In the middle of a power outage since 9AM
 

The power outage started at 9AM pacific time here in CA and the Electric company said the estimate to fix it is 11 PM.

It is presently about 8 PM and I am on the Computer courtesy of the Harbor Freight Generator that I have running the Refrigerator, one light and the Computer of one of the 13 am electrical outlets on the Generator.

I bought the Generator over 8 Months ago and had only tested it briefly one time. This is the first time using it for anything serious.
I can't say which one I bought as the generator is out in the garage But, it is a 4 cycle one not the 2 cycle.
If someone is interested I will post the what Genet I bought tomorrow.

Unfotunately the gen set is a little noisy even with the garage door mostly closed.

I also saw something rather odd when I walked around the corner. There is a Telephone Pole with an Electrical Box. The box is partly opened and on top of the box is a small very quiet Generator running!
I am speculating that there is someone that needs some eletrical medical equipment to run all the time and that the Electrical Company installed the Generator to keep the Medical Euipment going but that is just a guess.

This hasnt happened to me yet but I have two generators in my garage and they both dont run. One is a coleman 5500 watt that I bought for $80. It just needs a carburetor. The other is an old old Onan that runs on propane. I need to get a battery and try it out . I know it used to run but its been years.

I see all these generators for sale at HF/HD/NT... I can only assume that prices are lower than they used to be...

...and I can only think "Cool, buy a generator, but if you want it to start when needed, you are going to need to test-run/maintain the thing every 6m or year. I wonder how many buyers realize this ?

-John

I got a cheapo 2000w unit from Amazon a couple years ago. Some stabil in the tank and I start it up before major storms or every 4 months or so. It's loud but it'll power the sump pump if we need it, which is all we have it for. It's good to have on hand in case we need it.

OK the Generator had Preditor 4000 on it.

Please not that the outlets are 13 amp (has circuit breakers). A lot of people at Harbor Freight left feedback that they bought it and needed 20 amp outlet.

A power outage is a nuisance and I was not even prepared for that. Had to round up the Flashlights, Extension Cords and while the generator fuel tank was nearly full I only had about 1/2 gallon of extra gas in a Can (my Lawn Mower is electric).

I was able to run the Refrigerator, Computer, TV and a single 40 watt light with no issues.
It used more gas then I estimated and died.

Put the 1/2 gallon in and ran it again but with in 40 minutes the power came back on at about 9:30 pm which was earlier then the 11 pm estimate.

So I learned that I need to keep more gasoline on hand (my Van has some sort of device inside the fill pipe that keeps you from sticking a tube into it to siphon gas out).

I also ought to have an extension cord just for the Generator and kept with the Generator and the same with the Drop Light that I used.

While it was still light out I went to Harbor Freight and bought another Flash Light with the April 16 25% off coupon. But, what I really needed was some sort of lamp that defuses the light around the genera area. Harbor Freight did not sell any inexpensive ones that I liked.

Harbor Freight out to sell a larger capacity accessory Fuel Tank.

Another problem I had was when you start you use the Choke. I forgot to take it off choke for about 2 hours. Did not cause any issues with the Engine but used up the gas.

Another issue is the nose needs to be reduced. Perhaps a larger and better Muffler.
Beside the nose the noise bein agrivating what would you do if 6 of your Negnbors showed up and wanted to barrow the Generator to save the Food in their Fridge?
And if you loaned it out what would you do if someone decided to keep it? So it is better to keep thing quiet.

In the end you have to depend on your own abilities. But, being prepared with equipment and goods helps immensely. That being said I only am minimally prepared.

Yes any machine needs maintenance. You are supposed to use fuel stabilizer so that Fuel does not develop solids that could plug up you system; especially the Carburetor.

Otherwise the Engine is simpler then your Car Engine is and what runs it.
Since I used to be a Mechanic taking apart and unplugging a Carburetor or some fuel system issue is not a show stopper (if I can see what I am doing).

I have 4 Flashlight scattered around the House and some in my Vehicles (those are the ones I worry about working when I need them) and extra Batteries.

I think I have about 1 month of Food if I rationed it. What I don't have is a way to cook it if the Stove or Microwave did not work.

