Ice Storm

[baileya1c]

Well there is a bigass ice storm in the midwest and therefore I have no channels. Anyone know of an easy way to get the ice off the dish? There is probably 3/4 to an inch of ice on everything. Today I wished I had cable, but only today and I think I just puked in my mouth a little bit.

[houskamp]

Warm water.. In "SuperSoaker" water gun if out of reach is the favorite trick..

[mec6762]

Depending on where your dish is and if you have an extension cord, I'd use a hairdryer. I got caught in the ice storm too. We didn't have power for most of yesterday.

[bobojay]

I may have this problem tomorrow as we're supposed to get a bigger one starting tonite!

[baileya1c]

oh you will, this ice storm in not over. I'd go out and get a supersoaker but there are tree's everywhere in the roads and I can't get out of the neighborhood. Suck!

[Galley]

Ice storm? It's freaking 80 degrees here (26 degrees above normal). :eek2:

[JDubbs413]

Well there is a bigass ice storm in the midwest and therefore I have no channels. Anyone know of an easy way to get the ice off the dish? There is probably 3/4 to an inch of ice on everything. Today I wished I had cable, but only today and I think I just puked in my mouth a little bit.

When we had our ice storm, it knocked cable out and not DirecTV lol. Heavy ice was tearing apart the powerlines and cable lines. Luckily we never lost power, but of course for some people I know cable was out for over a week. You won't have that with DirecTV.

[newsposter]

hose from your washer line outside

[Gilitar]

hose from your washer line outside

That's an awesome idea! Hook a water hose up to the hot water spicket for your washing machine.

[mstenbrg]

I just used a couple of buckets of hot water from the kitchen, and it pretty much was gone after that. Too much work to get a hose from the basement to hook up to the hot water.

[newsposter]

That's an awesome idea! Hook a water hose up to the hot water spicket for your washing machine.

yw... 1st year in my house had a severe ice dam and water pouring in the bedroom...great minds thought of this idea and it stopped the dam within minutes :) My neighbor came down and introduced herself while i was doing it and we got to trade stories and it was a good experience.

i've also done the hot water thing on 36 inches of snow in the driveway..rather 2 inches of ice than 36 of snow!

[JeffBowser]

Gad, what stories. I think I will stick to my random hurricane.

[MRinDenver]

Well there is a bigass ice storm in the midwest and therefore I have no channels. Anyone know of an easy way to get the ice off the dish? There is probably 3/4 to an inch of ice on everything. Today I wished I had cable, but only today and I think I just puked in my mouth a little bit.

Sunshine. Always works. Always has. Just wait and see!:hurah:

[lwilli201]

Im waiting for the shoe to drop here in the KC area. :( They predict about an inch of ice tonight and tomarrow. Loosing power is the big fear.

Had ice on the dish during the last ice storm, but no signal outage. My roof does not have much pitch and I had 2 inches of ice on it. Had to be real careful when it started to slid off.

[Greg Alsobrook]

I know you guys are gonna think I'm crazy... but I'm jealous... I love snow/ice... and we hardly EVER get any here... :(

[markman07]

Couldn't pouring, shooting warm water cause the plastic on the LNB's to crack?

[Pink Fairy]

I know you guys are gonna think I'm crazy... but I'm jealous... I love snow/ice... and we hardly EVER get any here... :(

You can have it!

We lost power today - and our electric company is telling us 7-10 days because tree branches are still causing even more outages.

Over 200,000 in the area at 1 PM today here in Tulsa.

Which means that my fish will probably not make it, because while I have a gas stove and fireplace - that wont keep my fishies water at the high temp it needs to be at.

The first day of the storm we simply poured hot salt water over the LNB and got our signal right back.

Unfortunately, even if I melted the ice off now, it would not matter!!

[scooper]

Gad, what stories. I think I will stick to my random hurricane.

Come up to NC - we get both (hurricanes / ice storms) - but not recently enough, as the whole state is in severe drought.

