Does that mean its time to quit?
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It means time to run to the fridge and get a beer before it gets warm! 
Originally Posted by Matt Makens:
Does that mean its time to quit?
Good time to unplug things. When the power comes back on, the voltage may be reduced or come back on intermittent, which isn't great for appliances. IMO.
Lightning also has a way of disturbing otherwise normal electrical service.
We monitor weather, and disconnect the two computers, both line voltage, and internet cable access, when the weather appears threatening.
Originally Posted by Matt Makens:
Does that mean its time to quit?
Maybe you will quit. Sounds like a good time to get a flashlight out and finish if possible.
I always unplug my train transformers when not in use. I don't trust my power company for surge protection. Peaks or over voltage may damage things also low voltage or brown outs can damage electric motors.
Lee Fritz
quote:I don't trust my power company for surge protection. Peaks or over voltage may damage things also low voltage or brown outs can damage electric motors.
We have a whole house surge protector. It is attached directly to the main panel. I think we have had some appliances with built-in electronics damaged by power outages/restoration anyway.
It's time to go out in the garage, roll the generator outside, plug it into the transfer panel, and start it up! 
John, I like your style, it was 2 am so it was time to quit but i really wanted that loco done.Atlas SD40 with a board replacement. I think id rather fix an iPhone than those locos. they're a pain in the *** to get back together
I have to agree with some of the Atlas locomotives, they can be a bit of a PITA. I think at 2:00 am, I'd have probably opted for some sack time anyway. 
If it occurred at my place, it would depend on what time of day or time of year it was. If was at night, I'd grab a flashlight and put everything in a place where I can get back to it. Where I live, the power never comes back on quickly. 4-5 hours even for a simple tree on the line and we're the only one around who has the outage can take a long time to get back up again. I live in a very weak electrical grid, surrounded on three sides by a very strong one. It drives me nuts as most of the time, where we're out, I can look out the windows in three directions and see all the other lights in town still on.
If it occurred in the winter time, that'd likely mean the wind knocked it out. And if so, it'd probably be widespread. In such a case, I'd be looking into maybe a hotel for the night (or a few nights).
Originally Posted by Matt Makens:
it was 2 am
What caused the outage? Just curious.
I've lost power for three days several times. As long as I have gas for the generator, I can run the sump pump, well/septic, fridge, Microwave, some lights and my FIOS ONT for phone/TV/Internet. I can hold out for a few days. 
BPRC (Battery-Power, Remote-Control), no worries about power outages/lightning strikes damaging the electronics
Where I live, we're usually the first to lose power and the last to get it back. Got tired of tending to a portable gas generator, stringing extension cords and had a 10KW back-up generator installed.
I can run 90% of the house.
The next outage occurred six months later and lasted for 4 days. I figured it paid for itself then and there.
Rusty
Unfortunately, I have heat pumps, so in order to run even two of the three for the main areas of the house, I'd need at least 25KW, too expensive for occasional use.
We just got a generator from the in-laws who were moving to an apartment building and can't use it there anyway. It has never been used much but its in good shape. Wouldn't run much in the house and there's simply no way my wife would let me run trains off it. Frankly, I think the next time the power goes out, she'll be adamant on not running it at all.
I get really stressed when the weather goes bad and threatens to cut the power, as I grew up in the sticks on Florida, where if a storm blew over the lines, you lost everything for utilities; water, too. Growing up like that, I really get to worrying about weather. I really dread winter coming because there's always the chance for windstorms (summer rarely ever has any issues like that). She keeps telling me how stupid that is, yet her fear of snow (she never drives in it, I always do that) is perfectly normal... because it's her. 
We actually tried running trains off a generator at Harry Henning's house one day, it was not a good experience. For some reason, many TMCC and PS/2 locomotives were very balky and a good number of them simply refused to run. Odd thing was, the Legacy stuff seemed to run fine. However, the potential for voltage spikes and other oddities made me a bit reluctant to put anything expensive on the tracks.
After the second multi-day power outage, I started looking at whole house systems, but the $600-8000 price kinda' put me off, I can do a lot of sitting in the dark for that kind of money!
I can just go out into the backyard and fire-up the motorhome's generator and run it for power.
I camp off grid for 10 days most summers, so it gets a workout.
I just need to fit a layout inside somehow.
I do have G scale live steam engines I can run outside.
