Church without power

[Stormin Mormon]

With the forecast of Nov 13 being power cut, it gets me to thinking. I'm one of the maint guys at church. Suppose the power goes off, and it's below freezing.

The building is masonry, with some metal truss, and flat roof. Roof is flat rubber, think there is some styrofoam under the rubber. With freezing and rewarming, there is concern about the wall paper might be damaged by condensation when it warms up. But, the big damage is likely to be the water lines. Old copper, in the ceilings and along the inside walls.

Ideally, I'd be able to shut off the water at the meter where it comes in. Use a compressor and blow out adapter to blow most of the water out of the lines, and hope for the best. I do have a small pump, to pump in pink RV antifreeze, but that would likely take a LOT of pink. Ten gallons or more, at the very least.

What else should I be thinking, in terms of damage reduction?

[Nate Nagel]

Will the church be occupied or no? I'm thinking portable heaters e.g. kerosene although you probably don't want to be in there while they're running. Unfortunately, you'll probably also get some lingering kero smell. I'd go ahead and drain the pipes too just in case.

Alternately, what *is* your heat and is it possible to power it up from a portable generator?

nate

[philoÂÂ]

Main thing to worry about is the water pipes.

How cold is it and how long will the power going to be out?

If it's 32degrees outside and the power is going to be out for less than

24 hours there is not going to be anything to worry about... as it would take several days before the interior of the building is going to reach the "out-door" temperature.

Also, since it's unlikely you'd be able to blow all the water out of the lines...you'd be better off just to keep the water running slightly and flushing the toilets etc occasionally.

[IGot2P]

Pray for warm weather...surprised you never thought of it. :-)

[trader4]

Yes, too little to go on. No length of time power is out 2 days? two months?, location, etc. How low the temp can go and for how long are c ritical questions. As you say, f it;s for a few days and the temps typical ly don't drop lower than the upper 20s and then only at night, I wouldn't worry.

[philoÂÂ]

On 10/30/2013 10:20 AM, [e-mail] wrote: e.

I just looked at the long term weather forecast in Utah and freezing temps are not even predicted.

[notX]

[snipp]

That seems like an appropriate solution there :-)

[Tim and Jammy Baker]

Hold an emergency service, pass the collection plate then use the proceeds to pay the electric bill.

[(PeteCresswell)]

Per Stormin Mormon:

What kind of furnace heats the place? Does the hot water heater need electric?

Ours is nat gas/forced air and it only needs enough electric to power the blower (couple hundred watts). Our hot water is also gas.

During outages we run the house on a 2000 watt generator. It's definitely "Lifeboat" and not "Cruise Ship", but we have heat, TV, phone, and enough lights to get by. Small microwave and propane camp stoves for cooking...

If that's the case for the church, maybe an el-cheapo generator and a low-end cutover switch?

Gas storage might be mitigated if church members would drop by and contribute a few gallons to keep it running.

[Beachbum]

Don't forget to drain the water heater. And DO use some antifreeze...in the toilet (bowl and tank), and a bit in each sink/shower drain trap.

[Gunner Asch]

Got hose bibs outside? Open them and leave em open. It will help drain anything above em.

[Pete C.]

You should be able to rent a couple LP "Salamander" type heaters with thermostats to maintain a reasonable holding temp, and power them with a small generator like a Honda EU2000, which if you get one of the available extended run tanks for can let you refuel once a day if even that frequently.

[Thomas]

What power cut? The government conspiracy one???

[Pavel314]

It looks like they're having a drill to simulate a major power outage, not an actual outage.

Still, I'll be sure to have some extra fuel for the generator.

Paul

[Stormin Mormon]

CY:Probably not, during a power cut. I think they generally send everyone home. We had a day time winter power cut, years ago. They sent us all home.

I'm thinking portable heaters e.g.

CY: That did come to mind. I'd have to check the BTU, but the church has

7 zones. I think the smaller five are 250,000 BTU per hour input, 80% efficiency. Fire regulations (insurance) prohibit fuel burning portable heaters. I think also electric plug in heaters also prohib.

I'd go ahead and drain the pipes too just in case.

CY: And shut off the water heaters, so they don't burn up when power comes back.

CY: Natural gas. Two zones have huge 460/3 motors, five are 230/1 volt/phase motors. Might be able to borrow a 230 volt generator, and wire in. I don't personally have any thing that does 230/1.

CY: Thanks.

[Stormin Mormon]

Nov 13 will probably be cold, but not bitter freezing. Sun shine in the day will provide some heat. Might be right, about leave the water dribble.

[Stormin Mormon]

Yes, you got me there. Thanks. I do need reminding.

[Stormin Mormon]

Never know with power cuts. I guess I can also bring thermometer in there, and see what the indoor temps do. Could retain heat longer than I think.

[Stormin Mormon]

Not a payment issue. Is Tammy OK, from the time when all that make up on her face caught fire?

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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. The 911 attacks have shown that government fore- warnings and drills portending an attack on America always seem to culminate in actual government attacks, having an ulterior motive, which are deceitfully blamed on terrorists. The banking/ government combine appears to be preparing for a collapse of the dollar and a suspension of depositors' withdrawals. A nationwide blackout would surely quell public outrage over the seizures of depositors' life's savings by the big banking scoundrels, who have often demonstrated a talent for such devious grand larceny -- in this case, the grandest of all grand larcenies. Please click on the FULL Screen icon [__].

The U.S. Government officially announces the threat of a nationwide power failure.

[Stormin Mormon]

Seven zones, all natural gas. Two are 460/3 systems, and five are 230/1 systems. Yes, someone out there might have a generator. If the NG is still on, might be able to heat one or two zones (one, then the other) and use fans to move the heat.