I'd rather have the hurricanes - power usually comes back faster :) and it's not as critical if we don't have it (warm summer / fall vs. cold winter)

[Dax]

Having been born and raised in the southwest, freezing rain was a new experience for me in the midwest. And while I absolutely hate the hot humid summers here, I can do without the ice storms in the winter too.

Fortunately my dish has never lost its signal due to ice. Too bad I can't say the same for the power or the cable for my internet access.

[anopro]

That's an awesome idea! Hook a water hose up to the hot water spicket for your washing machine.


Another one is Hot water heater drain you could De-ice your dish and drain the water heater at same time. Only better if it closer than Washer hook up
Ps. don’t put a sprayer on the end otherwise you could get a ruptured hose most garden hoses don’t handle hot water very well.

[vollmey]

You can have it!

We lost power today - and our electric company is telling us 7-10 days because tree branches are still causing even more outages.

Over 200,000 in the area at 1 PM today here in Tulsa.

Which means that my fish will probably not make it, because while I have a gas stove and fireplace - that wont keep my fishies water at the high temp it needs to be at.

The first day of the storm we simply poured hot salt water over the LNB and got our signal right back.

Unfortunately, even if I melted the ice off now, it would not matter!!

Agreed, you can have this ice, my front yard looks like a disaster area. It is nice that our power stayed up though.

I did loose the dish for a bit this afternoon. I used a 1 - gallon pump sprayer that shoots a stream 25 ft. Worked pretty good, took about a gallon and a half to get the 103B back, which is why I went out with the sparayer.

[dshu82]

I miss some Fall weather, barely gets below 70 at night....

[Pink Fairy]

Agreed, you can have this ice, my front yard looks like a disaster area. It is nice that our power stayed up though.

I did loose the dish for a bit this afternoon. I used a 1 - gallon pump sprayer that shoots a stream 25 ft. Worked pretty good, took about a gallon and a half to get the 103B back, which is why I went out with the sparayer.

Lucky! In regards to the power.

[Coffey77]

Depending on where your dish is and if you have an extension cord, I'd use a hairdryer. I got caught in the ice storm too. We didn't have power for most of yesterday.

This is actually a VERY bad idea. Do not be out with a cord in an ice storm, or any storm.

[finaldiet]

We're expected to start getting the ice here around 1-2 am in Chicago. Glad I don't have to work tomorrow. Earl, you might have a tough time getting to work, but more time on the forum. Drive safe out there!

[baileya1c]

The washing machine trick worked like a champ. About 3 minutes and it was good as new!

[RobertE]

You can have it!

Which means that my fish will probably not make it, because while I have a gas stove and fireplace - that wont keep my fishies water at the high temp it needs to be at.



:(

Could always try adding some warm/hot water periodicly to keep the temp up. But the swings in temp may do more harm than good. :(

[hankmack]

Now is the time to watch what you have recorded. I add recordings when snow is possible since I will under no circumstances climb on the roof when there is snow on it. Be careful out there!.:nono:

[dwrats_56]

Since I don't have a super soaker available, I did try running water on my dish and was not able to clear off enough ice. I can watch ESPN but cannot see any of the MPEG-4 channels.

Super Soaker now on the Christmas list.

[newsposter]

Couldn't pouring, shooting warm water cause the plastic on the LNB's to crack?

good point but id think the dish should be ok with 'warm' water...heck i bet even cold water is warmer than ice :) and you could use it

Another one is Hot water heater drain you could De-ice your dish and drain the water heater at same time. Only better if it closer than Washer hook up
Ps. don’t put a sprayer on the end otherwise you could get a ruptured hose most garden hoses don’t handle hot water very well.

just dont turn on the pressure that high...mine was fine for the long time i used the hose to melt my driveway (sitting out there with a lawn chair and in my hats/gloves)

[Pink Fairy]

:(

Could always try adding some warm/hot water periodicly to keep the temp up. But the swings in temp may do more harm than good. :(

Yes, but then you run into the issue of the fact that the quality of the water is greatly diminished.

