Using my Axis in an extended power outage

[DavidEM]

Another narrowly focused thread on back feeding your home from your RV's generator inspired me to start this more general thread as the subject says.

We live in NW Connecticut and winter storms, or spring tornados can bring down power lines and although we have never experienced an outage of more than a few hours, anything can happen. So, I have given it some thought below and would like to hear the views of others on how to deal with long term power outages.

I keep my Axis at a storage lot ten minutes away, so it is fairly easy to pick it up and bring it to our house, unless the storage yard has a foot of snow on it. So, I have made arrangements with the yard owner to plow a path to let me out. I hope he isn't too tied up with other power issues to get to me.

Our HOA doesn't allow MHs but heck any port in a storm so I will gladly ignore that restriction during a power outage. I will park the Axis in our driveway just outside of the garage.

If the power outage occurs in mild weather, I will just run an extension cord from the Axis into a window where I will plug in the fridge, LR light fixtures, the TV and cable modem/router. I will run the Axis' generator a few hours in the morning and several hours at night which should be fine to keep the fridge cold and with lights, internet and TV (but maybe not) we should be fine.

I have a portable Honda generator and could do the same thing with it at least for a few days with a 5 gallon jug of gas which i can refill if the neighborhood gas pumps are working. Probably depends on how long I expect the power to be out. With a full tank of gas in my Axis I can probably last for a week and drive to a working gas pump if longer.

If it happens in the winter, then things get interesting. I have thought about setting up a transfer switch next to my home's breaker box and setting up the kitchen, LR circuits on it as well as the furnace burner, blower and controls. This will let me keep the house heated so we could live in it. I am still debating this but probably won't do it.

What we will probably do is move into the MH and live there in dry camping mode until power comes back on. I can last 3-4 days on batteries and maybe a little longer on water. I will run the generator a few hours every other day to keep the batteries up. When the water tank gets low I can run a hose to the house and fill from an exterior spigot as long as the water stays on. I have a sanitary system manhole out on the street in front of the house, so I can move the MH over every 3-4 days and dump grey and black water there.

Propane may be a problem though. Not sure how much propane I might use in the dead of winter, but I suspect it will be several gallons a day. That will last 4-5 days. There are 4 propane filling stations within 20 miles of our house and I hope at least one of them will be in operation. If not, I may just pull up stakes and head south until the power comes back on. In fact, that might be my first choice.

What are your plans?

David

[Ottosails]

All good things to think about in the event there is a natural or un-natural disaster. The RV can play a big part for managing long power outages during a storm or as a "Bug out" plan if there are other problems. Our RV plays a big part in our plan. Managing water, propane and fuel become the most important things to consider, its good to think these things through. We have a good boondocking location scoped out with in 20 minute of home where we can go if needed. I hope I never need to put the RV plan into play.

[Scubawise]

Originally Posted by DavidEM

Another narrowly focused thread on back feeding your home from your RV's generator inspired me to start this more general thread as the subject says.

We live in NW Connecticut and winter storms, or spring tornados can bring down power lines and although we have never experienced an outage of more than a few hours, anything can happen. So, I have given it some thought below and would like to hear the views of others on how to deal with long term power outages.

I keep my Axis at a storage lot ten minutes away, so it is fairly easy to pick it up and bring it to our house, unless the storage yard has a foot of snow on it. So, I have made arrangements with the yard owner to plow a path to let me out. I hope he isn't too tied up with other power issues to get to me.

Our HOA doesn't allow MHs but heck any port in a storm so I will gladly ignore that restriction during a power outage. I will park the Axis in our driveway just outside of the garage.

If the power outage occurs in mild weather, I will just run an extension cord from the Axis into a window where I will plug in the fridge, LR light fixtures, the TV and cable modem/router. I will run the Axis' generator a few hours in the morning and several hours at night which should be fine to keep the fridge cold and with lights, internet and TV (but maybe not) we should be fine.

I have a portable Honda generator and could do the same thing with it at least for a few days with a 5 gallon jug of gas which i can refill if the neighborhood gas pumps are working. Probably depends on how long I expect the power to be out. With a full tank of gas in my Axis I can probably last for a week and drive to a working gas pump if longer.

If it happens in the winter, then things get interesting. I have thought about setting up a transfer switch next to my home's breaker box and setting up the kitchen, LR circuits on it as well as the furnace burner, blower and controls. This will let me keep the house heated so we could live in it. I am still debating this but probably won't do it.

What we will probably do is move into the MH and live there in dry camping mode until power comes back on. I can last 3-4 days on batteries and maybe a little longer on water. I will run the generator a few hours every other day to keep the batteries up. When the water tank gets low I can run a hose to the house and fill from an exterior spigot as long as the water stays on. I have a sanitary system manhole out on the street in front of the house, so I can move the MH over every 3-4 days and dump grey and black water there.

Propane may be a problem though. Not sure how much propane I might use in the dead of winter, but I suspect it will be several gallons a day. That will last 4-5 days. There are 4 propane filling stations within 20 miles of our house and I hope at least one of them will be in operation. If not, I may just pull up stakes and head south until the power comes back on. In fact, that might be my first choice.

What are your plans?

David

Great plan..guess what we are doing..
Moving fron mintana to NM to avoid all this crap.

[Chateau_Nomad]

Honestly, for the effort - I would recommend sticking to a portable generator. If your Honda generator is only 2,000 watts, you may have issues running a furnace, fridge, freezer and lights etc. all at once. I have a legacy 6,500 watt head banger (noisy!) generator in my garage for emergency use. I've had it for YEARS and keep it serviced/tested etc. It will easily run all the above if needed.

For instance, our MH is sitting in a gravel drive right behind the house. Although I COULD run the Onan 4,000 and string an extension cord to the house, I really don't need to... unless the other generator fails.

