Greetings from Frozen Oklahoma, and a question about genset diesel thirst

[Christyhicks]

So, hello everyone. . .yes, we're frozen in, without power at both shops and our home (two different utility companies, same results), so I've got a pertinent question:

About how many gallons per hour of diesel should our 10 KW diesel genny suck down?  Yes, we found yet another use for the bus. . . it's currently powering our main shop and office, ha ha.  We've got the barest of essentials, heat, power via many extension cords, and phones, and after two days of not working, we figured we'd better at least run some skeleton crews. 

Anyway, we've been running the office on TempBus's genny for going on our fifth day now, so Larry invested in a transfer tank and pump for hauling diesel, figuring that we've got to be running low in the bus tank soon.  I figure that more than a couple of guys here have figured out how much their unit consumes, so if you don't mind, throw some numbers our way.

Then, if you've got any money to loan us. . . we're running three generators to keep the various places from freezing up. . . five days and counting already. . . I'm thinking that my fuel bill is going to be a tad bit high before they get us back up and online with the power companies, ha ha.  Christy

[Utahclaimjumper]

Christi, our perkins diesel 12.5KW unit uses 1.1 gal. per hour, be sure to load it up to capacity to get your moneys worth.>>>Dan

[captain ron]

I guess if we talk about you you'll resurface.

[Nick Badame Refrig/ACC]

Hi Christy,

Sorry about the mess your in. Look at the bright side,,, It could be worse!

My 12.5 onan burns right about 1 gal. an hour.. Of course that will depend what the load is your pulling too.

What can I do to help you and Larry?

Let me know
Nick-

[Hartley]

My Kubota/Onan 10 kw ran for 1 1/2 months and averaged 3/4 gal per hour
pulling near capacity. Less ( quart an hour ) with lighter loads at times.

The Bus tank was full when I pulled in (140 gallons ) and I transferred fuel
2 times @ 80 to 100 gallons.

I may have shut it down a couple of times for a few hours to do maintenance
but it ran pretty much full time.

You probably can run home heating fuel #2 with a good filter if it is any cheaper.

Dave...

[ChuckMC9]

Christy, I didn't know how bad it was there until today when I read an email on another site from someone who is also there.

You are very fortunate to have the bus with backup power! In the 'preparedness' reading I've been doing lately it's so obvious how completely and absolutely unprepared most folks are for something like you're going through. At least you still have water.

Well, best care to you and Larry in these trying times.

-Chuck

[Christyhicks]

I guess if we talk about you you'll resurface.

Oh, Oh   did I miss something?  hahaha, sorry, I miss everyone so much, but contrary to what's happening in other parts of the country, we're still buried up to our ears in new construction. . .course, we're short-handed, so our perception of the situation is likely a bit fuzzy,  ,  but between too many hours of work and the fact that Larry and I had to do our own kitchen remodel  since all the good trim carpenters around here are still too busy, well, basically I have no life. . .no time for fun. . .no time for relaxation. . . you know what they say. . ."no rest for the wicked! "

What can I do to help you and Larry?

hmmmmm, well, other than convincing a few good hvac installers or plumbers to head to Oklahoma. . . I guess you could pray that the utility companies will have mercy on us and get at least either our office OR our home back up and going, ha ha.  Right now, I'm sitting in my office, the only light is what comes through the window, extension cords are stretched across my desk, behind my desk, etc., powering the essentials. . .heater, lights and computers in Margie's office, the router, a couple of phones, AND the coffee pot. . . you know, "The essentials!"  Margie says she feels like she's at a photo shoot, as I have a big Halogen light "spot-lighting" her work area. . .keeps her warm at the same time, ha ha. Anyway, thanks for thinking of us. . hopefully this storm will be nicer to you guys!

At least you still have water.

Well, Chuck, the bad news is that we are on a well out here, ha ha.  In fact, today I went out to the parking lot, and dumped water out of a big storage tub, into my pail, carried it in and flushed the toilet with it  .  I feel like I live in "The Little House on the Prairie" or something!

