Hurricaned

ddlewis · August 29, 2011, 12:44:36 PM

We (south-central Va.) got the crap beat out of by Hurricane Irene. No power since early Saturday. Had to cut our way out Sunday morning. It's like camping at home. I do have a generator so I can keep my fridges and freezers going but not much more. Sucks not having electricity. I do have (cold) water at least.

Sent Eric M an email Sat and not heard back so he's probably out too. I'm sure Calvin is screwed, he's more in the boonies than me. How bout the Pennsylvanians and Northern Virginians.. y'all make out ok?

Dan Filetti · August 29, 2011, 06:28:20 PM

Quote from: ddlewis on August 29, 2011, 12:44:36 PM
How bout the Pennsylvanians and Northern Virginians.. y'all make out ok?

We lost power for about 20 hours, I had the generator to keep the sump pump, and fridge going. Some folks I know are still without. Got a lot of rain, and enough wind to blow over a neighbors' tree into my yard. It was a nice red oak, so I agreed (out of the goodness of my heart, you see) To cut it up and stack it in my wood pile, for burning in 2013. All in all, not that bad for me.

On another note, I think I may have fried my fridge in the process of trying to keep it running during the power outage. It did run for at least 6 hours on the generator but with the fridge light dimmed. I thought nothing of it at the time. I did not check whether it was running when I unplugged it from the generator. When the power came back on, I plugged it back into the wall outlet, and it immediately blew the circuit breaker. Tried again, tried another outlet same thing.

Seems I shorted something, or seized the motor or some such, with low voltage. Who'da thunk?

Anyway it was like 12+ years old so, so I bought a new one, which is being delivered tomorrow. I know the kiwi's are mortified, they'd have Macguiver'ed it back to life with some duct tape and tin foil, but I did not have the time to screw with it, so there it is.

Dan

Arnie · August 29, 2011, 07:45:32 PM

Dan,

Your home and contents insurance *may* cover the refrigerator buning out. Worth a look or a phone call anyhow.

Arnie

mst3kguy · August 29, 2011, 08:35:20 PM

danny,

let us know if we can do anything to help, you fucking fuck!

racerman_27410 · August 29, 2011, 11:22:26 PM

Eric and Calvin are bothy out of power... Calvin will probably have his back on sooner since he is in a co-op and they are working on it day and night... his home phone came back on thi afternoon so he may have power sooner rather than later.

Eric may not be so lucky.... he had to cut his way out of his neighborhood (to go to work) and has been all over Richmond and said besides the crazy drivers (acting like there are no rules just because the power is out) he has not seen but one crew working on the power and they told him it would probably be two weeks or more before it was back on in his area.

they both have genny's but Eric has to travel quite a ways to even get fuel.

Harvy · August 30, 2011, 12:11:58 AM

Sounds like most of you easy coasters made it through OK......
Anyone heard from Steve C lately?

Keep ya heads down guys

Harvy

ddlewis · August 30, 2011, 08:35:40 AM

Quote from: Dan Filetti on August 29, 2011, 06:28:20 PM
... Got a lot of rain, and enough wind to blow over a neighbors' tree into my yard. It was a nice red oak, so I agreed (out of the goodness of my heart, you see) To cut it up and stack it in my wood pile, for burning in 2013. All in all, not that bad for me. ...

5 good sized oak trees down on my property. 3 on the ground and two leaners held up by other trees. If I had time and energy I could gather up a 10 year supply of free firewood from around the area. Not that many wood burners around here and LOTS of trees that people are paying to have hauled away.. Limiting factors are time and my increasingly creaky back. When I get my own mess cut and stacked, I'll be done for a while.

ddlewis · August 30, 2011, 09:17:23 AM

Quote from: racerman_27410 on August 29, 2011, 11:22:26 PM
Eric and Calvin are bothy out of power... Calvin will probably have his back on sooner since he is in a co-op and they are working on it day and night... his home phone came back on thi afternoon so he may have power sooner rather than later.

Eric may not be so lucky.... he had to cut his way out of his neighborhood (to go to work) and has been all over Richmond and said besides the crazy drivers (acting like there are no rules just because the power is out) he has not seen but one crew working on the power and they told him it would probably be two weeks or more before it was back on in his area.

they both have genny's but Eric has to travel quite a ways to even get fuel.

I should've guessed about Calvin.. those country people always have there shit together. Eric's in the south edge of the city where population is dense and they got hit bad so things are more scarce. I'm in between them, small town..

We have a shell station on the corner that has power and gas, ice. I run my generator about 8-10 hours a day, to stretch the gas as far as I can. There's a YMCA a mile from my house on the main road that has power (!) and we're getting hot showers there. The town library has power and Wifi. It's been cool at night so sleeping not too bad. All in all it's not so bad. I have seen a few trucks in town but there is so much to do - poles to be replaced, transformers, miles of line to string up. The traffic lights are not even all back on. It's gonna be a while yet before we get power.

How about Greensboro, did y'all get anything?

ddlewis · August 30, 2011, 09:27:18 AM

Quote from: mst3kguy on August 29, 2011, 08:35:20 PM
danny,

let us know if we can do anything to help, you fucking fuck!

Come swing this maul for me! I got beer..

spsmith_fj1200 · August 30, 2011, 09:33:11 AM

I live about 10 miles north - northeast of Dulles Airport and other than rain and wind there were no issues. A co-worker who lives near Quantico lost power as did a friend in Falls Church city. On Sunday morning, I was out (in the 4 wheel drive pickup) and did not see any down trees, but traffic signals in parts of Fairfax county. The biggest loss here was the Harley dealer in Fairfax had their demo rides washed out

mst3kguy · August 30, 2011, 04:09:15 PM

Quote from: ddlewis on August 30, 2011, 09:27:18 AM
Quote from: mst3kguy on August 29, 2011, 08:35:20 PM
danny,

let us know if we can do anything to help, you fucking fuck!

Come swing this maul for me! I got beer..

Travis398 · August 30, 2011, 04:22:07 PM

Lost power, phone and internet. Just came back today, things seem to be getting back to normal.
I think the storm died down a little by the time it came here, only 60mph winds.

racerman_27410 · August 30, 2011, 05:22:36 PM

Quote from: ddlewis on August 30, 2011, 09:17:23 AM.

How about Greensboro, did y'all get anything?

a little bit of wind and a sprinke of rain... not even enough to wet the sidewalks.

ddlewis · September 01, 2011, 08:16:17 AM

Day 5: still no power. People with electricity have begun to irritate me. they think they are so cool with their fancy electric lights and appliances. Staying up past sundown watching their newfanged televisions.

ddlewis · September 01, 2011, 08:18:47 AM

actually it's day 6. Time has become arbitrary..

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