Brrrrrrrr!!

Toopy14 said:
I know you included the winky face, but ya, don't do that! Not only is it dangerous and illegal, if you burn the house down, good luck getting the insurance company to pay up! :)
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you cut the main first. What's illegal when your kids are freezing.
it's an electric circuit with fridge and furnace only - what could go so terribly wrong?
 
Vio said:
you cut the main first. What's illegal when your kids are freezing.
it's an electric circuit with fridge and furnace only - what could go so terribly wrong?
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As I mentioned, in most jurisdictions, under the electrical code, it's illegal to backfeed electrical circuits. If for whatever reason, there is an electrical fire or the house burns down, the person who made the back-fed connection would be criminally liable and as I said previously, the insurance would be null and void.

Now, from a technical perspective, what's protecting the back-fed circuits from overloading?
 
We're pretty lucky, it's 20F here, power is on, and it's warm in the house.

But you folks got me thinking, what could I do if the power was out for a long time?
We have 2 snakes, they'll die if it gets too cold.
Knock wood, that hasn't ever happened, but what if?

However, I'm not about to invest thousands of dollars to guard against an event that hasn't ever happened in the 30-something years we've lived here.
Guess I'd be looking for a motel, but it'd be a bit tricky, we also have 3 cats.

Gaaah, I could worry and worry and worry.
Or stick it in the closet with the eventualities I hope don't come, and grab my ostrich suit.
Given past history, knocking again, hard, there are lots more likely things that'd be a lot worse and a lot harder to cope with.
 
this thread is one big jinx. My kitchen faucet just took a shit and flooded below my sink.

I really hate this house. Granted on a scale of one to 10 this is maybe a 2, but I need a trip to Lowes like I need a 3rd nipple.
 
Vio said:
you cut the main first. What's illegal when your kids are freezing.
it's an electric circuit with fridge and furnace only - what could go so terribly wrong?
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My buddy burned down half his house using a generator outside of specifications. He was using the generator in the dead of winter.
 
Dave Merrill said:
We're pretty lucky, it's 20F here, power is on, and it's warm in the house.

But you folks got me thinking, what could I do if the power was out for a long time?
We have 2 snakes, they'll die if it gets too cold.
Knock wood, that hasn't ever happened, but what if?

However, I'm not about to invest thousands of dollars to guard against an event that hasn't ever happened in the 30-something years we've lived here.
Guess I'd be looking for a motel, but it'd be a bit tricky, we also have 3 cats.

Gaaah, I could worry and worry and worry.
Or stick it in the closet with the eventualities I hope don't come, and grab my ostrich suit.
Given past history, knocking again, hard, there are lots more likely things that'd be a lot worse and a lot harder to cope with.
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There’s middle ground between doing nothing and spending 5 figures worth of money. Simply invest in a portable generator for a little under a grand and a few extension cords. You’ll have enough power to get you through any prolonged outage, provided you can keep getting fuel to run the generator. You can go a long time with a few area heaters and some basic electricity.
 
Hey, someone tell me more about how I use my portable generator to run my furnace without having to run a long ass power cord to my furnace (which iirc is hard wired into my break panel)? I saw somewhere I could turn off my mains switch, turn off every breaker, plug my generator into an outlet in my garage, and then turn my furnace break on?

That seems...dicey? Or is that how it's down?

@Bruce Sokolovic tell me how it's done? :D
 
Toopy14 said:
If you already have it, go with the Generlink MA23-S. You can always get a bigger generator if needed. The whole idea is to power essentials, like fridges, freezers, heat/AC, well, etc. We lost over $400 in food!
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This is tempting. Might be more economical than the whole home thing. I feel like whole home is just so much $$$.
 
It’s a Christmas miracle
iaresee said:
Hey, someone tell me more about how I use my portable generator to run my furnace without having to run a long ass power cord to my furnace (which iirc is hard wired into my break panel)? I saw somewhere I could turn off my mains switch, turn off every breaker, plug my generator into an outlet in my garage, and then turn my furnace break on?

That seems...dicey? Or is that how it's down?

@Bruce Sokolovic tell me how it's done? :D
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oh I wish I knew. I have a 220 outlet on the generator but don’t use it. We have space heaters for the rooms and they keep us warm enough to get by.
 
iaresee said:
We’re headed to a hotel for the night. Utility says power won’t be back on until Dec 25 at 10 pm. Fun.
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Sorry on this end too.
Remember our wonderful former House Speaker says Happy Shwanza!
Just trying to put a smile on your face and not make lite of the situation.

Oops too late.
Glad you’re up and running.
 
iaresee said:
Yea, left myself a reminder to call home depot after the new year rolls over to talk to someone about getting one installed.
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This is all a good reminder for me too. A generator has been on the list for too long. Really sorry that you lost power, but glad it's back on!
 
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