Larry did get a big diesel generator running Monday for a few hours. . . we pulled it down to the house, disconnected the wires at a junction box and fed the entire house.  It was enough to allow me to fill a bathtub with water, take showers, and vacuum and mop the entire house.  We were relaxing on the couch at about 9:00 p.m. when all of a sudden, the lights went dim and bingo, we're back in the dark again . 

Of course, knowing generators, AND, knowing that this was the first time this old thing had been run since the ice ages (wait, aren't those now?. . . let me rephrase that. . . "since the beginning of time"), well, anyway, I didn't trust it, and we had left the extension cords running from the motorhome to the house.  It was pretty simple to trot out to the motorhome, hit the genny switch, and plug in the essentials again.  This time, I REFUSE to push the TV back in place. . . it can stay pulled out from the wall until we get REAL power again!

Anyway, thanks everyone for the replies, the well wishes, and yes, I agree, we can complain, but we really can't complain.  We've got heat, we've got some lights, we have very limited internet access, and other than a lot of broken tree limbs, we have next to no damage on any of our structures or vehicles, so by and large, this is simply a somewhat expensive inconvenience.  The best everyone can do for me, is pray that Larry figures out what is wrong with the big monster generator so I can take another shower soon   Christy Hicks

[Dreamscape]

Hey Christy,

Glad to hear you guys are doing OK except for a few minor inconveniences, like showers, running water, electricity etc. etc.. Bake some brownies in Temp Bus, that will warm up you guys! 

Stay warm and safe, hopefully everything will be back to normal soon for ya'll.

Paul

[ChuckMC9]

and vacuum and mop the entire house.

With all THAT going on, the best thing you can think of to do is VACUUM THE HOUSE?!

Oh, dear. We need to talk. Heck, you might as well do something really worthwhile, like, say, um, clean the grout or something?

LOL

[FloridaCliff]

Christy,

As soon as I saw on the news the freezing in Oklahoma we were thinking about you two.

Glad to hear you all are coping as best you can, stay warmmmmmmmm!

As a show of solidarity, I am going to wear long pants instead of shorts when I go over and visit NCBob tonight.  

Cliff

[Dallas]

*Oklahoma!

OOOOOOOOOOOK-lahoma!,

Where the wind comes sweeping down the plain!

And the Blazing Heat,

Would sure feel sweet,

When the Ice comes right behind the Rain!


OOOOOOOOOOOK-lahoma!,

Every night my honey lamb and I,

Sittin' here and freeze,

And share a sneeze,

While our frozen fingers make us cry!


We know we are here not apart,

And the Generator wouldn't start!

And when we Say:

Yuck! oh, why do I stay?

We're only waitin'

For Springtime in Oklahoma!

Then In Oklahoma, We'll Be-

O-K-L-A-H-O-M-A  ---- Oklahoma! OK!


* Sung to the Tune, "Oklahoma"

[Ncbob]

Christy and Larry,  he did it! Cliff actually wore long pants when he came over tonight to help my install Jackie's new Microwave/convection oven in the bus. And just so neither of you get too cold tonight I'm going to add to the spirit of solidarity and wear my flannel PJ's to bed tonight.

Now how's that for BusNut camaraderie?

Best to both...you'll be just fine.  If it gets too tough...you could always fly out here to Arcadia for a couple of days..... You'd be most welcome......

Jackie & NCbob

[bubbaqgal]

Dallas has been singing his new song allllllll night long.  So far it has been a loooonnnngggg night. 

[Christyhicks]

THIS is why I miss everyone so much!  You guys are a hoot. . . Cat, you have my sympathies,  but you have to admit, Dallas did a good job at it, didn't he!

Bob and Cliff. . .well, it's a good thing I know you guys well enough to know when I'm being teased, but you know what they say. . .payback sucks!  ha ha 

Paul. . .hahaha. . . .I never did get around to telling that story on here. . one of these days, I'll have to break down and do so,  . 

