I got up at 430 to work out before work. Sitting on the toilet, I heard a transformer blow up at the power substation a 1/4 mile from my house. Power went out at the same time. Now I'm wondering how long my freezers will keep everything frozen before I need to hook up my generator. Started raining hard around 6 and can hear some hail on the windows.
- Thread starter knuckleballz
- Start date
Just keep them closed and you should be good for 24 hours or so. Sorry about your wonderful start this morning. 
My generator can run all 3 freezers that are full of elk, deer, antelope, and beef.
You are good for at least 24hrs. Just don't open them. They may last a little longer depending on outside temp and how full they are.
I suppose I should just go to work and make money and get the generator going if needed after work.
If you are concerned about it, fire up the generator for the piece of mind.
This.
Freezers will hold cold for a long time if closed. All the frozen food is... keeping them frozen!
Fire up Gen when you get home. Power company can swap out a transformer pretty quick. Bet power is on faster than you think!
Cheers,
Sirhr
When they pulled that woman out of deep freezer back East (they made a movie of it, Jack Black, old woman) the woman was so completely frozen they had to drive her in the freezer down the street (during summer I think) and she still had to thaw out when they got there.
I wouldn't worry about it. If I was worried I'd just turn on the Honda.
I wouldn't worry about it. If I was worried I'd just turn on the Honda.
Next time just hook up the generator instead of wasting time posting on here
In all honesty what you heard blow up was probably a fuse yes they are that loud.
Easy fix
Or at the very least hook up a battery backup for the freezer.
I'm glad things worked out well for you. Now maybe think about a backup plan before things like this happen again. A gas generator is fine for short term outages, but it can be a hassle for something that's going to last for more than a couple of days. If you have natural gas, consider that type of generator.
I try to keep a weeks worth of gas on hand for the generator. I rotate through the 5 gal cans using it in the riding lawn mower/snowblower. A natural gas generator on an switchover system would be a good idea.
I have a generator that runs off of propane and is hooked to a transfer switch.
It's not automatic though. I still have to start the generator and flip the switch
It's not automatic though. I still have to start the generator and flip the switch
If a substation transformer failed you could be off for days. Most likely you had a squirrel, bird or some other critter get on top of your transformer and blow the fuse. They often sound like a gunshot. If so a serviceman could respond within an hour or two. Even if the transformer needed replacing it would only take a crew a matter of a few hours to get you going.
I made a living doing this for nearly 35 years. (thus my screen name) I could change out a residential transformer alone in less than an hour, depending on how far I had to go to get one, or if I could get someone to bring me one.
Its important to call in your outage. If you are the only customer on the transformer no one will know you are off if you don't call.
Freezers are well insulated and can stay cold for hours if you leave the door closed.
Glad you were back on when you got home.
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