THE BASEMENT FLOODED! (It Was My Fault) How To Install Leak Detector Smart Alert Sensor
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 25 ธ.ค. 2021
- The power went out. The basement flooded. I learned the hard way how to prevent it next time.
I'll show you how our basement flooded after a power failure. I used generators for temporary power while the power was out.
How to install a MySpool Power Failure Smart Alert device that uses wifi to send alerts to your phone. Also I install a MySpool Water detector sensor.
Links to the devices seen in this video:
Power Failure, Temperature, Water, Continuity Sensors with Text Message and Email Alerts, P3 Multi-Sensor
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APC UPS Battery Backup and Surge Protector, 600VA Backup Battery Power Supply
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2pack LED Rechargeable Magnetic Work Light 40W 1500Lumens
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Growing up in the country, power outages were just a fact of life, but it was a real culture shock for my wife when we moved here. She could not understand that when the power was out we didn't have water. That reminds me, I probably should get a generator...
Please make a video on the elevator. Planning to create one for myself. I had a Genrac installed in my home. It’s cheaper during building phase. Big cost is switch installation. Good luck.
Power outages were kind of fun as a kid. A bit more stressful as an adult and now a measure of accountability as a spouse! Our next house is going to be on a slab I think...
Happy New Year! Wes!
@John Hamilton : The people have spoken. I will do a little feature video on that elevator. It is well deserved anyway.
Generac standby is the firs thing that came to mind when I saw you struggling with all the portables. No filling up with gas and it’ll run everything. Our neighbour has one and I’m jealous…but the power rarely goes out here and I’ve never seen flooding on our street in 20 years. Smart basement design with the drywall and insulation.
A battery backup system is what everyone up my way uses… a lot of them use it on a secondary backup pump. Some of my neighbors pumps run at least 10 times an hour. Hats off to your wife for her hard work
That might buy me some time and I've thought about it before. From what I've heard, they don't last very long so I don't know what good it would do but it certainly wouldn't hurt.
@@digdrivediy they key is using a good quality deep cycle battery, and system… I think the one my friend/neighbor uses is a “watch dog” brand… hasn’t had a problem in 10 years… buys him time if he’s not home to hook up generator right away
Definitely interested in the home built elevator!
And I’d love to see the generator install, as it’s a future investment for me as well in the new house
Thanks Andrew. I think that elevator is a project that needs its own video too!
You do an excellent job telling a story. There are very few people that can keep my attention for a longer format video, but you nail it every time.
These are my favorite kinds of comments because I do just want the videos to be interesting to watch. Thank you for the kind words and really appreciate you watching.
Couldn’t have said it better myself.
Neil, after hurricane Sandy hit us in New York and out of power for 9 days my wife and I decided to put a whole house generator in. It has made all the difference in the world. We have had a couple of 3 day outages and many lesser ones. Power goes out, generator goes on. Lights, refrigerator, pumps, heat, water and anything else you want to hook up keeps running. With all the people you know and your skills and knowledge you should have no trouble installing one. You will never regret it.
Thanks for the great feedback Drew. We are leaning more towards the whole house generator all the time. You're right in that I should be able to round up some help. My Dad and brother are electricians so we've already been hashing out some details. Thanks for watching and sharing your experience.
Thanks for writing back, wish you and your family a Happy New Year. Love the videos. Drew
Props to you, for owning up to your "oversights".
Props to the Mrs. for her clean-up and Get-R-done attitude.
We had a whole house standby generator in our previous home. After living with one after many years of living without one, I hope to never live without one ever again. When we built this new home, I made sure to install anther, whole house system. Both have been Generacs and I have been very pleased. It tests itself weekly, runs off our propane system (we live in rural NC), and it runs everything. Not just the important stuff but everything. When neighbors call to see if we are also out of power, we can honestly say, yeah, we were, for about 45 seconds. They’re not cheap but they are wort it. Know that the fewer circuits you run allows for a smaller gen which equates to a lower cost. General also now has a solar powered standby backup battery system but I don’t know anything about it.
As for the lift system, I’d love to know more. At 75, trips to the attic are hard on this old frame. Happy NewYear to all.
Happy New Year Bob! I appreciate your feedback on the standby generator. I definitely think it is a logical way to go. The older I get the less I want to have to deal with that stuff. Thanks for watching!
I'm a few weeks behind, so you may have solved the whole house generator. I'm a volunteer firefighter, and when the weather gets weird I often have to leave home, so a system my wife can start and use was important. Consider buying an older unit (or a PTO unit, as you have access to tractors). I bought a Winco from the 80's - 8kw, big enough to run our entire older house, and powered by a Tecumseh Snow King air cooled engine - easy enough to fix if I need to, and I have two other machines at home with that exact motor that will become donors if I need parts during a (rare) long outage. You can absolutely DIY this - maybe hire the wiring at the end, but the slab, the install, even running black iron for the propane supply are all easily completed. One final thought, you may not need a traditional transfer switch - a generator interlock in your electric panel may meet local code and means you don't have to pick and choose which circuits you operate when the power is out. An interlock disconnects you from the grid while the generator is connected, protects line personnel, and still makes getting the generator easy.
Great tips! Thanks Eric👍🏻
I was interested in the elevator as soon as I saw it lowering the generator.
I am glad the clean up went well. I heard power was out south of here.
I think it was March 1991 when we had a big ice storm north of Indianapolis. No power in Tipton for 7 days. When it started my brother called and reserved the last 3 generators he could find. 2 5000 watt and one 3500 watt. For taking the Suburban to Indy the next morning he let me buy the 3500 watt unit. What a trip. We had heat so the only thing plugged in was the freezer. I figured out after 6 days the freezer was not working. I found a 5000watt Honda south of Indy and went to get it. Since my frozen stuff was gone I took the new generator to a friends house. Power was back up an hour after we had it hooked up and running. I made a schedule to gas, run, and drain that generator. I gave that up several years ago but I did move it to Steuben county where I Iive now.
