Part of the DaveNet Mail website. San Francisco CA USA. 11/20/96.

Let's Have Fun -- Now! RE: RAINY SEASON

Sent:11/20/96; 8:10:13 AM
From: harald@windholm.com (Harald Striepe)

I live up in the Boulder Creek/Santa Cruz mountains area. We have a LOT of power outages. All mys systems and routers are on Back-UPS Pros with Power Chute software, so I have orderly shut downs after the backup battery runs down, if I am away from my desk. My satellite and AV systems are also on a UPS-Pro. This is for protection as much as it is for convenience. The power is often browned out and "dirt" prior to failure.

I also have a 5KW backup generator wired into the house that is enough to handle essentials, almost every winter we have at least one or two week-long stretches without power, and it keeps life moving. It requires manual starting and refueling. If I would do it over again, I'd spent another couple of grand and get a propane powered, automatic backup unit. Conditions for hand starting engines are always bad, when the power fails - dark and wet. And I do get tired of the gas smell in the back of my Jeep from cans that never seem to seal all the way.

So, I usually have enough time on the UPS to finish my thought, then decide whether I want to shut down and sit in front of the fire, or crank up the generator and continue without rebooting. Since we have two young kids in our house, not cranking up the generator is rarely an option. We don't have water without power...

I'm sure, you have thought about it - highly recommended.

Harald

ps still enjoy your rants...

Let's Have Fun -- Now!

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