Chuck, let me explain. . . there ARE things to do when you don't have power. . .to, um, pass the time, but let me explain a little. . .you see, we lost power at the office/shop here first, so we started TempBus's genny and ran extension cords. . .meaning we tromped through ice and sleet back and forth between Larry's shop and the office building, running cords, deciding what gets power, I even yanked the "fancy dancy" touch pad thermostat my son had put on the office geo unit, and found a crappy old temp heat stat so I could "temporary in" the gas furnace. . .ripped all the wires off the various relays he had inside that furnace that ran various dampers/stats/the geo portion. . . he's going to LOVE me when he sees the mess of wires hanging loose ha ha. 

Then, we lost power at the shop two miles away, where my mom lives when in town.  Out we go, to mud through the yard, getting her genny running, stringing cords, etc.  We make a pit stop on the way to get Larry's dad's generator started for him and stretch his cords out, making sure they are hooked up properly and safely. 

We finally get out to the shop, beat the ice off of her coach doors so that we can access the genny, and then try to scrounge up cords.  Did I mention that Larry's shop out there has no windows?  Did I mention that it is packed and cluttered to the max?  Don't EVEN get me started! 

Since she has a 240v gas package unit, I went back to the shop at our place, scrouged through the storage trucks to find gas fittings and tools, went back out to her place, laid on her kitchen floor and ran a gas line out from under her cabinet to hook up a free-standing ventless gas heater (did I say I don't trust generators?)  So, by now I'm cold, wet, muddy, AND I've got pipe dope on my hands.  No wait, it gets better!

Next our power at the house goes out.  You would think that sensible people would prepare for stuff like this, maybe pull the motorhome into the driveway and get it ready "just in case". . .well, yeah, maybe SENSIBLE people do, but not us!  Of course, the yards too muddy to move it AFTER the storm hits, so that's an extra 150' of cord, doubled, to run a couple of cords from it to the house. 

The key is to make sure that you've spent all the daylight hours getting everyone else powered up, so that when your own power goes out, you're working in the DARK wet mud.  Yep, more mud, wet feet, wrestling stiff, cold cords. . .yeah, we're having a good time!  Oh, the hill. . . the cords had to go down the hill to the back door.  Did I mention that the hill is steep and ice covered?  I WAS smart though, I tied the cords off at the motorhome, so that I could rappel down that hill using the cords as ropes!   I run one in the back door, and toss the other one up to Larry, who has risked life and limb to edge his way down our long, open deck (no safety railing). 

Eventually we get cords strung around inside the, powering the necessities. . but you can imagine what our floors looked like after we were done with the day!  We were exhausted, and we had no water!  Of course, we did have flashlights for the various rooms with no lights, but do you know how many times I got up and took off down the hall only to remember . . .crap, need to go back and get a flashlight!  We have a lot of automatic lights in our house, which turn the lights on when you enter a room, and occasionally, they have a bit of a delay, so like idiots, we'd try to enter a room, then stand there for a second waiting for the light to turn itself on, only to realize how dumb THAT was!   You also find yourself holding the flashlight in one hand, and still flipping the light switch with the other! 

Anyway, to make this "too long" story short, when Larry got that big genny running and we were able to power our main box, . . . man, we practically fell to our knees in thanks when we heard that rush of water hit the lines.  We raced each other to the bathroom to take a shower, and THEN, with lights on throughout the house, I got a good look at the floors.  By then, I had spent almost two whole days cold, wet, muddy, and exhausted, and I was SICK of dirt!  I was clean, and I'll be damned if I wasn't going to walk on clean carpets, scrubbed floors, and we even changed the sheets on the bed so we'd be sleeping on clean sheets!  The only screwup, was I didn't turn my heated mattress pad on right away, thinking I'd wait till about 9:00 p.m. to do so.  Crapola, the big genny quit about 8:50!  ha ha  Oh well, I will say that the house was warm and Larry was warmer! 

Well, sorry this was so long. . .gotta hand over the computer to Larry for a few minutes, as with the internet down (wireless tower got crunched by a tree. . .gee, what a surprise!), we're sharing my aircard.  Gosh I miss you guys!  Christy

[Hartley]

Dallas has been singing his new song allllllll night long.  So far it has been a loooonnnngggg night. 