I have a small single burner Propane Camp Stove but have not seen it for over 15 years so I don't know where it is.

Also I think I used up the Propane Bottles when my the Bottles for my Torch ran out.

Food wise if I see something I like on sale like cans of Chillie at the 99 Cent store I will buy like 20 Cans. Some what the same with other stuff I like that is packaged to last.
By the time I use up the 20 Cans of Chillie I have already bought something other Foods similar quantity.

Now that I have run the Generator for about 4 hours I have more confidence in it.

It is likely the Carburator could be cleaned out of it was dissembled and any rubber parts replaced. eBay might be a good source of a kit or a whole new Carburator.

The Propane one is intersting as I was thinking last night it would be nice to have a Generator hooked to the residential Natural Gas line. Because the Natural Gas almost never has the issue of not working.

I think the Propane one would only take some changes of orifaces and so on to convert to Natural Gas. Onan is a big Company but of course I don't know if there is any sort of conversion kit to Natural Gas.

its nice that generators are easy. In 10 or 20 yeas when all small engines have ECUs, oxygen sensors, electronic fuel injection and catalytic converters (because the environment yo) they aren't going to be easy anymore. The young mechanics of today better be handy with their phone and a Bluetooth OBD3 code reader :)

I dont worry about this at all, but if I did, I'd worry about the hospital (or .gov or .mil) building owner that put $xx,000 ("...its not my money"...lols) into a backup generator, and then skimped on the maintenance. So when the power goes out in 3 years, all the money spent was for naught and their building is dark.

-John

Hello,
Forum members may want look into MEP803a generators if you'd like serious back-up (or constant) generation.

I bought one for $3,800 with 11 hours on it. Maybe that's way too much for some, but I thought it was well worth it.

Here in NE many people heat with diesel...I plumbed mine right into my 275 gallon tank - so run time should not be a problem.

Quiet, stout, and reliable.

My $0.02
-Tony

We live at the end of a very long power run. If there's going to be an outage, it will be here. Our outages last a very long time, because we are low priority. Hurricane Sandy knocked us out for three weeks.

As for how we prepare, I have a Reliance transfer switch which handles heat, sump, water pump, fridge, and a couple of rooms. It has an outdoor connector into which I plug my portable generator.

Generator is an ancient Coleman 7000 which I maintain myself. So I know the carb well. There were two possible carbs used...a three screw and a four screw, called such for reasons that will be obvious when you disassemble.

The carb has an integral fuel pump. If you don't exercise the generator, the carb dries out and the diaphraghm goes bad. It's all of ten minutes to rebuild the carb, but the constant RPM linkage may be a puzzle.

The old Colemans had Briggs and Stratton motors, so any lawnmower place can fix them if you don't want to DIY. If you DIY, I can shoot you copies of the parts book and engine manuals in PdF.

I think it is good to have a Genertor. I notice that no one else within view or I could hear when I walked down the street had one.

I think it is good to have a generator. I notice that no one else within view or I could hear when I walked down the street had one.

In the 1970s some neighbors of mine moved out to the Hills of Hemet Ca. The moved a single wide Moblie Home up there but no electricity or plumbing. Later they got a septic tank and propane.

The Father was part of MARs which was a group of Ham Radio operators. The occasionally let them pic through used Government equipment and he found a large single cylinder Briggs & Straton powered Military Genset. I never was interested in learning the details of what type and power rating and so on.

At night you normally used a Flashlight becaue the genrator was normally only used to run the TV unless something important required lights. Othewise Karosene Lamps were used on the table or end tables.

A similar large air cooled engine ran the pump at the public well. People that live their ran pipe to their water Tanks and filled them from the public well when needed.

A gas fridge is a solution to the cold food problem. LED lights will run for a long time on a 12 volt battery.

We had an old Servel propane fridge on the back porch for decades. It kept beer so cold it hurt your teeth. I have some off-grid friends who have a newer version of it. Only problem seems to be they're all fairly small. 15 cu.ft. is a big one.

Diesel generators have supplied the most power during any outages at my house. Running a homemade 10k rig now. Solar and inverters carry the rest.