Weather Storm Essentials:

[kired]

If the Generac is a bit pricey you can get a 16,000 watt generator and have someone wire you in a plug to your panel. That would power most of your house except the AC but would easily power the blower fan on a NG/LP heater plus your house.

They have tri fuel ones that will run off gas/LP/NG.

That’s what I did in preparation for this storm. My power is off at most 2-3 hours total in a year. I don’t expect to ever need a generator outside of a major event like this. All I really care about is having heat if the worst happens.

But my parents house growing up? We’d have killed to have one of these whole house built in generators. We would lose power every time the wind blew. It was common to lose power for 12-24 hours multiple times each year.

 

[The Peeper]

Two thoughts : 1. If you have natural gas to your house have a plumber install a couple of wall outlets and use space heaters if you lose electric power. 2. If you have any 18 or 20V power tools be aware that the company that made those tools also probably makes an LED light that use the same batteries and will work for many hours off of a charged battery.

When there's an issue like this we have 1 room that we go to stay in to cut down on what we need to heat and power. It has a set of unvented gas logs in it and it heats fine but stinks bad. There's 2 CO detectors in there and they don't go off but I can't stand the smell they give off so I'm going to replace them w/ vented logs because the old fireplace damper is still in place and I can open it a little to vent the smell out. The reason I mentioned this is I had also thought of just putting some type of natural gas heater in front of or inside the fireplace too. I didn't even realize that you could put a kerosene heater inside till somebody mentioned it earlier , the ones I've been around were for outside and stink to high heaven.

 

[thatsbaseball]

When there's an issue like this we have 1 room that we go to stay in to cut down on what we need to heat and power. It has a set of unvented gas logs in it and it heats fine but stinks bad. There's 2 CO detectors in there and they don't go off but I can't stand the smell they give off so I'm going to replace them w/ vented logs because the old fireplace damper is still in place and I can open it a little to vent the smell out. The reason I mentioned this is I had also thought of just putting some type of natural gas heater in front of or inside the fireplace too. I didn't even realize that you could put a kerosene heater inside till somebody mentioned it earlier , the ones I've been around were for outside and stink to high heaven.

We have vented gas logs and the aesthetics are great but they are next to useless for heat . They give some radiant heat and almost no convectional heat .

 

[DerHntr]

1. Buddy Heater that uses the 1 lb propane bottles. Or buy the kit to hook it up to your larger tank. You just have to keep the tank outside (or at least you should). They have carbon monoxide detectors in most of them.

2. refill hose for the 1 lb propane bottles. $25 on Amazon. Get the one with the gauge and longer hose.

3. gas griddle. You can cook like normal but also can place pots on it to cook that way. It’s extremely useful.

4. Chainsaw sharpener that you put in your cordless drill. There is nothing worse than a dull chain in a bad situation. They are cheap and typically easy to use.

5. Car battery jumper. It’s pretty hard to get jumper cables on another vehicle in the ice. Plus, most of them have USB ports. I can recharge my cell phone at least 50 times on mine. The most I’ve done it was around 20 and it had well over 50% battery life left.

6. Rechargeable lights for runners. They are really bright, last for hours, and usually have a very wide dispersion of light. You can lay them down flat and shine up to the ceiling. It lights up the entire room easily. I have these. https://a.co/d/fynmxSN

7. attic antennae. Run the generator to the TV and at least get networks and local news if you’re close enough to the towers.

 

[Xenomorph]

I’ve had one of these before and swore never again.. but here I am with a couple of them because it was all I could find last week.

I’d like to invite whoever designed this little torture device to come to my house. Please come visit when it’s nighttime, 9 degrees outside, and 10 gallons of petrol needs to be fed to the generator.

I want to see said person use their numb fingers to press that stupid red button and its 20 lb spring and KEEP IT PRESSED while you hoist 30 pounds at an odd angle using that ill conceived handle. And I want to see their endurance… because it takes a SOLID three minutes to dispense the entire can since there is no breathing hole.. or if there is your aching thumb is covering. The damn thing just sits there and burps and gurgles… like it’s laughing you.

Please.. come visit Mr. Designer.

If you want one for yourself they’re sold at Home Depot.