Your generator stories sound a lot like mine. We bought multiple generators at once also as you might have seen from this video! If I would stay up on everything and keep them running right I would never need them but since I let time go by then sure enough they weren't ready when I did want them!
I was a GENERAC service dealer for 10 years and still do service and repairs of this equipment…
You will not have the hassle you have now with potable unit…
Standby systems are permanently installed and start automatically and return to main power when restored… believe me it’s worth every dime.
Oh I know it to be so true. You go 10 years without needing one and you don't think it's money well spent. But after this last incident I would have paid good money for it. My in-laws have a standby generator and it is wonderful. Thanks for chiming in here. It's great to hear from someone that really knows the system.
After our last 23 hour outage in warm weather, I had an estimate for a whole house generator 😲 then I went a bought a small portable generator capable of 220 so I could run my well pump. Warm weather outages get you thinking real quick how much you have invested in a couple freezers. Cold weather outages used to not be much of a real problem when I had a parlor stove, but after going to an add on wood burner, and now an add on corn burner, I need power to keep them going.
I LIKE the elevator and would enjoy seeing a video on it. I had ideas of putting one in my shop, so I could easily access the storage above. I was given one of those fold down attic stairs, so that went in, in place of my elevator dream 😀
You're so right about cold weather and warm weather giving you clear insight into what is important during each season! I think I'm going to have to do a video on that elevator for sure now. The people have spoken. Thanks for watching!
There is no educator like a disaster. All the things you didn't think about are brought clear and teach what is needed for the next one.
Well done, Neil. Having a great support family is the critical part of living through the tough times.
Congrats on having that support. No one can do it all, it takes teamwork and you have a great team.
Thanks for sharing.
Thanks John. Yep, I'm very fortunate to have the support of both my family and my wife's. Couldn't do it without them. Thanks for watching!
Laid up with a bum knee and was binge watching your videos yesterday. Last night I heard the ole lady yelling from the basement that we were taking on water. Stumbled downstairs to find 4" of water covering the entire area. Turned out to be a stuck float on the pump. Easy fix but the clean up will be fun. Then off to home depot for a long over due back up plan. Thanks for the timely advice and keep the videos coming. I enjoy your content.
Oh man that sucks! What are the chances? I hope you are on the mend soon, but I think you so much for watching. Sorry to hear about the basement.
First off, a lift video would be great.
Sorry to hear about the water, it’s such a helpless feeling when it starts coming in. The video is a great reminder to the rest of us to stay on top of our game.
I just talked with my father-in-law and I think I'll make that elevator lift video sometime this week. Thanks for the interest and appreciate you watching.
Wow I'm so sorry to see this, Neil. We just installed a french drain, so I'm hoping to have a dry basement this winter for the first time in the house's 65 years. I try to start my generator monthly, but I've gotten comfortable (lazy) so thanks for the kick-in-the-pants reminder. I also have a 2nd generator for my camper so I potentially have backup enough to at least run the sumps. My basement ceiling is too low to ever make it a finished space, but I will just be happy to not have to manually pump 2 inches of water from the low corner of the basement every couple of days after a soaking rain. Great idea to add a battery back up for the internet.
Thanks Ed. Yeah, we've been fortunate for a long time and got really comfortable in the last 10 years. I guess I forgot our basement could flood! That's great to hear that you may have your situation fixed up. Such a rewarding feeling when you get something squared away like that. Thanks for checking out the video!
Got the feeling that the work you've done in this disaster is going to pay off in the future. Lovely family and a great team. God bless.
In 1995 I was flooded out 4 times in 3 months family and loved ones pulled it out and we moved on thank you God bless goodnight
The real take away here is that a basement should never be built where gravity can not drain the water away. I know this comment is harsh but very true. My brother is in the same boat as you, always worried that the basement is going to flood. It has many times and he became a slave to his basement.
That is to some degree true, however there are tons of basements that rely on sump pumps to keep them dry. When you live on the flat land plains there just isn't enough elevation to drain things unless you build a hill by digging a pond or something. So, they basements with pumps exist although I could understand an argument that says they shouldn't. Fortunately I haven't been a slave to the basement really. I haven't worried about it in 10 years, hence this video. But it's good to think about when buying or building a new home for sure. Thanks for watching Roger.
Chin up. Water is a mean beast. We all get complacent over time. Keep up the good work.
Thanks a lot Marcus!
State licensed Electrical Contractor from Florida.. I do these for a living. Did one at my own home. I can talk you right through this. Piece of cake for you…. I have video of mine running during hurricane.
We had a Christmas ice storm in 2013 in Michigan. We moved into a new house and I hooked my generator up to power everything. None of my neighbors had generators and I felt a little guilty so I unplugged my outside Christmas lights. It was nice to be able to deliver hot coffee to the neighbors on Christmas morning.
I would have multiple week-long outages where I lived in CA. I broke down and bought a generac generator powered by my propane tank large enough to shamelessly run all appliances for the entire house. Such a relief. The generator do automatic periodic self tests so you know it runs when needed. Think I pirchased it refurbished to reduce initial cost. Something to consider to reduce the costs
Yes that's a good alternative as well. I have looked into some. I just need to decide whether I'm going to try to do it all myself with the help of my dad and brother or just have somebody paid to install it. I know it all definitely be worth it.
Real talk can never be wrong, good job fam!
Wow! Even though it was flooded in your downstairs, you have a very impressive set up with your generators, your back ups, etc.
Our last power outage was only 3 hours, We have had our Generac generator for 8 years so lights were back on with in a minute, I called my closest neighbor to see if He was ok and to tell him if it got to cold to come over he said He was fine when I hung up I told my wife I was going to shut off some of the yard lights so it didn't look like we were bragging lol glad you all were ok!!
