K-TOR

08/10/2024

Debby is fading, soaking northern Pennsylvania but its impact was significant. Tragically eight deaths have been attributed to the storm. Tampa sewers were overwhelmed spilling millions of gallons of pollution, August is starting out with a roar after July had the second most billion dollar storm impacts on record. NOAA predicts a very active storm season which is just starting. NOAA gets most of its data via weather satellites and updates its outlook and data every six hours. Currently a disturbance mid Atlantic is being watched as the next probable storm.

Monitoring the weather outlook ad preparing is the best was to protect yourself and love ones.

K-Tor is the leading maker of pedal generators, check out the power box 50 pedal generator and our rechargeable flashlights and lanterns.

08/09/2024

Debbie dumped a lot of rain on the Carolinas and is now moving on. NOAA is doing before and after aerial pictures to assess the damage. The prediction for the rest of the season is an above average and active storm season. Ocean temperatures are at near record level. Conditions are right for storm creation, western monsoon air from from Africa, reduction in dry winds from the Saraha, approaching La Nina. Hurricane season continues till Nov. 1.

Check out K-Tor emergency preparedness products on our website, pedal generators and rechargeable flashlights and lanterns.

08/07/2024

Debby has moved off shore as a tropical storm and is moving along the South Carolina coast before making land fall again. The southeast expects lots or rain and wind. Southern California had a 5.2 earthquake and 50 aftershocks.

K-Tor is the leading maker of pedal generators in the world, ideal for emergency back up power. Checkout our Cree rechargeable flashlights and rechargeable lanterns perfect for when the lights go out. They can be recharged by our human powered generators in extended outages.

08/05/2024

Derby hit 80 mph winds and Cat 1 hurricane status. It is expected to dump two feet of rain over the southeast. That is not a typo 2 feet. Extensive flooding is expected. Up to ten feet of storm surge on the west coast of Florida.

Listen to local officials and alerts and follow their directions to stay safe if you are in the effected areas.

K-Tor is the leading maker of pedal generators in the world, ideal for emergency back up power. Check out the power box 50 at K-Tor.com

08/04/2024

Tropical storm Debby is expected to gain Hurricane strength before making landfall. Most of Florida and parts of Georgia and South Carolina are expected to be hit with “Historic” Rainfall. 5-10 inches with isolated 15 inches. Storm surge of 6-10 feet is possible and winds of 74 mph. Several counties in Florida have issued evacuation warnings in advance of Mondays expected land fall.

Governor Desantis urges preparation now. Follow your local authorities guidance and stay safe.

Check out the K-Tor power box 50 pedal generator, ideal in emergencies for power back up.

10/26/2023

Hurricane Otis set a record as it made landfall in Mexico as a Cat 5 near Acapulco as the strongest hurricane to make landfall in Mexico as a Pacific hurricane.

When it comes to the weather, the only thing constant is change.

Check out the power box 50 pedal generator from K-Tor, ideal for emergency back up.

10/14/2023

Experts believe we are in for a strong El Nino winter. Last one was 2015-2016. This was marked by strong storm after storm on the west coast and record erosion. The east coast had two foot snow storms. The oceans are warmer 1.5 degrees higher than normal and higher than the winter of 2015.

The only thing constant in the weather is change.

Check out the K-Tor power box 50 pedal generator, ideal in emergencies for back up power.

10/14/2023

09/12/2023

09/08/2023

Hurricane Lee has rapidly grown to a Cat 5 with 165 miles per hour wind.

It is not expected to make landfall out this time. It is headed north of the caribbean islands and then is expected to turn north and skirt the east coast. Stay tuned as a storm this strong would be devastating if it were to make land fall.

Best to be watchful and prepared.

K-Tor is the leading maker of pedal generators, ideal in power outages. Check out the power box 50 pedal generator.

08/28/2023

Florida declared a state of emergency out of caution for a tropical depression that has formed in the gulf of Mexico and is likely to become at least a Tropical storm. As Sept. approaches, typically the peak of hurricane season a so far quiet storm season has become active. Water temperature as high with lots of energy to lend. The Farmers Almanac predicts a serious storm to make land fall early October of this year.

Now is a good time to prepare and get your emergency kit in order.

check out the Power box 50 pedal generator from K-Tor. Ideal for back up power.

06/24/2023

The hurricane season is here and there are two named storms, Brett and Cindy in the lower Caribbean at this time. They are expected to continue to travel west.

Check out the Power Box 50, pedal generator, from K-Tor, ideal for emergency power.

