# PA ice storm power outages.



## JD3430 (Jan 1, 2012)

Just got my power back. Lost it Wednesday morning. Still hundreds of thousands without power. 
Daytime highs low 30s. Nighttime lows low 20's. 
We ended up moving the family into the family room because I have a ventless gas log fireplace that kept the family room at 72* and most of the first floor warm enough to live in. 2nd floor dipped down to 58. 
Thousands of families bugged out. Lots of hotels without power, so not much help from them.

That gas log fireplace saved my ass. Get one if you have opportunity. sure beats getting up every few hours to add firewood and lots of the heat goes up chimney. My neighbor used to poke fun at me because it wasn't manly. He's still in a hotel somewhere since he couldn't keep house warm enough with wood fireplace.

Plumbers paradise around here. Broken pipes all over. Some of my area will be out until Sunday. 5-6 days in winter without electric or heat ain't no fun. 
I got off pretty easy. Internet and TV still down. I'm using someone's wifi to type this post. 
Hope y'all are doing ok.


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## deadmoose (Oct 30, 2011)

They must be using cheap wood stoves. I heat with an indoor wood stove. I have been supplementing this year with a space heater while at work. Being gone for 12-13 or more hours will push temp below 50 in this cold. When I am home on weekends the house stays plenty warm maybe drop under 60 overnight. My first wood stove bought at Menard's would not keep up when it got below zero no matter what. They did let me return it though.

Glad your gas saved you!


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## SVFHAY (Dec 5, 2008)

Glad you had a plan. I was wondering about ya after seeing news reports. The last blizzard,6 yrs? , set me back about a month and it took a long time to catch up. I hope your more resilient than I.


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## RockyHill (Apr 24, 2013)

Glad you're OK, noticed you'd been 'missing' from HT.


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## ontario hay man (Jul 18, 2013)

Should look into geothermal to. Its a one time cost and its very nice heat.


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## Tim/South (Dec 12, 2011)

It is good to know you are safe and were able to stay home. It would be tough to abandon a home and go looking for a place to stay warm. I hope things are back to normal soon.


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## ontario hay man (Jul 18, 2013)

Thats what bugs me right now. We got no generator and no back up heat. Had it out for 5 days one winter. Sure was fun chopping a hole through the pond with an axe and walking pails of water to the critters a quarter mile through 2 feet of snow. I got a company pricing me geothermal and wind or solar power right now so I dont have to depend on utility companies any more.


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## Chessiedog (Jul 24, 2009)

Glad you doing ok JD . Still short on LP around here, had our thermostat on 63 for a few weeks now . At least we can get it , I called today can get 200 gallons was only 100 at a time .


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## DSLinc1017 (Sep 27, 2009)

Was wondering too about how y'all are doing down that way. Glad to hear your getting by. We are used to loosing power here, have a good wood stove that will keep the house warm and the pipes from freezing. Fortunately I rent and use generators for my business so back feeding my house and barn is easy. I can run the essentials of the house water, fridge, freezer hot water all on Honda 6500.

Stay warm and safe JD.


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## JD3430 (Jan 1, 2012)

Power came on briefly. Went back off again. This sucks. There's dozens of bucket trucks driving around or parked at local inns, none of them appear to be doing a damn thing except collecting double overtime. Typing this reply in the dark on an I phone. Gas fireplace still kickin. Another very useful item up there with water for flush toilets is battery jump packs. The aux lighter socket has been keeping phones charged, recharge jumper pack with truck batteries. Works great built in lights, too. Ah, the joys!!


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## Chessiedog (Jul 24, 2009)

Yea waiting is tuff been there before 3 to 5 days at a time . We've have been lucky this year knock on wood no outages . My guess those guys are doing all they can . My brother - an - law is a lineman . Lots of times when they go somewhere else takes them longer cause they don't know the area . I've seen him be out 30 hours or more with just a few hours sleep here and there and not at home for that . Have had to go over and put out hay for his cattle because he could not get away . Also working up in a bucket truck at 15 to 20 degrees takes it out of ya pretty fast .


