Lol. Emergengy Generators Will Be Useless.

Gas or no-gas, all generators will be confiscated, at gun point, by police to use for 'more-deserving' individuals.

I do know this and so I don't have one.... lots of people run out all the time during bad noreasters... If you can't get the gas your are shit out of luck for extended circumstances.

while possible not likely because more deserving individuals already should know.

Works like a charm. Runs on natural gas. Powers everything except the a/c.

[link to www.norwall.com]

some power is better than none

i bought one from harborfreight last night, 4000 watts. thing is so quiet and nice, im very impressed especcially since it was only 289, it cost me 4 bucks to run 12 hours kept heater, lights and crockpot on. we lost power 4 hours but i was already on generator by then to see how long the 2 gallons would last. anyway i have woodstove and all supplies ready because op is right they can be useless but nice to have occasionally

....sjips well eh that was daring but I liked the beginnings more funnier with standards to not just slur away

That was molten core something

Escape as mob droll ^^

Emergency generators are perfectly useful and well suited for what they are designed for, an emergency. A loss of grid power for a few hours or even a few days is a perfectly good fit for a temporary generator to power a few necessities. Also, you aren't supposed to run them 24/7 or be able to power your whole house. Run it when you need it for specific things and shut it off when you don't.

A few gallons of gasoline for a generator and a few gallons of kerosene or a propane tank are a perfect preparation for emergencies. Living off the grid long term is totally different.

Well if things do ever get that hairy, since you have a generator and there is a gas station close by guess what- break into that gas pump, wire it up to your generator and pump some gas.
A line will quickly form to.

If third parties try to steal my stuff, they will end up getting a lot of broken stuff that's very hard to fix.

Some of us are just spoilers.

Telstra is now using solar powered hydrogen generators.

Why are you using gas instead of a diesel unit that can run on fuel oil, or a PTO from a truck? Gasoline is a terrible fuel for storage or efficient low load operation.

Can't forget EMPs, a strong enough blast and you won't be able to start anything.

Nothing chatty or catty from me. I shudder when I think of how many people would die in the first month if the system crashed, no water, no food or fuel deliveries, no medicines for the sick. Awful......

Last Edited by M*walk on 01/27/2015 12:37 PM

The only thing that is essential to run is the battery charger and the radio, cooking can be done with coal or wood
warming water for bath or drinking also

Your point is moot

I have an outdoor wood boiler for heat (hydronic/infloor & heat exchanger in air handler) and hot water. I also purchased a propane generator and have it connected to my 1000 gallon (850 actual) propane tank. --> [link to www.powerlandonline.com]

I have a small Linux computer(Raspberry Pi) connected to the generator using the GPIO interface. It currently starts the generator on an interval and will let it run for a predetermined length of time (i.e. time for well pump to run, furnace fan, refridge, etc.) This is all managed by a simple Python script. I am in the process of writing a more advanced script that will detect an outage automatically and manage the generator start/run . In addition to automatically starting and running the generator, it will also bring specific loads online and offline at predetermined intervals.

Cycling the generator allows for fuel conservation. I am metering my propane use (cu/ft) and have determined that in a real world situation, I can run on propane power with 850 gallons of propane for almost 5 months.

I also plan to get an inverter/charger for PV solar and wind with a small battery bank. --> [link to www.ebay.com]
The idea is to get the charger/inverter connected with the batteries first (before I invest in solar panels) so that I can charge batteries when the generator is running. We have already converted a lot of our lighting to LED which has greatly reduced the load.

I only have $150 invested in the computer, interface, contractors, relays, etc.

I have been testing it once a month for almost a year and have had no issues.

Do your math again, Skippy, then get back to us. 10,000 watts to run a water heater? You're serious? Nah, just stupid...

And I'm not a gen x'er. And a segue is a way to transition in a conversation...