Thanks for the input though :)

[Davenlr]

if your fish are freshwater, they might make it if you can keep the temp around 65. If they are saltwater, Keep the dead ones for your insurance claim...those babies are expensive. I don't know if you have a gas stove, but maybe you could put the fish in a plastic bucket of their aquarium water on the stove. The warmth from the pilot light will keep them warm. Good luck. I'm not that far from you, we just have rain here.

[Pink Fairy]

They are freshwater - we moved our expensive one to a neighbors who still have heat and keep the house warm.

(Our new Blue Phantom Pleco a $70 fish, a 7=8 inch feather fin catfish a $30 fish)

We are working on keeping the fish as warm as possible - unfortunately, they are in one of the coldest rooms in the house - even normally.

Ooo, the power went out here at work for a second too!

[Davenlr]

Went 7 days w/o power during the last ice storm here...never again. I put everything important on a UPS, which gives me 15 minutes to get to the garage and fire up the generator. I hate not having power. Fortunantly, I've not needed it for more than a couple hours since, due to lightning taking out transformers and a substation...but its nice to know its there.

If your power is going to be out for a long time, maybe you could order a generator on the nt and have it sent overnite ups.

[PCampbell]

When I had fresh I heated water from the tank on the stove then put it back. I have salt now and no gen set. Hope it does not get here.

[Pink Fairy]

We might do that since every place here is either closed or sold out.

Guys - even WALMART was closed!

[Davenlr]

Check with Home Depot and Lowes. When the ice storm hit here, they trucked in a semi trailer full of generators and sold them for normal list price out of the back of the truck on the parking lot. Maybe they will do that up there.

[Pink Fairy]

Thanks for all the help guys :)

[ThomasM]

Believe it or not, there are actually sites on the internet selling "de-icers" for DBS dishes. Apparently, it's some kind of heater that mounts to the back of the dish that you plug in only during ice & severe snow storms. Of course, this assumes you have power. :nono2:

The WORST thing you can do is try chipping away the ice as you could damage the reflective coating on the dish or destroy the LNB(s).

Tonight and tomorrow I might be in the same boat as they are predicting ice/sleet after 3AM tonight. This weather lately is crazy!!!

I wonder if my DirecTV receiver will work if it plugged into my generator? ;)

[Chris Blount]

The best of luck to you guy getting hit with the ice. I have been seeing news reports of just how bad thing are up there. Take care and be safe.

[Pink Fairy]

Thank you :) Found out the fireplace and stove are keeping the house at a too warm temp of 80 - but the fish tanks are staying at 72 - which is stable enough for us for now. Thank God we have almost a full rick of wood too.

[wildbill129]

How about one of these dish heaters??

http://www.montanasatellitesupply.com/index1.html

anyone ever tried one of these? Seems like it might work.........

[jodavis]

Believe it or not, there are actually sites on the internet selling "de-icers" for DBS dishes. Apparently, it's some kind of heater that mounts to the back of the dish that you plug in only during ice & severe snow storms. Of course, this assumes you have power. :nono2:

The WORST thing you can do is try chipping away the ice as you could damage the reflective coating on the dish or destroy the LNB(s).

Tonight and tomorrow I might be in the same boat as they are predicting ice/sleet after 3AM tonight. This weather lately is crazy!!!

I wonder if my DirecTV receiver will work if it plugged into my generator? ;)

I'm sure it will work fine, but if you have a UPS put it in line. They have electronics in them to clean up dirty power.

[JeffBowser]

I've run my DirecTV systems for weeks off of a generator. While I agree a UPS should be in line, don't get too excited if you don't have one. Most modern generator's power is clean enough, and the consumer electronics forgiving enough, to accept the power.


I'm sure it will work fine, but if you have a UPS put it in line. They have electronics in them to clean up dirty power.

