As one state Governor recently said: "We now have "The Storm of the Century" every couple of years". The likelihood of weather disasters is now such that you should be ready for the next one at any time- whether it is a hurricane, ice storm, tornado, earthquake, tsunami or just an exploding power plant, or a terrorist bomb,------ something is going to leave you without electricity in the near future.

Being able to make your own electricity removes a LOT of misery and danger during any disaster. I suggest that you buy a generator to prepare for the next big problem, as well as a camping stove and some LED emergency lights.

Harbor Freight Tools sells the least expensive, small generator that I know of. Theirs costs $129.95, produces 900 watts, and gives you enough quiet power for a refrigerator, radio, small TV, and several CFC lights, and a cell phone charger in something the size of a small suitcase that you can carry in one hand.

If you are a home owner, about $750.00 will buy you an electric-start, 7000 to 8000 watt generator that will power anything in your house, just not everything in the house all at once. You just have to remember to use any generator only outdoors, away from open windows. Another caveat-- as the folks in New York and New Jersey now know, you may not be able to drive, and you may not have ANY functioning gas stations to buy fuel for your generator. That means that you have to store fuel with your stored generator, and keep fuel preservative chemicals in the stored fuel. However, one gallon of gas will give you hours of operation with a small, 900 watt generator.

One more thing for home owners with big generators. Legally you MUST have an electric disconnect switch on the box where your utility power comes into your house. You MUST be able to keep your generator from sending power down the utility cable to electrocute the utility workers who are trying to repair the power lines. My older house was not built with such a disconnect switch, and I had an electrician install the switch.

My 8500 watt generator lives in a plastic "patio shed" that was meant for the storage of patio furniture. The shed keeps rain and dirt off the generator, and the generator runs cool enough to stay in the plastic shed even while running.

Even apartment dwellers can benefit from a small generator. They don't require any care or service between uses, and if the fuel is drained between uses, they pose no fire safety threat. You just have to use heavy duty extension cords to bring power from the generator inside to your refrigerator and lights.

I bought my first generator after the No. Cal. 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake when we lost all utilities for two weeks. There have been dozens of power failures since then, but we never suffered from them. Always had safe food in the refrigerator, and a TV to see what was going on during the disasters.

For Californians, remember that not all generators being sold on the Internet can be shipped to your house. Our smog laws now apply to gas-powered tools, and not all generators meet CA laws. A lot of generators advertised on the Home Depot web site have the note "Cannot be shipped to CA" (or they did when I bought my most recent generator).

If you make the small investment in a small generator, you probably will never regret it. You are in more danger of injury from energetic patting yourself on the back during the NEXT disaster. And I hope that your Fit is not parked under water!

From my experience over more than 20 years, it is absolutely GREAT to never worry about electrical power failures!!

 

good call. I'm going to get a generator just as soon as I get a job and a house!