Where's George?

[Tony Shea]

Larry,

My suggestion to you about your well pump is to call an electrician. I could explain it to you but is nothing like actually seeing your wiring. You're generator has four wires, 2-Lines, 1-nuetral, and probably a ground. Between the 2 lines (L1 and L2) you will get 240V (or 220V you can call it, but I bet if you measure it you'll be much closer to 240V.) Between L1 and Nuetral or L2 and Nuetral you'll get 120V (or 110V). You need to get the generator 240V power to the line side of your pressure switch. The best way to do this is with a generator transfer switch and having your generator feed everything you want through your main panel. This is a very important peice and should all be done by a liscensed electrician or a competant home-owner.

And yes, I would be wary of running sensitive electronics off of smallish push around style generators. George is correct in that this has to do with how clean the power is. I'm not a teacher and can't explain what clean means but it has to do with the voltage sign wave and its' frequency. Little steps and spikes in voltage along the sign wave can have a significant effect on some electronics.

Glad to hear all is well George and power is now restored. My shop is in the basement and we lost power for 5 hours or so. I wasn't real worried as I thought I could get by with all my hand tools. Funny how one doesn't think about the most important factor, LIGHT! I had zero flashlights or candles down there and couldn't see my hand in front of me. So much for being neander, my light is the most used tool in the shop that I apparently take for granted.

[Jim Neeley]

A tidbit I've done, in case anyone else finds value in it:

I was given a "coleman stove" type 2-burner propane stove that runs on the little (?16oz?) bottles of propane.

I also have a propane grill and two "propane exchange" tanks so I don't have to run out and fill it when I run out. I keep the second tank full.

What I did was to pick up a regulator and hose, designed to attach to a 20# propane tank on one end and connect to propane devices designed to run on the little bottles.

I figure this gives me a separate propane burner that could, in a disaster, be brought into the kitchen and used for cooking. Living here in Alaska, including through the 1964 earthquake (which broke a number of the natural gas mains), it's just part of my emergency equipment.

If one person finds this idea helpful for them, it will have been a worthwhile for me to post.

Jim

[Pam Niedermayer]

Sorry,Pam. Not getting proper sleep for several days,and I don't understand your point.

No big deal, get some sleep.

Pam

[george wilson]

Our next door neighbor,about a block away now has an enormous white oak severely leaning over the power lines,and pretty near his house. The power co. can't make him do anything about it. If(when) it falls,we will lose power again,so I may drop off the map again. This tree must be over 75' tall. It is leaning about 45º from the hurricane.

[David Keller NC]

Our next door neighbor,about a block away now has an enormous white oak severely leaning over the power lines,and pretty near his house. The power co. can't make him do anything about it. If(when) it falls,we will lose power again,so I may drop off the map again. This tree must be over 75' tall. It is leaning about 45º from the hurricane.

Perhaps not in VA, but here the power company can absolutely make the neighbor take it down, or pay for the line repair because it is a known hazard. And a line repair would run into the many thousands of dollars, so most homeowners pay to have the tree taken down.

Of course, that's the extreme case of a recalcitrant homeowner. Most of the time, the homeowners are nice to the line crews, and they take it down for them, gratis.