Power outages and koi question

[maryland_ponder]

The additive is called "Stabil"

Quote: Originally Posted by dick benbow Mike be sure and find a way to chain and lock it to any storage location. There's an additive I use to keep the gas from aging....

[junglegeorge12]

Why not just get a generator that doesn't use gas?

Don't you live in hurricane alley Mike? I am amazed you have had only out outage in ten years! Wow!

[B.Scott]

Quote: Originally Posted by Regenmeneer ... Actually do not know of anyone that has a generator or any other measures in place in case of a power faillure. Regenmeneer

Well here is one Raymond! I just have a little two-stoke generator good for about 500 watts. Just enough to keep the pond goind. I am worried that if push comes to shove my wife will make me plug in the freezer instead. I have only used it once for about 5 hours when we had our power turned off due to constuction of new homes. We were warned beforehand so it wa no biggie.
B.Scott

[kingkong]

Quote: Originally Posted by B.Scott Well here is one Raymond! I just have a little two-stoke generator good for about 500 watts. Just enough to keep the pond goind. I am worried that if push comes to shove my wife will make me plug in the freezer instead. I have only used it once for about 5 hours when we had our power turned off due to constuction of new homes. We were warned beforehand so it wa no biggie. B.Scott

Hey Scott, put this on the freezer just in case: abusus non tollit usum LOL

Hurricane Andrew 2 months no juice.. all fish history
Hurricane Wilma 7 days.. Honda 2" water pump..no problem

Gary

[Regenmeneer]

LOL

Well Scott, I think you are right to be prepared. This thread combined with some of the stories of koi keepers here in Holland that have been without power for two days last month have got me thinkin. Thinking about what would happen

It's just something we're not used to in Holland.

As for your wife using the generator for the freezer, you have two options:

1. tell her the generator does not provide enough W to use the freezer.

2. tell her it's an economic decision. It's cheaper to refill the freezer than to buy new koi (and the electricity supplier will have to pay for the damage anyway)

Regenmeneer

[B.Scott]

You got it down pat. It's the one or the other. The choice being freezer or fish. In the winter I don't have to worry about either. Put the food outside and the fish will manage with my stocking levels in the cold. The adder in the grass is to be sure you have enough gasoline stocked to keep in running. If the electricity is out then the gas pumps won't be working either. At some point I wouls like to get a larger one that runs on diesel so I could do both options and perhaps a neighbor or two if need be. The down side is it must me something my wife can get out and start. You KNOW that when it happens I will be someplace light-years away and will not be able to set it up. As far as the energy company coughing up the dough... I wouldn't count on it. Remember that power outage they had in Utrecht a long while back? Their was a guy with a balkony pond. It was overstocked and undersized. It existed on a knife edge as it were. The power went and his fish were very quickly toast. He tried to sue the power comany for damages but as far as I remember he never saw a dime! Correct me if I'm wrong.

Gary writting it in latin will give her the excuss of ignorance so she pulls the plug on the fish anyway. You say that like I have a say in the matter! Better would be to tell what replacing the fish would cost and reminding her of the smell of a pond full rotting fish: Pecunia Non Olet

B.Scott

[MikeM]

Jungle: Until 2004, we thought Orlando was too far inland to have a serious hurricane issue. LOL. Were we ever delusional!

Dick: I'll add a heavy chain to my "need to get" list!

[junglegeorge12]

What if you had a windmill generator that spun your meter backwards when you weren't using the power and the wife wouldn't have to start it and you wouldn't have to buy fuel? Would she mind the power company sending you a check every month?

[junglegeorge12]

I hate to say it Mike, but the predictions are for the storms we used to get hard by to come to yall now, good for us, bad for you. This was the year with the most cat 5s in history, and it is supposed to get worse due to global warming.

You guys are eventually going to have to buld impenetrable fallout shelters like us, and call them houses. My house is made of rhebar and concrete. Small arms fire resistant, and hurricane proof to boot!

Guys in the states are trying to advertise this styrofoam stuff as being hurricane resistant if sprayed with concrete, don't buy it! Those houses go down faster than wood ones in the hail of a real storm! The styrofoam acts like a sail, the concrete cracks, the wind bows the wall, the roof caves, and the door and window frames change shape and the doors and windows just come right out. Once wind gets in through the doors and windows it just lifts the roof off and knocks walls down from the inside static pressure buildup. Then the house becomes a blender, the theory is you won't be alive to sue them if the storm gets in.

If your home is already like that you gotta either rebuild or build a safe room inside, and tie steel cables over the roof so it doesn't blow away or shift once the windows and doors are gone.

[elunned]

We seldom have extended power outages, and my stocking load is low enough that I don't worry about the koi. Electric options are easy. We have two nice sized inverters and a pair of deep-cell marine batteries. One can run the koi pond and the other the fridge. They get used when we go "camping".

I thought I had vetoed the generator purchase for lack of a place to store and operate it. (Our shop is attached to the house, so we can't run a gas engine in there.) David bolted + locked one onto the bed of his work truck two months ago; I didn't even notice it with all his other equipment! He 'fessed up over the weekend. If we have a serious power outage the truck could be backed up to the laundry-room window. The generator can run a couple of serious heaters or AC units plus all the lights we would need and the fridge. (Our new daughter was his excuse....)