Official Hurricane Florence Thread

[BUTCH1]

good advice as i've seen people not think about it. And i'll add get enough oil and oil filters for your generator and don't skip the scheduled service. especially if you just bought it. I heard yesterday our local lowes has sold a few truck loads of generators. I was also told people were seen buying two to three. this bothers me because i expect those to be sold at a hefty markup after the storm.

Yes, DEFIANTLY extra oil, see what your owners manual recommends and get 6-8qts. Back in '04 here in FL (when we had 3 in one season) they showed a small engine repair place with a back lot full of dead genny's. Because we had 3 storms, power was out for quite awhile up to several weeks in some spots. Folks bought the genny but did not read the owners manual where it will tell you change the oil every 40 hours or so. The genny's came with a small bottle to get you up and going but what happens is those engines are working really hard, much harder than lawn work, they tend to run hotter and oil breaks down quicker. All the genny's this place had failed due to not changing the oil in 2 weeks of running 24/7 and none were covered under warranty.

 

[BUTCH1]

People have no idea how much it costs to replace everything in just the fridge much less the freezer.

Protip: If you evacuate and can't get back in for a week or more DO NOT OPEN YOUR REFRIDGERATOR. Just don't do it. Duct tape it closed, get a hand truck and move it to the curb for it to be picked up. Everyone thinks they can clean it out but you can't, that kind of stink permeates every orifice of your refrigerator. If you open it the most putrid smell that you have ever smelt will fill your home and if you still don't have power you will still be smelling it for days, if you do have power you will still smell it for a day or longer. Trust me on this one guys, I know most people won't listen but you are going to wish you had, there are no words that can properly describe just how awful that smell is, like it came straight from Satans ass. Buy a large cooler BEFORE you go home if you don't already have one.

If you have an insurance claim they will cover your fridge too.

Yea, lol, they get mega nasty. I just ate everything before it had a chance!. Walmart sells a nice, huge Coleman for $39 but it might be tough to find one now.

 

[Darwin333]

Part of the problem is that a genny has to run at 3,600 RPM regardless of load to maintain 60Hz and if your running a 6.5-8.5 Kilowatt machine it will burn quite a it of fuel. Adding loads forces it to work harder of course, and consume more.

And most of the ratings on how long they will run on a tank of gas is at 25% load. Nobody runs it at 25% load after a hurricane, they are running their fridge, window AC, TV and DVD player, etc.

 

[T_Yamamoto]

Interesting turn of events

 

[UglyCasanova]

Interesting. Wilmington is Still setup to get clobbered being on the NE side of the eye.

 

[realibrad]

And most of the ratings on how long they will run on a tank of gas is at 25% load. Nobody runs it at 25% load after a hurricane, they are running their fridge, window AC, TV and DVD player, etc.

You could do what I did. Have a girlfriend that works for the power company, and get a house that is on the same grid as the hospital for one of the richest counties in FL. I made a nice pot of pasta for lunch and 30 min after it was done cooking the power went out. Ate it, put it in the cooler after, and we had power back in about 3 hours.

 

[Paratus]

Umm, there is nothing on TV in the days following except them reporting on shit that you already know. Generators are used for fridges, lights and window ACs. It is generally fucking hot as balls where hurricanes hit and even muggier than usual. Generally the contents of your entire fridge and freezer cost more than the damn genny but I do invite you down to N'awlins to spend a week in a house with no AC and nothing more than what is in your ice chest in July or August down here.

Yup. I’ve got a generator and 10 - 5 gallon cans. Our area lost power anywhere from 3 days to 3 weeks during Hurricane Ike.

If a major storm is imminent I’ll pick up a window AC unit and leave it in the box. If we get hit I’ll use it. If not, Home Depot is fine taking it back un-opened.

 

[Paratus]

People have no idea how much it costs to replace everything in just the fridge much less the freezer.

Protip: If you evacuate and can't get back in for a week or more DO NOT OPEN YOUR REFRIDGERATOR. Just don't do it. Duct tape it closed, get a hand truck and move it to the curb for it to be picked up. Everyone thinks they can clean it out but you can't, that kind of stink permeates every orifice of your refrigerator. If you open it the most putrid smell that you have ever smelt will fill your home and if you still don't have power you will still be smelling it for days, if you do have power you will still smell it for a day or longer. Trust me on this one guys, I know most people won't listen but you are going to wish you had, there are no words that can properly describe just how awful that smell is, like it came straight from Satans ass. Buy a large cooler BEFORE you go home if you don't already have one.