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## Grateful11 (Apr 5, 2009)

I felt the same way after Hurricane Hugo when we lost power for 7 days, some lost it for 3 weeks. They may appear to not be doing anything but obviously they're doing something or no ones power would be coming back on. Our youngest was only months old and it turned fairly cold after Hurricane Hugo came through in '89 and we lived about 1/4 mile from the family dairy and being a dairy it was on top priority for getting the power turned back on in an outage, it was only out for about 8 hours, so the grandparents kept our son which my wife worked there everyday anyway. Grandma didn't mind it a bit. Our power was out because the main lines were down our property and our priority was very low because complete repair of lines would only affect one home. We had 17 large trees down on 3 acres including 3 trees that took all the high voltage lines down completely. Had to chainsaw my way out to get to work the next day. Maybe things are different up your way but Asplundh, Pike and the Duke Power guys work pretty darn hard night and day in 12 hour shifts down here in cases like that.


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## Chessiedog (Jul 24, 2009)

Something else is sometimes just getting around trees blocking the road , clearing trees , setting poles . Last time we were out for a few days I could see them back a dead end road across a field lots of snow I don't remember just how much . But they ended up with a service truck and two line trucks stuck . Had to get a farmer 6 or 7 miles away with 200 HP fwa tractor to get them out about 11 at night .


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## somedevildawg (Jun 20, 2011)

Stay safe JD, maybe you and the better half can escape for a little romantic encounter in front of that fireplace with a nice glass of Chablis.....just sayin


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## JD3430 (Jan 1, 2012)

Yeah right. We're not smelling too romantic right now,


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## endrow (Dec 15, 2011)

Had lots of ice but no power loss . We have farm houses/ rentals out in the sticks when the power goes it is gone for 3 days to a week I have a generator hookup for each one of those houses and several 8000-9000 generators . Beats heck out of frozen pipes and other problems .


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## DSLinc1017 (Sep 27, 2009)

When the power does finally come back on, my bet is you will have a greater appreciation for the emenities we some time forget we are lucky to have! It wasn't that long ago, 100 years + - we where still getting water from the well, and the visit to the out house wasn't considered the library! We still used that little double seater on our farm in Wisconsin, when I was growing up, I guess now when I wondered why it was about saving money and old habits where hard to break. I certainly don't miss the flys landing where the sun don't shine, and the scratch of the white pages as the plush paper. As the yellow pages where like sand paper.


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## Chessiedog (Jul 24, 2009)

I have a small generator my self only 4300 watts about 20 amps . Bought it several years ago in an ice storm only thing I could fine . Can't run everything at one time but I can run the heat for a while ,then water , or water ever . Hate to buy a bigger one very seldom use it . But it keeps you going .


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## Mike120 (May 4, 2009)

It do get nippy up there in the winter. After my first December electric bill in NJ (buying an all-electric house was my first mistake) I invested in a Vermont Castings stove with a coal insert. I'd go through about 1 1/2 tons during the winter. My wife hated it, I polluted the planet, but it kept most of my house at around 80o........Best investment I made in that State (along with my snowblower).


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## JD3430 (Jan 1, 2012)

I'm not a spoiled type. Was raised by depression era parents. I really don't waste
anything. I'm fine, just inconvenienced.
I have 12 homes on my little lane. 3 have generators, so they are still here. 8 homes are empty, no power or heat. I'm the last on the lane to stay with no power. 
Only reason is gas fireplace. It's been a lifesaver.
Days aren't too bad. Nights are kinda tough. My kids have indoor lacrosse games today. A nice diversion. 
Dreaming of warm weather, skimpy clothes and tall hay fields.


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## Dill (Nov 5, 2010)

That stinks, and I'm not talking just the lack of a shower. We've had ice storms with week long power outages. Just about everyone around here has a generator now. I've got a pto genset, its not quiet or efficent to run the tractor right outside my living room window, but its nice to have running water for an hour at a time. I also bought a real cheap 3hp northern tool generator a few years ago which has more than paid for itself. I can keep 4 freezers cold and the electric fence going for a day on a couple gallons of gas.