[newsposter]

Believe it or not, there are actually sites on the internet selling "de-icers" for DBS dishes. Apparently, it's some kind of heater that mounts to the back of the dish that you plug in only during ice & severe snow storms. Of course, this assumes you have power. :nono2:
\

well you wouldnt need a deicer unless you did have some sort of power to your receiver anyway :)

[iotp]

Not too add, but depending on your location, I had a friend of mine redirect his dryer ventilation to the dish.

No joke, it worked.

All i can say, is in Phoenix today, a daytime high of 62. A little rain, but no snow/ice.

I can related, I did some serious time -- 16 years in "Detroit ", well suburbs to say the least. Not really prison time, but living in the blistering cold I can relate.

Phoenix is tough to beat, over 340 days of sunshine a year. I've yet to hear about problems with the dish overheating because of the direct sunlight. :)

I think we are at just under 3 inches total rainfall this year.

[houskamp]

Thank you :) Found out the fireplace and stove are keeping the house at a too warm temp of 80 - but the fish tanks are staying at 72 - which is stable enough for us for now. Thank God we have almost a full rick of wood too.
Freind of mine here at work said you can get those hand warmer packets and put it in a ziplock bag to warm up tanks..

[Flyboy917]

I have the new 5 LNB MPEG4 dish. Its out with only 1/8 inch of ice. Two years ago, I had "the old 3 LNB" dish, we had over an inch of ice and it still worked. Big bummer.
Gonna try the super soaker method. Guess the kids are good for something. LOL

[hasan]

I have the new 5 LNB MPEG4 dish. Its out with only 1/8 inch of ice. Two years ago, I had "the old 3 LNB" dish, we had over an inch of ice and it still worked. Big bummer.
Gonna try the super soaker method. Guess the kids are good for something. LOL

You might try some of the "spray on" deicer bottles (pressurized, Wal-mart) used for ice build up on car windows. I don't know how caustic the stuff is, so I wouldn't want to spray it on the LNBs without knowing more, but it doesn't seem to degrade the rubber seals around the windows. I've used it on 1/4 inch thick ice and two or three sprayings took it off. They also sell a "pre-treatment" product that works well.

If the dish is close to you, this approach might work. (close enough for the spray/squirt is strong enough to reach the dish)

[newsposter]

flamethrower?

[cnmsales]

Thanks for all the help guys :)



Ok so i am just a bit confused, how are you online if you dont have power?

[Greg Alsobrook]

Ok so i am just a bit confused, how are you online if you dont have power?

i think she said she was at work...

[mec6762]

This is actually a VERY bad idea. Do not be out with a cord in an ice storm, or any storm.

Granted. If one uses a hair dryer, I'd say just to deice the lnb's and ONLY if it's not storming. Otherwise, you might just get more than what you bargained for

[UPEngineer]

Well I have a lot of ice here in central OK but I still had a signal til late last night.

Well the big tree in the back yard finally gave way and a huge branch fell and took out my covered patio....And of course my dish was attached to it and now it is bent all to heck :(

But hey, at least I have electricity still. My street has it but the streets to the left and to the right of me do not. Go figure.

I am having TV withdrawals.

[Mikey]

Lost power for about five hours yesterday, but the ice never did kill the satellite signal from the dish. I'm seriously thinking about dropping $2k on a natural gas 7kw generator that will supply up to 8 circuits:
1) Blower motor for the central heat
2) Water well pump
3) Refrigerator
4) Kitchen lights and outlets
5) Computer, wireless router and DSL modem
6) TV and sat receiver
7-8) Other stuff

See specs here. (http://www.generatorsdirect.net/servlet/the-39/Guardian-5240-7-kw/Detail)

[Redlinetire]

Lost power for about five hours yesterday, but the ice never did kill the satellite signal from the dish. I'm seriously thinking about dropping $2k on a natural gas 7kw generator that will supply up to 8 circuits:
1) Blower motor for the central heat
2) Water well pump
3) Refrigerator
4) Kitchen lights and outlets
5) Computer, wireless router and DSL modem
6) TV and sat receiver
7-8) Other stuff

See specs here. (http://www.generatorsdirect.net/servlet/the-39/Guardian-5240-7-kw/Detail)

That thing looks like the exact one my neighbor has.
Loud as all get out. You can hear the scream of that thing from blocks away.
Works great, they had power all through the big blackout a few years ago.