 

[Bulldog from Birth]

Some others not mention.
1. Make sure you have a water meter valve shut off key tool. And know how to shut your water off in the event of a line leak.

2. If you don’t have a generator to keep refrigerators going, it’s not a bad idea to always keep some large bottles/jugs frozen in your freezer and deploy when needed. They make big blocks of ice that you can use to keep stuff cold for some number of days. Just like the old “ice box” used to do. The more blocks you have, the longer you can keep it going.

 

[PBRME]

 

[Mjoelner]

View attachment 1166987

I’ve had one of these before and swore never again.. but here I am with a couple of them because it was all I could find last week.

I’d like to invite whoever designed this little torture device to come to my house. Please come visit when it’s nighttime, 9 degrees outside, and 10 gallons of petrol needs to be fed to the generator.

I want to see said person use their numb fingers to press that stupid red button and its 20 lb spring and KEEP IT PRESSED while you hoist 30 pounds at an odd angle using that ill conceived handle. And I want to see their endurance… because it takes a SOLID three minutes to dispense the entire can since there is no breathing hole.. or if there is your aching thumb is covering. The damn thing just sits there and burps and gurgles… like it’s laughing you.

Please.. come visit Mr. Designer.

If you want one for yourself they’re sold at Home Depot.

I agree with you. That's why I order 3 Jerry cans from Walmart. I'll use them and a funnel.

 

[DesotoCountyDawg]

View attachment 1166987

I’ve had one of these before and swore never again.. but here I am with a couple of them because it was all I could find last week.

I’d like to invite whoever designed this little torture device to come to my house. Please come visit when it’s nighttime, 9 degrees outside, and 10 gallons of petrol needs to be fed to the generator.

I want to see said person use their numb fingers to press that stupid red button and its 20 lb spring and KEEP IT PRESSED while you hoist 30 pounds at an odd angle using that ill conceived handle. And I want to see their endurance… because it takes a SOLID three minutes to dispense the entire can since there is no breathing hole.. or if there is your aching thumb is covering. The damn thing just sits there and burps and gurgles… like it’s laughing you.

Please.. come visit Mr. Designer.

If you want one for yourself they’re sold at Home Depot.

Buy the aftermarket ones that are easier to use and throw that nozzle crap away.

 

[DerHntr]

View attachment 1166987

I’ve had one of these before and swore never again.. but here I am with a couple of them because it was all I could find last week.

I’d like to invite whoever designed this little torture device to come to my house. Please come visit when it’s nighttime, 9 degrees outside, and 10 gallons of petrol needs to be fed to the generator.

I want to see said person use their numb fingers to press that stupid red button and its 20 lb spring and KEEP IT PRESSED while you hoist 30 pounds at an odd angle using that ill conceived handle. And I want to see their endurance… because it takes a SOLID three minutes to dispense the entire can since there is no breathing hole.. or if there is your aching thumb is covering. The damn thing just sits there and burps and gurgles… like it’s laughing you.

Please.. come visit Mr. Designer.

If you want one for yourself they’re sold at Home Depot.

drill a hole near the back end of the handle and place a golf tee in it. Remove when pouring. You’re welcome.

 

[kired]

Don’t park under a tree. And if you have trees covering your driveway, park in an area so you won’t be trapped in if possible.

Similar if you have a steep driveway - park where you don’t have to drive up / down an icy driveway

 

[40 acres and a mule]

View attachment 1166987

I’ve had one of these before and swore never again.. but here I am with a couple of them because it was all I could find last week.

I’d like to invite whoever designed this little torture device to come to my house. Please come visit when it’s nighttime, 9 degrees outside, and 10 gallons of petrol needs to be fed to the generator.

I want to see said person use their numb fingers to press that stupid red button and its 20 lb spring and KEEP IT PRESSED while you hoist 30 pounds at an odd angle using that ill conceived handle. And I want to see their endurance… because it takes a SOLID three minutes to dispense the entire can since there is no breathing hole.. or if there is your aching thumb is covering. The damn thing just sits there and burps and gurgles… like it’s laughing you.

Please.. come visit Mr. Designer.

If you want one for yourself they’re sold at Home Depot.

The only time I ever used one of these, I got more gas on myself than in the tank. My next purchase will be a Tuff Jug.