Anyway, stay safe, don't cut any trees with wires in them. And if you need water for animals don't hesitate to call the Fire dept, we've done that a few times.


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## JD3430 (Jan 1, 2012)

I already did cut one branch blocking our lane with wires. I'm real good with a Sachs Dolmar 24" and worked around the wires. They were dead anyhow. It was the only way me and my farm owning neighbor were getting out. 
I don't recommend anyone try that unless its an absolute necessity.

I'm happy to announce we have power again. Been on for about 15 minutes. Could go backoff. it has 3 times already. 
Still 150,000 people without power. Mostly in Chester County, PA. 
Villanova University still has no power. Entire campus dark. 
Freakin nightmare.


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## Dill (Nov 5, 2010)

I used to cut trees like that, but back to 8 out of 10 houses have generators plugged in and you never know who just plugged into a dryer scoket and is back feeding.

Good to hear you have power. It feels like magic going to into a dark room and flipping a switch after a couple days doesn't it?


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## DSLinc1017 (Sep 27, 2009)

Welcome back!


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## JD3430 (Jan 1, 2012)

We have power companies here from 1,000 miles away. There's a power truck from Alabama fixing a neighboring street. There's some power trucks from Texoma power (I assume Texas/Oklahoma) parked at an Inn up the street. Then there's power trucks from CANADA running around, too. 
Unbelievable. Truly like a war zone here. Trees blocking side roads just pushed up into people's yards, unknown wires laying around.

And hopefully it isn't like Jersey, where the companies that came in to help from down south got rocks thrown at them because they weren't UNION workers. 
People here are tipping them, feeding them, thanking them.


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## somedevildawg (Jun 20, 2011)

Glad you're back on the grid JD....


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## mlappin (Jun 25, 2009)

Glad to hear you made it Jd.

How you like your Sachs and what model. I had a 112 and a 120Si, both still at the repair shop.

Replaced with a Stihl 362 and a 460.

I can repair small engines, used to rebuilt all my dirt bike engines/transmissions. Its just I'd rather drop a cement block on my foot, slam my hand in the car door or visit the in laws before working on small engines.

Sachs dealer/shop is slower than molasses in january, thats why I bought the Stihl's, that and he's over in the next county.


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## Dill (Nov 5, 2010)

I replaced my Husky rancher with a Dolmar 5105 last year. Couldn't pay me enough to switch back. Fast and light, I find my self reaching for my big saws a lot less and doing more and more with the Dolmar.


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## JD3430 (Jan 1, 2012)

To be 100% honest, mine are Makita Dolmars. DCS 6401's
Absolutely love em. 
Even stock they have crazy power. Piston kits give them sick power. 
Stihl makes a fine saw, just prefer Dolmars.


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## mlappin (Jun 25, 2009)

JD3430 said:


> To be 100% honest, mine are Makita Dolmars. DCS 6401's
> Absolutely love em.
> Even stock they have crazy power. Piston kits give them sick power.
> Stihl makes a fine saw, just prefer Dolmars.


Don't get me wrong, I like my Dolmars a lot. Just couldn't keep having to order parts on line or wait on the bozo the next county over anymore.

The Sachs I have seem to use a different length chain than others, so if I tried a stihl standard length then it was either a link too long or short.

Went with the stihls as the local hardware store carry's them as well as another dozen places within a 30 minute drive.

Kinda like buying hay equipment, no point in buying something if you can't get parts or support when you need it.


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## deadmoose (Oct 30, 2011)

I will second one the Still brand. I have maybe 2005 ms270c, 2009 Kombi 110 and 2011 MS 362. Besides sharpening chains etc I replaced a fuel cap on my 270. Didn't use much more than hunting etc til 09 when I started heating with wood. Since then they cut all my house wood and then some.


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## mlappin (Jun 25, 2009)

I have the kombi as well. Like the power broom for cleaning up fertilizer, gravel out of the yard after winters up, etc. That little hybrid four stroke on it has a surprising amount of torque.


