Hurricane season 2026

[Punatang]

...and such...


It's the "and such" that gets you every time.  It really just depends on how well you maintain your equipment and what you optimize for.  You may,  in the short run, get away with putting the wrong liquid in your sensitive devices but sooner than later it starts degrading it from within.  You might not even notice until it's too late...

In the case of generators, using the wrong gas causes corrosion of metal parts, degradation of rubber seals and gaskets, internal varnishing and gumming, and such.

Ethanol can make the mixture run leaner and hotter stressing air cooled engines.  Higher blends are not approved by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for use in generators.

If you're in it for the long run, with your equipment, it is best not to experiment.

[kimo wires]

Minit Stop in Hilo ,next to KTA, had Non-E gas thank goodness. I didn't want to run ethanol in my new generator.
I've only used it once in a year since I bought it but really glad I have it now.
I heard that it could be days before power is back on and even weeks for remote rural areas.
Any guesses on when power could be restored to HPP/Orchidland?

[HereOnThePrimalEdge]

Any guesses on when power could be restored to HPP/Orchidland?

The tree cutters are opening up roads this afternoon in HPP. Lets hope the HECO trucks can get in and start tomorrow.

[ironyak]

Punatang - In the case of generators, using the wrong gas causes corrosion of metal parts, degradation of rubber seals and gaskets, internal varnishing and gumming, and such.
So you know of a consumer level generator that states that common E10/87 Octane is the "wrong gas" then? Obviously they have all those warnings similar to yours about using E15, E85, high octane and such, but I've never run across any generator in the last couple decades that says that says non-ethanol is required. Any example of such a generator?

This concern seems to come up with people new to generators, and while non-ethanol has its conveniences for longer term use and storage, fresh E10 fuel works perfectly fine, even long term. Just use it soon after purchase, don't leave it in the generator if you're not using it for awhile or putting it in storage, and do the regular required maintenance.

Don't trust local online randos about this issue? Akamai move! Can always check your favorite AI, which will parrot a larger groups of online randos, or even better yet, read your user manual. If anyone runs across info in their user manual that says non-ethanol gas is required, please do share.

On a separate note, the Naalehu/South Hawaii radar is out so the "nice and clear" weather info on the devices may not match the "bursts of torrential downpour" reality outside. The map is not the terrain, YMMV, etc...

[HereOnThePrimalEdge]

Day after the storm.
Feel free to caption:

   

[punikahakaiferret]

"Neither snow nor rain nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds."


Except...THIS...IS...*PUUUUUUUUUNAAAAAAA*!!!!

...yeah, kinda a throwaway, but figured we could use a laugh?

[HiloJulie]

and such.

Adding to everything Yak said about generators and using E10 gasoline, and if you are forgoing your morning espresso the fear of using E10 gasoline, be advised that most of the smaller sized ones, such as Honda, Champion etc., brands have a "fuel off" position on the on/off control - which merely stops the flow of gasoline from the tank to the carburetor. Simply set the control to that "fuel off" position and allow the generator to run itself out of gas that is in the fuel lines and carburetor. I'd remove all loads when doing that.

The bigger generators all have an actual on/off valve from the fuel tank which allows the same process.

And you should NEVER store any gasoline engine equipment with ANY gas in it regardless of E10 or ethanol free. Tank emptied and engine run out of any remaining fuel.

Feel free to caption:

"What came first? The HPP resident or a place to get their mail?"

ETA: Greeted this morning with an email from Starlink giving free service in impacted areas by hurricane Lala until September 17th!

[Punatang]

This concern seems to come up with people new to generators

Punawebbers with a lifetime of small engine repair cred thank you for the deep chuckle.  This is my 8th Yamaha product.  This generator was purchased at Costco in Summer 2019.  It is on it's 8th summer and it has never been touched by anyone, other than myself, since the ceremonial unboxing.  It starts, every time, on one pull.  IYKYK - and you prepare/act accordingly.  Again, it is about optimization.

In other news, Hawaiian Electric had a flurry of activity in lower Puna yesterday which mostly consisted of clean folks hopping in and out of SUVs, looking up at undamaged poles, conferring 'mongst themselves, and then departing.  

We have settled into a routine of enjoying the Ecoflow comforts and running the generator 2x per day for a couple of hours to charge the ecoflow and do those extra things while it is running.  The great thing about an Ecoflow is that you may set it at whatever input level you like so that there is no need to strain the generator.

[ironyak]

HereOnThePrimalEdge - It looks like the ECMWF model was most accurate from about three days out. ... Still the champ.
Yes, no, kinda, maybe? One of the nice features of Google Weatherlab, is it allows you to set the Model initialization time back to earlier runs and then compare those predictions to the actual path of the storm (in black).

If you set the Init to the Wed 2pm runs, and then compare it to the actual path of the storm 3 days later on Sat 2pm, you can see how early on the storm dipped to the south, while the ECMWF had it going north, then it pretty much follows the ECMWF path for the next couple days, but then strengthens to a hurricane like only the Google WN2 model predicted and stays more to the north, then tracks off to the northwest more than any model predicted.

Probably some other interesting comparisons could be done for 2 days out and such when there is more time.

Maybe it adds up to "all general accuracies of the models are alike; each model inaccuracy is inaccurate in its own way"?
   

Punatang - Punawebbers with a lifetime of small engine repair cred thank you for the deep chuckle. This is my 8th Yamaha product. This generator was purchased at Costco in Summer 2019.
Neat. Does its manual say that it requires ethanol-free fuel?

My 8 year old Honda eu2200i with literally thousands of hours on it, that I do all the maintenance for and that has never seen a drop of ethanol-free fuel, chuckles in reply. Ethanol-free fuel can save some headaches when people aren't taking care of their stuff, but follow the manual, perform the maintenance, and do like Julie says for running dry, and good tools can last decade plus on plain fuel.

[HereOnThePrimalEdge]

out. ... Still the champ.
…
Yes, no, kinda, maybe? 

I probably should have specified ECMWF is still my personal champ.  Based on my preferences, criteria, and requirements.

When storms are first forecast I check models and decide how much it might require my attention.  Should I start preparing?

As the storm gets closer I adjust those factors and responses.

Three days out I generally take the forecasts and models accuracy quite seriously and again adjust accordingly.

Two days out, I act as if the forecast is 100% accurate.  Generally the models at this point coalesce.  This time there were too many variables for that to happen.

For my purposes, the ECMWF provided me with the best information when it counted, in order to respond as necessary with an appropriate plan.  The forecast was not perfect, but good enough, and in my judgment the best for my needs.  

Clearly, in the future, it’s best to continue to take all the models, and forecasts into account.  I would not by any means use only ECMWF when the next storm forms.  But I would still weight it heavily in my personal calculations.