Milton after action

[Scoobyshep]

First hurricane power outage after joining the MEP clan, and it was a "fun" one. Wind finally took the power down at about 5am, and the 004 (yes its oversized, but it was cheap and available) decided it was gonna give me grief. heard a loud pop and was greeted by a nice and toasty fire. something in one of the c plugs in the special relay box decided that it no longer wished to be insulated and released the magic smoke. After getting that contained and in a safe state, I still needed to address the lack of power issue. Fortunately I am the prepared type and had a freshly serviced 003 in my trailer and parked at my workshop just a quarter mile away. She ran 36 hours without a complaint. Since I need to do some serious work to the 004 and replace the shed, I am strongly considering repurposing the 004 and moving the 003 in.


Stay safe out there, Check your gear, check it often and enjoy a cold beer

 

[Chainbreaker]

Yep, I understand your situation having been through a hurricane living in Lakeland, Florida in my youth. When hurricane Donna hit, we were without power for over a week +. No generator... just candles & flashlights plus bathtub water to flush the toilets & dad grilling on the BBQ every night.

That lesson is probably why I became a "generator hoarder" later in life! We don't have hurricanes on West Coast, however ice storms, fires & high winds have randomly taken out our power fairly frequently unfortunately.

 

[Ray70]

Glad everything worked out in the end. Your plan to move in the 003 instead of the 004 is definitely the right move in my opinion.

 

[m32825]

Our power is back after just shy of three days on the genset. What a huge difference in comfort it makes to have good backup power!

 

[Scoobyshep]

Our power is back after just shy of three days on the genset. What a huge difference in comfort it makes to have good backup power!

You never realize how bad they suck till you live through one.

Every hurricane I get all sorts of new friends that need generator hookups. Or the one I didn't like very much that needed his set serviced (out of spec frequency) and waited till the last moment to tell me, I couldn't talk him through it so I had to drive out there under the promise (bribe) of a steak dinner. Idle screw 1\4 turn to the left for steak. Best pay rate ever

 

[Guyfang]

What popped in the S/P Relay box?

 

[Scoobyshep]

What popped in the S/P Relay box?

So far the J10 connector and plug. I haven't had the opportunity to tear deeper into it yet to see what else is damaged

 

[Guyfang]

There are some wires to the A5 card. Look at the back and front of A5. Almost he rest of the wires just co to other boxes, at a quick glance. Never saw a J10 or assorted wires burn. P1, oh yeah.

 

[Scoobyshep]

There are some wires to the A5 card. Look at the back and front of A5. Almost he rest of the wires just co to other boxes, at a quick glance. Never saw a J10 or assorted wires burn. P1, oh yeah.

A5 looks ok

 

[Digger556]

Yikes

 

[Guyfang]

I am guessing now, but would say the problem did not originate in the S/P Relay box. No sense looking at the plug, too much collateral damage. You need to look at the wire harness and see what burnt wire went where.

 

[2Pbfeet]

I am guessing now, but would say the problem did not originate in the S/P Relay box. No sense looking at the plug, too much collateral damage. You need to look at the wire harness and see what burnt wire went where.

I agree. In the third photo above from @Scoobyshep there is a wire that appears to have burn damage in several places, though of course, it could be a stain from something else. That might be a circuit to start the search at.

All the best,

2PbFeet

 

[Scoobyshep]

I agree. In the third photo above from @Scoobyshep there is a wire that appears to have burn damage in several places, though of course, it could be a stain from something else. That might be a circuit to start the search at.

All the best,

2PbFeet

That one is part of the remote control system. It was right above the j10 connector. So far I haven't found signs of overload in the harness (didn't have enough daylight time). My prime suspect at the moment is a weak connection \corrosion in the c plug

 

[rickf]

Wow! That is one of those "where do I start" jobs there.

 

[Coug]

You never realize how bad they suck till you live through one.

Every hurricane I get all sorts of new friends that need generator hookups. Or the one I didn't like very much that needed his set serviced (out of spec frequency) and waited till the last moment to tell me, I couldn't talk him through it so I had to drive out there under the promise (bribe) of a steak dinner. Idle screw 1\4 turn to the left for steak. Best pay rate ever

Mildly off topic:

I spoke with one of my customers up here last week.

Her son is down in Georgia, and finally decided to buy a generator this year.

Day before the hurricane hit, he finally had an electrician do the wiring to hook it up to the house panel.

A week after the storm was over he finally called his mother. He had to drive to another county in order to get any cell service to make the call.

Minimal damage to his house, but the small college he works at was hit pretty hard, and he was busy there with getting things straightened out.

His mother finally asked him about how it was having electricity during the storm.

Apparently he didn't answer for a bit, then finally admitted that even though he bought the generator and got the hookups installed and everything else, he never went and bought gasoline for it before the power went out.

All those thousands of dollars invested and nothing to show for it.

 

[Scoobyshep]

Mildly off topic:

I spoke with one of my customers up here last week.

Her son is down in Georgia, and finally decided to buy a generator this year.

Day before the hurricane hit, he finally had an electrician do the wiring to hook it up to the house panel.

A week after the storm was over he finally called his mother. He had to drive to another county in order to get any cell service to make the call.

Minimal damage to his house, but the small college he works at was hit pretty hard, and he was busy there with getting things straightened out.

His mother finally asked him about how it was having electricity during the storm.

Apparently he didn't answer for a bit, then finally admitted that even though he bought the generator and got the hookups installed and everything else, he never went and bought gasoline for it before the power went out.

All those thousands of dollars invested and nothing to show for it.

P.P.P.P.P.P. Prior Planning Prevents Piss Poor Performance. I have festoon lighting over the pool in the back yard, its programmed to come on every night so my neighboorhood is pitch black except for my house being lit up like a friggen Christmas tree

 

[m32825]

Her son is a little more experienced now.

 

[Guyfang]

You can't fix........................................

 

[Light in the Dark]

Mildly off topic:

I spoke with one of my customers up here last week.

Her son is down in Georgia, and finally decided to buy a generator this year.

Day before the hurricane hit, he finally had an electrician do the wiring to hook it up to the house panel.

A week after the storm was over he finally called his mother. He had to drive to another county in order to get any cell service to make the call.

Minimal damage to his house, but the small college he works at was hit pretty hard, and he was busy there with getting things straightened out.

His mother finally asked him about how it was having electricity during the storm.

Apparently he didn't answer for a bit, then finally admitted that even though he bought the generator and got the hookups installed and everything else, he never went and bought gasoline for it before the power went out.

All those thousands of dollars invested and nothing to show for it.

Oh I'd say there was much to show for it

 

[Tow4]

Back during Charlie, I lived on the east side of Orlando. Our power was out for three days. My neighbors were all sitting in line at near by gas stations that had power for hours. My wife asked me what I was going to do about gas for the generator? I told her I'm going to get on the east-west expressway and go west until I see the lights on, and then stop and get gas. Charlie was a small compact storm and didn't affect a wide area. I thought I might have to go to Clermont, but turns out just the west side of town. I pulled in to a Mobil station with one or two cars at the pumps and filled up. Back home in 45 minutes. A little planning goes a long way, and saves time.