The power went out.....What Now!

 

When power goes out, the short term is not an issue but as time goes on, you have a need to power some small things such as lamps, cell phone chargers and such.

The first thing you can do daily as a routine thing is to only operate your vehicle between ¾ and full. That way you won’t get caught with your pants down on an unexpected power outage. It costs no more to keep it in that range, you will just be spending smaller amounts more often but the usage does not increase. I do that and it makes the pain at the gas pump more bearable.

At this point, most of you are thinking “why is he talking about gas”

The reason is that the battery in the vehicle will be a source of power and there will be times you will need to run the engine to keep it charged. There are power inverters that can be purchased at most places including Wal-Mart, auto parts stores, Harbor Freight and others. Small ones can be purchased for as low as 40 bucks on sale, sometimes even cheaper.

They are simple to operate; it connects to your battery in the vehicle and converts it to AC. At that point, you can charge your phone; use a lamp, power a C-Pap machine and other smaller items that will help you get thru the outage. Be sure to check the power requirements of the devices you are powering. You are limited to what the unit will produce. The more power you want…the higher the cost. 

Do not expect to run the refrigerator or any large item with one of these. Also the electric heaters draw a lot of power and will not be able to run off of the small ones.

So for about 40 bucks, you can have minimal power for phones, radios and such. The good thing is once you make the purchase of the inverter, there is no more cost to use it. Remember how I started small then gradually moved to bigger and better things? You can do the same with the inverter. 

 Eventually you can graduate to having batteries and solar chargers to run the inverter (s)

Remember the mention of gas above? There is another benefit to keeping the fuel above ¾ tank. If you lose power in the winter, you may have to occasionally get into the vehicle to get warm. You wouldn’t want to run out of gas!!  Don’t forget…if you do this in an emergency situation, do NOT run the vehicle in a garage or enclosed area. Also keep windows cracked for fresh air while running the vehicle. If snow is piled up around the vehicle, be sure to remove it from around the exhaust.

Ok, so far we have some small amount of power to keep the phones going, power a radio, run medical equipment, power a lamp and other small items using what you already have and the addition of an inverter. NOTE, you cannot run all the items mentioned above at the same time. You should look on the tag of the item and see the watts used and do the math. If you have a 400 watt inverter, you should only run about 350 so there is some reserve.

How Many Watts Do You Need?

To select an inverter that has enough power for your application, add the watts for items you may want to run at the same time. Use the total wattage, plus 20%, as your minimum power requirement.

Note: The wattage's given below are estimates. The actual wattage required for your appliances may differ from those listed. Check the nameplate on the appliance to determine the actual wattage required.

* Appliances and tools with induction motors (marked * in tables) may require from 3 to 7 times the listed wattage when starting. The start-up load of the appliance or tool determines whether an inverter has the capability to power it. Be sure to check the specific wattage requirements and operating instructions for appliances / tools to be used.

F.Y.I. ..... (conversion formula: Watts ÷ 120 = Amps ........ Amps x 120 = Watts)

Common Appliances

Appliance	Estimated Watts		Appliance	Estimated Watts
Coffee pot (10 cup)	1200		VCR	40-60
Coffee pot (4 cup)	650		CD or DVD Player	35
Toaster	800-1500		Stereo	30-100
Cappuccino Maker	1250		Clock Radio	50
Coffee Grinder	100		AM/FM car cassette	8+
Blender	300		Satellite dish	30+
Microwave (600 to 1000 W cooking power)	1100-2000W (elec. consumption)		Vacuum cleaner	300-1100
Waffle iron	1200		Mini Christmas lights (50)	25
Hot plate	1200		Space Heater	1000-1500
Frying pan	1200		Iron	1000
Toaster Oven	1200		Washing machine	920
Blow dryer	900-1500		12" 3 speed table fan	230
Computer - laptop - pc & monitor - printer-inkjet	50-75 200-400 60-75		TV - 25" color - 19" color TV or monitor - 12" b&w 13" color TV/VCR Combo	300 160 30 230
*Refrigerator/Freezer	600		Game Console (X-Box)	100
*Freezer	500-800		*Furnace Fan (1/3hp)	1200

Common Tools

Tool	Estimated Watts		Tool	Estimated Watts
Jig Saw	300		1/4" drill	250
Band Saw	1200		3/8" drill	500
Table Saw	1800		1/2" drill	750
6 1/2" circ. saw	1000		Shop Vac 5 hp	1000
7 1/4" circ. saw	1200+		*Sabre Saw	500
8 1/4" circ. saw	1800		*Portable Grinder	1380
Disc Sander	1200		*Electric Chain Saw 14"	1200
Makita Chop Saw	1550		*Airless Sprayer 1/2 hp	600
Makita Cut Off Saw	1000		*Air Compressor 1 hp	2000

Pumps and Air Conditioners

Pump	Running	Starting		Air Conditioner
*Well Pump 1/3 hp	750	1400-3000		*7000 BTU to 10000 BTU Running: 1000-1500. Starting: 2200-5000. (A/C's are a very difficult load because of the high start-up surge. Use the Locked Rotor Amps to determine the start up surge requirement).
*Well Pump 1/2 hp	1000	2100-4000
*Sump Pump 1/3 hp	800	1300-2900
*Sump Pump 1/2 hp	1050	2150-4100