Power outage today


 
Chris Allingham

Chris Allingham

Administrator
Staff member
102-105*F yesterday in San Jose, depending on who you ask. Neighbors heard a loud "pop" coming from the transformer in our parking lot around 6:45pm last night and no power since then. Utility is aware, but no one has been on-site and no estimated time of power being restored. Good news is we're covered with a combination of Champion gas/propane inverter generator + lithium ion solar battery. We charge solar battery using panels + propane generator during the day, then run the fridge silently overnight on the solar battery. It is ironic that on Monday, I've got an electrician coming to install an expanded circuit breaker subpanel to allow for an interlock + generator connection directly into the panel. Funny, my neighbor two doors down just did this upgrade three weeks ago, he was as happy as a clam last night running his generator connected into his electric panel...his house was the only one lit up! :)

Wish us luck!
 
Sounds like your far more prepared than many. I have absolutely no backups. And on the news this morning they have been talking about the power grid being stressed. Leading to possible rolling blackouts/brownouts. If that happens we will be fine, but I worry about our parents in the same situation. Do your best to stay cool Chris.🥵
 
Have you had to deal with outages before, Chris? Or is the generator a recent acquisition?

You must've been a Boy Scout!
 
I was reading about those rolling power cuts today. That's rough when it's that hot out.

Tim
 
There's a lot of YouTube videos on the subject of generator hookups to the house. I watched quite a few not long ago, including the redneck way of hooking up a generator via the dryer outlet. 😐

I have no backup at all, but living so close to town, if the power does go out, it doesn't take long for it to come back on.
 
Rusty James said:
There's a lot of YouTube videos on the subject of generator hookups to the house. I watched quite a few not long ago, including the redneck way of hooking up a generator via the dryer outlet. 😐
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DH said that that can be very dangerous. Did they mention that on YouTube?
 
Joan said:
DH said that that can be very dangerous. Did they mention that on YouTube?
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Very much so. The male end of the generator power cord becomes electrified, and you also run the risk of shocking the power line workers if they are in the area (assuming you did not install a breaker panel lockout of some sort).
 
Rusty James said:
Very much so. The male end of the generator power cord becomes electrified, and you also run the risk of shocking the power line workers if they are in the area (assuming you did not install a breaker panel lockout of some sort).
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DH says you are right.
 
Brad Olson said:
Have you had to deal with outages before, Chris? Or is the generator a recent acquisition?
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Yes, we've had threats of power outages here in California since the devastating wildfires in 2017 and 2018 that were attributed to downed/faulty power lines. Now the utility warns of potential outages when high winds and low humidity are predicted and they proactively cut off power to certain areas to prevent fire.

But that's not my problem right now, we're having a good old-fashioned transformer failure due to high temps + high electrical demand.
Brad Olson said:
You must've been a Boy Scout!
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No, I was not. This was my wife's project in 2019. And she wasn't a Girl Scout. :) She's into energy issues, she did all the research on which generator to buy, which lithium battery and portable solar panels to buy, and she documented the steps for how to put the whole thing together and run it effectively. It's a pretty slick setup.
 
Chris Allingham said:
This was my wife's project in 2019. And she wasn't a Girl Scout. :) She's into energy issues, she did all the research on which generator to buy, which lithium battery and portable solar panels to buy, and she documented the steps for how to put the whole thing together and run it effectively. It's a pretty slick setup.
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How expensive are solar panels nowadays?
 
Power back on at 7:00 am. 36 hours without power, our system worked just fine. All fridge contents intact. Had use of fans, WiFi, even some TV. Our long national nightmare is over. Unless we experience a power blackout over the next three days.

Thunder and lightning overnight, very unusual for here. Some would call this heatwave "earthquake weather". No such thing...let's hope.

Rusty James said:
How expensive are solar panels nowadays?
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All of our equipment came from Goal Zero, purchased at REI and Ace Hardware. The Boulder 100 panel was $250, the Boulder 100 briefcase panel was $300.
 
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