Snow SHTF

[Pinedawg]

Due to the snow here over the last two days, we lost power and needed to get water to our horses. Long story short, it took 4 hours, 5 gallons of propane, lots of snow and 1 turkey fryer to make about 25 gallons of water, which our horses drank in about 5 minutes.

We have Nelson auto waterers and they need electric to work. Luckily, the power came back on just as we finished busting our a**es to make the water. When it came back on we filled the 100 gallon rubbermaid tubs that we used to use. Our generator that we had bit the dust last year, I haven't yet replaced it......bad move.

Just thought I'd post this here cause it's actual numbers from a real event. I learned alot yesterday and am thankful the power is still on today. I have a lot of snow to push just to get to the road.....maybe I can make some coin doing driveways later....

[Zombie Hunter]

Thanks for the post! Lots around DC lost power too, I luckily didn't but did have it flick on and off quickly two seperate times.

[shaner]

we are sort of used to havin the power go out here in ohio, in the rural areas nothingto be out 2-7 days you learn soon what to do and notto do , we got 15in of snow friday night what a mess

[mongovb]

Originally Posted by Pinedawg

Due to the snow here over the last two days, we lost power and needed to get water to our horses. Long story short, it took 4 hours, 5 gallons of propane, lots of snow and 1 turkey fryer to make about 25 gallons of water, which our horses drank in about 5 minutes.

We have Nelson auto waterers and they need electric to work. Luckily, the power came back on just as we finished busting our a**es to make the water. When it came back on we filled the 100 gallon rubbermaid tubs that we used to use. Our generator that we had bit the dust last year, I haven't yet replaced it......bad move.

Just thought I'd post this here cause it's actual numbers from a real event. I learned alot yesterday and am thankful the power is still on today. I have a lot of snow to push just to get to the road.....maybe I can make some coin doing driveways later....

I would be curious how much power the auto waterers use. I assume they only work when the horses drink the water. Maybe a solar panel, power inverter and a bank of batteries would be better than a generator? I would love to get off the grid and stop paying the man.

[Vitesse304]

We use 6 gallon water jugs from walmart. i think they were like 10 bucks. easy to carry and easy to store or move with an ATV or even in the back of a car.

Our barn doesn't have running water and we have to run water daily for the goats that are kidding. We can't leave a hose out there since it would freeze up so this is our only solution...works pretty good.

[Pinedawg]

Originally Posted by mongovb

I would be curious how much power the auto waterers use. I assume they only work when the horses drink the water. Maybe a solar panel, power inverter and a bank of batteries would be better than a generator? I would love to get off the grid and stop paying the man.

Thanks for the suggestion..... I need to look into this further as I really like the idea. Especially since our barn electric is seperate from our home service. Thanks again.

[StrangerDanger]

Bring money if you plan to go to solar. Even if your State offers tax incentives, the systems are very expensive. People are laying out 25 - 75 grand to generate enough to eliminate their electric bill. Stay on the grid if you go that route. You generate power during the day, excess is sold back to the power company. Essentially spinning your meter in reverse. Then at night, you draw power off the grid. This eliminates the need for huge battery banks and maintenance.

[mongovb]

Originally Posted by StrangerDanger

Bring money if you plan to go to solar. Even if your State offers tax incentives, the systems are very expensive. People are laying out 25 - 75 grand to generate enough to eliminate their electric bill. Stay on the grid if you go that route. You generate power during the day, excess is sold back to the power company. Essentially spinning your meter in reverse. Then at night, you draw power off the grid. This eliminates the need for huge battery banks and maintenance.

Good point, however, if it is just a low draw type system then maybe there is no need for a large solar system. Replace all incandescent lights with florescent ones. Then get get a couple of battery minder systems from Northern tool and a couple banks of batteries. In my example, the batteries are the expensive part at 200.00+ per battery. The system in the link below claims it will charge up to 4 batteries for 150.00 and a power inverter. The big thing is knowing how much power you need and building the system to suit. And yes a whole house system is expensive, but your talking about a lot of power draw. So I would say a minimum of around 4k to put together a decent system, so its still a significant investment. If you are the industrius DIY type you can actually find solar cells that are chipped and buy them in bulk and make your own panels.

BatteryMINDer Solar Charging System — 12 Volt, 15 Watt Panel, Model# SCC-015 | Battery Maintainers | Northern Tool + Equipment

[Radio Relay]

Originally Posted by mongovb

I would be curious how much power the auto waterers use. I assume they only work when the horses drink the water. Maybe a solar panel, power inverter and a bank of batteries would be better than a generator? I would love to get off the grid and stop paying the man.

Solar doesn't work in a snow storm either, but it does come back on when the weather clears.

For short term (a few hours to a couple days) loss of utilities and sewage, I'd store water, have a fireplace or wood burning stove for heat, and a generator for heavier power needs like running large appliances, like refrigerators and freezers (or an autowaterer) ... actually, that's what I do.

I also have some solar battery chargers, and am thinking of putting in a wind/solar generator for long term loss of power.

[mongovb]

I looked on the Nelson auto waterer website and the heaters draw about up to 2.7 amps and about 350 watts max each. Im no expert but I assume that would be a significant current draw depending on how many you have.