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I have frequent power outages - had one already a few weeks ago - only lasted about 4 hours, but sometimes they last a 2-3 days.
But I am thinking about a strategy for dealing with an outage that lasts weeks to months - e.g., Cascadian Subduction Zone earthquake.
I have two inverter gensets, one is a 3.5kW transportable, the other is a 2kW portable. The larger one is for the house, the smaller is for the shop.
Neither one will run my well pump, and even if they could they can't as the pump is hooked up at the meter, not the house - so that is an issue - if I were to stay here (I don't plan to - I plan to sell next year), I would address that issue ($$$$ to fix it).
Well pump issue aside, I also have two battery power stations (256Wh & 512Wh), 6 solar panels (100W each), a 1500VA UPS and a 55 gal drum of gasoline in the shop. During the winter, I doubt I will get much solar power - maybe 10-20% of the rated power from the panels (need to test this).
What I am thinking is run the gensets for an hour or two each day to charge the power stations & UPS, the fridge in the house, the freezer in the shop, my laptop and phone and emergency lighting.
Use the laptop & Starlink about one hour per day. Laptop runs for 6-8 hours per charge, Starlink consumes 30-80 watts (varies a lot) so it can run off either power station and boots up in less than 5 minutes. I can SMS text and use FB msg and email from phone or laptop, get the latest news/etc. a couple of times per day this way without running the gensets all the time.
My best power station - an EcoFlow, charges on solar/car or AC. On AC it will charge at 600 watts and that takes about one hour to charge it up full.
But I am thinking about a strategy for dealing with an outage that lasts weeks to months - e.g., Cascadian Subduction Zone earthquake.
I have two inverter gensets, one is a 3.5kW transportable, the other is a 2kW portable. The larger one is for the house, the smaller is for the shop.
Neither one will run my well pump, and even if they could they can't as the pump is hooked up at the meter, not the house - so that is an issue - if I were to stay here (I don't plan to - I plan to sell next year), I would address that issue ($$$$ to fix it).
Well pump issue aside, I also have two battery power stations (256Wh & 512Wh), 6 solar panels (100W each), a 1500VA UPS and a 55 gal drum of gasoline in the shop. During the winter, I doubt I will get much solar power - maybe 10-20% of the rated power from the panels (need to test this).
What I am thinking is run the gensets for an hour or two each day to charge the power stations & UPS, the fridge in the house, the freezer in the shop, my laptop and phone and emergency lighting.
Use the laptop & Starlink about one hour per day. Laptop runs for 6-8 hours per charge, Starlink consumes 30-80 watts (varies a lot) so it can run off either power station and boots up in less than 5 minutes. I can SMS text and use FB msg and email from phone or laptop, get the latest news/etc. a couple of times per day this way without running the gensets all the time.
My best power station - an EcoFlow, charges on solar/car or AC. On AC it will charge at 600 watts and that takes about one hour to charge it up full.