Emergency Power/Storms/Prepping etc
- Thread starter IReallyLikePizza2
- Start date
Used to have Starlink mounted on the service entrance weatherhead, decided to move it to the other side of the garage. It wasn't possible to have it on this side of the garage before because of a big oak tree I had in the front, however I removed that after a hurricane
Now the utility can't complain, it gets less wind, its lower down, and when the snow/ice melts off it doesn't drip directly onto the service wires
Used some 5/8 lags, bishop tape and roof patch
Drilled the hole for the cable today. Covered with Bishop tape and roof patch until the cable gland gets delivered
Now the utility can't complain, it gets less wind, its lower down, and when the snow/ice melts off it doesn't drip directly onto the service wires
Used some 5/8 lags, bishop tape and roof patch
Drilled the hole for the cable today. Covered with Bishop tape and roof patch until the cable gland gets delivered
I always wondered just how much water the FreezeMisers used so last Tuesday I found out. My cattle trough was empty and I attached a FreezeMiser to the fill hose. The trough is about 100 gallons and filled up over night. We were in the 20s each night but 100 gallons is more than I would have expected.
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That's what I thought but we were below freezing for a long time. My other one just drips onto the ground and the ground is not overly muddy.
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- May 6, 2018
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I just looked up the cost of Starlink. Did they go up? They want $120/month for my address! I got a Tmobile hotspot plan for backup that I put the SIM in my router so if my Wow fiber goes down it switches over to TMobile. That’s only $12.50/month for 30GB.
Edit: Oh I see they have a roaming plan for $50/month for 50GB. I guess if one couldn’t get any of the terrestrial cell phone plans this would be a good alternative. Or if you really wanted to have your bases covered with multiple backups.
Edit: Oh I see they have a roaming plan for $50/month for 50GB. I guess if one couldn’t get any of the terrestrial cell phone plans this would be a good alternative. Or if you really wanted to have your bases covered with multiple backups.
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Roam is now $165/mo which can be paused! They did introduce a 50GB Roam plan for $50 though, good for backup
I think its gone up a few times. I just keep it paused. If we had a storm I'll just unpause and pay, well worth it then! Also fun to play with, so oh well
Scored this non-running Kubota GL7000 diesel genset for $250! I plan to get it running soon
Quick check shows about $7,000 new! I'm guessing the 2023/02 is a production date which means it is only 2 years old. $250 is a steal! Something that does pique my interest is that it is rated at 3600 rpm for a diesel engine. I tend to think of them as a lower rpm machine. 1800 rpm with a 4 pole generator should be lighter. Running at 1800 rpm would be easier on the machine. Kubota is a great diesel engine so I'm sure it is well engineered. My concern would be the amount of rust on a 2 year old engine. Since it has a Louisiana dealer plate on it, I would suspect off shore use. I inquired once about a larger unit which was marine use and the seller admitted that they hit a heavy wave with it running. It took a slug of seawater on a heavy wave. It was only one cylinder of the 6 so it should not be too difficult a fix. It was $500 for a large engine so I considered it as project. Later bought a weld trailer off a guy in Dickinson with one and he said not buying it was good decision. Can't remember the make of engine now. This was about 10 years ago.
At $250, breaking it down for scrap should almost even out. Piston, head, maybe block likely aluminum.
And other parts can sell as well, so no loss. Even the elbow grease time should be covered.
And other parts can sell as well, so no loss. Even the elbow grease time should be covered.
Funny you mention a ship, came off a ship! The key switch is completely seized. I ordered a new one which should come soon
When I picked it up the guy had mentioned just after I texted he got a ton of replies, in the end I think he said he got something like 35 messages in an hour. I think I could turn around and double my money and sell it in the current condition if I wanted to
Those Kubotas are nice generators. I have a couple that run 3600 with a 2 pole generator.
The engines last a long time as long as you do the maintenance and use the correct oil.
One of mine was built in the 90's, I gave $100 for it, would not turn over, and has really nasty fuel in it.
Once I cleaned all of the gel and trash out of the fuel, then clean the mud dobbers (wasps) out of the generator.
The injection pump was not working correct. Got it rebuilt and we were off running.
Took a couple months of playing, but runs good now.
The engines last a long time as long as you do the maintenance and use the correct oil.
One of mine was built in the 90's, I gave $100 for it, would not turn over, and has really nasty fuel in it.
Once I cleaned all of the gel and trash out of the fuel, then clean the mud dobbers (wasps) out of the generator.
The injection pump was not working correct. Got it rebuilt and we were off running.
Took a couple months of playing, but runs good now.
I put brillo pad in my intake neck for the dobbers. Even though the air filter would keep it out of the carb, there was so much dirt in the cover it made me nervous. Little buggers still packed my muffler and made the engine run like hell. I don't hate dirt dobbers but they sure play havoc on small engines!
Replacing all the filters, the air filter was dirty, but showed no signs of ever being wet or anything
Well, the end outcome wasn't great. I clamped the loose oil drain line closed, swapped the filter and filled it with oil. Then I happened to look at the old oil filter
And of course, completely locked up
The engines for these are very expensive, and I don't have the time or space to very slowly figure out how I could completely rebuild the engine, if its even possible (Well outside my current skill level)
In the end, I sold it to a guy who had an identical unit with a bad generator head for $850
So, I got to play with one, got the hoist and other hardware for free, and a nice profit in the end. Worked out I suppose?
And of course, completely locked up
The engines for these are very expensive, and I don't have the time or space to very slowly figure out how I could completely rebuild the engine, if its even possible (Well outside my current skill level)
In the end, I sold it to a guy who had an identical unit with a bad generator head for $850
So, I got to play with one, got the hoist and other hardware for free, and a nice profit in the end. Worked out I suppose?
@IReallyLikePizza2 I decided to pop on here as it's been a long while, and I've probably killed 4 hours already between this thread and your blog posts. You have an incredibly impressive setup! Between the generator, networking, CCTV, ADS-B tracking, and home automation I wonder if we aren't a long lost relatives!
A few years ago I picked up an electric-start Generac gas generator from Costco online and wired in some relays so an RPI could auto-start it when the power goes out (based on data from a separate power monitoring RPI). Then I added an automatic transfer switch to power a sub-panel with my critical loads on it. It's not the prettiest setup but it has saved me a handfull of times.
After reading your blog posts, you convinced me to finally move forward on running fiber out to my shed. I too have an overkill home network and while my NAS is much smaller than yours, I keep a second one in my shed at the back of my property as a sorta off-site backup. I buried some conduit with a couple Cat6 runs out there and I've always had a little concern about lightening taking down my network. So thanks for continuing the tradition of me spending money anytime I come onto ipcamtalk!
A few years ago I picked up an electric-start Generac gas generator from Costco online and wired in some relays so an RPI could auto-start it when the power goes out (based on data from a separate power monitoring RPI). Then I added an automatic transfer switch to power a sub-panel with my critical loads on it. It's not the prettiest setup but it has saved me a handfull of times.
After reading your blog posts, you convinced me to finally move forward on running fiber out to my shed. I too have an overkill home network and while my NAS is much smaller than yours, I keep a second one in my shed at the back of my property as a sorta off-site backup. I buried some conduit with a couple Cat6 runs out there and I've always had a little concern about lightening taking down my network. So thanks for continuing the tradition of me spending money anytime I come onto ipcamtalk!