Drove up to New Hampshire after work because Uncle Jesse had secured a Generator and needed a truck and an extra set of arms to haul it home and help set it up.
I was AMAZED at the damage. His whole neighborhood was downed limbs and mangled power lines. Looks like he’ll be without power that doesn’t drink from a gas can. Same goes for my Boss that I lent my Jerry Can to so she could keep a little more go-juice for her generator.
Meanwhile my municipal power company seems to manage to keep power outages to just a few hours. Still I wonder if a generator (and a panel so things like my furnace can run) might be a wise idea.
We’ll see how Jesse gets his set-up going and I’ll think about it.
Still it was nice to see his house light up once we got that mill cranking!
I’ve been thinking along the same lines but regarding tornado damage instead of snow.
I think I’m going to start with a small hand portable unit first; something that can run a couple of fans and maybe the refrigerator. Then once that is purchased, I want to look at something that can run the A/C.
Generally it doesn’t get cold enough for long enough here that I couldn’t manage with just the fireplace for heat. A/C — well, this summer proves the need -way too many days over 100.
If you get a gen set, what are your plans for fuel storage?
Many thanks We’erd! It’s amazing how warm 63 can feel. I’ll have you up to check out the tie in once I get it installed. One of my coworkers described theirs as being wife friendly. That’ll sound a whole lot less sexist when I explain that I work with a bunch of electrical engineers that would be fine with a user interface of a bunch of unlabeled switches and a stick shaped just right to flip all the right ones at the same time. The transfer switch my coworker was telling me about was color coded with the breakers that needed to be off and wouldn’t let you connect the generator to the outside grid. Sounded pretty slick, but then again I’m an unlabeled switches and stick kinda guy too.
I’m thinking about going with a diesel. Fuel can be stored for 10ish years with no problem, a little PRI-D and checking for moisture. Also, in a pinch I could burn the old veggie oil.
Weerd, or UJ, let me know if you need help getting a genset properly (either functioning, safe, or both) wired in.
I went diesel and do not regret it at all. Fuel stores better and there are fewer parts to fail.
I have a 7 kVA genset for emergency use, but have been investigating the Indian clones of the venerable Lister diesel. (see http://www.utterpower.com/listeroi.htm )
Once the well-known short-comings are addressed (oil leaks, dodgy fuel lines, and poor clean-up after casting) and they are coupled with a decent generator head, they seem well-nigh indestructible, and surprisingly cheap to buy and run.
You could just front the extra cash and get a natural gas generator. Never have to worry about refueling out in the harsh weather, and the supply is always there.
You’ll be the coolest kid on the block!
You know, that might be a really smart idea given that we have gas in the house.
I think if I ponder this further I’ll be that route.
Thanks!