But not a lot of sleep at night...for them or anyone else!

[Mikey]

That thing looks like the exact one my neighbor has.
Loud as all get out. You can hear the scream of that thing from blocks away.
Works great, they had power all through the big blackout a few years ago.

But not a lot of sleep at night...for them or anyone else!I sleep better when I'm warm, and I like to sleep with the TV on. :)

Seriously, the specs say 62dBA, and that compares with an A/C unit in action. The closest neighbors are 100 yards away, so I don't think they'll be bothered that much. Believe me, the dB levels in my house get pretty high when the wife sees that the power is out!

[JeffBowser]

Gas or diesel (especially diesel), is far more economical than natural gas. At least in my neck of the woods.....


Lost power for about five hours yesterday, but the ice never did kill the satellite signal from the dish. I'm seriously thinking about dropping $2k on a natural gas 7kw generator that will supply up to 8 circuits:
1) Blower motor for the central heat
2) Water well pump
3) Refrigerator
4) Kitchen lights and outlets
5) Computer, wireless router and DSL modem
6) TV and sat receiver
7-8) Other stuff

See specs here. (http://www.generatorsdirect.net/servlet/the-39/Guardian-5240-7-kw/Detail)

[Mikey]

$8/Dth * 0.2Dth/hr = $1.60/hour. A little pricey, but I'm seeing 5kw gas and diesel generators that use about 1gal/hour, and that's quite a bit higher. But thanks for pointing that out, initial cost is just one consideration.

[JeffBowser]

I have a 6.5kw gas genny for hurricane use, and it only uses 0.41 of a gallon an hour at my max load. I'd go diesel, myself, but if I only use a genny a few times a decade, I'm sticking with "disposable" gas genny's.

[Skins Fan]

Lost power for about five hours yesterday, but the ice never did kill the satellite signal from the dish. I'm seriously thinking about dropping $2k on a natural gas 7kw generator that will supply up to 8 circuits:
1) Blower motor for the central heat
2) Water well pump
3) Refrigerator
4) Kitchen lights and outlets
5) Computer, wireless router and DSL modem
6) TV and sat receiver
7-8) Other stuff

See specs here. (http://www.generatorsdirect.net/servlet/the-39/Guardian-5240-7-kw/Detail)

That is exactly what I did. Had the house wired for the generator, paid almost 5K for the generator ---- haven't lost power again since. Build it and it probably won't come!
Well, I lie, the power went off last year and by the time I got the circuits switched over and the generator started, the power was restored. It is great insurance either way.

[Grydlok]

They are freshwater - we moved our expensive one to a neighbors who still have heat and keep the house warm.

(Our new Blue Phantom Pleco a $70 fish, a 7=8 inch feather fin catfish a $30 fish)

We are working on keeping the fish as warm as possible - unfortunately, they are in one of the coldest rooms in the house - even normally.

Ooo, the power went out here at work for a second too!

I had a synodontis eupterus, it was a very pricey fish.

[Greg Alsobrook]

Lost power for about five hours yesterday, but the ice never did kill the satellite signal from the dish. I'm seriously thinking about dropping $2k on a natural gas 7kw generator that will supply up to 8 circuits:
1) Blower motor for the central heat
2) Water well pump
3) Refrigerator
4) Kitchen lights and outlets
5) Computer, wireless router and DSL modem
6) TV and sat receiver
7-8) Other stuff

See specs here. (http://www.generatorsdirect.net/servlet/the-39/Guardian-5240-7-kw/Detail)

very cool unit.... i am seriously considering one of those for my next house....