06/08/2023

Weather patterns in the Pacific have shifted from La Nina to El Nino. Water temperatures have shifted from cold to warm and corresponding pressure zones as well, high in easter pacific and low in the wester pacific. This also effects the wind patterns as the low and high pressure zone effect the wind flow. With El Nino the winds will come more straight across North America. The South will have cooler wetter weather with the possibility of more snow in the winter if it gets cold enough. The north, warmer drier, including less snow in the winter. The current high level of wild fires in Canada are attributed to less snow and drier conditions. Average annual wildfires in Canada are 6 million acres and currently they are at 9 million. Hurricanes in the Atlantic will be less frequent but experts caution it only takes one big one to make land fall to be a major catastrophic event. Storms in the pacific should be more active. This El Nino has experts baffled however as when the water in the pacific gets warmer the Atlantic usually gets cooler in an El Nino but this year the Atlantic is staying warm. So we are in uncharted territory without historical president to compare to. Best to be prepared for anything. Check out the K-Tor Power box 50 pedal generator ideal for power backup during power failure.

06/01/2023

Today, June 1, is the official start of hurricane. With the shift of the weather patterns from La Nina to El Nino effecting hurricane patterns, the three years of above average Hurricane seasons is expected to subside and this year is expected to be a normal hurricane season. NOAA forecasts 12-17 named storms of which 5-9 will be hurricans and one Cat 4 hurricane. NOAA cites a 70% confidence in this prediction. Now would be a good time to prepare if you are in areas effected by Hurricanes. Check out the K-Tor Power box 50 pedal generator, ideal for power back up in case of emergencies.

04/16/2023

Human power is probably the most underdeveloped energy source at this point in time and has the greatest potential for growth.

https://lnkd.in/g_BhNMrT

04/07/2023

K-Tor was started by Ken Torino an IBM executive and Electrical engineer. In traveling for IBM and hiking on the Long Trail in Vermont, Ken saw the need for a human powered generator and tried to buy one. To his surprise they did not exist for sale. After his IBM career Ken decided to start K-Tor with the idea of making human powered generators. Since then interactions with customers have shown the need is much greater than original envisioned. In talking to customers who have been through hurricanes and living off the grid or just trying to get by during blackouts it has been clear that the need is great. The biggest challenge is to raise awareness of what human powered can do and can take their natural place along side other alternatives.

04/01/2023

Another monster Tornado hit. This begs the question are we getting more than normal and why. Data show are are about 100 tornado’s ahead of normal so the impression that we are getting more than usual is correct. The next question is why? Conditions are optimal for Tornado creation and expected to stay that way. The major reason is the fading of La Nina which should ease the Hurricane season but is making hurricanes more prevalent.

Dennis Quad just did a documentary on the fragility of the grid. We have covered this before and the grid is very fragile and vulnerable. The loss of the grid would take us back to life in the 1880’s and the loss of many things we take for granted. The average age of electrical power equipment is 40 years and recommended time for replacement is 25 years. The grid is very vulnerable to attacks from man, the sun and nature. The US no longer makes the equipment used in the grid. The lead time to make a replacement is very long. All this does not bode well. The cost is high , $50B, and power companies are regulated so their ability to raise prices to pay for the investment is limited. All this means it will likely take a big catastrophe for this problem to get the attention and financing that it needs.

K-Tor is the leading maker of pedal generator, ideal for emergency back up. Check out the Power Box 50.

03/27/2023

Why was the Mississippi tornado so destructive?First it was an EF4, 166 to 200 mph, which is very powerful. It was also very wide traveled a long ways and lasted a long time, 3/4 of a mile wide, 59 miles and an hour and 10 minutes. As an example debris was tossed as high as 30,000 feet. It was a night time tornado which are harder to spot but 20 minutes warning was given.

A bad way to start the storm season.

K-Tor power box 50 pedal generator is ideal for power back up in emergencies.

03/26/2023

A tornado touched down in California recently. It is not that unusual. They usually come in the trailing edge of weather systems. Actually I was I one while visiting years ago on a business trip and have never lived in California. They don’t get the big ones and therefore not the press that tornado alley gets and therefore are not as well know. So besides the firestorms, droughts, tsunami earthquakes and everything else in California there are also tornados.

I guess mother nature feels you have to balance that great climate with something.

K-Tor is the leading maker of pedal generators in the world. Check out the power box 50.

03/22/2023

A meteor is set to pass between the moon and the earth. Not expected to hit the earth. In 2026 it comes back around and this time closer but still not expected to hit earth. It is about 200 feet across. In 2013 a meteor about 60 feet across, estimated at 9000 tons hit earth over a remote area of Russia. It exploded high in the atmosphere fortunately. it had an energy of 500 kilo tons of ant or 30 times bigger than the atomic bomb that hit hiroshima. The resultant shock wave damaged 7000 buildings and injured 1500 people, mainly from glass from blown out windows. It was undetected before it hit. The last meteor to hit earth was 1908 and also hit a remote part of Russia destroying a large area of remote forest. It was 66 feet in diameter.

Scientists estimate 17,000 meteors hit earth every year. Most are very small. They estimate this by Studying antartica where the meteors stand out against the snow and are easy to spot. They after counting these they scaled up by the area of the Antartica to the area of earth.

Check out the K-Tor Power box 50 pedal generator, ideal in blackouts or in remote regions.

12/05/2022

We have talked in past posts about how fragile the grid is but recent events have brought this to light.