 

[Xenomorph]

drill a hole near the back end of the handle and place a golf tee in it. Remove when pouring. You’re welcome.

Damn.. not a bad idea…

 

[patdog]

When there's an issue like this we have 1 room that we go to stay in to cut down on what we need to heat and power. It has a set of unvented gas logs in it and it heats fine but stinks bad. There's 2 CO detectors in there and they don't go off but I can't stand the smell they give off so I'm going to replace them w/ vented logs because the old fireplace damper is still in place and I can open it a little to vent the smell out. The reason I mentioned this is I had also thought of just putting some type of natural gas heater in front of or inside the fireplace too. I didn't even realize that you could put a kerosene heater inside till somebody mentioned it earlier , the ones I've been around were for outside and stink to high heaven.

Yeah. Unvented gas scared me. CO is no joke & it can kill you without you even realizing you’re in trouble.

 

[DerHntr]

Damn.. not a bad idea…

Back of the handle is essential placement. You rarely, if ever, get gas there when pouring. Plus, you can hold it a little further back and close off the hole by tightening your grip when you want to slow the flow.

I despise the safety jugs they’ve shoved down consumers’ throats. The only safety jugs should be a set of Double D’s strapped down for a 5k race.

 

[DesotoCountyDawg]

Back of the handle is essential placement. You rarely, if ever, get gas there when pouring. Plus, you can hold it a little further back and close off the hole by tightening your grip when you want to slow the flow.

I despise the safety jugs they’ve shoved down consumers’ throats. The only safety jugs should be a set of Double D’s strapped down for a 5k race.

For “old” gas cans.

 

[MaxwellSmart]

View attachment 1167317
For “old” gas cans.

They sell these at my tractor supply. I have them on 6 cans.

 

[TheDawg-Pound]

For power the only things I need to run are the fireplace blower, tv and satellite which total to 202W. I have a Honda eu2200i and 15 gallons of gas. I just bought an EcoFlo Delta 3 Plus that I can charge with the Honda since I have plenty of wattage left over and I'm eventually going to get the extra battery for it to raise its wattage to 2800. I will only run the Honda a few hours a day saving wear and tear and gasoline then finish out the day on the EcoFlo.

For food, I have a Coleman camp stove and 5 refillable 1lb bottles. I also have tons of food cooked and in the freezer so all I have to do is heat it up which is quicker and requires less gas than cooking it from scratch.

For heat, I have 8 20lb propane tanks and a single burner heater. If you get the tanks refilled instead of exchanging them, one tank will easily last 24 hours with the heater on high. I'm pretty sure the tanks that you exchange only have 16lbs of propane in them and it costs more than refilling them too.

I also have a camp shower. Heat water on the camp stove and dump it in a 5 gallon bucket or my crawfish cooker, place it in the shower, drop in the 4 D-cell sump, hang the nozzle and you have a warm/hot shower. I also have a Buddy Heater that uses the 1lb bottles to put in the bathroom for shower time.

I'm pretty sure that I saw you on that show "doomsday preppers"

 

[DesotoCountyDawg]

They sell these at my tractor supply. I have them on 6 cans.

Yeah that’s where I got that from. They also have the other version with the spring loaded button you push down. I have those on mine.

 

[BossDawg78]

Got several cases of these in my hall closet. They're awful convenient and a very long shelf life.

 

[Nicephorus123]

For power the only things I need to run are the fireplace blower, tv and satellite which total to 202W. I have a Honda eu2200i and 15 gallons of gas. I just bought an EcoFlo Delta 3 Plus that I can charge with the Honda since I have plenty of wattage left over and I'm eventually going to get the extra battery for it to raise its wattage to 2800. I will only run the Honda a few hours a day saving wear and tear and gasoline then finish out the day on the EcoFlo.

For food, I have a Coleman camp stove and 5 refillable 1lb bottles. I also have tons of food cooked and in the freezer so all I have to do is heat it up which is quicker and requires less gas than cooking it from scratch.

For heat, I have 8 20lb propane tanks and a single burner heater. If you get the tanks refilled instead of exchanging them, one tank will easily last 24 hours with the heater on high. I'm pretty sure the tanks that you exchange only have 16lbs of propane in them and it costs more than refilling them too.