I love the "You save ($14.50)".... lol... what a deal!!! I'll take two!

[scooper]

I want something about double that size, at least 12K watts ... but it has to run on propane at my house. Problem is convincing my better half - the longest we have been without power was just over 24 hours when hurricane Fran came through in '95. Since then, most outages have been 12 hours or less.

[JeffBowser]

Only problem with huge generators is their inherently huge fuel consumption. They use more just running than the smaller ones do under load. I'm not willing to spend that much money on fuel, I'll make do with a few rooms powered, and a window unit AC to help sleeping at night (sorry, ice-storm guys, but it hit 82 here today)

I want something about double that size, at least 12K watts ... but it has to run on propane at my house. Problem is convincing my better half - the longest we have been without power was just over 24 hours when hurricane Fran came through in '95. Since then, most outages have been 12 hours or less.

[Pink Fairy]

Ok so i am just a bit confused, how are you online if you dont have power?

That's right, just online at work till we have power.

They have brought in like 3000 workers to restore power since in my city alone there are 250,000+ people without power.

[techntrek]

Skins fan, I have the same "problem". We had power outage after power outage the first 6 months we lived in our house (including the day we had a big open house to meet our new neighbors, and then discovered the grill was out of propane!). Installed a Generac 12kW unit and in the 3 years since we've had only minor blips and one 21-hour outage. Our neighbors have stories of 2-week outages from hurricanes and ice storms, so I expect it will get a work-out yet.

To anyone considering a permanent genset, some things to consider:

Yes, the big gensets use a lot of propane (or NG). At current fuel rates in my area, burning 1.5 gallons per hour at half-load, it costs $36 per day to run it *if* I only run it 8 hours per day. I figure 2 hours in the morning and 6 hours at night is enough to keep the fridge/freezers cold and keep us in light when we are at home and awake. During the day and overnight it stays off, because I'm not paying over $100/day just for gas. Diesel gensets win hands-down in this area, although they are more expensive to buy up-front. I went with propane since I already had a 500 gallon tank in the ground and the automatic propane gensets are relatively cheap to buy. Plus if you go with diesel or gasoline you have the hassle of rotating your reserve every 6 months, and keeping enough of it on-hand to outlast a long outage. You can't go out and buy more when all the gas stations don't have electricity, either. My 500 gallon tank will last me over 30 days and it doesn't go stale like gasoline.

Fuel source is important especially if you live in an earthquake zone. If you are hooked up to the local NG supply and an earthquake takes out the gas system (think about the '89 San Francisco quake) then you will still have no power. Even if the lines aren't ruptured the gas company may not be able to keep the pressure high enough to keep the genset running; this can be true even in non-earthquake emergencies. Gensets need high gas pressure, so you may have enough pressure to run your stove but not the genset. Consider installing an underground LPG tank if you want to avoid that uncertainty.

Looking back, I think a better option would have been to spend the money on a large whole-house UPS system. The money I spent on the genset would buy enough UPS capacity to keep the important stuff on for a week or more, long enough to handle most outages we'll ever see. Its also completely quiet so if you have close neighbors they won't complain about a loud genset. Keep a cheap-o genset on hand to boost the battery levels if they get too low and its a near-perfect system. I'll soon be installing a small one at our house, because it will prevent me from running the genset as much. Gensets run most efficently at full power, so it makes sense to charge the batteries (plus take showers and cook dinner since all our appliances and the well need electric) for a few hours and then shut the genset off. A UPS system would pay for itself over time because of the increased genset efficiency.

Ok, I've rambled on enough. Just though I would help out anyone thinking about this stuff as you sit in the dark this week. :-( The generator companies love to talk about the benefits of keeping the power on, but don't talk about fuel consumption, fuel rotation/storage, NG line pressure, etc. All things you need to consider before taking the plunge.

