Blizzard-Ice Storm January 23-26, 2026

[AzScorpion]

I have a 12 kw solar inverter with about 40 kw of batteries so we are good. All We need is a little sunshine and we can go forever. Also have a 15 kw generator to recharge the batteries without sunshine. We loose power all the time and are ready. I built an insulated shed to keep it outside.

That is the ultimate set up right there! Having a backup for your backup you'll never run out of power and can survive through almost anything. Nice work Ed!

BTW..I love the sticker. lol

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[AzScorpion]

Nice to see them getting ready to help out up in the Carolinas BEFORE things get bad.

 

[DukeCanBuildit]

That is the ultimate set up right there! Having a backup for your backup you'll never run out of power and can survive through almost anything. Nice work Ed!

BTW..I love the sticker. lol

That sticker is pretty cool. I think Ed has about a hundred cords of wood as a further backup.

 

[woodworker]

Nice to see them getting ready to help out up in the Carolinas BEFORE things get bad.

We were coming back to Williamsburg from the winery in Barhamsville yesterday and there were already probably 50 trucks staged there on Richmond Road already.

 

[Fordup]

That is the ultimate set up right there! Having a backup for your backup you'll never run out of power and can survive through almost anything. Nice work Ed!

BTW..I love the sticker. lol

They recently trippled the price of our electricity so this is just a test system to see if solar is feasible with all the clouds we get off the lake. I'm finding it's a good backup but not really worth trying to go off grid 4 months of the year. I only have 5 kw of bifacial panels though mounted on a trailer with a shed at this point. I would need to fill that field with panels with our climate in the winter.

 

[Fordup]

That sticker is pretty cool. I think Ed has about a hundred cords of wood as a further backup.

Sitting here feeding the woodstove tonight. 10 below windchills with 5 big old double pane windows in the great room that let the cold come right through. I barely have enough wood to make it through the season left with the cold Dec and Jan.
That's the only kind of sticker the grandkids will heed .

 

[AzScorpion]

That sticker is pretty cool. I think Ed has about a hundred cords of wood as a further backup.

I've watched a lot of his videos on his YouTube channel. This guy knows how to take care of himself and his family and will never have to rely on anyone in case of an emergency. Damn, more people should take note and be half as prepped as Ed. Super impressive

 

[Fordup]

Man, you're set. My house came with the generator hook-up outside and a transfer switch inside. I really should jump on the next deal on a good generator that comes along.

Canadian Tire (think Harbor Freight meets Walmart, but without all the clothes and groceries) used to have a very generous return policy on generators - buy it in the fall, return it in the spring if you didn't use it. My guess is their return rate was kinda low.

Generators suck. They require hundreds of gallons of fuel for a long outage if you don't have natural gas we found and have to run constantly for small loads. A simple battery backup is much nicer. You only need a small generator for recharging. It runs full load for a short time then peace and quiet for hours. Many plug and play systems available now if you don't have massive loads that can be recharged at EV chargers if you don't want to deal with generators.

 

[AzScorpion]

Generators suck. They require hundreds of gallons of fuel for a long outage if you don't have natural gas we found and have to run constantly for small loads. A simple battery backup is much nicer. You only need a small generator for recharging. It runs full load for a short time then peace and quiet for hours. Many plug and play systems available now if you don't have massive loads that can be recharged at EV chargers if you don't want to deal with generators.

I was looking into installing a EcoFlow Delta 3 Plus when we were building the new house. The only problem I had was I didn't have enough room to put up a good solar array. South was the front yard and they'd never let me install them there. lol That is the ultimate system because like you said they don't take much to recharge them and are whisper quiet and can be mounted inside in a closet if needed.

 

[Grandaccess]

Ed is right you know, Gen are so 1900s

 

[Fordup]

I was looking into installing a EcoFlow Delta 3 Plus when we were building the new house. The only problem I had was I didn't have enough room to put up a good solar array. South was the front yard and they'd never let me install them there. lol That is the ultimate system because like you said they don't take much to recharge them and are whisper quiet and can be mounted inside in a closet if needed.

Word of caution. Don't put several KWH of chinese batteries and a inverter in a closet . They are fairly safe but you know how Chinese quality can vary. The systems definitely keep getting better and are really affordable. Solar shingles would be a perfect match for scenarios like yours once they're perfected. Back to the weather.

 

[Grandaccess]

We talking boobies like @Grandaccess or snow?

All right I will derail it my self then ....
Weather and Boobies

 

[DukeCanBuildit]

Generators suck. They require hundreds of gallons of fuel for a long outage if you don't have natural gas we found and have to run constantly for small loads. A simple battery backup is much nicer. You only need a small generator for recharging. It runs full load for a short time then peace and quiet for hours. Many plug and play systems available now if you don't have massive loads that can be recharged at EV chargers if you don't want to deal with generators.

Good to know Ed! Thanks!

 

[SigOris]

***I thought a lot of you should be aware (if you weren't already) of this huge storm. Hopefully it shifts again but it's been getting worse not better. I'll move it to the Off Topic section once it's over.***

I've been following this storm for a few days (I've always been a weather geek) and it just took a turn for the worse. They were expecting more snow south and now it looks like more ice from all across the central states to the east coast and north east over the weekend. Dallas is like 1 degree away from being in another bad ice storm so hopefully you guys will warm up some. I gave up on local weather years ago and have been following Ryan Hall Y'all who's been much more accurate.

Just another winter day in Maine

 

[AzScorpion]

Just another winter day in Maine

That's way too cold my friend. No wonder you eat all that Polish food, for natural heat ...Gas!

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