Oh, this comment made me chuckle! We have a few of those bragging neighbors dotted across our landscape too. The reason will be as black as cool and they'll be one or two places scattered throughout where everything's lit up. You know they're sitting back and just laughing. Lol
I hope to be one of those neighbors with the lights on someday soon too...
@@digdrivediy When you are adding up the cost of a generator, don't forget to include the peace of mind factor,it is a real thing as Im sure you know.
Power outages are always an eye opener for catching you with your pants down. You survive and then take precautions for the next time ,you think your ready and again nature shows you your not. Enjoyed your video has me thinking what else should I do for next time.
Glad your family is ok.
God Bless
Mother nature is always there to throw a curveball. Those standy generators seem like a solid line of defense. Thanks, Kevin!
Boy Scout always be prepared lol stay safe guys
For sure!
Love seeing mistakes we all make. Thanks for being Real.
Neil we have the same water problem in our basement, no power=wet basement!! Finally had the Generac whole house gen installed worth every penny!! No worries when you aren't home to get gen out!!
I really like the sound of that! That's the way we are leaning.
As an Journeyman Electrician of 11 years, i dont recommend DIY whole house generator setup. Quality install is very important especially when talking about emergency systems. Ive seen improperly installed systems back feed power lines and hurt linemen. I highly recommend going liquid cooled for your generator. They run alot quieter, better quality and last longer than air cooled. Depending on your area, you need to think about fuel. I like propane. Set a separate tank(s) dedicated to the gen and set up with your local fuel company for auto fill. Feel free to ask me questions, I've installed alot of systems, from portables that back feed the home to standbys that back feed whole estates. Best of luck 👍
Great advice here and I completely agree Christopher. I like your feedback and I have already narrowed down some of those key items such as the propane fuel option for sure. I didn't mention in the video but the only way I can feel comfortable with this as a DIY option is because my Dad is a retired electrician and my brother is a 20 year Journeyman as well. I will be relying on them quite heavily to make sure it is done right should we opt to do it ourselves. I've been running my 220V by backfeeding the panel and killing the main breaker for 15 years now and I think I'm just ready to bite the bullet and have the auto standby. Best way to have some peace of mind I think. Thanks for sharing and offering up your experience. I may call upon that should I run into more questions. Really appreciate you watching and commenting.
When the temps dropped to 7 degrees here in S TX last Feb we never lost power. Unfortunately we had 2 hose bibs inside heated/insulated walls freeze and split. I was on the treadmill when my wife came running in and told me to look at the 1” of water rolling across the floor. Sometimes even when you’re prepared things can go wrong and the important thing is how you react to it.
Oh man, that stinks. Water can ruin stuff so quickly. I have found that the way you react sets the stage for everything that follows. Sorry you had the trouble too but thanks for sharing and really appreciate you watching!
Neil… glad you were able to recover relatively easily.
I’ve dealt with unplanned basement floods several times. Our old home in town was in an area where the city did not maintain the drainage ditches.
Heavy leaf falls, limbs, trash… you name it would wash down the ditch and plug the concrete culvert just below our yard. The water would then backup into our basement.
A few of us from the neighborhood attended the next city council meeting and added some instructive comment and photographs to their agenda. One of my neighbors was a reporter for the local newspaper.
Six months later a significant upgrade to the storm drain system swept through our part of town. (The funding magically appeared when someone mentioned that a paving job that was budgeted for a thoroughfare in front of two councilmens homes was unneeded… along with remodeling the city council chambers.)
Our current home does not have a basement and sits on top of the hill overlooking Sassafras Valley. Flooding is not a problem. But, being the next to last home on a run of the power grid is.
Our power goes out frequently… and when there is widespread power outages from high winds or ice storms… we are the next to last home to get service restored.
So, we have a small generator. It is located in a shed near the house. It connects to a transfer switch located on the wall next to the main control panel. I have it wired into the essential breakers… well, refrigerator, garage freezer, fireplace fans… etc.
I do a decent job of keeping the generator tested and maintained. However, now that you mention it… I don’t keep a record and think it has been about 6 months since I checked it. That’s something you’ve inspired me to do… test it, add a reminder in my phone calendar and put a test / maintenance log in the generator shed.
But, that is only a piece of what I need to change. The transfer switch is manual… there are several steps that have to be taken in the right order to make it work correctly and not feed back into the grid. I have them handwritten and taped above the switch. Every time I need to engage the power I have to pull it down read it and decipher the cryptic notes that I wrote over 20 years ago.
Doing that with a flashlight, in the corner of a small crowded closet is a pain in the tail… and a huge waste of time…. One which I couldn’t expect anyone but me to accomplish.
I’m glad you made me think about it today… Today I’m putting a reminder in my phone to write a work instruction for switching back and forth between grid and generator…. The date I’ll set will be in a couple of weeks… the day after we get back from Florida!
Thanks for the inspiration and ideas… It was so far off my radar… NORAD couldn’t track it!!!
I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and are ready to celebrate the New Year.
PS: I posted a family history video about a keepsake and a promise I made to my dad over 30 years ago.
Sounds like you've traveled this road. All too well then. Also. It's a great way to learn about stuff that you didn't necessarily want to know anything about in the first place!
I wish I had a newspaper reporter living on my road cuz a few more things could be done around here to help with our drainage situations. Squeaky wheel gets the grease right!?
Did you catch my little instruction sheet on the top of my breaker panel in this video? I have instructions on the panel on the generator and in the buildings for killing the main power and hooking up the two generators that I have to run. My biggest fear is this all happens when I'm away from home and having to make somebody do it and talk them through it on the phone.
Our next house is going to be on a slab!
We had a wonderful Christmas and I hope to start the new year off right after a solid week off work. Happy New Year to you and yours. Dave!
I'm going to watch that video of yours as soon as I get through these comments this morning! I think I saw something about cookies come through my TH-cam feed. Can't ignore that video!
