California has banned generators.

[Eldritch]

Here's the thing.


So much fear and doom and so little reading :|

I could point by point a response, but there is no point. You are unwilling to acknowledge.

 

[Holeshot]

The dirty 30s of Busch Light would always get thrown on to the deck to get iced down during those cold Pullman winters

A true veteran!

Holeshot, we have bears and foxes but none have ventured onto our deck, not yet anyway. In the past the jays have raided unattended food so now we put stuff in a cooler. I guess that would have been an important detail to add to my advice, use a cooler, it helps keep things cold dry and away from small critters.

We need to send our foxes and bears to train your bears and foxes!

PG&E neglected a lot of maintenance for a lot of years, the money for that maintenance was sent up the chain to shareholders and executives.

The weather causes some of these outages but the long term neglect amplifies it.

Not to defend PG&E, by any means, but CPUC sets their rates w/ input from PG&E, correct? Was this an income problem by the restriction on rates? (I don't know the answers to this).

 

[wazzuFreddo]

Not to defend PG&E, by any means, but CPUC sets their rates w/ input from PG&E, correct? Was this an income problem by the restriction on rates? (I don't know the answers to this).

PG&E had money in the rate case for maintenance and upgrades all a long a fair amount of money, but paid some smart people lots of money to stay one step ahead of the PUC. They then kicked the money up to the 36th floor and out to the shareholders

Now all those people are gone and the ratepayers are left holding the bag for something that they already paid for.

It kind of reminds me of a leveraged buyout or a mafia bust out.

 

[jt2]

Why would someone build a power wall for 48hrs when the sun comes up every morning?

I'm sure with your background you're aware of the seasonal variation in irradiance, yeah? Add into that tree/terrain limitations here in the sierras... Which is irrelevant when your panels are under several feet of snow which they certainly would be right now. Even 48 hours of battery wouldn't cut it. We were out of service for 8 days in January.

And now, power has been out in Arnold since Monday. Solar would do you fuckall good right now.

@littlebeast and ridley

What elevation are you at?

I have a place in Calaveras County @ about 2800' and the power went out Monday plus I no longer have a neighbor to keep a eye on my place so I am kind of stressing until I can get back up there

Where in CC? I might be able to get eyes on it depending on location.

am curious also about your point re: solar. as i said previously, a neighbor went with the extra battery units rather than a propane generator. he’s a ways away, so haven’t had a chance to talk to him yet, but definitely want to ask him if it was sufficient.

Please do share when you do find out.

 

[Grissom]

I'm sure with your background you're aware of the seasonal variation in irradiance, yeah? Add into that tree/terrain limitations here in the sierras... Which is irrelevant when your panels are under several feet of snow which they certainly would be right now. Even 48 hours of battery wouldn't cut it. We were out of service for 8 days in January.

And now, power has been out in Arnold since Monday. Solar would do you fuckall good right now.




Where in CC? I might be able to get eyes on it depending on location.



Please do share when you do find out.

West Point, close to Glencoe on Hwy 26

 

[wazzuFreddo]

I'm sure with your background you're aware of the seasonal variation in irradiance, yeah? Add into that tree/terrain limitations here in the sierras... Which is irrelevant when your panels are under several feet of snow which they certainly would be right now. Even 48 hours of battery wouldn't cut it. We were out of service for 8 days in January.

And now, power has been out in Arnold since Monday. Solar would do you fuckall good right now.

lol, they sell snow-shovels and snow-brooms. Even under completely cloudy skies there is still irradiance. Seasonal variation can easily be calculated when designing the system, a failure of planning isn't a failure of the technology.

 

[mlm]

lol, they sell snow-shovels and snow-brooms. Even under completely cloudy skies there is still irradiance. Seasonal variation can easily be calculated when designing the system, a failure of planning isn't a failure of the technology.

Even without obstruction, the output from our rooftop solar on cloudy days is a fraction of full output. I'm a proponent of solar, but it seems ridiculous to suggest people over-size their systems to such a degree. Let alone that everyone is capable of hopping up on their roof with a snow broom.

 

[wazzuFreddo]

Even without obstruction, the output from our rooftop solar on cloudy days is a fraction of full output. I'm a proponent of solar, but it seems ridiculous to suggest people over-size their systems to such a degree. Let alone that everyone is capable of hopping up on their roof with a snow broom.

Once again, a failure to plain isn't a failure of technology.

What is someone doing living out in the back 40 off grid if they can't clear off a solar system with a broom?

 

[jt2]

Even without obstruction, the output from our rooftop solar on cloudy days is a fraction of full output. I'm a proponent of solar, but it seems ridiculous to suggest people over-size their systems to such a degree. Let alone that everyone is capable of hopping up on their roof with a snow broom.

Thank you. I'm a big fan of solar as well, but it is a bit silly to presume that it will work in 100% of use cases.

What is someone doing living out in the back 40 off grid if they can't clear off a solar system with a broom?

Neither in the back 40 nor off the grid, but you're welcome to come up and have a shot at clearing off my roof. I've got a hundred bucks that says you can't do it.

