Baywind Farmers power out - back on now :~)

[Ragnar Danneskjold]

I posted this over on a weather thread, but perhaps this should be it's own thread.

The power has gone out for WashingtonBay and WashingtonBoy. They're running on a generator for heat and light, but don't have internet access. So they'll be back once it's back up...

If there's any trouble with the forum they'll take care of it as soon as they can.

[Remali]

Oh gosh I hope they get power back soon, I know what it's like to be without power and it's sure no fun at all
Hoping all goes well out there!

[vicklynn]

Well shoot. No wonder they didnt answer their phone. I hope everything comes back up soon.

[Ragnar Danneskjold]

Oh gosh I hope they get power back soon, I know what it's like to be without power and it's sure no fun at all
Hoping all goes well out there!

I'm sure they'll be fine. As the saying goes: "This ain't their first rodeo." :)

[shewasmyshadow]

We're praying for you WashingtonBay and Boy!! Stay warm, well-lit and safe!

[JackieB]

Well they better have a plan. If this forum is down for more than five minutes, I'm outta here. We pay good money for this service and I'm not putting up with any nonsense. Oh, wait. It's free. Never mind. :)

Sorry for hardship, WB and WBoy. We hope your power isn't out for too long. Don't worry about us. We'll be just fine and are looking forward to when you're back online.

[shewasmyshadow]

Well they better have a plan. If this forum is down for more than five minutes, I'm outta here. We pay good money for this service and I'm not putting up with any nonsense. Oh, wait. It's free. Never mind. :)

Pipe down over there! Sheesh! You'd think he was one of the teen-aged girls. :D :p

[mare]

Aw. Hope your elec comes on soon WBx2. Sending cyber vibes your way.

[offgridgirl]

Well they better have a plan. If this forum is down for more than five minutes, I'm outta here. We pay good money for this service and I'm not putting up with any nonsense. Oh, wait. It's free. Never mind. :)

Sorry for hardship, WB and WBoy. We hope your power isn't out for too long. Don't worry about us. We'll be just fine and are looking forward to when you're back online.
The website for the forum is hosted on someone's elses machine, not @ their house....I think. that's why it's up!!:cowboy:

[Horserider]

Oh no! Hope their power is back on very soon!

Well they better have a plan. If this forum is down for more than five minutes, I'm outta here. We pay good money for this service and I'm not putting up with any nonsense. Oh, wait. It's free. Never mind.

:hysterical:

[pandorasmom]

Hope y'all get back on soon! It's not the same here without our Cy-Mom and Dad!!

We atleast want our presents for Christmas still, do we get those? :hysterical:

[alittleoffkey]

Well, she said their power might go out. Stay warm WBs! :)

[Diane of Buck's Hollow]

Brrr Stay warm WB and WB. Do some snuggling!!!;)

[WashingtonBay]

~tap tap tap~

This thing working? ;)

[lovesfortune]

Ta da! They're back!!!!

[Ragnar Danneskjold]

~tap tap tap~

This thing working? ;)

Appears to be. Never lost it here, but the lights went blinky-blinky for a little bit.

[twofingers]

well there's nothing for them to do but fire up the generator, throw a couple logs in the fire place, pop a cork and enjoy a old fashioned winters night . ;)

[WashingtonBay]

How about Dad - do we know about them?

It was kinda fun to huddle and watch a movie with the comforting hum of the generator outside. :)

And I learned something - from the Comcast guy. We saw him in the parking lot and said "ah ha!" utility truck, let's ask him what's up!" So we did. He was waiting for the power to come back on before he could do anything and didn't know anything, but we asked him about cable and power. He said their system has battery backup and should work for awhile after the power goes out... who knows how long... could be 30 minutes, could be a few hours, depends on the battery and the load on it. So... something to keep in mind when the power goes out... we might be able to power up the computers and get a message out, or watch TV... if we did it right away. We've never bothered to power the computers up before.

