Flashlight, lantern, battery suggestions

[Nodak]

Something stores the energy for those 30 minutes, probably a battery. Eventually it will leak or not charge.

It has a large spring like an old gramaphone that is wound up by cranking and it then powers a small generator as it unwinds. There is no battery in the radio.

 

[Nodak]

Look carefully at the noise figures. Some of those are incredibly noisy and although marketed for residential use are simply not suitable for that purpose because of the noise they make.

Even if you don't want to sleep your neighbors probably will. Noise suppression to a reasonable level isn't that expensive anymore but it does add a few hundred dollars to the price if done right. It might make the difference between your neighbors merely being envious during an outage or coming after you with pitchforks and torches.

A hint is in the advertising. If the ads put their noise levels front and center in the ads (expressed as a number in DBA, should be in the mid 60's or lower) they've probably done their homework. If they're silent on the issue or make you dig for it you probably don't want that machine running outside your bedroom window and neither does anyone else.

I have been looking at that. When I get moved back I will get more info on the units. I have a large garage separated from the house by a breezeway and am wondering if the generator could be mounted in the garage with exhaust through the wall. The garage is 18 feet square and I only have 1 car. I have a lot of questions but as long as I am 300 miles away from my house I will have to wait for answers.

 

[Koolau]

Time to just get a small generator?
http://http://t.harborfreight.com/engines-generators/gas-engine-generators/4000-peak3200-running-watts-65-hp-212cc-generator-epa-iii-69676-8945.html
Less than $350, big enough to start and run a fridge or freezer or even a room AC unit (which would be super handy in some places), you can recharge your big batteries, power tools and LEDs while it is running other stuff, and your fuel would probably last longer than running a car engine just to turn a small alternator. Down side: noisier (for the portion of time it is running) and requires upkeep

Our complex's HOA does not allow generators for a couple of reasons. We are in an "egg crate" configuration, so noise and exhaust would be issues to neighbors. Also, since fire in a semi-high-rise is the worst scenario, we are not allowed ANY storage of fuels on premises (except in the car's fuel tank.) I did use a whole house arrangement (generator and isolation wiring) back on the mainland. My thinking on the battery driven inverter was that, in a pinch, it would be possible to keep the batteries charged using the car alternator. Not ideal, certainly, but fits neatly within the HOA guidelines and should work for all but truly extended outages. Again, though, I'll have to do the research to be certain it will work and also that it will be worth it.

Last time we had an extended outage, the power company paid off those who filed claims of lost food in freezers. We simply left the freezer/fridge closed and lost nothing. So, in theory, I don't need to run the fridge. More than anything, I just do not like the idea of being without power - some sort of personality quirk more than a fear of losing the contents of the cooler. YMMV

 

[GrayHare]

It has a large spring like an old gramaphone that is wound up by cranking and it then powers a small generator as it unwinds. There is no battery in the radio.

THAT's a good design. I didn't know such were available, now I'll have to see about getting one like that.

 

[freebird5825]

It has a large spring like an old gramaphone that is wound up by cranking and it then powers a small generator as it unwinds. There is no battery in the radio.

THAT's a good design. I didn't know such were available, now I'll have to see about getting one like that.

May we get a photo or link for this, please ?

 

[Walt34]

I disagree, sort of. The whole house generators that run on natural gas (or diesel for that matter) are really pretty quiet. Ours is 25kW, and has what is basically a VW Beetle engine in it. It runs on propane, and powers about 2/3 of our large house. When you are outside near it it sounds like a well tuned car idling. From inside you have to listen hard to even know it's on.

They have improved then. I heard a couple many (30 years?) ago and they were deafening. Probably designed for industrial backup where noise doesn't matter.

 

[Nodak]

May we get a photo or link for this, please ?

I bought the radio from C Crane Company about 10 years ago. I don't know if they still have it or not. It was intended for use in countries that had poor electrical systems. Their web site is:
Home | C. Crane

 

[splitwdw]

They have improved then. I heard a couple many (30 years?) ago and they were deafening. Probably designed for industrial backup where noise doesn't matter.

Walt, What's considered loud as far as dba ratings? Ours is fairly new, about 3 years old and running full load is 66 dba.
Sometimes they sound louder due to where they are located and if there's anything around to soften the noise. My older neighbor set up his portable generator in his garage with the front door open. I live along him and could hear it but not too loud. It was deafening when you stood in front of the garage.

 

[Nodak]

May we get a photo or link for this, please ?

I looked at my radio and it is made by Baygen. After searching for a current source it looks like it may have been discontinued. A newer model may be available but it looks like there is a battery included now. Here is a You tube clip that shows the radio I have:

 

[Walt34]

Walt, What's considered loud as far as dba ratings? Ours is fairly new, about 3 years old and running full load is 66 dba.
Sometimes they sound louder due to where they are located and if there's anything around to soften the noise. My older neighbor set up his portable generator in his garage with the front door open. I live along him and could hear it but not too loud. It was deafening when you stood in front of the garage.

