First, we were lucky. I sat up through the passage of the squall line. I thought it was rather mild. Just across the pond, and unbeknownst to me, a bunch of trees went down. The people who live there, maybe 1/4 mile as the gnat flies, are still without power. They are on Flint EMC, and I am on Georgia Power. In Reynolds, GA, about 8 miles east, there was extensive damage. Trees down on houses, in yards, and I saw at least one totaled vehicle with a huge oak across it. I had no damage on any of my meager holdings. For that I'm thankful.
I have wanted an emergency generator for a long time. My wife would always roll her eyes, and name a dozen other things we could do with that money. I have had my eye on one of the Black Max generators at Sam's Club for several years. They are rated at 8750 starting watts and 7000 running watts. Taking into account marketing exaggerations and best-case scenario testing methods, I figure they are good for a solid 6000 starting and 5000 running watts. Anyhow, I bit the bullet and bought one about two months ago. They have gone up about $100 every 24 months, and I bought mine for $999 plus tax.
Here is where I almost got in trouble. I bought the thing, brought it home and unpacked it, put it together, and locked it away. I didn't even start it up, never put gas in it. I don't have but one extension cord I could use with it, much less a transfer switch. Our lights just flickered once or twice. While that was happening, I got to thinking . . . . what if the lights go out and that generator is 10 miles from here, locked in a building, no gas in it, never even tried out, and basically inaccessible? Can you imagine the grief I would have had to endure from my wife? "You spent a thousand dollars on that thing, and here we are in the dark! What good is it if you don't even know how to use it? Whaddayou mean you don't have a switch? What switch? Looks like for a thousand dollars, it would have all the switches you need!"
You get the idea. You can bet I'll have it out of the barn, fired up and wired up before the next squall line comes through.
The genset is powered by a Honda 13 hp engine, and has a self starter. I am 62 years old, had back surgery and shoulder surgery, and can just see myself trying to start it with a pull cord during a thunderstorm, or in 15 degree weather and an ice storm. Everybody says, "Buy a Honda brand generator." Well, I can buy three of these and keep two in reserve for a good deal less than a Honda with 5000 watts of running capacity would cost, and after all, this one is Honda powered. The Honda brand sets are supposed to be much quieter, but that isn't an issue with me. My intentions were to have already used the generator. I am going to rebuild an out building, and am going to use the generator to run the power tools. I haven't gotten around to that yet, but I will soon. Meanwhile, I'm going to get it running.
I have wanted an emergency generator for a long time. My wife would always roll her eyes, and name a dozen other things we could do with that money. I have had my eye on one of the Black Max generators at Sam's Club for several years. They are rated at 8750 starting watts and 7000 running watts. Taking into account marketing exaggerations and best-case scenario testing methods, I figure they are good for a solid 6000 starting and 5000 running watts. Anyhow, I bit the bullet and bought one about two months ago. They have gone up about $100 every 24 months, and I bought mine for $999 plus tax.
Here is where I almost got in trouble. I bought the thing, brought it home and unpacked it, put it together, and locked it away. I didn't even start it up, never put gas in it. I don't have but one extension cord I could use with it, much less a transfer switch. Our lights just flickered once or twice. While that was happening, I got to thinking . . . . what if the lights go out and that generator is 10 miles from here, locked in a building, no gas in it, never even tried out, and basically inaccessible? Can you imagine the grief I would have had to endure from my wife? "You spent a thousand dollars on that thing, and here we are in the dark! What good is it if you don't even know how to use it? Whaddayou mean you don't have a switch? What switch? Looks like for a thousand dollars, it would have all the switches you need!"
You get the idea. You can bet I'll have it out of the barn, fired up and wired up before the next squall line comes through.
The genset is powered by a Honda 13 hp engine, and has a self starter. I am 62 years old, had back surgery and shoulder surgery, and can just see myself trying to start it with a pull cord during a thunderstorm, or in 15 degree weather and an ice storm. Everybody says, "Buy a Honda brand generator." Well, I can buy three of these and keep two in reserve for a good deal less than a Honda with 5000 watts of running capacity would cost, and after all, this one is Honda powered. The Honda brand sets are supposed to be much quieter, but that isn't an issue with me. My intentions were to have already used the generator. I am going to rebuild an out building, and am going to use the generator to run the power tools. I haven't gotten around to that yet, but I will soon. Meanwhile, I'm going to get it running.
