GET A PORTABLE DIESEL GENERATOR WHILE YOU CAN STILL FIND THEM FOR UNDER $1500

Ah - if you can't buy gasoline, exactly what makes you think you'll be able to buy diesel?

Diesel fuel can be made with standard cooking oil.

you can also use the home heating oil in your tank, which most peope have a lot of in the winter, more than enough to take some out and use in the genny during an emergency

also lest then 10% of the cars and trucks on the road in the US are diesel.. so it might be around a little longer

Propane.

Propane stores longer and is safer to store than gasoline or diesel.

Propane will be more available during crisis than gasoline.

Mine are already installed.

Last Edited by czygyny on 12/02/2010 03:03 PM

Get solar, they haven't figured out how to put a meter on the Sun yet...and they don't make noise...

You'd be better off buying a Star Trek left handed bacon stretcher autographed by Captain Kirk.

Get the green handle one check your local deli they carry them

Solar panel cells have a limited life, so they wont last forever, maybe a couple of years if you buy a quality panel.

I found it easier to find a good used generator that uses gas or propane rather than solar.

Solar would be nice, though.

Pennies vs. dollars.

U run out of percocet douchebag?

Idiot trying to be serious....

Go away

here in so fl it was a requirement for stations to have a generator so most of them are good to go and will be able to pump when the power goes out.

Your avatar is sooooo queer

That show you saw on Discovery was probably financed by the portable generator industry. lol.

My BP panels have a 25 year warranty...the system I put together in 1999 is still working fine...where did you get your info?

How many generators can run all day, every day for over 10 years without rebuilding?

Last Edited by BRIEF AND TO THE POINT on 12/02/2010 04:16 PM

What about a generator hooked up to a natural gas line? The idea that a pandemic would wipe out all the natural gas utility workers seems far fetched to me. Someone should still be able to keep the gas lines on.

I consider generators to be a temporary fix to a temporary problem...the gas, diesel or propane ones, anyway.

They are to get you through the rough bits of local emergency. Forget long term, years long use if the distribution link is destroyed.

I suppose solar/wind will certainly last longer, but if you have no way to replace or manufacture worn parts, those too will eventually fail.

Given enough time of societal collapse, you would eventually be forced back into a simpler lifestyle.

Back to wood and wax, in most cases.

That's interesting, didn't know they lasted that long. You must have bought the best panels on the market.

I have been in the generator business for YEARS and own my own dealership for several major brands of generators including Winco, Generac, Kohler, etc. I used to carry Honda and Yamaha machines as well, but dropped them last year.

Let me tell you that if you got a diesel generator NEW for $1500 it's a piece of crap. It's Chinese made and it will fail within 100 hours of run time. You have to spend at least $3000 to get a good portable 6,000 watt diesel generator. Winco makes a good one called the W6010DEX, has 6,000 watts of output, and sells retail for $4350.

What you bought was the equivalent of a 25 cent fire extinguisher. Good FREAKING luck when you actually need to use it.

Now, other than that, your point is a VERY GOOD ONE about the diesel machines being able to use #2 heating oil. Great idea there. But gasoline generators are much less expensive to purchase, easier to repair, lighter weight, quieter (usually), etc. The benefits of a diesel engine don't start to appear unless you have a quality engine and it's running for THOUSANDS of hours. In that case (like a big-rig) you get longer service life and more efficient running with a diesel. This is NOT THE CASE WITH MOST PORTABLE GENERATORS. In my opinion the ONLY reason to buy a diesel portable generator is if you have an abundant source of diesel fuel and no handy gasoline, like on a farm, or in your case, with 200+ gallons of #2 oil in your basement. That works.

Oh, and just try finding replacement parts for your $1500 generator. Perhaps you can learn Chinese and call the factory in China, at which point they will be happy to sell you a whole new unit but sorry no parts.

If you get a diesel generator and a wood burning stove you are good to go. I bought three huge wood burning stoves at under $100 each at tag sales over the summer because when people are moving, they usually dont let it go with their house and they are too cumbersome to move.

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You can convert an old discarded water heater into a wood burning stove cheap, instructions abound online.

No need to spend a ton of money for a wood burning stove.

YES!!!! This is the way to go. Get a Winco tri-fuel generator and run it off NG. You can switch to propane if the NG goes out (armageddon scenario). Then you can switch to gasoline if it really gets bad.

Propane more available during a crisis? Maybe. It's delivered by DIESEL POWERED trucks. You better hope tehre is diesel. Propane stores INDEFINATELY in a bulk tank unlike gasoline. It's nearly an ideal fuel. NG is a little different in that it's mostly Methane and supplied by the local utility company. But it's awesome, too.

If I am going to spend that kind of money for a new generator, I will buy a diesel TRUCK. That way I can use diesel for transportation AND power generation, and kill two birds with one stone. Most people don't know that you can use your diesel truck for power generation as well, they usually have outlets near the rear of the engine that you can use as a power source. I know mine does. Best thing about it, most diesel trucks have QUALITY diesel engines. You can easily get a good diesel truck for 4 grand.

Propane is awesome. But since your generator is "installed" it's probably an automatic standby generator. These are great for non-armageddon situations. But they drink LOTS of fuel.

My favorite TSHTF generator is a Honda EU2000i portable generator with a propane/NG conversion kit. It literally sips fuel and can run for almost a whole 24 day on about 2 gallons of propane. That means 100 days on a 200 gallon propane tank or over a YEAR on a 500 gallon tank. Granted, you'll have to cut way back on your power usage and you won't want to run it 24 hours. But it's a superb option, especially when mated with a solar array and battery storage system w/inverter. Super-super efficient setup. Enough power to run your microwave oven, lights, refrigerator/freezer, etc. Definately requires some thought to get everything working right but in the end it's fantastic.

Can't argue with you there. But I would still get a Honda EU2000i and propane conversion kit. About $1200 for everything.

Your diesel truck may have outlets but you'll be burning a truckload of fuel for what little power you can draw from the alternator on your truck.

Efficiency is the NAME OF THE GAME for armageddon and most people just have no freakin' clue how thirsty most of their TSHTF setups really are, diesel or otherwise.

Yes, this is very true.

I hold no illusions of years or even many months of total disaster being overcome by what I've cobbled together.

My concern was always the comfort of my aging mother, and relief in moderate disasters. A few weeks of no electric service is doable on what I have, but as I found out with our water-rationing in past years...we are VERY vulnerable to forces outside our control.

Without lots of monetary investment and savvy, a comfortable long term off-grid set-up is out of the reach of most of us.

Last Edited by czygyny on 12/02/2010 05:29 PM

Ridiculous. The panels on my workshop have run for 12 years without a problem. The panels I had on a vacation home were already 20 years old, from a solar test program in California, when I got them. They lasted 7 more years before the salt air and Hurrican Hugo got to them.

machobird

You are assuming that mauraders will be deaf, won't hear your generator, and go trick or treat at next house. When things get that bad, you will be killed for your generator by the first pack if zombies to hit the streets...looking for just such useful things.

A generator is good to have for the bad weather....temporary solution until services get back to normal. For doom scenario...its like a beacon to starving ears. Be safe, best of luck.

You can use "wood gas" to power a gasoline generator...

when the gasoline is gone.

Most solar panels are guaranteed for 25 years