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+--- Thread: Storm prep (/showthread.php?tid=23974)
Storm prep - knieft - 08-18-2026
Was gonna put this in hurricane 2026 thread, but decided to make new topic.
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We boarded up our screen only windows for the first time, but was surprised that the hardware for making posts/anchors that can easily mount plywood with pre drilled holes was absent locally. Concrete anchors of every size seems available but not for wood…?
Anyway, found a vendor that ships USPS Priority to Hawaii with a great selection of stuff for a $5/order.
https://www.windstormproducts.com/panelmate-pro-anchors/
So I can easily “convert” the holes drilled and used for easy no tool future repeated mounting.
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Also Cabellas and Sportmans still have free generator shipping to Hawaii. In some cases, one day shipping (probably takes three or four days though) for only $35. Example:
https://www.cabelas.com/p/champion-power-equipment-2400w-portable-dual-fuel-inverter-generator-with-co-shield
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And StarLink gave us a free month for the storm. Evil bad billionaire, I know, but don’t know any other company that does this kinda stuff. (Speed was slower by test during brunt of cloud cover during storm but always capable of streaming fine.)
Cheers,
Kirt
RE: Storm prep - terracore - 08-20-2026
I already posted my off grid solar car charger on a different thread. When the vehicle was charged we were using the extra juice to run a window air conditioner. The wife got addicted to the air conditioning so I added a second Ecoflow Delta 3 Pro when Home Depot was having a clearance sale on them and 1600 more watts of panels via Amazon. I thought.... if we ever have an extended power outage I could probably use this to run our entire house. Well I can say with 100% certainty that we can. We can't run the A/C or charge the car, but we can run everything else 24/7 silently, without fumes, and without gas. And we haven't had a "sunny day" since the storm, but we have had a few sun breaks each day. A sunny day and we could actually put some charge into the car too. Though TBH we'd probably run the A/C to give us a break from this humidity.
When the storm was approaching I removed and stored the panels so they wouldn't fly away. It took 57 minutes. When the power went out I was charging the Ecoflow units with a small inverter generator and powering the house with the power stations. We went through almost $30 worth of gas before the storm passed and I was able to reinstall the solar panels, which took longer than taking them down (about 3 hours to reinstall them).
After Iselle we hired Royall to install a generator power receptacle on the back of the house along with a lockout kit. It worked great back in the "generator days" but it's in a poor location for powering the house from batteries inside the house, but I bought a 25' generator cord to reach it. It's a little inconvenient to step over and it snakes out a window, but it's a lot less inconvenient than running a gas generator.
We raise a lot of our own meat so there is a lot of sweat, financial, and emotional equity stored in our freezers so keeping them running isn't just about convenience or losing a couple hundred dollars of frozen pizzas or whatever. Keeping the power going is important, so we have more redundancies than most people.
Our neighbor got trapped when a tree went down in her driveway so I chainsawed it with a 40v Ryobi. They aren't expensive, don't require mixing fuel, don't need to be started by pulling a rope, and something really handy to have on hand after a storm. There's some trees on our fences that will be getting remedied soon.
RE: Storm prep - Durian Fiend - 08-20-2026
If the solar panels are properly affixed to frames bolted through to the house rafters then they won’t fly away unless your entire roof does too.
RE: Storm prep - terracore - 08-20-2026
I mounted my first DIY solar project to the roof, and I'm never doing that again. They are way easier to clean on ground mounts plus I'm of the general opinion that putting dozens of holes in a roof is a bad idea. And having 9 acres its not like we don't have the space for ground mounted solar. Normally ground mounts are bolted onto a concrete slab, but I'm Puna style. On the ground with 18 inch galvanized rebar stakes (about one per panel) drilled and pounded into mystery lava below. I can't pull any section up using all my strength but I've seen videos of hurricanes pulling or pushing houses off their foundations, so I'm aware of what father nature can do.
RE: Storm prep - leilanidude - 08-20-2026
Several years ago, I cut and painted to match the house, plywood panels cut to slightly oversize of my smaller, louvered windows. I temp nailed them in place then drilled into the house (thru the plywood) and placed threaded stainless steel studs into the house. The panels are numbered to match the window they belong to so they can simply slide over the studs anytime I need them put in place. I use a large washer and a wing nut so no tools needed. Works great in high winds. "Iselle Proven"
RE: Storm prep - randomq - 08-20-2026
The core of our home is overbuilt and secured into the rock with concrete and rebar, but we used to just have screen windows and large overhangs. Have since added vertical awning type plywood shutters to batten down if necessary. They also keep out regular misty rain and afternoon sun when open, so win-win.
For some of the other windows I have plywood with holes cut a little above center on each side, and some construction screws permanently on each side of the windows. This allows someone who can't single handedly lift and screw plywood to first swing it into place one side at a time, and then secure it with screws.
RE: Storm prep - Punatang - 08-21-2026
Terracore one disappointing thing I learned about the Ecoflow Delta Pro during this storm is that when it is being charged with 110V, it just passes through the power, as is, from the charging source. When charging it with solar, naturally, this is not the case and so you can count on that clean output. We need more solar so we can transcend the generator life. Glad everyone has found solutions toward greater resilience. It's so exciting to be alive in this time when we have all of these great possibilities and evil billionaires to deliver them to our doorsteps.
Off to prep for the next one!
RE: Storm prep - Punatang - 08-23-2026
(08-18-2026, 06:45 PM)knieft Wrote: And StarLink gave us a free month for the storm. Evil bad billionaire, I know, but don’t know any other company that does this kinda stuff. (Speed was slower by test during brunt of cloud cover during storm but always capable of streaming fine.)
Cheers,
Kirt
You sold me Kirt. Thank you. You're absolutely right, I don't know any other company that does that kinda stuff either. I cancelled one internet provider and ordered my Starlink FREE rental kit. I couldn't believe it. Total to get it delivered was only $20 and the monthly is 1/3 of what I was paying the other guys that rarely work in a storm. I was tempted to go with roam but I stuck with residential. I love how hassle-free and intuitive the entire customer experience is. It makes me feel good to know I'm supporting a company that supports Big Islanders when we need a helping hand.
Please share any tips you have for setting one up in Puna. They are sending the V4 and it arrives in a few days. Thanks again.
Cheers,
Tang
PS: Punawebbers can all get StarLink internet service, now, for $20 delivered and only $55/mo. starlink.com
RE: Storm prep - punikahakaiferret - 08-23-2026
"Evil bad billionaire, I know, but don’t know any other company that does this kinda stuff".
That's because evil bad billionaires can afford to do this kinda stuff, because it's not costing them anything and makes them look like good billionaires, (of which there are none). Ok, maybe Mackenzie Scott gets a pass.
And the more people that take advantage of this "deal", it's that many more people whose personal info can be mined and marketed to.
Hard pass for me, on multiple levels.
RE: Storm prep - HereOnThePrimalEdge - 08-24-2026
StarLink gave us a free month
In a year or two there will be up to four satellite internet providers. In addition to Starlink:
AST SpaceMobile - AT&T and Verizon
Amazon Leo
Rocket Lab Iridium - possibly data and emergency initially
Probably a good idea not to lock into a long term contract, as prices will drop once competition heats up.
Space is hard?
Space is crowded.