Storm Arwen and Storm Barra

Parts of the country have still not recovered from Storm Arwen a couple of weeks ago and we now have another storm barrelling towards us called Storm Barra. With wind warnings across most of the UK and snow and wet weather across a large swathe of the country we are wondering if the infrastructure will cope with a second storm in as many weeks when parts are still without electric. This image below shows Storm Barra approaching!

Have our members been working to restore power in places hit by Storm Arwen?

High winds are predicted for the next few days with snow on high levels due to Storm Barra, have you got any contingency plans in place in case you lose power?

 

[Mike Johnson]

Down to 55-60v now laptop will not charge at that voltage, but TV still works and most of the LED lights, oh what fun living rurally is.

 

[DPG]

Down to 55-60v now laptop will not charge at that voltage, but TV still works and most of the LED lights, oh what fun living rurally is.

If it drops to 2 volts then you'll need to drop to red LEDs with no resistors!

 

[Mike Johnson]

Power just restored 2130hrs, putting the heating on all night.

 

[Rockingit]

Being on oil we've fundamentally the same problem, no pump etc , but the ace in the deck for us is that we've an oil-fired rayburn in the kitchen which is entirely gravity fed, four 1ml drops of oil into a set of evaporater burner rings a minute on lowest setting. Has no back boiler or anything, it's literally just one massive lump of cast iron that keeps the farmhouse style kitchen nice and toasty and we use it over the winter when it's on (we'd melt in the summer!!!) for the majority of our cooking anyway as it's a permanent 24/7 heatsource and whilst you need some old style cast iron cookware to do it, a six hour pot roast/stew is sublime!

I am, however, also toying with getting a small genny and AMF panel.

Well, I wasn't planning on having to put this to the test for 36hrs!! We survived Friday with just some fallen trees but an overhead fault on Sunday knocked us out until late last night. And yes, I was kicking myself - for a fundamentally power and generators guy it was the thing I didn't have to hand!! A 60-70kVA, some road ramp, various 32A outdoor distro and I could have happily powered both us and our nearest few neighbours. As it was, we were topping people up with flasks of hot water and brews. The biggest pain was when power did come back on the ADSL was out for a further 7-8 hours by which time most of the technology had given up entirely and it took me ages to reset and pair various bits of all the smart home stuff.

 

[telectrix]

makes me wonder how our parents and grandparents survived with no internet, mobile banking. plug in cars, smart home electrics et al. i remember mynan having an inside toilet fitted. she still went down the yard to the outside bog for a dump. said it was disgusting to sh!t in the house.

 

[PEG]

Yep,wind causing fun at our end....but not always in the way you think

Got a casual call from a pal's son,from his yard,saying his 3P machines were down...all else on...slid past as a favour,just 2 screwdrivers in me pocket + AVT from glovebox...

One phase down at workshop dist box,so went to incomer position,where they have been doing some building work.....SO glad i did what i almost always do...prod supply cabinet with tester BEFORE anything else - it's live,with most of visible earthed gear.

Wind moved timber sheets,sheets moved masonry,cabinet un-glanded from incomer PILS,edge of rotted cabinet blown Y phase apart,tiny original stranded cable from sweating on PILS looks like mummified worm.....

Cannot put hand on heart,and say i do the above on every occasion,but always when things are old or shady....and i'm still here,but yes,a nice result with a handy reminder of what is not probable,but always possible.

DNO now in attendance,in force,may have to do some burrowing while workforce giving me hard time, due to being sent home.....should have been a photographer,like me dad

 

[littlespark]

Y phase???? Ahhh you mean L2?

Sounds scary when something that shouldn’t be live, is.

 

[pc1966]

One phase down at workshop dist box,so went to incomer position,where they have been doing some building work.....SO glad i did what i almost always do...prod supply cabinet with tester BEFORE anything else - it's live,with most of visible earthed gear.

A jolly good use for a non-contact tester!

Not safe for proving dead, VERY useful for showing a high risk of being live!

 

[PEG]

A jolly good use for a non-contact tester!

Not safe for proving dead, VERY useful for showing a high risk of being live!

No no no.....AVT approved older Megger 320,i think.....would never use a fairy wand for such a check

It's the obsolete one,with a DC volt readout,and a couple of rubber buttons to force an RCD to act....i keep it in me glove box as i like it,and again this week,more than proved itself.

 

[Mike Johnson]

After having been without power for over 96hrs we though it was all over, not on your life, off again for six hours today, eat illuminated by my LED work light after heating some soup on a camping gas stove, can anyone explain why EDF say I must claim for the spoiled food in my freezer from my house insurance, as they are not paying for spoilt food?