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## JD3430 (Jan 1, 2012)

I have the Kombi, too
Hedge clipper, weed eater and most important-pruning saw.
I don't have the broom.
Didnt know it worked so well.


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## deadmoose (Oct 30, 2011)

I bought the trimmer first. Then the blower. So far so good. Then the cultivator roto tiller type thing. That was worthless. I traded it after a very small amount of use on a pruning saw. I am very satisfied with all now.


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## mlappin (Jun 25, 2009)

I already have a pole saw, I do have the hedge trimmer, use that on our burning bushes in front of the house. Stand in the bed of the Polaris and have the wife move it as needed.


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## JD3430 (Jan 1, 2012)

Here we go again.
Massive power outages predicted with this storm.
What a freakin winter this has been. Just crazy.


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## deadmoose (Oct 30, 2011)

Good luck. Stay safe and warm.


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## JD3430 (Jan 1, 2012)

I gotta go put an plow the slop, then come home to a cold dark house, screaming kids, etc.


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## deadmoose (Oct 30, 2011)

You have quite the nice setup for the slop though. I wanna try it just for fun. I have yet to combine snow removal and heat. Heated cab with a radio sounds like fun.


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## ontario hay man (Jul 18, 2013)

Jd you should look at solar power. Then you have power when nobody else does.


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## JD3430 (Jan 1, 2012)

ontario hay man said:


> Jd you should look at solar power. Then you have power when nobody else does.


It was heavily considered. Especiallyy when the incentives where substantial. 
However, it will "uglify" my house too much.


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## ontario hay man (Jul 18, 2013)

You dont have to put them on your house. You can stick them in the back 40 and runwires from them to the house.


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## JD3430 (Jan 1, 2012)

ontario hay man said:


> You dont have to put them on your house. You can stick them in the back 40 and runwires from them to the house.


I don't have a back 40. Just a back 2 lol with a small barn. 
I don't live on a farm. I'm a commercial farmer that rents barns to store equipment and hay miles up the road.


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## ontario hay man (Jul 18, 2013)

Oh lol maybe it wouldnt work to good then.


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## mlappin (Jun 25, 2009)

JD3430 said:


> It was heavily considered. Especiallyy when the incentives where substantial.
> However, it will "uglify" my house too much.


And they are too, I hate the ones on roofs having some roofing experience my self. Hold more snow for starters, and I don't care how good the mounts are, you've just put a lot of holes in your roof mounting the things.

A guy down the road put up two standalone units next to the road, most of this winter they have been covered in snow.

I feel the same way about the windmills we seen in France, kinda cool at first, then after a very short while I wish I didn't have to look at the things while trying to enjoy the view.


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## mlappin (Jun 25, 2009)

ontario hay man said:


> You dont have to put them on your house. You can stick them in the back 40 and runwires from them to the house.


Or you could just get a PTO generator and make Al Gore cry as it will be run with some nice dirty global warming causing fossil fuels.


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## ontario hay man (Jul 18, 2013)

Lol I would rather look at a small windmill or solar panel then look at my power bill every month.


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## JD3430 (Jan 1, 2012)

mlappin said:


> And they are too, I hate the ones on roofs having some roofing experience my self. Hold more snow for starters, and I don't care how good the mounts are, you've just put a lot of holes in your roof mounting the things.
> 
> A guy down the road put up two standalone units next to the road, most of this winter they have been covered in snow.
> 
> I feel the same way about the windmills we seen in France, kinda cool at first, then after a very short while I wish I didn't have to look at the things while trying to enjoy the view.


Have you seen the wind farms is S. California? Talk about ugly. 
Wife and I are saving our pennies for natural gas stand by gen. 
Hopefully we'll have enough $ soon.
Probably will be losing power.....ooohhhhhh.......about this time tomorrow.


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## hillside hay (Feb 4, 2013)

Yeah JD looks like the last storm left and set you up for the right. I hope ya'll don't get compounded pain and frustration with this new stuff coming. How are the GA fellas holdin up?


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## JD3430 (Jan 1, 2012)

Well, we got thru this one with no power loss! 
I think all the weak branches fell in the last storm.


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