I also have a camp shower. Heat water on the camp stove and dump it in a 5 gallon bucket or my crawfish cooker, place it in the shower, drop in the 4 D-cell sump, hang the nozzle and you have a warm/hot shower. I also have a Buddy Heater that uses the 1lb bottles to put in the bathroom for shower time.

Been looking into a similar setup. Seems combining a generator with a battery into a hybrid system is going to become the norm. Best of both worlds. Lets you fully utilize your generate to charge the battery then turn it off rather than wasting gas near idling a 5000w generator to power your 200w tv between heat/cooling cycles. Also less wear and tear on your generator since it only needs to run a few hours a day especially if using gas heat in winter (not to mention the noise). Imagine the battery has a much cleaner power feed to your panel that these delicate electronics prefer these days also. Many allow the option to add solar panels in the future too.

Been looking at the Anker Solix e10 setup set to come out next month. Seems pretty nice. Modular DIY setup with the inverter and expansion batteries. Only would need an electrician to install the panel then could expand myself going forward as needed. Also they got a “smart” trifuel generator with a direct DC connection to the battery that lets it charge very efficiently and controlled by the battery. Their marketing material claims it is 3-4x more efficient compared to traditinal AC generator charging (assuming they mean a 120v plug in) as you avoid the AC/DC conversion loss and it can run at max efficiency RPMs.

 

[She Mate Me]

For power the only things I need to run are the fireplace blower, tv and satellite which total to 202W. I have a Honda eu2200i and 15 gallons of gas. I just bought an EcoFlo Delta 3 Plus that I can charge with the Honda since I have plenty of wattage left over and I'm eventually going to get the extra battery for it to raise its wattage to 2800. I will only run the Honda a few hours a day saving wear and tear and gasoline then finish out the day on the EcoFlo.

For food, I have a Coleman camp stove and 5 refillable 1lb bottles. I also have tons of food cooked and in the freezer so all I have to do is heat it up which is quicker and requires less gas than cooking it from scratch.

For heat, I have 8 20lb propane tanks and a single burner heater. If you get the tanks refilled instead of exchanging them, one tank will easily last 24 hours with the heater on high. I'm pretty sure the tanks that you exchange only have 16lbs of propane in them and it costs more than refilling them too.

I also have a camp shower. Heat water on the camp stove and dump it in a 5 gallon bucket or my crawfish cooker, place it in the shower, drop in the 4 D-cell sump, hang the nozzle and you have a warm/hot shower. I also have a Buddy Heater that uses the 1lb bottles to put in the bathroom for shower time.

Lotta good info and ideas here.

Propane tanks with a variety of connectors and small heaters and cooktops that run off them are really really useful.

You seem like an excellent guy to have in a deer camp.

 

[Mjoelner]

I'm pretty sure that I saw you on that show "doomsday preppers"

Don't ask about my weapons cache and booby traps!**

Nah. Just experience from a guy that used to do a lot of camping and tailgating and learning how others were set up for such events. And, you will learn your shortcomings if you have to live through it. During the 2021 storms that hit Starkville I was without power for 5 days. I had no way to take a hot shower then (now I have a camp shower) and my Honda crapped out after 3 days of almost constant running with a fouled plug (now I have 2 extra spark plugs and the battery back-up).

 

[Mjoelner]

Lotta good info and ideas here.

Propane tanks with a variety of connectors and small heaters and cooktops that run off them are really really useful.

You seem like an excellent guy to have in a deer camp.

Except I don't deer hunt. LOL I was a duck hunter until I decided that I liked sleeping late on cold weekend mornings.

 

[OopsICroomedmypants]

For power the only things I need to run are the fireplace blower, tv and satellite which total to 202W. I have a Honda eu2200i and 15 gallons of gas. I just bought an EcoFlo Delta 3 Plus that I can charge with the Honda since I have plenty of wattage left over and I'm eventually going to get the extra battery for it to raise its wattage to 2800. I will only run the Honda a few hours a day saving wear and tear and gasoline then finish out the day on the EcoFlo.

For food, I have a Coleman camp stove and 5 refillable 1lb bottles. I also have tons of food cooked and in the freezer so all I have to do is heat it up which is quicker and requires less gas than cooking it from scratch.

