Hot and humid, but definitely less so today after all the rain and the cool front yesterday. We got a smattering in the early afternoon, like a snow flurry, only wet. A little later the temperature dropped 20F, the sky darkened and the wind picked up. Picked up stuff and flung it around! And that was when the power went out.
Took a little over 2 hours for power to be restored. It was pretty dark with the storm clouds. The FLASHLIGHTS and mini lanterns got used. The rain crashed down. One of the nearby monitoring stations got 1″ in 15 minutes. Of course the rain put an end to me working in the yard. I did manage to get one gas powered string trimmer running. It needed new fuel lines, new primer bulb, and a good carb cleaning. I put the string trimmer attachment on it and attacked the back yard. It’s been a long time since I ran the trimmer in back, and I had some real bushwacking to do. Trimmer ran great for a whole tank of gas. The engine part had a $6 sticker on it. Fuel rebuild kit was $12, and a can of carb cleaner was $3. I don’t remember but I think the string trimmer attachment was probably less than $12. I don’t count the cost of the string since that’s an expendable. It took time of course, but still pretty cheap over all. I’ve got a pole saw attachment for trimming limbs, and a blower attachment for sweeping leaves, as well as extra string trimmer attachments. If I can get another one of the power units running, I’ll leave one as a trimmer and one as polesaw.
In hindsight, I should have been working on the gennie, either the propane conversion for the Honda inverter, or cleaning the carb for the bigger Generac. But I couldn’t find the conversion kit- it got ‘cleaned up’ and moved. And I got focused on getting one of the trimmers running so I could cut the grass. I did find the kit later in the evening so it will be going on the gennie this week. I’ve decided to ask a neighbor for an extension cord to keep the freezers running while the electrical work is happening. I’ll send the gennie with my wife next week just in case. Thought I’d have more time before the next hurricane to get the Generac prepped… Prepper fail.
Today I’ve got a ton of stuff to get together and load, scattered in a couple of different places. I think I’ll be driving around most of the day, and then driving to the BOL, with a pickup or three on the way. Wife and kids have more Girl Scout Mariner stuff this weekend, and I have to get some stuff done at the BOL before the electricians get there.
Subsequently I’ll be away from the keyboard most of the day. Hope they can keep the world together a few more days…
I need to stack some more, and so do you!
nick