Attacks on the power grid - generator required

[Donald]

A recent article in the NY Times mentioned that there is an attack on the US power grid almost once a week. Some are cyber attacks and some are physical (cable cutting, shooting at transformers).

None of these have caused a power grid failure yet mainly as the right component or series of components has not been hit yet. But the article suggests its only a matter of time before these attacks cause a cascading power grid failure.

I am planning on doing more to my generator setup so I can run at least a week.

 

[tig1]

I keep enough fuel on hand to power my gen for a week. 30 gal. I would have to be careful how I ran it, but could easily go for a week. I back-feed through my welder outlet. Works very well with my 5KW gen.

 

[bubbatime]

A week long power outage in major metropolitan cities will cause wide spread rioting and looting.

 

[eljefino]

Being able to mooch off one's larger fuel tanks (bottled propane for stove, or 275 gal #2 heating oil (diesel)) will have its bonusses.

However, my being able to tap my car's fuel rail means I can top it off in an environment of "no gas cans". I even have some old even/odd numbered license plates hanging around in case they ration even/odd days.

 

[SwampSurvivor]

Originally Posted By: bubbatime
A week long power outage in major metropolitan cities will cause wide spread rioting and looting.


Yeah. I'd be packing up and heading up to my parents or something if there was a week long power outage here.

 

[daves87rs]

Originally Posted By: Miller88
Originally Posted By: bubbatime
A week long power outage in major metropolitan cities will cause wide spread rioting and looting.


Yeah. I'd be packing up and heading up to my parents or something if there was a week long power outage here.



Yeah, here too....wouldn't expect much to come back to either.....

 

[bubbatime]

Originally Posted By: Donald
I am planning on doing more to my generator setup so I can run at least a week.


Do you have other plans? Plenty of propane for a gas grill so you can cook? Bottled water if your well/tap water don't work without power? A good assortment of weapons and ammunition to keep roving bandits at bay? Sand bags and other enforcements to build a shelter with a 360 degree field of fire? Sentries on perimeter patrol throughout the night protecting the others so they can sleep?

 

[SwampSurvivor]

Originally Posted By: daves87rs
Originally Posted By: Miller88
Originally Posted By: bubbatime
A week long power outage in major metropolitan cities will cause wide spread rioting and looting.


Yeah. I'd be packing up and heading up to my parents or something if there was a week long power outage here.



Yeah, here too....wouldn't expect much to come back to either.....


I live in a nice neighborhood, but it borders the worst in the city.

We're actually aiming to become a mini-Detroit!

 

[Pop_Rivit]

We've been without grid power for multiple days at a time, so it wouldn't be much of an issue for us. If it's a scenario that will take some time to fix we could easily be conservative with the generator and go for a few weeks in the winter, or most of the summer.

I personally don't worry about it. Chances are we'd work together with others in the area and pool our resources. I'm not concerned about roving bandits or building shelters with a 360 degree field of fire-that's more Hollywood nonsense than it is real world.

 

[larryinnewyork]

It's always good to prepare for Emergencys.
But how far do you go ? ? ?
How much money do you spend ? ? ?
If everyone looked out for themselves (and family) we would not need half the Charities out there (don't get me started).

Where I live, I prepare for:
1) Power outages
2) Heavy snow fall
3) Personal defense
4) Home security

With the world changing so much, no one can be totally prepared.
Power grid attack ? Could happen. A feather in some Terrorist cap.

Prepare for the worst (best you can), hope for the best.

I enjoy doing home improvement projects that make my life easier.
These projects include emergency preparedness.
It makes my life easier and 'future' Larry will thank me.

 

[IndyIan]

I think they've learned something from the big 2003 blackout. So I doubt a few individuals could cause a multistate total power failure lasting a week...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northeast_blackout_of_2003
Now if a large solar flare hit and did basically destroy the power grid, making it unrepairable for weeks or months, life would probably get interesting even out in the sticks where I live.

 

[SwampSurvivor]

Originally Posted By: IndyIan
I think they've learned something from the big 2003 blackout. So I doubt a few individuals could cause a multistate total power failure lasting a week...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northeast_blackout_of_2003
Now if a large solar flare hit and did basically destroy the power grid, making it unrepairable for weeks or months, life would probably get interesting even out in the sticks where I live.


Where I lived, we actually had power during that! We were the only town around that still had power through all of that.

Luckily we were home - ended up having to turn off most breakers. The outlets would shoot up to 150 volts, then drop back down to 70 or so. Really strange.

 

[Doog]

My neighbor has a really nice genset behind his home. It runs on NG. So all I need is 400' of romex.

 

[Donald]

Originally Posted By: IndyIan
I think they've learned something from the big 2003 blackout. So I doubt a few individuals could cause a multistate total power failure lasting a week...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northeast_blackout_of_2003
Now if a large solar flare hit and did basically destroy the power grid, making it unrepairable for weeks or months, life would probably get interesting even out in the sticks where I live.


While I would hope they fixed that exact cause, the article in the NY Times indicates that things could be a lot better than they are.

 

[Vuflanovsky]

You hear more about everything from sabotage to an EMP strike, to a solar flare concerning the power grid...and one thing that becomes clear is that the U.S. is unprepared for what CAN be prepared for... Utility companies can shore up a lot of the vulnerability for relatively low dollars. If you pay these gouging bast**ds every month then this should be done as a matter of course.

In my area, the large utility ( which experienced an attack on a substation ) was recently fined for poor maintenance / record keeping and news crews sent people to see if security would challenge them when they breached the area of the substation attack...they didn't. That says a lot.

 

[AlaskaMike]

The NY Times has lost a lot of credibility in recent years, and is far from unbiased reporting.

You have to keep in mind that they're not differentiating organized, intelligent, targeted attacks from the idiot down the street getting drunk again and taking out his frustrations on the nearby power pole transformer. Remember, there are a lot of drunk idiots out there.

We don't need to generally concern ourselves with the activities of the drunk idiots--it's the serious, organized targeted attacks that are cause for concern.

Is a generator a good thing to have on hand? Absolutely. Just don't go blowing your life savings on survival equipment just because some idiot writing for the NY Times is trying to breed fear and uncertainty.

 

[ShotGun429]

I installed a driven pipe hand water pump a few years back, for drinking water back up. It works well. I have a well pump (220 volt) also. i have several gen sets. i live rural.

 

[clarkflower]

Originally Posted By: Miller88

We're actually aiming to become a mini-Detroit!


+1
It's always good to have a goal

 

[DavidJones]

My wife was stranded at her office (snow) for 2 nights a few years ago. She has worked for 30+ years and this was the only time this has ever happened. Since then she has hauled around in her Highlander a change of clothes, blankets, boots, snacks etc. to make the "next time" more livable. Seems a bit of an overreaction.

 

[SHOZ]

Originally Posted By: eljefino
Being able to mooch off one's larger fuel tanks (bottled propane for stove, or 275 gal #2 heating oil (diesel)) will have its bonusses.

However, my being able to tap my car's fuel rail means I can top it off in an environment of "no gas cans". I even have some old even/odd numbered license plates hanging around in case they ration even/odd days.

I want to convert the generator to propane. But I like the idea of tapping into the fuel rail on a car. I even have the fittings.