For heat, I have 8 20lb propane tanks and a single burner heater. If you get the tanks refilled instead of exchanging them, one tank will easily last 24 hours with the heater on high. I'm pretty sure the tanks that you exchange only have 16lbs of propane in them and it costs more than refilling them too.

I also have a camp shower. Heat water on the camp stove and dump it in a 5 gallon bucket or my crawfish cooker, place it in the shower, drop in the 4 D-cell sump, hang the nozzle and you have a warm/hot shower. I also have a Buddy Heater that uses the 1lb bottles to put in the bathroom for shower time.

The 4 d cell sump is a good idea I'll try. I've seen folks use something similar to spray off dogs after hunting or use it to clean up after mud riding.

 

[theoriginalSALTYdog]

If you don't want to spend quite that much I would recommend getting a generator transfer switch. It's less than $100 in parts and once its wired into your box you simply plug the wire from the generator to the switch allowing you to power your home thru your breaker box. Now, it's not going to have the power of this generac but it's a lot cheaper, assuming you have a generator, and you won't have to mess with a bunch of extension cords running thru your doors and house. If you're worried about the backfeed may want to check into an interlock.

 

[She Mate Me]

Except I don't deer hunt. LOL I was a duck hunter until I decided that I liked sleeping late on cold weekend mornings.

That makes you even more perfect. Just bring the equipment and liquor and sleep in.

 

[OopsICroomedmypants]

Since I see lots of propane tanks in the comments I'll recommend you look up your local LP provider and refill your tanks there instead of swapping them out at a store. When you take them to get it refilled it will be FULL and you will pay less. I paid $17 and change to fill a 20lb tank and it was much heavier than one I swapped at a store.

 

[The Peeper]

We have vented gas logs and the aesthetics are great but they are next to useless for heat . They give some radiant heat and almost no convectional heat .

We had a set when we lived in 'Stankin Rankin' County and they were awesome. I loved my wood burning fireplace but it was not practical for weekday use for us. We would get in from work about 6, change clothes, get dinner started, and get the fire started. Then it was get the kids homework, get their baths, etc etc. By the time the fire got caught up good and we could sit down to enjoy, it was time to go to bed and I didn't like leaving it burning so it was kind of a waste. Bought those logs at Madison Fireplace and Patio, I think they were about $800 but I can't tell you how many people were shocked to find out they weren't real. They had the glowing embers underneath and on the logs and they were so real looking. I could light them and have heat in no time and turn them off and not worry. They would run you out of the den where they were too

 

[She Mate Me]

Since I see lots of propane tanks in the comments I'll recommend you look up your local LP provider and refill your tanks there instead of swapping them out at a store. When you take them to get it refilled it will be FULL and you will pay less. I paid $17 and change to fill a 20lb tank and it was much heavier than one I swapped at a store.

Yeah, unless your just running a single gas grill infrequently, the propane exchange thing is too expensive for the convenience trade off.

 

[TheDawg-Pound]

Since I see lots of propane tanks in the comments I'll recommend you look up your local LP provider and refill your tanks there instead of swapping them out at a store. When you take them to get it refilled it will be FULL and you will pay less. I paid $17 and change to fill a 20lb tank and it was much heavier than one I swapped at a store.

Here they are about the same but at least I know that it's full. When I use to swap them, when I would pick them up, it felt emptier than the one I had just dropped off.

 

[aspendawg]

Live in Houston, TX but have lived in places of extreme cold and bad weather besides this. After losing power for 3 total weeks in 2024 I bought a tri-fuel portable generator with a peak load of 9500 on NG and 12000 on gasoline. Came with a 50A transfer switch - paid an electrician about 600$ to fun a RV 50amp plug into the backside of my fusebox (located in my garage) and I have my generator fuse switch - locked out and tagged out so you don't fry your house pulling in 2 energy sources. Hired a plumber to install a 3/4" elbow direclty off my gas meter with a 3/8" male screw connect (don't use quick connects at the meter as it will reduce your flow rate significantly) I run a 25' nat gas line to my generator and use my quick connect there. I keep spare spark plugs, and motor oil in my toolbox.

