Hank Knight — Good luck!

Re: Hank Knight — Good luck!

Hank Knight

Thanks, Bruce. The danger zone is moving my way with every update. At the moment we are about 30 miles south of the storm's projected path. I'm going to my basement shop today and getting everything up off the floor - and crossing my fingers for luck!

Re: Hank Knight — Good luck!

Dick Coers

Are you in that 20" rain zone? It sure looks ominous right now! I'd get as much out of the basement as possible, that's a LOT of water!

Re: Hank Knight — Good luck!

Hank Knight

Dick, actually, were on the back side of the hurricane, if it keeps the current projected course; so we're not looking for 20" of rain - thankfully. Maybe 6" to 8" if the NOAA charts are right. We lived through the big flood here in 2015 and got 22" of rain in 14 hours. It was crazy. I was able to rig up some hoses and pumps in my shop and with my shop vac, I was able to keep ahead of the water. I didn't lose anything important. I'm hoping for the same outcome with this storm - but you never can tell. It's nerve racking. One of my friends said she felt like she was being stalked by a turtle.

Well said

Dick Coers

In the basement of our first home, I can from work to see lumber floating over to the sump pump pit. Luckily I didn't loose any machinery, but what a mess to clean up. My wife is flying to Maine and then on to Nova Scotia latter to visit family starting on Saturday morning from Central IL. She may be one of the minority that appreciates the direction of this storm!

30 miles is no distance at all

Ian Neuhaus

Best wishes for the coming 72 hours.

I hope your sump pump has an anti-back flow valve, and you have more than enough fuel for the generator.

Hoping all is well ...

Ian Neuhaus

or is your internet cut-off along with your power?

How much rain have you had so far?

Re: Hoping all is well ...

Hank Knight

Thanks for checking, Ian. All is indeed well. The center of the storm passed through Columbia, but it was very diminished when it got here. We had two days of winds around 20 knots with gusts higher, and 3 days of rain, but not severe. We might have gotten 6 inches of rain, total. I bought a generator and wired it into my house circuit, primarily to protect my basement workshop in the event the power went off, but I never fired it up. I grieve for the people in North Carolina and the coast of South Carolina who are still suffering the devastating effects of the storm, but it was pretty much a non event here. We will likely get some flooding as the rivers rise in central South Carolina, but I don't think it will be bad.

Re: Hoping all is well ...

TomD

Hank, did you know how to wire that generator in, or did you find the perfect youtube, etc... you could pass on.

Re: Hoping all is well ...

Hank Knight

Tom, my oldest friend is an electronic techie and he guided me through the project. Basically, all I did was splice into the circuit that operates my cyclone to add a 30A/220V receptacle on my screen porch. Then I fabricated an 8 foot connector cord with #10 wire and a male twist lock plug on each end. When the power goes off and I need the generator service, I turn off the main power switch to my house and plug the generator into the new receptacle using the connector cord. My generator is only 5,000 watts, so it won't run my stove, fridge or my A/C, but it is sufficient to run lights, TV and other stuff that doesn't draw a lot of amperage. Most importantly, it will run the 3/4 hp sump pump that keeps my basement shop dry.

One unanticipated glitch almost derailed my project. In the frenzy to prepare for hurricane, it seems that everybody in town was doing the same thing I was - buying and wiring generators, so generators were scarce. I was fortunate to get word that Tractor Supply had a 6:00 A.M. delivery of Generators on Friday before the storm was to arrive, so I was there when the truck rolled in and got one. When I started collecting supplies, I discovered that the correct 4-prong twist receptacles and plugs were NOT AVAILABLE! Everybody was sold out. I panicked; but, again, I happened on a fresh delivery of the correct items at the BORG and snapped them up. I had everything else I needed, so it was just a simple matter of wiring it up. By the way, #10 wire is a bear to work with!

Hope this helps.

Hank

Re: Hoping all is well ...

Barry Irby

Hank, hope all is well with you. Do be careful with your generator setup. Someone dies in every "event" from misuse of generators. Back feeding into your main panel Is verboten according to our local power company. the danger is that you will forget to turn off the main breaker and back feed power into the power lines and possible injure the repairmen.

Much safer to fun a cord directly to the thing you want to power.

The other thing is the possibility of CO poisoning. People start the generator in the garage and CO finds it's way into the house. Might even happen from a porch.

Be careful.

Re: Hoping all is well ...

Hank Knight

Thanks for the warnings, Barry. I'm aware of these issues and I hope I've taken them all into account. My wife came down to the shop while I was working on the wiring to notify me that the news reported a man killed in North Carolina while wiring up his generator. Nothing like that kind of thing to get your attention. He was standing in waist deep water, though. I was dry and being VERY careful. I have printed a protocol and attached it to the generator reminding me to shut off the main breaker before energizing my system with the generator. I can't be too careful with this. I'm also aware of the CO hazard. Our porch is screened on three sides and elevated about 6' above ground level. My connector cord allows me to place the generator well away from the door leading into the house, so I don't think CO will be a problem. I appreciate your comments, though and hope I've thought of everything. Well see the next time we lose power for an extended time.