66 dba is fairly quiet, you should be able to carry on a conversation standing next to the source without having to raise your voice much, if at all.

How sound is perceived can get real complicated real fast. I learned a lot about that from being in a model airplane club at a time when the county was receiving noise complaints about the models at the flying site. The sound levels were well below allowable limits and in fact were below the sound of a lawn mower 1/2 block away. But because the sound of a model airplane engine is at a higher frequency it is perceived by most humans as being louder even when by all objective measurements it is not. Think of how annoying the high-pitch buzz of a mosquito is but it actually is not very noisy.

We were lucky - the club's president at the time was a sound engineer! So he was able to poke lots of holes in the arguments made by the people making the complaints and had access to some fairly sophisticated measuring equipment and the knowledge to use it.

It turned out that all the complaints stopped when one jerk moved away.

Anyway, as most people know vegetation of almost any type goes a long way toward muffling sound. So does directing the sound upward when that is possible or as you found by moving away from the direct emission of the sound in your neighbor's garage. And reducing the frequency of the sound may have the effect of reducing the perceived loudness even if in fact the volume is not reduced at all. We saw that effect when model airplane 4-stroke engines came out in volume. The actual noise they produced was nearly the same as the 2-strokes but they are perceived to be much more quiet because they turn more slowly and thus have a lower frequency.

 

[freebird5825]

I looked at my radio and it is made by Baygen. After searching for a current source it looks like it way have been discontinued. A newer model may be available but it looks like there is a battery included now. Here is a You tube clip that shows the radio I have:

Thanks for looking that up for me.

I went to Amazon to check out emergency radios. I'll need to do some more research, but this one jumped out at me because of the multi-function to USB connector thingie.


Anybody out there own of these ?

http://www.amazon.com/Ambient-Weath...ency+radio+cell+phone+charger#customerReviews

 

[W2R]

Freebird, I have that weather radio and like it a lot. The shortwave has been pretty useless so far, for whatever reasons, except out in the countryside. All the other functions work as one might hope. I haven't had to use it to charge my cell phone yet, but I checked and the connector is the right size. It was nice to have this weather radio during a recent power outage (that only lasted a few hours).

 

[freebird5825]

Freebird, I have that weather radio and like it a lot. The shortwave has been pretty useless so far, for whatever reasons, but all the other functions work as one might hope. I haven't had to use it to charge my cell phone yet, but I checked and the connector is the right size. It was nice to have this weather radio during a recent power outage (that only lasted a few hours).

Very cool !

I have an old fashioned gas powered Sears generator outside under my porch, and the house wired properly, but it is often pretty you-know-what-in' cold up here. If we were to lose power, it would probably due to a tremendous ice or snow storm with high winds.

I want something to be able to use quickly and for a little while until I muster the courage to go outside and pull the starter rope on the generator.
Plus if I run out of gasoline, this would suffice to keep us in contact with the world.

Mr B is able bodied, but with his heart situation, the last thing I want him doing is being out in the cold trying to get that generator started for us.

 

[W2R]

Good thinking. I think you would probably like this radio as much as I do (and if not, Amazon is pretty good about returns). It seems tough and reliable to me. I also listen to it while plugged in, on normal non-stormy days when I have power, just as a regular radio. Not for audiophiles but it is fine for my purposes as long as I shut off the plasma TV to cut down on interference on some bands.

 

[harley]

How sound is perceived can get real complicated real fast.
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Anyway, as most people know vegetation of almost any type goes a long way toward muffling sound. So does directing the sound upward when that is possible or as you found by moving away from the direct emission of the sound in your neighbor's garage.

That's true. Having the enclosure around the generator really does decrease the sound over at the neighbor's. And probably part of the reason their little generator sounds so loud is that it only runs when the power is out. It's amazing how much ambient white noise there is in a house when the refrigerator, AC, radio, etc. are running. When all those are off, any sound seems louder.

Our 25kW generator is so quiet from inside our house that I have an alarm set on my cell phone to remind me to check and see if it's exercising (test run every week for 12 minutes). The alarm says "Check and see if gennie is exercising", and got me in a little hot water when DW picked up the phone one Friday. We had an attractive neighbor 2 doors down named Jennifer at the time. I'm not sure if DW bought my explanation, but I was actually innocent that time.

 

[Walt34]

We had an attractive neighbor 2 doors down named Jennifer at the time. I'm not sure if DW bought my explanation, but I was actually innocent that time.

Sure..., sure...,

 

[MRG]

We had an attractive neighbor 2 doors down named Jennifer at the time. I'm not sure if DW bought my explanation, but I was actually innocent that time.

Having 867-5309 on speed dial is a dead give away.

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