I got a generator today!

[MissB]

Well, a friend loaned us one anyway. We’ve been without power since Sunday. Temps last night were in the upper 30s and the house wasn’t much warmer. I was cold all night.

I was able to run a space heater in our bedroom for a bit. We were also able to run the blower fan on our wood burning insert, which made the entire downstairs noticeably warmer.

It’s been a good day. Hopefully tomorrow brings us power.

[NJCher]

1. bravo for you!

I know what that's like--was without heat for 11 days during Sandy. It can get mighty old.

So getting a generator is a big deal!

[MissB]

9. Indeed!

[blueinredohio]

2. We were out of electricity for a weekabout 10 years ago due to a summer storm.

We bought a generator after that and have never had to use it. It was very hot but I would much rather be too hot than cold. Good luck to all who are suffering.

[MissB]

8. Thanks

Definitely on the must purchase list. Will wait about six months.

Both of my siblings and a niece live within 15 minutes of me. Three out of four of us are without power to our houses since Sunday. The one sibling that has power has my niece (his daughter), her husband and three kids staying there until power is restored. Im glad the little kids are staying warm.

I have the slightly larger house so going with a hard plumbed generator is in my future, along with whatever relative is without power next time around.

[PJMcK]

3. That's great!

I bought a 4,000-watt generator after Sandy and it has saved us a few times.

We're having a fully automatic generator installed at our mountain house and it will run the whole house off our propane tank if we lose power. It's expensive bu having independence brings peace of mind!

[MissB]

5. That'll be our next step

We will wait for 6 months or so until the demand dies down and then look at a natural gas unit that can be plumbed into our line. Kohler makes on I think. It’s only run the furnace, fridge, a few outlets and a few lights but we are getting to old.

We put in a very efficient wood burning fireplace a couple of years back. It has an optional fan, which we generally don’t use. It’s meant to beat a 2000 sw ft house, so being able to plug that in has certainly helped last night and this morning.

[PJMcK]

10. Our new generator is made by Kohler

The three brands I looked at were Kohler, Briggs & Stratton and Generac. Generac seemed to be very popular but many of its parts were plastic. One electrician I spoke to said that Kohler puts more effort into their machinery and less into the marketing than Generac. Since Kohler made my lawn mower (solid service for ten+ years) we decided to go with them. They're all priced about the same.

The surprising expense in the process is the automatic switch which senses when the mains go off line and then turns on the generator. This all happens in about 2 seconds! As I wrote, piece of mind.

The other surprise to me was that once you get to 7,500 watts, increasing the power outage doesn't cause the price to rise that much. Originally, I was going to get the 9,000 watt machine but the cost of 14,000 watts was only a few hundred dollars more and it will run our whole house.

They're not too noisy measuring between 60 and 70 dB, (60 dB is like conversation in a restaurant or office or an air donditioner at 100 feet).

Good luck!

[MissB]

11. Thanks for all that!

Very helpful feedback on not only the brands but the sizing and noise.

I’ve heard the Generac brand has a huge (many months long)waiting list. Plastic parts are a red flag for me. It probably is all marketing as you say.

Since we will be shelling out so much, a whole house rather than a smaller unit may be the best.

[hlthe2b]

4. I hope you are running it outside and not in a garage. Very dangerouse otherwise...

But glad to hear you have some power.

[MissB]

6. It's in the backyard with a 100' extension cord

And our two nearby neighbors (lots are half to one acres) are out of town so we aren’t irritating them.

The extension cord runs through the dog door to our enclosed porch and then through the cat door. Cat is unhappy but she’s gotta be a bit warmer.

[hlthe2b]

7. Kudos. That's the way.

[Paladin]

12. We'll probably buy one, after the price-gouging period passes. (nt)