the downed lines which some BC Hydro guy has in his hands. SCARY!

You can have a generator connected up to your house as a backup, but it has to be properly installed with a transfer switch that will guarantee complete isolation from the grid.

justinl · #8 12-17-2006, 06:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SeaHorse_Fanatic

Good job you two.

For Albertans, the huge difference is that we have soooo many trees around here that when a huge windstorms kicks up, many of them get knocked down. Just in Stanley Park, in downtown Vancouver, they estimate THOUSANDS of trees are down, the park is closed & they expect to still be cleaning up & repairing all the damage months, even a year from now. We live in a Coastal Rainforest type region & our trees get very tall, but when developers only leave one or two standing here & there, it creates the perfect situation for the wind to knock them down onto powerlines, homes & cars.

Anthony

ditto. On my way to the vancouver aquarium I had to walk from Georgia street because the buses weren't going into the park. I didnt even know parks closed! anyways, on the 10 minute walk I counted three trees that they had cut down just in case, but nine more that had just been blown right over; huge holes in the ground with roots sticking up all over. I didnt even bother counting the big branches that had been ripped off.

hahaha anyones on the east coast must be having a good laugh at us.

Diana · #9 12-17-2006, 05:06 PM

Yeah the southern coast has had a *rough* winter so far. On Friday morning we got winds up to 100 kms an hour. I've heard its the hardest storm in history to hit Vancouver.... and the Island got it even worse.... needless to say lots of people lost power, which is why its taking so long for Hydro to hook it all back up. I think the last power-out we got here at our house was a few years ago. The lady down the street from me STILL hasnt gotten her power back, but her fish are doing fine in our tank.

woodcarver, check out the thread "Sad Sad Day without Power" in this forum, there is a huge discussion on generators.

-Diana

Griffin · #10 12-21-2006, 04:18 AM

I was like Diana - 32hrs of no power, I was like Raf and said i would check in the morning - everything lived in the end but only due heating water on the gas stove help bring the temp back up and adding a large 600watt power inverter that i hooked up to my truck's battery - got a 100ft extension cord - plugged in both heaters and one power head that was lifted higher so it was blowing air and water. Left the truck running for about 24hrs to keep the tank running (it would drain the battery after about 2 hours if not running) A tank of gas and that inverter saved my bacon in the end. Sorry to those that had losses and i would be more than willing aswell to donate to anyone that is in need. Hope tonights storm doesn't hit as hard although i have heard westview has lost power already this evening. Lets hope it all goes well
Cheers
Rich