Tell Dallas he needs to write one for this weekend.. Hope you got heat and thermal underware.....

I got a 100 lb LP tank hooked to my furnace in the bus... I think we are gonna need it!..
I figure we will lose power at some point so I have diesel fuel on standby....
Guess I will have to put long pants back on again too.....

[makemineatwostroke]

Just think about it winter is not here yet. Here in Scottsdale the temperature was in the low 60s today and the people are wrapped up like its  -20 and I thought about what would they do if it was cold and ice everywhere with no power like the people in the mid west

[NJT5047]

Christy, I'd suggest getting Larry in the bus and make an early Arcadia trip!   Cliff's got room for you.  I'm thinking about retiring in Florida.  At Cliff and Julie's place.  Backyard living at it's best!  We'll pick a little music...drink NCBobs Kronies!  Whatta plan! Cliff and Julie don't know about the 'plan' yet...details eh? 
I've felt your pain with the ice thing.  MAJOR bummer! 
We got a well...3 of the damned things...and a generator that runs them.   Have to make treks down to the genset twice a day to refuel. 
Can't afford those nice big diesel gensets that people in Oklahoma have!  Not even the ones that don't run! 
Ya'll are getting dumped on with weather.   If I recall, you drove back thru the same crap after leaving Arcadia last year.   After a major hitch redesign...you have all the fun.
What are the roads like out there?  All iced up?
Hate to offer this, but our weather all week has been in the upper 70s--low 80s.   We can't buy rain here in North Carolina....or ice.   
Hope you get a shower soon!  Take Larry with you!  Saves water!    If the bus isn't winterized, warm that puppie up and take a shower in there!  That new tile shower in 'Tempbus' needs some action!     
Keep us posted on the 'big' generator situation.  Tell Larry to prime that sucker.  Don't reckon someone stole your fuel?  That's been a big problem since fuel prices escalated.   Larry will fix it!
Best, JR

[Christyhicks]

We sure would LOVE to go to Arcadia, but we've got a committment for a wedding December 29, so it's just not going to happen this year.  And, yes, it was a narly ice storm that hit us on the way home last year, stranding us in Dallas for a few extra days of shopping. . I mean, "waiting" for a few extra days, . 

The roads were icy when the storm first hit. . . and we have a 450' "ski slope" up to our shop, so we called the guys on Sunday and told them to stay home.  Things sort of went downhill from there!  

If the bus isn't winterized, warm that puppie up and take a shower in there!

The problem is, well, or actually, "lack of" well. . . no water to fill the bus!  TempBus hides in Larry's shop over here, so we don't have to winterize it.  On the other hand, we didn't have an exhaust tap in the garage door near the generator exhaust, which was going to be a necessity, as we were NOT about to pull TempBus out from it's safe hosue.  So in the middle of the falling sleet, Larry drilled a hole in the garage door, and then in the "not sleet anymore, but more like rain", I ran out and shoved the port through the door. 

I then risked the potential for severe bodily damage and scrambled up the icy ramps to the storage trucks to find a plethora of various metal fittings to build a fancy-dancy exhaust hose to try to get rid of  as  much of the carbon-monoxide laden exhaust as absolutely possible.  Thank GOD for foil tape is all I can say! 

Did I forget to mention that there's a whole 12-14" of space between the bus and the wall, so that I had to choose between shimmying 30' down the side of the bus, or running around around the outside of the building, braving sleet and rain, and coming through the door over close to the exhaust.  Also, those darn outlets and conduit clamps will hook on any and every pocket, belt loop, etc. on your clothing! 

After shimmying my 30', I then had to slither down and crouch, half turned, as I worked on my exhaust contraption.  It was either that, or work with my hind-end sticking out the garage door, and, well, it was COLD out there!  Oh, and YES, the generator has been running the whole time, so it was gloves any time I needed to touch any metal, then try to peel the tape backing off, remove the gloves, peel the backing, put the gloves back on, apply the tape, try to peel another one, $#!%!  TAKE THE GLOVES OFF, PEEL THE TAPE, PUT THE GLOVES ON. . .well, you get the picture.

