Ike recovery question - assuming everyone who's posting here currently has power, did you ever lose it? (Conroe: buy, living)

[CanTex]

Originally Posted by BoydS

We lost power at 6PM Friday and got it back today Monday at 4PM. We are in East Fort Bend county (no city .. just country) and we are glad to have the power back on. I do have a small 5600 watt generator and I am thankful for that. The gen provided us power for our fridge, a few lights, fans and TV. We had a fuel supply (for the gen) of 30 gallons and when the power came back on we had just under 5 gallons. Although this small generator provided well for us we do plan to have a larger unit installed that will provide much more power. Almost everyone near me has a generator ... because this is not the first time the power has gone out. But I'll admit it was the longest time without any power.

Watcha doing with those 5,600w!! I got by fine with 2,000 W, plenty enough to keep my large kitchen refrigerator and also my freezer going, as well as a lamp, phone chargers, clock radio to listen for news, etc. Unplugged the fridge when I made coffee each morninng.

I highly recommend the Honda 2000 if you're willing to "rough it" a little as I did. 1 gallon of gas kept that all going for 10-12 hours on average. I made it to almost 3 days on my first 5 gallon can -- and then my power came back (out at 6:30 PM Friday, on at 3:30 Monday in my area of Sienna Plantation). The generator is also VERY quiet... I could barely hear it from indoors.

[Elipar]

Live near 610/288. Power went out about 12:30 Sat morning, came on 10PM Monday... sooooo happy to have it back.

[Wysiwyg]

looks like we just got lucky in Alief. the very next subdivision, small like ours, still does not have power.

[blancspons]

We are north of Kingwood off 59 in Roman Forest. We lost power at 3 am on Sat... we got hit pretty bad. We are still without power now, and have heard we will be for 4-6 weeks! I have evacuated to another state after hearing that! Hopefully it'll be more like 2 weeks, but we'll see. Everyone on my street has left.

[BoydS]

Originally posted by CanTex
Watcha doing with those 5,600w!! I got by fine with 2,000 W, plenty enough to keep my large kitchen refrigerator and also my freezer going, as well as a lamp, phone chargers, clock radio to listen for news, etc. Unplugged the fridge when I made coffee each morninng.

I highly recommend the Honda 2000 if you're willing to "rough it" a little as I did. 1 gallon of gas kept that all going for 10-12 hours on average. I made it to almost 3 days on my first 5 gallon can -- and then my power came back (out at 6:30 PM Friday, on at 3:30 Monday in my area of Sienna Plantation). The generator is also VERY quiet... I could barely hear it from indoors.

I've had that generator for over 5 years and the reason I purchased it was for surf fishing at night. It takes that much wattage to pull the light loads (can't see much with 100 watt light bulbs). This generator also provided power when I built my barn. Another good thing about this generator is that it has a 220V 30 amp receptacle that allows me to run my water well. Since we are not on city water, when the power goes out so does my well pump. I'll admit that my generator is not very quiet, but since I already had it I put it to good use. For folks that don't require a generator with this much wattage, you are correct that the smaller units (such as the Honda) are the better way to go.

[bostoner]

I live just west of downtown in 77007. I lost power around 6:30 Saturday morning. I think I had it longer than most. Then I heard a transformer pop and that was all she wrote. The rest of my neighborhood got power restored later that day. My block had to wait till Sunday afternoon, maybe due to the tree that fell on the power line at my neighbor's across the street. Internet just came back today.

[Reivax]

where can i get information on power returning? i keep hearing wildly varying answers, some say 2 weeks, some say as much as 6 weeks. is there somewhere i can get answers? if not i understand, i know this is a once in a lifetime event, but if you know any real factual first-hand information (not 2nd hand - got plenty of that from everyone on my street) please share. thank god for my blackberry keeping me in touch!

[CanTex]

Originally Posted by BoydS

I've had that generator for over 5 years and the reason I purchased it was for surf fishing at night. It takes that much wattage to pull the light loads (can't see much with 100 watt light bulbs). This generator also provided power when I built my barn. Another good thing about this generator is that it has a 220V 30 amp receptacle that allows me to run my water well. Since we are not on city water, when the power goes out so does my well pump. I'll admit that my generator is not very quiet, but since I already had it I put it to good use. For folks that don't require a generator with this much wattage, you are correct that the smaller units (such as the Honda) are the better way to go.

Makes sense. If I was in your situation and had the need the power for motive loads like a well pump, then I'd have that large of one too. I just didn't want people to think they needed this large of a generator to keep the basic needs going, especially when gas is so tough to replenish.

Another plus of these smaller Honda generators is they will throttle the engine automatically depending on load; it cuts way back when the refrigerator and freezer compressors aren't running. Saves a lot of gas.

[maggie2101]

We are in Katy near Highland Knolls and Mason Rd. We lost power during the hurricane at 2:29 AM and are still without power. The houses across the street never lost power and we have an extension cord strung across the street. We have one lamp, a fan, TV, DSL modem, router, and laptops plugged in.

We should be getting a generator today!

[Scarlett76]

We are in Tomball and have power, we lost it for just about 24 hours.