Bummer you had to go through that. But even in your “unpreparedness” you were able to watch movies two days later. Thats bc you were prepared. The storm caught you off guard, but you were able to play catch up. Thanks for sharing your experience and thanks for sharing how you handled the insulation/drywall. The whole video that was all i could think of.
Yeah I've been thankful that the drywall and insulation hasn't gotten wet on. At least this one and one other time before. It did get wet in 2011 but we were able to get the baseboards off and get it all dried out pretty well. Thanks for watching!
Wow what a mess just before Christmas, glad to see nothing was really damaged. 🙂🙋🏼♂️👍🏻
Yeah we're really glad it wasn't any worse. Happy New Year!!
@@digdrivediy Happy New Year 👍🏻
Thanks for the tip about the auto notification system. I just got rid of my land line (finally), and have been trying to figure out what to do about alerts. Like you, my shop is separate from the house. I have a pool (yes, in the Pacific Northwest-I didn't put it in, the prior owner did, now I get all the maintenance). All of the pool equipment is lower than the pool. I was in the process of winterizing the equipment, which is supposed to have an anti-freeze function that turns on the pumps in very cold weather. I don't know what failed first, but eventually the main pump housing fractured. No big deal, except the equipment is housed in my shop. Since the equipment is lower than the pool, all of the water was forced through the fracture in the housing, drowning my shop. The head pressure was sufficient enough to shoot water up to the ceiling, knocking out lights and insulation. Total mess. As part of my winterization, I put rigid foam board over all the vents that supply the heaters and equipment. That is the part I had not yet gotten around to. The temp only dropped to 32. That was enough apparently. Bottom line is: shame on me. I have recovered completely EXCEPT for the notification system. Again, thanks for the tip.
Oh man! That sounds like a bummer of a deal to flood your shop! I'm glad you could find the alert system idea helpful. Best of luck with whatever you decide to go with to help you out in your situation. Thanks so much for watching.
My neighbor has a Generac generator. Runs off of Natural gas and it comes on once a month For testing. It’s pretty much maintenance free. Mine still requires me to take a couple steps. I feel your pain with the basement flooding.Over the last few years we’ve been replacing the pipes in our house to plastic. The water here Eats the copper and over the Years we’ve lost bathrooms and had The basement flooded numerous times .even lost the kitchen floor to water damage . I’m actually in the process right now of replacing One of the bathrooms that just recently had a pipe let go. 🤦♂️. Great Video. Sorry you had to deal with that mess
I know what you mean about those old pipes too. In 2006 we completely remodeled our house and removed all of the original plumbing. It's all PEX now and so far so good. I think that automatic standby generator is the way to go for us. So I'll probably be making a video of that sometime soon. Sound like they're hard to come by now though, so maybe it'll be longer than I hope. Thanks for watching and Happy New Year!
Hello Neil & Family greetings from Australia, I always look forward to seeing your videos that come through via TH-cam, this episode was super interesting although very trying times, fantastic how the whole family pulled together to get the disaster sorted in record time, job well done to all involved.
Thanks so much for watching Dennis!
Your community is a model of resilience. Kinda surprised you don't have any relatives who are linemen.
That's a good point Sam. I do know a few linemen but not related to any.
During our last heavy wind storm December 11th we were with out power for 18 hours. It truly shows that the infrastructure to your life can come to a complete halt when the power shuts off. I'm a volunteer firefighter so I was out for a good portion of the night but we have a large enough generator. Instead of the standard wheel kit you can get we put it on a garden cart from Tractor Supply. With the 4 large wheels we can move it easily and if we need to bring it to the neighbor's we can hook it behind the 4 wheeler and tow it there.
That's a good idea on that tractor Supply cart. I need wheels underneath my big generator so that is a great idea.
Neil these things happen to the best of us. I’m thankful to have never feared water in my home just a bonus of where we located our house. Although as a kid our basement flooded regularly in hard rains but even then because of elevation, floor drains did the trick. Keeping up with all those pumps and systems has to be a challenge. Often we don’t think of these things until we need them. Just like my porch light that’s been out for a few days, doesn’t seem to be an issue until dark! Thanks for showing us this and glad your damage wasn’t any worse!
You're exactly right about that Ben! Out of sight out of mind. And that is what happened to my second little generator. I got put away with the gas left on and well. You know what that can do to a float needle in a carburetor. Thanks for watching and Happy New Year!
We almost had similar scenarios at our house so I set up my own notifications utilizing a home automation system having 3 different sensors. One is a float towards the middle, the next is a relay that activates when my 12v backup sump runs and finally a third at the top in the event the other two fail. I also bought a couple sensors that are powered by 9 volt batteries. No remote notification, but hopefully someone is home if the other systems fail and can hear the loud beeping. You will find that your efforts work well so you get complacent. I set up monthly reminders to test the system where I plug the drain tile inlet and test the system across the board where I simulate different failure scenarios. I now sleep better during storms and when I'm away from home. I also have my generator on a 6 month schedule where I run it for a few minutes. Essentially long enough to run the fuel out that I splashed in to test it. That way my carbs aren't gumming up.
I saw in a newer video you had a whole home generator sitting in the shop, you will really like it. They are very useful and you don't have to worry about keeping enough fuel around.
It's nice to see everyone kick in and help, including the girls. Kudos to everyone for doing their part.
what a drag all that was....i got so sick of our power outages that i bit the bullet and did the whole house generator....yes it cost alot but its peace of mind (thats worth a few bucks i think too)...all the best. great quality video as usual.....
Thanks so much John! I think it's probably the right time of life to get it done for me too.
Great video Neil , you never know when you'll have to be prepared for events like that but having a backup plan helps. Merry Christmas to you and your family.
Thank you, Sergeant Slaughter! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you as well!
