Thanks, that's the kind of thing I'd forgotten. The WH are instant natural gas. Have to see if they have drains. shut off the NG, so they don't burn up when power comes back on.
I'd not remembered to pink the traps. And toilets. The church has 11 toilets, and assortment of sinks and floor drains.
Yes, that's good idea. Wonder if I should shut off the water main first, and open all the other faucets? Naahhhh.... just the hose bibs until the water stops.
Yes,that's a good idea. There is some open area in the gym, I could blast a couple salamanders, with minimal risk of fire. Put some cinder blocks under the heaters.
If:
1) such heater can be found
2) can get permission to operate such.
(from another list) Part 1) NatGeoTV: American Blackout (We Can Avert the Coming Misery)
A nationwide electric power failure is so realistically dramatized in this National Geographic television docu-drama, and is coincidentally aired both on and around the same time that a U.S. Government national power blackout drill is being conducted, that it appears that NatGeoTV is really relaying a government warning of a cyber-attack.
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The U.S. Government officially announces the threat of a nationwide power failure.
I know I sure will be doing what I can to prepare. Have some extra gasoline on hand, fill the truck, and so on. I'd rather prepare for 10 drills, than be caught short in 1 real power cut.
Maybe it's just me, but I haven't read anything that says that there will be an actual outage.
The articles I've read say that they will hold a "downed power grid simulation" but they never say that the power will actually go out.
If I were you, I'd call your local utility and ask them what exactly is going to happen on Nov 13 in your specific area before I started draining pipes and filling them with antifreeze.
My guess is that you won't have to do anything because the power isn't really going to be cut.
I hope you're right. of course, I won't go through all the pipes and pink the traps, unless the grid goes down. Just trying to stay ahead of trouble. If it were a real grid down, the drone at the power co wouldn't have been told.
The LP Salamanders require a bit of power, but at least they don't stink up the place like a kero heater will. I use a little 80k BTU/hr LP heater in my shop occasionally, it works well and only takes a few Amps to power the blower and ignitor.
Your best bet, safest and simplest may well be to rent an industrial silenced diesel genset that can provide normal power for the heating systems, can be connected at one service entrance point and having a big fuel tank under the trailer mounted generator can be started up and mostly ignored until it's time to shut it down, fill the tank and return it.
First off, you don't have to talk to a "drone". You can escalate your request and work your way up the chain, especially if you are responsible for an important entity, such as a church.
Second, if the power was really going to be shut off, I doubt they would keep it a secret from hospitals, businesses, etc., even if it was just a drill. Read the articles. The drill is not about how small businesses, hospitals, schools or churches will handle a grid outage. It's about those responsible for the infrastructure and the various government agencies that have a part to play or a concern. That being the case, there are those who are in the know and you should be able to get an answer.
As for me, I'm planning on posting from my iron lung on 11/13 just like every other day...
You won't find many gas generators large enough to run the heating systems you have, generators large enough will be diesel or gaseous (LP/Nat.) fueled. A small gas generator can power some salamanders to provide a minimal level of "keep above freezing or condensation" heat.
FYI, those pivot irrigation systems commonly found in the mid America food producing states run on 480/3. One offshoot of that is that some engine driven welders are setup with generators that can provide 480/3 to power those systems when not welding them together.
Of course FEMA has huge warehouses full of nice diesel generators, I've seen semi loads of FEMA generators passing through here on the way up to OK when they had the huge ice storm there a few years back.
If you are worried the grid will go down and you will need power, buy your insurance NOW. Book the genset and pay for it. Then you have it if the grid goes down. But if it is only for less than 48 hours, warm the building up real good on the 12th and then close the doors and keep them closed. It will NOT cool off to the danger point unless the exterior temperture dives WAY below freezing
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