[JeffBowser]

I have successfully kept, and more importantly, used, gas that was 2 years old. Fuel preservative is your best friend. That being said, I whole-heartedly agree that keeping gas or diesel on hand is inherently more trouble prone than LP or NG. Nonetheless, with proper storage, diesel can be safely kept at a home for up to 2 years, and is not nearly as explosive as gasoline. Drawback is, unless you have something that takes diesel, when you hit the 2 year mark, what do you do with it ? I re-use my gas in my old jeep when it gets old, but if I had diesel, I'd be hard pressed to find some use for it down here in S. Fl.

[techntrek]

Good point, if you don't have a diesel truck or tractor you'll have to find someone that does just to get rid of the older fuel. If anyone will even take it since its old.

Another point I forgot to mention above: The automatic gensets will start themselves every week or two to "exercise" themselves, running for 10-15 minutes. It keeps the gaskets lubricated, and any system problems will become apparent before an outage. Its a plus, but it also means that even with no outages at all the genset will burn up 5 to 10 hours worth of fuel each year. That's about $50 per year for me. On the other hand, if you buy a non-automatic genset (most contractor-grade gensets fall in this category), you need to start it manually once or twice a month for the same reasons mentioned above. Let it run for 10-15 minutes. Uses some fuel, sure, but you don't want to find out that your fuel lines are clogged - as the hurricane rages around you - because you forgot to rotate out fresh fuel...

[vollmey]

That's right, just online at work till we have power.

They have brought in like 3000 workers to restore power since in my city alone there are 250,000+ people without power.

Okie, did you ever come back up?? We lost power about 30 mins. after I posted my last message Monday, and been out since. The investment of a 8k generator has paid off this week, never thought it would. My wife moaned and groaned about buying something that has bascially just sat around for a year or so. Now, of course it was a great purchase.

Hope thngs are good.

[Pink Fairy]

We got power back Thursday evening - we were lucky to have been back up so quickly. Only lost one $2 fish, so that makes it better.

My wedding anniversary was yesterday, and it got to the point that all I wanted was power for it!!

We are thinking about getting a generator now, just for the fish :P

And thanks for asking :)

Enjoying the snow today? :D

[Newshawk]

I don't know how I missed this thread, but I'll chime in here. We lost power in my neighborhood in Broken Arrow about 3:30 AM on Monday morning and did not get it back until 7:30 PM Wednesday evening. We fared pretty well by using a combination of flashlights and candles and by piling on the comforters and afghans when in bed. My wife, who uses a concentrator for oxygen and a bipap machine for sleep apnea, was able to make do with bottled O2, but just barely. I'm seriously considering a generator, but for her medical equipment.

I'm also going to ahve to get the gas log fixed... it could have come in handy!

DirecTV content... once the power came back on, all the receivers fired up right away, like nothing had happened!

[medic4jc7]

After going through Hurricane Frances,Jean, and Wilma. I had a generator. But then all the gas stations had no power. So I bought a 1250 watt inverter. It ran my computer, dish, fridge and a wall a/c. Let the truck idle the whole time with the hood up. Only used a half a tank in 4 days. Compared to filling the generator every 8 hours when we had gas.
But now the all stations here are required to have generators to run the pumps.

[jimmyv2000]

snow turning to sleet and ice now in NH
I have a 7500W generator all fueled up and ready to GO
I'm NOT missing THE PATS GAME under any circumstances!

[newsposter]

coating of ice on dish today, no loss at all.

for those who can get OTA i cant even remember the last ota outage i ever had..in the worse storms when lost the birds didnt lose ota

[TITAN_53]

Lost power LAST monday and STILL dont have power back. Power company wont even give me a guess as to when it will be back on. At first i was optimistic but after a week im pretty annoyed. 1 week and counting and not holding my breath. Atleast most of the people around me and across from me have power.