The GOOD news is, late this afternoon, Larry got old ginny up and running again.  He had bought this old generator at an auction, years ago, but it had a bad motor.  Then, a couple of years later, he bought a motor at another auction. . .then, a year or two ago, he coupled the two together, but never really used it or did anything with it, just parked it at the other shop.  Well, Monday, he brought it over to our place, "Just in case", and, well, you know the rest of the story! 

Today, he pulled the fuel filters, and as he suspected, the fuel pump pre-filter was full of rust and junk.  Ginny simply ran herself out of diesel!  He replaced both the pre-filter and the regular filters, and when we left the office, we drug her back down to the house with us. 

Aaaahhh, needless to say, the first thing we did was jump in the shower "just in case".  I called my Mom, telling her that if she wanted a shower, she'd better get over here quickly and be ready to step in as we stepped out.  Sure enough, she high-tailed it over here, as sponge baths were not her idea of a good time either.  We shared a hot cup of coffee, and she headed back to the other shop, proud of her own little generator which has been purring like a kitten for several days now.  We agreed that as much as we'd like to gripe, we're very lucky to have heat and even SOME power, and that we can stay in our own homes.

Well, great, the news just said, "Another snow storm BARRELING our way!"  They are down to only 400,000 people in Oklahoma without power now. . .wow!  ha ha.  So, I guess that is a good indication that we may be running ole "Ginny" quite a while!  Larry just laughed and said, "You know, I figured with us having two different utility companies serving us at this place. . .well, you'd think ONE of them would have gotten us up and going!" 

JR, I'll give you that one, "Larry will fix it", yep, I say it over and over, "Even if I DIDN'T adore him, I'd keep him around, 'cause Larry can fix everything!"   Christy Hicks  in


. . . . .

wait for it. .. . .


wait for it. . . .



OOOOOOOOOOOOklahoma where the wind comes sweeping down the plain. . . . darn you Dallas!  Now I can't get rid of that tune! 

[Christyhicks]

Hmmm, woke up this morn, opened one eye. . peered out. . YEEEESSS! The clock is still on!      We have lights, we have tv, and most importantly, WE HAVE COFFEE!  Genny, I LOVE YOU!

The drawback is, well, the stupid exercise bike ALSO has power. . so I've got no excuse to stay off of it like I have since the beginning of this ordeal.  Oh well, at least I can flush EVERY SINGLE TIME now!   Christy

[bubbaqgal]

Christy, isn't it amazing the little things we take for granted, like flushing? 

Why not get a battery, hook it up to the TV or computer an the other end to your bike.  Then you can let Larry peddle away creating power so you can watch TV, or be online any time you want to?  I bet he would love to do that for you!

[Christyhicks]

Yeah, that's a GREAT idea. . .except, when I mentioned it to Larry, he did a loud harrummph, and muttered something to the effect of "putting it" . . . ."on his list of priorities". . . "holding my breath". . . . and "cold day in . . . ".      Christy

[oldmansax]

Christy & Larry

I can sympathize with you completely!

Several years ago when I was still in the HVAC business we had an ice storm here on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. Fortunately, I DID have the foresight to purchase an small Onan diesel genny, BUT, it was in the shop, buried under about four time more stuff than should have been in the shop in the first place! 

So, I unload the shop outdoors in the ice & sleet, find the Onan, drag it outside, repack the shop, then remember I NEED WIRE!!! 

Unload the shop, find the wire, repack the shop, hook up the Onan..... (I am getting good at this by now) and, guess what? I NEED A BATTERY!!   

Soooooo, (see above)!!

Install the battery & the antique Onan ran like a charm. Sweet relief at last! Did the same things as you guys. Turn on the heat and well, flushed the toilets, took a bath and tended my wounds.