I feel your pain! Such a hassle that we are so dependent upon power. I have too many stories of flooded basement 😞. I’m happy that nothing important was lost as a result. You have assembled a great team! Merry Christmas my friend. Yes on the home made elevator video 😉
Thanks for helping with getting me my Christmas present
I was excited to know what you were getting. Mr. McGuire. I look forward to some awesome videos from McGuire Farms!
I have a friend who was in the Naval Special Warfare community. His/their motto is "one is none and two is one", meaning that stuff and plans fail, so you had better have multiple backup plans. I've been through catastrophe where my plans failed miserably. I finally gave in and purchased an automatic standby generator myself last summer after we lost all of our frozen foods when the power went out. Our whole system cost us about 8k, but I think the peace of mind that I now have is worth every penny. BTW, I still have my small portable generator too just in case. Lol. Hope you had a good Christmas Neil. Be safe my friend.
I'm right there with you. I thought I was pretty prepared but human era got me this time. Same thing would have happened though if we weren't home so there is more I can do to be ready. I think we're likely to bite the bullet as well. Thanks as always and Happy New Year!
Tough to have water in your basement, but glad your damage was not extensive.
I have a Blink camera set up on my sump to monitor the pumps. if my power goes out or WIFI quits working , the Blink system will alert me. Back up manual generator I try to run once every couple months for 20-30 minutes. My only problem would be if I were out of town. I would have to have my son come over and set up the generator for me on extended power outage.
Those girls are the stars of the show. LOL.
Yes we have the same situation for if we want to be out of town. I think the automatic standby generator is most likely in our future, but we got to get ready to swallow the cost pill. I made a whole separate video that Sunday when the power was out and those girls had fun helping do all the shooting. Happy New Year!
I lived with tidal flooding for a lot years. Christmas king tides were bad and a lot of extra cost when I built the house 10 feet of the ground and 4 feet above the required height.
Oh man, I can't imagine dealing with that type of flood!
I’m not sure which I like the most…the sweet power outage sound effect, the fact that Kara makes you hide the newfangled technology with and old tool box, or that you remember midway through your fix that you have to fix something else. Nope, it’s your love of the Kara and the girls! Dig on, dig squad!
I love this comment. I appreciate anyone that recognized that sweet power failure sound effect. The girls practice that several times but I thought it turned out cool. Thanks so much for watching!
Cool video Neil. Maybe this will be the nudge I need to get off my butt and get some water sensors. Working in real estate, I am often reminded that water is the enemy of the house. Our local Black Creek Basin is a shoe-in for flooding whenever we get lots of rain or bog storms, but much of our area, my neighborhood included sits on well drained sand so we are usually quite safe from environmental flooding. However, back to the real estate thing, I live in my older house with older plumbing and you never know about the pipes or water heater, so those sensors would be helpful. Plus you never know about the other things like flooding. We have been okay so far, but as the old saying goes, if your Dr Lic says Florida, you live in a flood zone!
Thanks Don. Yeah I think those sensors could be property savers too. We just got a leak detector to put in our mechanical room as well. Good advice coming from a real estate dude! Thanks 👍🏻
Wonderful video. One of my earliest childhood memories is of watching my parents bucket-bail out our basement after Hurricane Hazel, followed by the fun of watching a pit and sump pump being installed shortly thereafter. Your daughters will no doubt tell their children how well their mom and dad handled the storm of 2021. Happy New Year to you and yours.
Thanks a lot Allen! Hopefully this is the only time my girls will remember a flood in the basement if I'm able to get that automatic standby generator done. Appreciate you watching and Happy New Year!
Another excellent video Neil.
Thanks Chris!
Great job.
You could absolutely DIY an electric start and even an automatic electric start generator, I still have schematics and part numbers from my successful build a few years back. Since then we have purchased a new home that came equipped with a 26kw whole home generac that has been amazing! Either way you chose the peace of mind that comes with is well worth the cost!!
I couldn't agree more. I'm looking forward to that. Peace of mind. Now just to get my electrician brother over here to tell me what to do!
I was a generac dealer for years, invest some of that TH-cam money. Well worth the money!
Right on! I'm going to need to keep making more of that TH-cam money for 2022 then, so I appreciate you watching!
@@digdrivediy not terrible to install yourself. Save you probably around 2k
Oh my goodness how this video strkes so close to home. I, too, have a sump pump situation that requires it be available to pump ALLLLL the time as I have the external water around the foundation being pumped from inside (Never encountered such a stupid building technique!). I had a few power outages the first year I bought the place so I paid considerably to have the whole house generator system put in. (Huge pain in the butt getting contractors to help me out in this area, but I finally got it done.) The generator has only been called into action 3-4 times since then, but I know I'm covered for power. I don't have an extra external pump for the sump, but it is a dual pump itself. I should consider something, just in case. So far, I've been very fortunate over any flooding situations. The high water table in this area is bad enough, but it does drain off somewhat quickly. Sending my wishes and moral support to you with your generator installation.
BTW - Yes, please, I would like to see your elevator. I had one in a house I rented years back. It was in bad shape. I've considered one as a lift several times along the way but never in a position where I could do it. Trying to research one as a DIY or even as an installation turned out always extremely expensive.
Thanks for the great feedback. I'm leaning DIY as my Dad and brother are electricians, so that is helpful. I'll be sure to capture that elevator!
Great video Neil! Don't feel too bad, people get caught unprepared too often. I have my home wired up with a transfer switch and a portable generator in case of power outage. I went two years before I had to use it in an actual emergency, but it was nice to say the least!
Thanks a lot Jimmy! I certainly think it will be good piece of mind.
Merry Christmas to your family! Glad you guys made it through. 💪🏽
Thanks Rob! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you also!