[WashingtonBay]

well there's nothing for them to do but fire up the generator, throw a couple logs in the fire place, pop a cork and enjoy a old fashioned winters night . ;)

We're back.... we don't have a fire place (wish we did!) but we did fire up the generator, turn on our emergency space heater, the TV, and a DVD :) I guess we were roughin' it about 5 hours! ;)

[outriding01]

They say you shouldn't try to run computers or similar electronics on a generator. Something about power surges can damage them or something to that effect, not quite sure. We haven't used our generator since the 3 hurricane season in 2005 when we were out for 2 weeks. Losing power sucks, but I'm going to be honest, it would suck even more in a blizzard than a hurricane! I can't stand to be cold, I'll take highs in the 90's every day of my life :)

[WashingtonBoy]

Well, between shoveling out the front gate, breaking ice dams off the roof, hauling buckets of water out to the horses, and clearing broken limbs off the fence, every muscle in my body hurts. I have a desk jockey physique. :)

This pioneer lifestyle is hard work.

[Ragnar Danneskjold]

How about Dad - do we know about them?

[...]

I don't know anything more. They've certainly gone to bed by now either way. They'll call in the morning and we'll see. My hunch is that they'll have gotten power back sometime during the night.

[zoel_222]

Glad the interent's workin for you! The power went out SO many times over here today.

Stay warm :)

[WashingtonBay]

Honey we'll get you in shape in no time at this rate.... both of us!

outriding... I agree... I think it's easier to bear heat than cold... but the mess and water that comes with the hurricane is probably worse to deal with!

I think you're right about computers and generators... but would using a surge suppressor help with that?

[pandorasmom]

We have a generator, and if the power goes out we try to limit what we use, but will turn on one of the computers normally, and the refrig., freezers,etc. runs off it. We try to limit what we use on it though just to be sure.

Glad y'all are back! Do we get our "presents" still on Christmas??

[WashingtonBay]

I'm not sure we have time for Christmas this year :~) We'll have to see how it goes. ;)

[gaited07]

Well, glad to see you have power back up.

[JackieB]

Glad you're back online.

[WashingtonBay]

Yes, no refund check for you, JackieB. ;)

[pandorasmom]

:hysterical: Alrighty

[WashingtonBay]

On that note.... we are going to bed.... we're beat! :sleep:

[Ragnar Danneskjold]

They say you shouldn't try to run computers or similar electronics on a generator. Something about power surges can damage them or something to that effect, not quite sure. [...]

That's not actually true. It's perfectly OK to run home electonics and computers on generator power. Truth be told, a home generator provides far cleaner power than regular utility power. Computer power supplies are more than able to regulate power from a generator. I've done it many times.

UPS's, if you use one however, are not in the same boat. Ordinary UPS's can be damaged by generators. Most UPS makers, though, offer models that are generator-friendly.

If you don't have a UPS made for generator-use, then you're better off just running the computer direct from generator power. It's really no problem at all.

[HaveFaith]

TV says another storm headed towards Seattle. Will it never end. Glad you're back and hope you stay back. Maybe this one won't be as bad, but don't know how much more the trees can take and stay off the power lines. Hoping for the best.
We hit 15 this am, but no precip is expected today. Too many cats and dogs in the house!

[WashingtonBay]

Thanks faith! We have a break today, and it may get up above freezing and with sun, unload the trees. I hope so!

We' also going to unload the roof of the house, best we can. This is an older mobile with not very much pitch to the roof, and not very much structure, and not only are we prone to ice dams that hold the water on as it tries to melt, the sheer weight of it is becoming an issue and the front door is getting hard to open. The house is getting tweeked. This has happened only once before.

So that's the goal.... have some sun and melting, and clear the roof. Hubby's not going to work today :)

[lovesfortune]

Sounds like another busy day for you guys.

[WashingtonBay]

Here's a few pics we took during the outage.... The generator running... beautiful generator ;) (and my redneck porch tarpage is holding up beautifully :))

http://i106.photobucket.com/albums/m270/WashingtonBay/12-21-08030.jpg

And evidence of generated electricity... heater, lights, our little Christmas tree, and a fairly contented looking beagle. :D

http://i106.photobucket.com/albums/m270/WashingtonBay/12-21-08031.jpg

[WashingtonBoy]

I was supposed to work today and tomorrow before getting the rest of the week off, but at this point I am definitely not going in today, and may very well cancel tomorrow too. Too many chores that need done during this brief break in the weather.