Also, consider that wiring up a special circuit with transfer switch, etc. isn't a cheap option. Doing it RIGHT takes effort and expense. Consider how often you're going to use it. I priced out a whole house Generac a while back. Many people use them... but for $10k+ worth of "convenience, my little 6,500 generator looked pretty attractive. I stuck with it and 10 minutes of unwinding a heavy extension cord.

When the power goes out, it's nice to have a more guaranteed plan of action. What if you CAN'T get your MH out of storage? At single digit temps the house gets cold REALLY fast. Maybe if your Honda isn't up to the task, invest in a little bigger home emergency generator... It DOESN'T need to be top of the line. It's only for emergencies.

[DavidEM]

Chateau Nomad and others:

I did think about what to do if I couldn't get the MH out of storage. Well, I just move into the RV at the storage yard. Then I have days to shovel out a path (well it won't take days, it is about 50-75 yards) and then move it home.

You are right, I don't think the Honda will run the furnace and I would have to run it 24/7 if it would, but I can't see spending any money on another generator and transfer switch when I have a 4 kW nearby in a nice cozy home I can live in.

David

[Chance]

Originally Posted by DavidEM

....cut....

What are your plans?

David

Use 2200/1800 Watt portable generator to power refrigerator with an extension cord initially after a few hours (fridge will stay cold initially). If power outage seems longer-term, I’ll connect generator to house electrical to power LED lights, TV, alarm system, etc. Due to limited generator capacity, will bring low-power microwave and coffee maker from camper van into home kitchen. Also have portable electric hot plate but doubt we would use it.

For what it’s worth, during extended power outages, we lose cable and internet, so TV had to be connected to antenna to get news. One TV requires less than 50 Watts, so that’s default. I have enough gas for at least a week of part-time generator use on Eco mode.

Any generator power, regardless of limited capacity, will be great compared to spending 2 weeks without any power (except small inverter to charge phones and power a TV for news). Priority is fridge, coffee, food, news, fan.

[DavidEM]

Chance:

How do you connect the power to the house's electrical system: DIY kludge or installed transfer switch?

David

[Chance]

Originally Posted by DavidEM

Chance:

How do you connect the power to the house's electrical system: DIY kludge or installed transfer switch?

David

Fortunately, I haven’t needed to do it yet since having generator. Last few times we had extended power outages up to 2 weeks in duration we roughed it.

I plan to power only fridge to keep from losing food by using extension cord initially. But if it looks like we will be without power for days, I’ll backfeed through existing 20A outlet. Only thing I don’t have ready yet is an L1 to L2 adaptor I plan to DIY. I will use 240V outlet in garage for welder to jump L1 and L2. I could get by without this, but want all lights and outlets energized for greater convenience. For example, I’m not sure if fridge and security alarm are on same leg, so plan to turn everything in house to 120V after throwing all but one 240V breaker. Obviously can’t have any 240V appliances on at all.

[DavidEM]

Well, power went out about four hours ago due to this "bomb" low that hit is earlier today. 1,500 customers in western Ct are without power, including us. So I implemented the first phase of my power outage plan: running a Honda generator to keep critical circuits in our home up and running.

We now have lights, fridge, and guess what: TV, Wifi, telephone all running from the generator now. The TV, wifi and phone is all on one circuit that I am back feeding from the generator. I was pleasantly surprised that the power outage had nothing to do with cable, wifi and telephone. Once I back fed that circuit, it all works.

Tonight if the power hasn't been restored, I will shut down the generator but keep the power on that circuit which also runs the fireplace blower with a plug in inverter. I first tried that circuit with a pair of batteries I have left over from changing out my MH batteries to AGMs and it only drew 4 amps DC from the batteries. That should let us go all night with the propane fireplace blower running. That should keep us snug all night with a couple of mattresses from our basement that I removed from an older TT sitting in front of the fireplace.

So, so far we are snug as a bug and hoping for power to come back on sometime tonight. If it isn't on by tomorrow morning, I will probably bring over my Axis and set it up to sleep in tomorrow night. That is phase 2 of my power outage plan.

David

[gr8rcfan]

Originally Posted by Chance

Fortunately, I haven’t needed to do it yet since having generator. Last few times we had extended power outages up to 2 weeks in duration we roughed it.

I plan to power only fridge to keep from losing food by using extension cord initially. But if it looks like we will be without power for days, I’ll backfeed through existing 20A outlet. Only thing I don’t have ready yet is an L1 to L2 adaptor I plan to DIY. I will use 240V outlet in garage for welder to jump L1 and L2. I could get by without this, but want all lights and outlets energized for greater convenience. For example, I’m not sure if fridge and security alarm are on same leg, so plan to turn everything in house to 120V after throwing all but one 240V breaker. Obviously can’t have any 240V appliances on at all.

I hope to do something similar, but keep in mind, this plan is illegal in many states. But, first and foremost, MAIN BREAKER(S) MUST REMAIN OFF AT ALL TIMES! See the following for more information: Backfeed your home with a portable generator | Preppers Anonymous

[DavidEM]

FWIW, when the power outage hit last Saturday, I back fed just one circuit from the generator, the one that powers our propane fireplace insert blower and several other devices such as the cable box, wifi router, phone and the TV. For all of the others like lights and fridge, I ran individual extension cords to them. I did this to keep from powering the complete L1 buss on our power panel.

It worked very well and when the power came back on several hours later, the light in the kitchen came on signaling power was back. With the main breaker off I would have had to check my neighbors periodically.

Yes, it is totally against code to back feed anything and therefore illegal. But it worked. And the nice thing was that I could use a pair of deep cycle batteries and a small inverter to keep the fireplace blower going all night without having to run the generator. That blower pulls about 50 watts AC.

David