Great video! You're editing is really top notch (and liked the notes for the wife). For the generator, sure the whole house units with auto start are nice, but I just can't get past the price tag. A smaller 220V capable unit with a Kirk Key interlock or dedicated emergency panel would do the same thing for well under $1k instead of $3-$5k for a dedicated unit. Add to that the multiple uses of a portable generator, and it made the decision for me. I've used a small Honda 2000 for the past 15 years with great success for house outages and camping, and likely will still use it for the majority of the outages going forward because it's so efficient and easy. However, the new house with a 220V well pump means it's time to upgrade in some fashion. For me, it's either a smaller stand alone 220V unit, or possibly a PTO driven 220V unit since the well is the only thing I need that is 220V. Normally, I wouldn't want the hours on my small Deere, but for filling the bathtub and other small uses, it may be the cheapest and easiest option. Of course, all of my preferred options are dependent on being home, or close to home, or having good family or friends that you can count on. The whole house with auto start doesn't have that limitation. As a last thought, I have helped a friend install one of the whole house units - They are not that bad if you don't mind house wiring.
Thanks for the kind words. Don. And thank you for some detailed feedback. Plenty of great things to think about there. I've used a 220 volt generator for the past 15 years or more here. It has served the purpose well. Like you said, it just relies on me being home or family being around. It works pretty good for the most part, but I might be ready for the peace of mind of not having to worry about it. I'm still on the fence though as I really like not spending extra money too! Both my dad and my brother are electricians so I'm going to lean on them for that side of it, but I think this might be a DIY option to save some money. Thanks for the great comment and thanks for watching.
"Think I could DIY this?" Lol, that's an easy yes. Not because it's easy, but because I've seen so many of your videos.
Thanks for sharing a painful experience. Like you, there are a few things that I put in place for our last week long power outage that could use some TLC and possible upgrades. My mind is already working out the details. Events like the one you faced are emotionally draining enough without feeling guilty about being lax on preparation. That said you were better prepared than you gave yourself credit for. Having a hardworking partner to work beside you was definitely a huge blessing.
I appreciate the kind words and great comment. This can be as emotional as it is physical when it comes to the clean up. I'm glad that most folks are interpreting this as a good reminder and maybe it will prevent someone else from having a similar situation. Thanks so much for watching!
Sorry for your problems glad you got sorted and thanks for giving me a nudge to go fix the pull cord on my genny! Happy New year.
Thanks Peter. You can make that your New Year's resolution to fix that generator and then you can check it right off the list!
What a great diy and story. Neil, you are a great story teller and editor. My wife is much like Kara - she finds a way to put her touch on everything. Sorry you had to go thru the pain of water intrusion.
Thanks for the kind words. We're both lucky then to have wives like ours! Appreciate the comment and thanks for watching!
Ugh. Sorry you’ve been dealing with these issues. It’s so easy to get complacent, specifically when years go by without an issue. Happy Holidays! Hope you had a nice Christmas!
We had a wonderful Christmas. Tony; Thanks! I use the word complacent the first time I made the voice over for this video. You are exactly right. Thanks so much for watching.
Great video. It’s always life’s little hiccups like this that push us to do better or be better. Learning from them and evolving from them is the lesson. I admire your integrity. You could have just went on and not owned up to your missteps but you didn’t you owned them and that’s how we learn and how we teach the next generation. I’m glad you guys are all safe and sound. See you on the next one ✋🏼
Thanks Mike. I appreciate the comment very much. Just trying to keep things true to life around here and sometimes you got to own those missteps.
Here is a vote for seeing a video on paps elevator! I know you installed it years ago, but I’d also be interested in seeing more on the install of your outside drain system as well. Hope you had a great Christmas and have a happy new year!
That's a good idea. I could probably make a video on that, although the only pictures I have are pretty much what I showed in the video here. Might be worth talking about though. I could break out the illustration whiteboard! Thanks for the idea and really appreciate you watching.
Great video Neil! This one felt personal in so many ways. Happy holidays to you and your family 🙏🏽. And yes I would love to see the elevator video. Bless you my friend
Thanks a lot Larry! Happy New Year to you. I'll be making that elevator video soon!
From Scotland, I can't belive how much work and dollars you put in to keeping your home safe and habitable. I Scotland we have pretty regular weather which is generally wet and cold now, I suppose living on such a flat area the water has to go somewhere? Unfortunately having a basement brings a few problems to prepare for. Love the videos, happy New Year to you and all your family and friends when it comes.
Thanks for another great video. MERRY CHRISTMAS and HAPPY NEW YEAR to you and your family.
Thanks so much Donald! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you.
For sure I'd like to see that elevator. I am moving and will loose my gantry in my shop. I was just saying yesterday I need to rig something like that up at the new place!
That elevator he built is a fine work of DIY engineering.
@@digdrivediy I couldn't make this up. I didn't finish this video this morning because my son was screaming from the basement that it was flooding! Ejector pit blew the fitting on the back flow valve and put about 200 gallons of water all over the floor!
@@buildlife What!!!?!! Oh no! That's crazy timing and coincidence! Well I hope you're able to get it cleaned up in short order. Sorry for the bad luck. Shoot.
Well hell Neil...,
time for a hard wired standby generator...
Not a cheap luxury, but a real peace of mind, and no headaches over flood clean-up...
Great video,
Thank you sir.
Thanks so much. Yeah I agree. I think it is inevitable and probably the smartest thing to do.
Haha..., easy for me to spend “your” money...,
and somebody mentioned property valuation, which I had not thought of that...
Neil & Kara - I feel your pain, we went through 2 horrible basement floods. So awful. Whole-house generator - would be on my list too.
Thanks. I think the whole house generator is likely to happen here.
I feel for you. Happened to me 3 times and never a pleasant experience. I've got a water run backup pump and an external pump if needed that I can run from my generator. Alarm to my phone as well. I still get nervous from heavy sustained rain. Great video.
Thanks Jason. Yes, the worst weather event is the long sustained rain with inches for totals. There comes a point when the water gets so high that you can't do anything about it. Hope you had a good Christmas and Happy New Year buddy!
from the Netherlands thanks for the video Neil ,Mrs.Koch and the Girls 👍.
