I had nearly a full tank of gas in my car.  I figure I'd top it off since there was no line and the initial rush was done.  Now my car is giving me problems.  I think I got some bad or dirty gas.  Just something to think about.

During the mad rush last week, I was helping others (my business clients) prepare their businesses for the worst.  I wasn't worried for myself or my family since my family was good to go (year-round and daily).

Something to think about... Being there for my business clients during the madness was good business relations for me.

A prepper is not "crazy" and instead is an asset to a select few during these times.

I'll keep an eye out for you. There were several on Craigslist on Wednesday, but my guess is that they were gone that day. There may be some coming up for sale on there too. A lot of people bought them earlier in the week, but now want to get their money back. Kind of like how it's going with them after buying cases of water and trying to take them back to the store.

Here's a few places you can check on Saturday:

Steve's Honda
Home Depot
White Cap
Garden Exchange
Del's
Lowe's (since Kona had no real outages, they may still have some)

Good luck, I'll keep in touch.     

Made the rounds in Hilo but there is not a one anywhere.  Too bad.  I see lots of tree cutters out the past few days but no signs of the big HELCO trucks that replace poles.  Plus, I would imagine they don't have the number of poles they need anyway and will have to wait for some to come in from Oahu.  Unfortunately for me, I live way down at the end of the line, near the ocean.  So I am thinking we are going to be the last ones to see electricity.  Planning for 2-3 weeks of cold showers and living out of an icebox (providing we are able to get ice as it is in very short supply).  Could be a lot worse off though.  You should see the lines of people waiting for the water, tarps and ice.  We should be fine without any of those things so we are staying away from the handouts so the the people that really need them might get them.  I still consider us extremely lucky based on some of the things I have seen in the neighborhood.  Lucky for us, we are prepared and we made it through with very little damage.  Lots of trees fell away from our house instead of towards.   

Lessons learned:
 
It takes 3 times as long to pack all the supplies and equipment back up and store them away as it took to bring them out when the storm was coming.

Most of the traffic on the road when the sun came up the morning after the storm were people driving around taking pictures and videos of damaged property.

Don't trust those people.

...
I dunno about leaving the door ajar to lower the temp.
Wouldn't the thermostat just fire more often and bring the temp back up?

At least in the couple of ovens that I have used, current oven included, the temp does not get jacked up like leaving the oven open when broiling.  The low temp and the open oven door is somewhat like inducing a convection situation which helps the process.

Dehydrator is the way to go.

Check out babelfish5 on YouTube for some amazing recipes.

I have been tempted several times to get an Excaliber since it is an Amazon Prime item, however a dehydrator is basically a low temp convection oven with a timer.  My oven accomplishes the exact same goal without having a counter top unit and the dual oven fits more than a 9 tray Excaliber.  Works excellent.  Actually doing some carne asada jerky in a little bit. 

Always keep the spare propane tank full.

Need to look for solar recharger for phone and laptop

Always keep the spare propane tank full.

Need to look for solar recharger for phone and laptop

Have you checked out GoalZero which shows up at Costco from time to time?

http://www.goalzero.com/mid-size

BUD , there are 3 generators for sale on Craigslist. One in your area. Check your PM.

Have you checked out GoalZero which shows up at Costco from time to time?

http://www.goalzero.com/mid-size

thanks.
I'll have to check that out

Something else I learned.  How frieakin handy would it be to have the Superferry?  We could already have water, ice, generators, HELCO people and equipment here.  Could have been here days ago in fact.  All of those tree huggers that killed the ferry can come stay at my house all month with no power and then see if they might think a little different.  Lucky for me I am not on rainwater catchment so I have water.  Some are not so lucky.  Whatever geniuses killed the superferry were extremely selfish and short sighted.   

thanks.
I'll have to check that out

You could also build your own solar generator. It's a lot cheaper that way and not too difficult to do. I actually built one just a week before Iselle.

Here's a link to a very basic one.

