Storm Stats and Memories

We went 60 hours without power using a 1600W generator.

We used just under 10 ga of gas.

The generator with a full tank of gas (a little over a gallon I think) would run 4 – 7 hours. As we kept running it dry, the carb got full of gunk and would run harder requiring more choke. The more choke required more gas, so the length at which it ran shortened. Finally the carb gave up all together and I had to spend about an hour in the dark taking it apart and cleaning it. After getting it back together and getting it running again, the power came back on roughly an hour later.

We drank somewhere between 5 and 6 ga of water.

We used numerous gallons of water (from the creek) to flush the toilets.

We used one and a half bottles of camp stove propane.

We lost a lot of limbs.

We had a tree crew out here in November to clean up the oak in our driveway. It sill dropped a significant number of limbs. Some of which are caught up at the top. We’ll have to have the tree crew out again.

The house never dropped below 64° F. The lowest low for outside was 12° F I think.

I’d fill the generator before bed and let it run till it quit. We’d wake up to the chill. The girls would get in bed with Mom until I could get outside, get the generator filled and running again. It’s not like the pellet stove would immediately heat the whole house, so the girls could get out and play. It was just a cute routine.

The nicest memory of the ordeal was sitting with Abigail on the couch at 6am the morning of the storm (her birthday) and watching the sky light up blue as the transformers in the area blew.

– b