I self installed a soft start on my 6ton AC unit (don't know why these don't come this way) to reduce ampage pull on start up and lessen the strain on the compressor motor.

So all in I'm about 3300$ in and can run my whole house during an outage for days. All I need to do is monitor oil and give it a break every 48 hours. Setting it up during an outage takes me about 15 minutes total.

In my attic I have 2 - 100 galoon water basins and a seperate electronic garden hose pump to hook them up to. These are mainly for hurricanes but I fill them up if we're riding anything major out.

I have a 15 gallon hand pump gas tank on wheels and enough batteries for all the toys in Houston.

 

[aspendawg]

delete

 

[TerzaghiDawg]

This……

 

[The Peeper]

For heat, I have 8 20lb propane tanks and a single burner heater. If you get the tanks refilled instead of exchanging them, one tank will easily last 24 hours with the heater on high. I'm pretty sure the tanks that you exchange only have 16lbs of propane in them and it costs more than refilling them too.

The exchange bottles state 15 lbs on the label in fine print, at least the ones I've seen around Starkville do and they are $20ish dollars to exchange. I take mine to Starkville LP gas on old 25 and he charges $15 to refill it and fills it to the full 20 lb level. So instead of 15# for $20 at exchange places, you get 20lbs for $15, 5lbs more gas for $5 less money for you non MSU math majors.................

 

[paindonthurt]

No power issues here but I'll be getting a transfer switch installed so I can run a decent generator for next time. I don't think I want/need a whole house generac setup though. There's some areas of my house that could also use some insulation upgrade.

I know some good insulation people.

Anyone have a good generator rec that I can just wheel over when needed after I get the infrastructure taken care of? I'd be interested only in powering a gas furnace, lights, and refrigerator.

I've got a friend who says hes all in for about $1800 to run everything but w/d and AC (he can run his gas furnace). Gonna try and duplicate that.

 

[The Peeper]

View attachment 1166987

I’ve had one of these before and swore never again.. but here I am with a couple of them because it was all I could find last week.

I’d like to invite whoever designed this little torture device to come to my house. Please come visit when it’s nighttime, 9 degrees outside, and 10 gallons of petrol needs to be fed to the generator.

I want to see said person use their numb fingers to press that stupid red button and its 20 lb spring and KEEP IT PRESSED while you hoist 30 pounds at an odd angle using that ill conceived handle. And I want to see their endurance… because it takes a SOLID three minutes to dispense the entire can since there is no breathing hole.. or if there is your aching thumb is covering. The damn thing just sits there and burps and gurgles… like it’s laughing you.

Please.. come visit Mr. Designer.

If you want one for yourself they’re sold at Home Depot.

Throw that government mandated fuel fill neck away and spend $15.98 on Amazon. Two different sizes of everything to fit different size cans. I had this set delivered last week because I have 8x 5 gallon ones and there is something missing or broken on all 8 of them.

 

[The Peeper]

Some others not mention.
1. Make sure you have a water meter valve shut off key tool. And know how to shut your water off in the event of a line leak.

2. If you don’t have a generator to keep refrigerators going, it’s not a bad idea to always keep some large bottles/jugs frozen in your freezer and deploy when needed. They make big blocks of ice that you can use to keep stuff cold for some number of days. Just like the old “ice box” used to do. The more blocks you have, the longer you can keep it going.

I keep 2 liter plastic bottles year round in the deep freeze for coolers. You can take them out also and put them in a refrigerator to keep things cool for shorter periods of time

 

[The Peeper]

The 4 d cell sump is a good idea I'll try. I've seen folks use something similar to spray off dogs after hunting or use it to clean up after mud riding.

For warmer (non snow and ice) days use a 2 or 3 gallon pump up garden sprayer spray painted black. Sit it out in the sun in the morning and it will heat up really well during the day. I've used that camping and at a friends off grid cabin.

Edit: Take the spray nozzle off and put on a kitchen sink type spray handle instead, the OEM sprayer doesn't work out well.

 

[cowbell88]

If I wanted to I could go get one of our power units off of a pivot and run my house no problem but my neighbors would probably hate me.

Straight pipe, blowing coal smoke. Yep, probably wouldn’t be a fan, unless they had a cord connected to it.