Storms, Part 2

We were able to tag-team the child who caused issues during the storm and brainstormed a "self-sooth kit".

The unedited list follows:

1. Quad  ****
2. More lights.  Lights on longer  **
3. TV/Videos
4. Pinball arcade.  Hand held games.  See expanded section below.
5. Bounce house
6. Personal Gym
7. Herc (German Shepherd) *
8. Go to restaurant.  (This is what I am trying to avoid) *
9. Pizza, if we can find a place that will deliver.  (Oven will not work without electricity) *
10. Pastaroni.  Stove will work but must be lit with match or lighter
11. Ramen Noodles *
12. Spaghetti  **
13. Corned Beef Hash **
14. Dumplings **
15. Beef Stew
16. Canned creamed corn. **

4a. Wii U
4b. PS 4
4c. PSP
4d. Laptop---not mini---with integral DVD player
4e. I Phone 4 or 5 **
4f. Larger inverter.  Larger than 400W *

Stars were added as we discussed most desirable options.  Of course, the kid has no appreciation for costs.

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Food:

I will lay in a supply of canned corned beef hash, dumplings, beef stew and creamed corn.  For various reasons these are comfort foods to the kid.  They are cheap and have a long shelf life.

Power:

I will buy a larger inverter.  I am looking at this one.  Based on the negative review and my other experience with inverters, I will replace the factory supplied leads with longer, heavier gauge leads with serious terminals.  I think the inverter will be happier if I can locate it further from the heat of the car engine.

The plan is to park a vehicle in the garage with door and windows open.  Clip the leads to the battery posts and keep the vehicle idling.  My only concern is potential overheating.  My garage is separated from the house by two sets of doors and a fifteen foot breezeway.  I have a very long extension cord.

One horsepower is 726 Watts.  In-rush at start-up/stall is usually figured to be 3X max power.  A 1/3 hp motor (my sump pump) should have a transient in-rush of.....a little over 700 Watts.  The inverter at the end of the link has a surge capacity of 2200W.

I looked at up-grading from compact fluorescent to LED but only went from 13W to 7W per light.

Entertainment:

We were chill-axin' until the inverter faulted.  We had been watching a movie on DVD on the big, power-sucking TV.  It would be VERY nice to have a stand-alone, low power consumption option to the big TV and X-Box.

I need to confer with my wife and help-mate to see if we go with a laptop like these.  Or if we go with a dedicated, portable DVD player like this.  Any advice from my readers will be appreciated VERY much!

Water:

We usually keep a case of bottled water in each vehicle.  I also have forty-two gallons of stabilized water in the pantry.

My pump is 220V so the inverter will not make that work.

One option is to have a set-up like this ready to plug-and-play.  I did buy a cistern pump but the power kicked on before I needed to mess with it.

I also have one plug on the exterior of my garage that is 220V.  My thinking was that if I ever back-feed with a generator or want to do some serious welding....I will probably want to do it outside.  My garage is 36 feet by 24 feet.  I have two bays inside and one, 12' wide bay that we call "The Overhang" that is outside.  The 220V outlet is in "The Overhang".  While I do not have a generator, I have several family members who do.

Back-feeding into your home circuits is a BIG DEAL.  Make sure you know what you are doing!  It is very easy to kill line-men if you do not dump the circuit breakers that connect you to the grid.  Make sure you know what you are doing (intentionally repeated)!