 

[jt2]

West Point, close to Glencoe on Hwy 26

Oof, I would have thought that was Amador, but just checked my map. I don't get up that way but will ping you if an opportunity arises. I'm guessing that area got hit pretty hard as well.

 

[mlm]

Once again, a failure to plain isn't a failure of technology.

What is someone doing living out in the back 40 off grid if they can't clear off a solar system with a broom?

Being unreasonable is eroding your credibility.

 

[Grissom]

Oof, I would have thought that was Amador, but just checked my map. I don't get up that way but will ping you if an opportunity arises. I'm guessing that area got hit pretty hard as well.

Thanks

 

[littlebeast]

I'm sure with your background you're aware of the seasonal variation in irradiance, yeah? Add into that tree/terrain limitations here in the sierras... Which is irrelevant when your panels are under several feet of snow which they certainly would be right now. Even 48 hours of battery wouldn't cut it. We were out of service for 8 days in January.

And now, power has been out in Arnold since Monday. Solar would do you fuckall good right now.




Where in CC? I might be able to get eyes on it depending on location.



Please do share when you do find out.

will do, but at this point (and with this weather event), am coming to the realization that no matter what choice any of us made, we are all totally fucked. portable generators are running / have run out of gas (as have local gas stations), solar batteries are near or beyond being depleted, and for us, with a plumbed propane generator - holy shit, nearest we can calculate, we’re currently at a $1,000 propane bill for what we’re into it for so far, and PG&E says it could be another week or more before grid power is restored (so potentially twice that). everyone who’s been up here longer than us says this is a rare event - pray to god that’s true.

 

[jt2]

In my experience having bought our first place up here ~12 years ago, this (and last winter) are indeed outliers. We spent last winter in Arnold, and the storm in January was subjectively worse than this one. Before that, the only one that came close was 2011(?), where we had over 6' berms all winter.

last January, we went without power for 8 days burning a little more than a gallon a day on a Honda 2k gen and a wood stove. I keep three 5-gallon cans full at all times up there so no problem. Still no power in Arnold since Monday, so it is possible that this one will surpass in duration.

That seems like a lot of fuel to burn, even running 7/24. How are you monitoring usage?

 

[KooLaid]

My toyhauler currently has a 4k gas generator with 20 gallon fuel station, 2- 12v battery bank with solar panels that'll crank out 10amps of juice with a "boost" top off function that kicks when desired. I lived off the grid for a week and only ran my generator 7 times during a week long trip for less than 1 hour each night to top off my battery before bed because at the time I only had 1 weak 12v battery. I think with my 2 new 12v deep cycles I should be able to avoid running my generator at all during the next week long trip. The genny consumes 1/4 gallon of fuel per hour at low power draw, 1/2 gallon at half power and 3/4 gallon at full power draw. However I did go through maybe half a tank of propane to run my fridge and water heater during that week but both of those have the ability to run off electricity too though.

If I had to live out of it during an emergency, I think I could probably go 6 months+ self contained. Well maybe not, since I forgot about cooking which I did outside using a different propane system. Any how, I still think i could pull off 6 months, I mean other than charging my phone and taking showers, using minimal lights at night how much could I possibly use? Oh and it was summer time in the mountains...... well I guess that plays a part. Lots of variables. In my occupation, I am required to report to work in all circumstances natural or man made so I'll be at work most of the time.

 

[Wolf]

We covered this topic before and I would applaud landscaping equipment moving to electric. The noise pollution from gas leaf blowers alone is enough for me to support this. Those are obnoxious.

Towns like Los Gatos have already banned gas leaf blowers. I don't live there, so I dont know how they deal with battery swaps.

Seriously. What's wrong with a rake?

 

[oobus]

I've got a 500 gallon gas tank and get a great discount on fuel at this volume. Would last a lot longer than propane. Or go diesel for a generator, no road tax and it is cheaper than regular at volume. We have 1,500 gallons of capacity at the ranch. I'm looking for a portable diesel generator at this time. Part of our business is supplying housing for fire crews/migrant labor.
Interesting how this is all panning out for the folks in the hills: there is some great use case info in this thread!

 

[buellistic]

I've got a 500 gallon gas tank and get a great discount on fuel at this volume. Would last a lot longer than propane. Or go diesel for a generator, no road tax and it is cheaper than regular at volume. We have 1,500 gallons of capacity at the ranch. I'm looking for a portable diesel generator at this time. Part of our business is supplying housing for fire crews/migrant labor.
Interesting how this is all panning out for the folks in the hills: there is some great use case info in this thread!

Sounds like your buying red dye...saves money.
Have you looked into a generator Welder combo?

 

[Holeshot]

I'm looking for a portable diesel generator at this time. Part of our business is supplying housing for fire crews/migrant labor.

Your ship has arrived.

https://gsaauctions.gov/gsaauctions/aucitsrh/?sl=41QSCI22607005

 

[jt2]

Your ship has arrived.

https://gsaauctions.gov/gsaauctions/aucitsrh/?sl=41QSCI22607005

400hz generator. Nopenopenope.