Stay Safe and Healthy ! .
Merry Christmas and a safe and happy new year
Happy New Year!
Great video Neil! So tragic to have that water event but, like you said, very fortunate to have it be so small an impact overall. The last two years have been full of these lessons/reminders (a big part of the reason I appreciate your channel so much) so I can only imagine the heartache of firing up that generator to only have to repair it. Thank you sharing and expressing the humility. It was a good reminder for me. As a New England resident I am not stranger to weather emergencies and generators are on the list!
Regarding the lift… yes, please do a video on the lift. I like at and have a couple places I could build them between me and some friends. Regarding the generator… I don’t know. I am not an electrician, I suggest working alongside and electrician you know well. Best of luck! (PS, I did get your email I have just been busy getting back in the swing and being with family, I also knew you had that water issue! I look forward to our“offline” conversation!)
And merry Christmas to you and yours!
Thanks Stephen. Yeah, we're going to work through some options and hopefully get something in place that would free up the opportunity for mistakes. I didn't mention it in the video but my dad and my brother are both electricians so I've got a pretty good line of help there. I'm going to get a video done on that elevator here soon too. Too. Hope you had a good Christmas and we'll talk to you soon.
I installed a Generac 12kw whole house in 2002..911 was a driving factor. Since 2002, we have needed it more often than I ever dreamed of for weather events and outages caused by vehicle accidents. Our situation is similar to your logistics. We are located in SE Wisconsin. Our last outage run was caused by 60 mph winds sustained for 24+ hours a few weeks ago. I also run a Pit Boss Sump alarm which sends a text message via its own dedicated cell number. If Wi-Fi goes out too, I still get a ISM power outage alarm and it continues to monitor because of the Generac system. Pit Boss annual cell cost is around $50, cell number is dedicated. My Generac runs on natural gas. Please do a video on the Generac if you get one. I installed mine, you would not have a problem DIY.
You are very well covered! I need to be able to say the same things that you are telling me. The automatic standby is definitely in our future. Just got to decide if I'm paying to have it done or trying to do it myself. Thanks so much for watching!
I hope this is not to long, this happened about 15 years ago. Although our basement is not finished, we had our gravity drains plug up and I did not realize that. Two drains, why would both drains get clogged seemingly at the same time? Negligence .We got 5 inches of water in the entire basement. So I pumped the water out. rented an auger and tried to clean out one drain, it worked. Not so much with the second, it would not go through. I do have a backhoe so I thought I knew where the plug was I'd fix it. As I dug, the ground was so saturated that I kept having to make the hole bigger and deeper and bigger. Keep in mind I did not consider myself a fully experienced operator and had no safety equipment. What a mess! I finally had a hole at the crushed pipe area at least 15 feet width and length and tapered down to an 8 feet depth and 3 feet of width. I was at the deepest depth I could dig with my BH. I did not have trench box so when I got in to the hole, that deep, I worked as fast as I could. I could hear the dirt and mud slowly moving towards me as I worked. And to this day, I do not know what they were, but other sounds that I could not recognize. What could they be, does sound travel better in the ground? It scared me and I could not wait to get out of that hole. That was the deepest I had ever dug, then and now. I mostly dig trenches for utilities and water drainage, stump removal, anything not really dangerously deep. Now around every Thanksgiving, I snake the drains both ways, to make sure I will never have to do that again. I hope this was not too boring, thanks for letting me tell my experience. I enjoy all your videos and always look for them, do keep them coming!
I'm happy to read your experience Richard. I know what you mean about digging deep and being at the bottom of a hole like that. It's very easy to understand how an accident can happen that you hear about. The whole idea for my outdoor sump pit was about 9 ft. Deep and I wanted out of there as fast as I possibly could too! Thanks for commenting and being such a great supporter of the channel. Hope you have a happy New Year!
Enjoyed the live jingle at the end. Great job as usual. Behind every good man is a better woman! You can certainly handle the whole house generator as a DIY, but as you said, they are pricey!
Thanks KOL. I hoped that someone would get a kick out of that live jingle. I didn't mention in the video but my dad and my brother are electricians so if I can sweet talk them enough we might look into doing the generator ourselves. We'll see how much it costs for someone else to do it though first.
You are one lucky guy, your wife,children are also amazing 🎉🎉😮
Great job
Thanks!
I have that exact UPS and it's been a reliable unit; it's on its second battery now. The only hiccup has been when multiple outlets are in use, some of which are 'wall wart' adapters. I finally found a solution for that annoyance - you can actually get 8" extension cords...!
Wow, did I spy an older Porsche 911 at your FIL's super cool garage with a freight elevator? Good video Neil thanks for sharing! Great attitude will get you far!
Good eye! I might have to sneak that Porsche into the elevator video when I do it.
@@digdrivediy that would be awesome! I’m guessing FIL is a mechanical engineer? My father was a mechanical engineer and the Porsche, garage elevator, and neat appearance of the generator are all clues
@@crabhab he wasn't a mechanical engineer, but he sure could have been. Spent most of his career in purchasing and facilities management and retired as vice president of a company that builds go-karts. He's just an all-around smart guy and talented at building things.
time for a automatic whole house generator. I made the switch 10 years ago and its one of the best things i ever did.
I agree. Wouldn't regret it.
Another great video, flooding does so much damage if not handled immediately. I live in an area that floods fairly often although it doesn't affect me directly I have helped friends and family with cleanups. You have taken many great steps to prepare for the event that is bound to happen when dealing with mother nature. Have you thought of getting PTO driven generator to run off a tractor. I have seen units that have a pretty big capacity that might work well.
I have thought about a big PTO generator as well. I got to decide whether I want the automatic standby or if I'm going to stick with the manual workaround. We'll see what those prices look like after we have a visit with the contractor.
Great video. We had same issues here in Michigan. 22hours without power. I just bought a generator and am going to put a transfer switch in to make it easy for my wife and kids if I’m out of town.