K-Tor is located in Johnston county just outside Raleigh NC. Just down the road from us in Moore county, vandalism knocked out power for days highlighting the vulnerability of the electric grid.

Hawaii volcano has become active forcing evacuations as has Mount Semeru in indonesia.

Switzerland has had to put in place an emergency plan due to expected power shortages this winter. Switzerland relies on hydro which is adequate in the summer but in the winter when the flow is down, it imports 60% of its power. This winter expected shortages have forced them to implement emergency measures. As a last resort rolling blackouts.

What ever the source of the loss of power be prepared with an emergency play.

Did you know you can keep your central heat on in the winter with an inverter and battery, not to mention powering medical devices. That battery can be recharged from a pedal generator from K-Tor.

K-Tor is the leading maker of pedal generators in the world.

11/21/2022

Most of the discussion on Green energy is solar and wind. Does human energy have a part to play. A group in Denmark decided to give it a try. Denmark is leading the world with 55% of their power from wind and solar. Europe as a whole is ahead of the rest of the world with 15%. This group had as a goal to have a college residence with no external power. All power to be generated by the residences with pedal power. As an experiment in feasibility all residences were outfitted with pedal generators and the generators were wired to a common internal power grid to supply common power to the residence. Each resident was to pedal one hour a day, easy given the hours spent studying. The residence also needed to do a lot of work in energy efficiency to reach the target. LED lights and charging laptops, tablets and cellphones were the easy part. Higher demand utilities like laundry and a common fridge were more challenging. Clothes drying was only possible on the line not a clothes dryer. Hot water was allocated and at a premium. No long hot shows. Just the minimum for hygiene.

The conclusion was that the special situation was feasible.

If one billion people pedaled one hour a day this would equal 4% of the current electrical load for the world.

Perhaps human power can be the third leg of the green energy stool. Solar and wind power together today provide 8% of the worlds electricity.

K-Tor is the worlds leader in pedal generators. Check out the K-Tor Power box 50.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=X9y2qmzn9DM

11/19/2022

Winter is just starting and Buffalo is getting 4-5 feet of snow this weekend. Even for areas used to winter and snowfall this can be paralyzing. Buffalo traditionally gets lake effect snow. Moisture rises from the great lakes and drops it in the form of snow as soon as it makes land fall which is the City of Buffalo. But this is a bit much and will take time to dig out.

Did you know you can use a battery and inverter to keep the central heat going when the power is out?

The K-Tor power box 50 can recharge that battery in an emergency.

11/10/2022

Hurricane Nicole has made landfall in Florida and has been downgraded to a Tropical storm. This is the third November hurricane in history. It is expected to head up the east coast with wide spread effects. Wind, Rain and storm surge are expected far north up the coast.

A cold front is expected right after it for the South and East.

Blizzard warnings are issued for the Northern Plains.

Check out the Power Box 50 pedal generator from K-Tor. Pedal generators are ideal for emergency power back up. Keep your central heat going in the winter when the power is out.

11/08/2022

Nicole has formed in the Atlantic and could make landfall on the Florida coast on Wednesday. It has chance to strengthen to hurricane strength before making landfall. It is likely to move up the coast and become a northeaster.

The west is expecting heavy coastal rain and mountain snow.

Pedal generators are ideal in blackouts for emergency power. Check out the K-Tor Power box 50.

10/26/2022

In the western world we take electricity for granted. This was not always so. Up to 1936 in the US, electricity was only available in cities. The distribution system used 2300 volts that had a range of 4 miles. It was not economical to bring electricity to areas outside urban areas. The Rural electrification act of 1936 brought electricity with a 6900 Volt standard and a 40 mile range to rural areas. It was subsidized by the federal government.

Today in the world one third of the population or 2B people do not have electricity. In the third world efforts to bring electricity are still concentrated on the cities and capitals. Think about how life changing electricity is; lighting, education electric pumps for drinking water or irrigation. The most remote areas of the world can now have electricity if the will is there to bring it to them. Some places solar and wind will work and in all pedal generators.

The K-Tor power box 50 pedal generator is the worlds leading maker of pedal generators.

10/25/2022

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=trwgQaWoOVo Pedal generators are used everywhere in the world and a wide range of applications. We have talked about Emergency preparedness and they are the top users of pedal generators but pedal generators have a wide application. Educators are another big application as are people living or going off the grid. And of course some of the off grid users are the military and we get orders from militaries from around the world from time to time. If they can not keep their radios powered they can not operate.

In the Atlantic I94L a tropical depression has formed and is east of Bermuda. It seems to be headed to Boston. We have talked in previous posts about storms making their way further North than in the past. If it becomes a named storm it would be the 12 of the season, named Lisa. In the rest of the country the pacific northwest is seeing rain and further east in the higher elevations snow. Further south Texas and Oklahoma are seeing severe thunderstorms, the remnants of a Pacific hurricane that hit Mexico. This will be moving east in the next couple of days through Tennessee and the Southeast.

The military has a saying two is one and one is none. Always have a back up. K-Tor power box 50 pedal generators are the ultimate back up for emergency power.