Now the good news was the Onan ran fine and powered the necessities at the shop & house with no problems other than siphoning #2 heating oil from my boiler tank every day with one of those little squeezie hand pumps things and hauling it to the genny.

But the kicker was this: We live seven miles passed World's End. (Yes, Virginia, there is a place called World's End) beside the Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge. It's a beautiful place but they really don't want people living here so we have to put up with services from the 1920's. So, after about a week the phone came back on (no cell phones worked down here) & I decided to call the electric company JUST for information.... Just wondering how long it would be before we had electricity again. The conversation went like this:

Ring ring ring ring ring ring ring ring ring ring ring ring ring ring ring ring ring ring ring ring ring ring ring ring ring ring ring ring ring ring ring ring ring ring ring ring

"Hello Choptank Electric"

Hello this is Tom A. I live at blah blah blah & was just wondering when we may have electricity again?"

"Hold On!"  (I am hearing voices raised and cursing in the background)

"Where did you say you were again"

"Crocheron, down passed the Refuge...."

(more cursing and swearing in the background)

And this is an exact quote from the electric company:

"LET ME TELL YOU SOMETHING! YOU ARE LUCKY TO HAVE ELECTRICITY IN THE GOOD TIMES!  DON'T CALL HERE NO MORE!!!!!!

The moral of the story is the same as the Boy Scouts, "Be Prepared"!

 

Just for fun, What do old, tired, HVAC guys make in OK? I might be tempted to move. BTY, I have a bus WITH A GENNY!! 

Best Wishes,  TOM & PHYLLIS

[Christyhicks]

hahahha, enjoyed your story!  Are you sure you and Larry aren't related?  He keeps this shop pretty straightened up, but OH MY GOSH, you should see his other one!  It is knee deep of every possible tool, motor, contraption, welder (Larry owns two of every welder known to man. . . and YES, he just bought ANOTHER one the other day. . .boy, I tell you what, for two days we kept asking him, "So, Larry, is this another one of those, "THIS IS THE LAST WELDER I WOULD EVER NEED" type of welders???    boy, he sure regretted every making THAT comment two weldors ago!)  anyway, if you can picture a 30x40 shop crammed to the gills, and all the extension cords at the bottom of it all, you can imagine the fun we had, in the dark, trying to extract what we needed! 

Funny thing is when Larry got Big Genny running, my Christmas lights in the front lit up too.  a neighbor is flying down the road, gets in front of our place and slams on his brakes, skidding to a halt, backs up and pulls into the drive.  He leans out the window and yells, "Boy!  I just saw your lights and thought, "They'd better have a generator!  Otherwise, how in the H _  _ _ did they get electricity and we're still out!"     Turns out, contrary to what we thought, including his place, there are THREE of us out here on OG&E instead of just two.  The rest of the neighbors, including our office/shop and his barn are on another utility company.  I figure, with a grand total of three houses on OG&E in this area, yep, we'll get power sometime before next spring!  ha ha

Just for fun, What do old, tired, HVAC guys make in OK? I might be tempted to move. BTY, I have a bus WITH A GENNY!! 

Well, right now, I can guarantee you'd make a heck of a lot of money off that generator if you just offered to go from house to house, spending an hour at each, running their furnaces   They say they're down to just over 100,000 people in the OKC metro area without power, as of this morning, so they are making progress.  A GC we're working for called this morning and told me he heard that only scoundrels and lowlifes were still without power . . .which explained a lot, didn't it!   Christy Hicks

[Christyhicks]

Leave it to Larry to coin the phrase "welding withdrawal"! 

And NO , I did NOT allow him to disconnect our office so he could use his new "welder to end all welders".  I know, I'm heartless!   Christy

[Kwajdiver]

Christy,

You haven't updated us in a few days..  How ya'll doing?

Sending warm thoughts your way....

Bill
Back in Florida without the Bus

[Christyhicks]

Actually, not too bad. . .but we had another "event" from the ice storm hit us. . .it was sort of like that storm just had to give us one more "kick in the butt". . . I just haven't had time to sit down and write everyone. . . stay tuned for details, ha ha. 

Christy