My only advice, be careful which standby generator you go with. Generac owns the market and builds great stuff but their switches are proprietary to them. If something goes wrong, you have to get Generac to replace the switches or update them.
If you go with another brand (kohler, Briggs, etc) they use a general transfer switch that will hook up to many types of generators. In other words, if you put a kohler generator in and it goes bad you can put a Briggs in next and it will work with the current transfer switches.
Oh that is good advice for sure! I didn't know about the proprietary switch. Thanks for the insight. If I do go the DIY route I will be looking into that situation for sure. Thanks for watching, Clint!
Mistakes happen, Neil. As long as you learn from it, all good.
Very true
Hey Neil me and my family had similar problems we got water in our basement last fall for the first time since we lived in our house and it happened back to back about a week or so apart so just when I thought we had everything cleaned up I came home from work to another mess this time leading to a complete gut shop of basement and re doing it the way we truly wanted it but not b4 I figured out y water was getting in I live at base of the mnt and of course water runs down hill I had found that our town ship was re doing our road and had changed few things on how the water had routed but on my part I didn’t have our grade rite and quickly found this out so with alil work using my kioti ck2610 and hauling some stone in I had it all fixed up thanks again for sharing ur stories I look forward to watching with my family on Sunday mornings and god bless happy new year
Well sorry to hear you had the same kind of troubles Adam but I'm thankful to hear you got it sorted out. Plus you got to do the basement the way you wanted. Also a little tractor seat time never hurt either!
Haha yea tractor seat time never hurts no matter what project ur doin big or small Happy New Years
Great video. We all have to eat a slice of humble pie every so often. But looks like you have a great wife to help. I see some Jeep upgrades in her future. 😃 & yes definitely interested in a video on the elevator & possibly a generator rebuild.
I certainly am lucky in the wife department. Whatever she wants for the Jeep, I'm happy to do too! I think I got a few video topics for future episodes now, so stay tuned!!
Been there myself and learned some of the same lessons. Still mad about it. 🤣
Yeah. Maybe I shouldn't have documented it but I guess I'm holding myself accountable now! 🤔
Absolutely nothing wrong with sharing mistakes. Hopefully it keeps others from learning the hard way. Much respect for sharing!
Hi Neil. When my generator doesn't start easily (which is most times), I give it a little whiff of brake clean. I think it is less explosive than either and therefore less harsh on the engine. That usually helps to get it going in a couple pulls. Getting the heavy flywheel and generator spinning fast enough to start is not as easy as it once was.
Good tip!
I have 2 generators one for back up .but like you the larger one hast went in 2 years .Usually I change the gas ever fall and didn't do that last fall but was running
I cut down dead trees next to the barn because our neighbors lost some trees
Cleaned the dryer vents because we had a dryer fire at work
Looks like I'll finally be doing something with that transfer switch that has been sitting in a box for months thanks to Neil 😂
PSA clean your dryer vents 🚒
So very true on the dryer vents. Easily forgotten.
You get that transfer switch all figured out, then you need to come up north and wire mine up for me!
Came here from Watch Wes Work. He had a link in his latest video to a couple month old one where he spoke to you at Dirt Perfect's place so I came to check yours out. Very nice work man! Smashed the sub and look forward to checking out your videos! Happy New Year!
That Wes sure is a great guy! I didn't even know he mentioned it in a recent video. Thanks for coming to check it out Tim and I wish you a happy New Year as well!
It was an in video link on his latest. Took you to one in I believe October maybe where he was discussing the Louisville show. It may have been a random by chance thing but who cares! 😂 I'm here now! 😆
Nice video Neil. I would enjoy seeing an upcoming video on the homemade elevator. I just got a quote for a Generac Generator a couple weeks ago. I am told I am about 4 months out on getting one as they are heavily back ordered.
Thanks Dustin. Sounds like a lot of people would be interested in the generator so that's probably a definite video candidate. I was told when I planned the estimate that I could be waiting a while.
Took us 1 year exactly to receive a 22 KW Generac Generator due to Backlog in North Carolina. Fed by 1000 gallon Propane tank underground. Tests itself and exercises once a week with remote notification. Also put in a calendar to check your UPS battery backup every 6 months at least. Otherwise it will let you down.
Another great video, I use the same basic idea for running water and sewer Dept, just one issue to keep in mind, I have had multiple times when the internet provider has been offline for periods of time, you won’t get your text messages or emails. Just a heads up
Oh don't I know it. I just keep thinking what are the chances of the internet being down at the same time? We lose power? Well for me. I would say it's 50/50 😆!
Merry Christmas,it just showed that it takes a team to handle things and you have a great one.we just got a whole house generator,23kvw,with inground propane tank, over 21000. but its pease of mind now.please do video of the lift.
I'm very fortunate to have lots of great people around me that are always more than willing to help. We live very close to my parents and my wife's parents and we exploit that fact as much as we can! I'm jealous of your setup. That's what we need here too. Merry Christmas and thanks as always for watching.
Yes
Neil good video I would also compare cost with a Kohler back up generator also the cost may depend upon how modern your electrical service is
Very smart. I will try to explore a few different options. Fortunately we would rewired this house in 2006 so it's pretty good. My dad and brother are both electricians.
Do regular Gen maintenance regularly 🇬🇧🇬🇧👍👍
Am Guy ,where no matter where I live, I always have a generator, from a small one to one that you can have for your house, for your home I suggest at least a 5 or 10 kw ,with 110/220 accessibility, one when your power goes out ,it automatically switches over, then you be good for when ever the power comes back on.
I suggest either a propane or diesel fuel, or natural gas, the expense is well worth the safety it carries.
You can use your portables ,but a stand by generator is what you need and nothing would be amiss ,be like you never lost light or heat or sump pump.
I think the automatic propane generator will be our best option. We have a little propane tank so should work out pretty good.