If you have an insurance claim they will cover your fridge too.

One option we used when evacuating was load all the perishable stuff into a heavy duty garbage bag, tie it off, but leave it in the fridge/freezer. If power goes out and it rots you’ve still got a barrier. Plus you can easily remove all the rotten food when you get back.

 

[highland145]

Interesting turn of events

That bitch. "Hey, I think I'll go check out the Augusta National." Womenz aren't allowed.

 

[Darwin333]

You could do what I did. Have a girlfriend that works for the power company, and get a house that is on the same grid as the hospital for one of the richest counties in FL. I made a nice pot of pasta for lunch and 30 min after it was done cooking the power went out. Ate it, put it in the cooler after, and we had power back in about 3 hours.

Doesn't help when the transmission lines bringing power to the whole area are FUBARd. They may be the first to get power when they can finally bring power to it which can take a long time.

 

[realibrad]

Doesn't help when the transmission lines bringing power to the whole area are FUBARd. They may be the first to get power when they can finally bring power to it which can take a long time.

They recently buried some of them in my area, but yeah. When Irma hit, FPL flooded the state with workers trying to fix all those lines. This is what has me worried for NC and SC. FL has been dealing with hurricanes for a while, and we were totally caught out for Irma. When they get hit, its going to be so much worse.

 

[K1052]

Dipped to a Cat 3 but has almost doubled in size following eyewall replacement. Could intensify again.

So...that's not great.

 

[bruceb]

In my development, the AC Power is all underground. But it must connect to a pole somewhere in order to get the power from the main substation. Not sure where they tied in, so if the wrong overhead wire comes down, we might lose power.

 

[Darwin333]

One option we used when evacuating was load all the perishable stuff into a heavy duty garbage bag, tie it off, but leave it in the fridge/freezer. If power goes out and it rots you’ve still got a barrier. Plus you can easily remove all the rotten food when you get back.

I had a buddy who tried that and the smell still permeated the garbage bags. Maybe he did it wrong, maybe double bagging would work, I dunno.

 

[realibrad]

I had a buddy who tried that and the smell still permeated the garbage bags. Maybe he did it wrong, maybe double bagging would work, I dunno.

Should be almost air tight, so there might have been a hole of some sort?

 

[FeuerFrei]

There are preventative measures one can take ... e.g. gunfire. Once Hurricane Florence nears the shoreline, commence firing to scare it off.

 

[T_Yamamoto]

 

[Darwin333]

I've been talking to a friend in Raleigh area who has inlaws in Wilmington. He's pleading with them to leave but they are staying put.

Has your friends inlaws changed their batshit crazy minds yet? 10+ feet of storm surge and almost 4' of rain being called for.

 

[T_Yamamoto]

I'm expecting a lot of hydroplaned cars abandoned when I go into work Monday

 

[Paratus]

I had a buddy who tried that and the smell still permeated the garbage bags. Maybe he did it wrong, maybe double bagging would work, I dunno.

The last time I used contractor grade 1mil bags, but we didn’t lose power long enough for it to be a problem so...

 

[Ajay]

Thank God it weakens before landfall. Upper level wind shear or something else?

 

[FeuerFrei]

Time to get that "before" overhead drone footage of the storm impact zone. Properly time-stamped and all.

 

[realibrad]

Thank God it weakens before landfall. Upper level wind shear or something else?

Outer edges of the storm are hitting land and it will start to weaken. Cooler dry air is starting to impact it just before it lands, so it will weaken.

 

[olds]

Someone has probably posted this but I am not going to search
https://earth.nullschool.net/#curre...ographic=-78.71,30.09,3000/loc=-71.115,29.982
https://poweroutage.us/area/state/florida

 

[realibrad]

Someone has probably posted this but I am not going to search
https://earth.nullschool.net/#curre...ographic=-78.71,30.09,3000/loc=-71.115,29.982
https://poweroutage.us/area/state/florida

That first link is amazing.