Hurricane Harvey

In reply to Toyman01:

That's quite a mouse trap. I'm going to pick your brain once things are up and running. I don't know if I NEED to do this, but I clearly need to do this.

Toyman01.....plans please here too. Do you have the panel thingy next to your main panel for switchover?

Toyman01 wrote:

mazdeuce wrote: In reply to TheHairyFalcon: Thanks for joining! I've seen those before. The question is whether to use something like that or try to find a welder/generator with a bad motor and adapt that. Who doesn't want a 6000lb welder with long tube headers? Either way, it's not so much that I neeeeed a generator, it's more that I just happen to have a transmission with a PTO. And way too much free time to sit around and think about it.

Having built a generator once, I recommend it. It was a fun project. 3 cylinder Kubota diesel and a Harbor Freight 10kw generator head. It will run the whole house if you are careful, and it's fairly quiet. As an added bonus, we haven't had a major hurricane since, and I built the generator in the late 90s. I hope you guys and gals are staying dry.

This thing definitely needs a build thread.

In reply to EastCoastMojo:

I like that idea too. Especially since I currently have oil heat, and thus a 250 gal diesel tank to fuel it. A divorced design would allow changing engine if/when I convert to natural gas.

Some folks use those multi-circuit, transfer switch combo panels, but I would run a stand-alone ATS with a sub-panel. I'm sure a remote start wouldn't be too hard to configure.

The potential downside to something like this is it obviously isn't a UL listed assembly, which may cause insurance issues.

How's everyone holding up? My brother who lives behind a large pond in his apartment in Katy has now flooded due to releasing water at the Addicks reservoir. His car is now flooded, the apartment has moved him to a 3rd floor place, the water is dangerously close to getting into his apartment.

In reply to thedanimal:

We're good, but friends in Kingwood are hopping houses as water pushes families higher and higher. A friend south of Buffalo Bayou is standing in his garage drinking coffee and watching the water rise. He's stuck. The road has almost three feet of water in it already. Either he'll be ok, or he'll get a boat ride with his neighbors when they all need to call for help. Other friends spent yesterday rescuing 50 horses.

How bad is the waffle house quotient?

Yesterday afternoon 23 out of 27 Houston Waffle Houses were still open. I haven't seen any numbers today.

Just read that 85% of people in Houston don't have flood insurance. Quartz link.

There's going to be some nasty repercussions from this.

A few of our clients were saying that their facilities are either underwater or it's getting close. They'll likely lose quite a large sum in just equipment but all their employees left a few days ago.

I hope everyone is doing alright.

We have customers at the docks down there. Haven't heard from them, hopefully all OK, but it's not looking good from what I can tell. Hopefully all the GRM family down there end up as OK as possible.

Welp, my brother and his wife have had to officially evacuate after they were unable to secure a top floor apartment. National guard scooped them up in a truck and are bringing them to a shelter. Fingers are crossed the apartment won't be completely flooded as renters insurance doesn't cover flooding. Picture is his parking lot, black Golf 4 door on the right side is his.

I'll try to throw up a thread in the next couple of weeks about the generator. It's behind the shop and hasn't run in several years. This is the only other picture I have online.

The odd looking thing with the small belt is a centrifugal governor from a WW2 era generator. The generator is over-driven. The engine turns 2150 rpms and the generator turns 3600.

In reply to thedanimal:

Ouch. I look at that picture and wonder how many of those cars are basically a total loss.

In reply to WilD:

At this rate, I'd imagine most of the ones in the middle since it's lower there. The whole area is expected to keep flooding. It's probably going to take weeks for it to fully drain. I'm wondering when he'll actually get to see how bad it is, he's actually been picked up by his wife's brother and is at their house. So at least he's not dealing with shelter life.

Hey, 3:52pm here in Decker Prairie and I'm seein' sunshine and blue skies...fingers crossed.

In reply to thedanimal:

I was just going to send you a message asking if they needed to be picked up and loaned a bed. Glad to see they found a place. If there's anything they need feel free to have them contact me.

In reply to mazdeuce:

Thanks Deuce, your kindness is greatly appreciated. I will let them know for sure. Thanks!

I'm loving all the monster trucks out helping. God bless Texas.

Has anyone seen an updated gallery of images from Houston? I guess I'm just at a loss to what all of it looks like, who's helping (including pictrues of rescue vehicles) etc.

Here's one I found.

Toyman01 wrote: I'll try to throw up a thread in the next couple of weeks about the generator. It's behind the shop and hasn't run in several years. This is the only other picture I have online. The odd looking thing with the small belt is a centrifugal governor from a WW2 era generator. The generator is over-driven. The engine turns 2150 rpms and the generator turns 3600.

When I saw the picture, I thought, hey fly ball governor. Haven't seen one in a long time.

mndsm wrote: How bad is the waffle house quotient?

Since I've learned about this I finally have a career goal, to work with the Waffle House Command Center.

pheller wrote: Has anyone seen an updated gallery of images from Houston? I guess I'm just at a loss to what all of it looks like, who's helping (including pictrues of rescue vehicles) etc. Here's one I found.

Just devastating.

Part of my job is overseeing a bunch of folks who make helicopter hoists. Yes the ones that hang outside basically every major life saving agency and military's choppers. Pretty cool to see them be put to good use across Houston.

Hope you all are safe and dry.

mndsm wrote: How bad is the waffle house quotient?

So I had no idea this was actually a thing. They have "jump teams" they fly in to keep them open while the poo hits the fan. They also have a "Waffle House storm playbook". Apparently 28 of the 30 in Houston have remained open

thedanimal wrote:

mndsm wrote: How bad is the waffle house quotient?

So I had no idea this was actually a thing. They have "jump teams" they fly in to keep them open while the poo hits the fan. They also have a "Waffle House storm playbook". Apparently 28 of the 30 in Houston have remained open

I first heard about it during Matthew last year. I love me some waffle house hash browns, but the quotient just makes it better. I'd totally be on a waffle house jump team.