[cloedoll]

Glad you guys have power again. =)

[Gypsy Rose]

Looks like you really got some snow there- keep ot up, and you'll catch up to those of us who actually have winter!

[WashingtonBay]

You're right, Gypsy... I think we got the wrong delivery.... we're supposed to just rain all the time, right? ;)

[FrogInABlender]

I'm glad to year y'all are ok. I think we've been getting your normal weather with all the rain we've been having and you've been getting the North Pole's. Good thing for generators huh! Like HaveFaith said, we got 15* here this morning and only getting up to 32* for the high. I plugged the stock tank heater up last night so the horse water should be fine, but I'm sure the hose is frozen. It's a 150 gallon tank though so they should have enough to last them until tomorrow when it warms up. It's supposed to be back up to 60* by Christmas day. Is that not crazy or what?!

[WashingtonBay]

Your temperature swings are crazy. 15 is real cold, I didn't think you usually had that. And why you have a tank heater and I don't.... well that's a good question! ;)

We've been going out a few times a day, and right before bed, and pouring a bucket of hot on our two troughs. A hassle, but easier when we have power than when we didn't!

[HaveFaith]

Lord, I didn't even think about your house being in danger. It just gets better and better doesn't it?! I'll bet a massage would be a good present for you and your honey when this is all over!

[WashingtonBay]

And we also need to clean stalls eventually :doh:

Shoveling and clearing ice dams we could reach from the ladder did a lot of good. Now the door opens normally. We can't clear the ice dams from the part where the porch is from the ground. Getting the weight off the porch helped the door as much as anything. It's attached to the house right above the door. Each shovelful weighs about 20 pounds. It's like shoveling peanut butter.

Note to self when building own place.... strong structure and steep-pitched roof. :)

[vicklynn]

Wow, glad your power is back on. What a mess your going through. Hope its only temporary.

[outriding01]

That's true, all the flooding and fallen trees are a pain in the butt. The worst part is the gas rush... you hear tropical storm and everyone is immediately out the door to stock up on as much gas as they can get their hands on.
Not sure about a surge protector, I really can;t recall much past "don't plug in valuable electronics." I'm sure there is better info available out there on the web somewhere... Here's a page I found with some useful info http://shieldselectric.net/Generatorselection.aspx .
Seems like a surge protector should do the trick. Hope you don't have to worry about it anymore though!

[cheval]

Glad your power is back on.

We've got over a foot and a half of snow here. Just beyond bizarre for the Portland metro (I'm in Gresham). They are starting to call this our storm of the century.

And it's still snowing. I'm prepared now if our power goes out completely. Me and the critters will all go to the bedroom and I will build a fort and keep everyone under it and hopefully not fight!

[offgridgirl]

Honey we'll get you in shape in no time at this rate.... both of us!

outriding... I agree... I think it's easier to bear heat than cold... but the mess and water that comes with the hurricane is probably worse to deal with!

I think you're right about computers and generators... but would using a surge suppressor help with that?
WRONG!!!:p We do it all the time....no grid power here.:cool: We always using battery/generator power for our puters. Surge suppressors need to be the ones w/battery back-up to help(mucho $$). If you had a(many) solar panel9s) and battery with an inverter..your good togo!!!

[FrogInABlender]

... And why you have a tank heater and I don't.... well that's a good question! ;)

Yeah, I don't get that one either. The 150g tanks cost about $125 and the heater about $30. We usually get at least several days each winter when the temps get down below freezing and don't really warm back up enough during the day to melt the hose and hauling 50# 5 gallon buckets twice a day during that time was enough to make my back decide that it was worth the money. And when you move, you can take it all with you. So look at it as an investment!

[Remali]

Glad to see you got back on and everything's OK. The snow trees are beautiful!