HECO had trucks shipped over from Oahu and transformers were flown in and are sitting at Hawaiian Cargo. The damage was anticipated before the storm hit. More utility poles are on the way too. I've heard of some mainland utility crews coming over. The main problem I think is they can't get into a lot of areas yet until the road crews carve the way for them. Helicopters were already looking at where they need to get to.

On Generators, saws, etc.
Fuel.
Use and buy ethanol free petrol. The gas station in Waipio gentry and a few other places sell it. If at all possible do not store ethanol fuel in your equipment. They damage them over time. Ethanol based fuel goes bad in short order as well. Also consider stabilizers for  the fuel.
Another solid point if you must run your equipment if there is an on valve for fuel would be considering to run them to empty so there is no fuel in lines and system.

I am not a saw or generator or small engine expert. This is just from experience of running these tools almost daily for the past 16years. Read your manuals and consult a mechanic if needed.
Do regular function checks. With hurricane season being a known and a heads up on disasters like hurricanes and tsunamis a pre incident function test would be a good idea.

Good luck people

I had nearly a full tank of gas in my car.  I figure I'd top it off since there was no line and the initial rush was done.  Now my car is giving me problems.  I think I got some bad or dirty gas.  Just something to think about.

confirmed bad gas caused an injector to stick open.  Thankfully some seafoam, lots of smoke, and a heavy foot cleared to blockage.  Ethanol required in gasoline is the biggest crap ever forced onto petrol users. 

I read a blog by this guy who survived Katrina (he fled to Texas well before things got really bad) and he covered something everyone here missed: paperwork. Have copies of EVERYTHING. Insurance papers, home and auto stuff, identifications, current resumes, etc. He wrote about getting to Texas and finding the perfect job to work while waiting for things to blow over, but not getting hired because he lacked credentials. He also mentions dealing with FEMA, why you should avoid shelters unless absolutely necessary for survival, and having papers to ID your kids as well (if a rescue chopper can only take one of you, and it's you and your kid, you'll send your kid first-- but does he have ID, medical info, etc?). It's fun to think about guns, ammo, your zombie mobile, and supplies, but that "boring" stuff is important too. If we had to evacuate my apartment, sure, I could survive for a month or two totally on our own-- but I didn't have anything on me to prove that I owned my apartment, which car was mine, that my guns were legally mine, etc. Hell, if I went missing and my g/f didn't have her ipod or cellphone, there'd be no pic for a "missing persons" poster...

http://www.theplacewithnoname.com/blogs/klessons/

On Generators, saws, etc.
Fuel.
Use and buy ethanol free petrol. The gas station in Waipio gentry and a few other places sell it. If at all possible do not store ethanol fuel in your equipment. They damage them over time. Ethanol based fuel goes bad in short order as well. Also consider stabilizers for  the fuel.
Another solid point if you must run your equipment if there is an on valve for fuel would be considering to run them to empty so there is no fuel in lines and system.

I am not a saw or generator or small engine expert. This is just from experience of running these tools almost daily for the past 16years. Read your manuals and consult a mechanic if needed.
Do regular function checks. With hurricane season being a known and a heads up on disasters like hurricanes and tsunamis a pre incident function test would be a good idea.

Good luck people

...
Bump this message because this is absolutely true.
A friend told me about seeking out all the e0 gas stations a few years ago. They are few and far between, but they're out there.
I just noticed a sign at  76 station in moiliili saying they have e0 now.

Next fuel run for the generators will get the E-free stuff down by the harbor.  The Aloha station on Queen K has it.  Use Sta-bil in the gas regardless.

Rather than draining the carb on my Honda, I try to remember to start and run the thing every month or so.  Just moved it to a more convenient loacation so may be more diligent.  Sure starts easier if it has been run recently.

Next fuel run for the generators will get the E-free stuff down by the harbor.  The Aloha station on Queen K has it.  Use Sta-bil in the gas regardless.

Rather than draining the carb on my Honda, I try to remember to start and run the thing every month or so.  Just moved it to a more convenient loacation so may be more diligent.  Sure starts easier if it has been run recently.

next storm 3000 miles off hilo
following similar path at this point...

.