Ready for Winter?? (Freeport, Jackman: transfer, buy, schools)

[cebdark]

Wow. That's a lot of money to shell out for a generator to run a few things IMO...

If I were in an area that were more prone to lengthy outages, or had a medical condition that necessitated continual power, I might consider an installed one, but I think I'll stick to one that I can fire up and plug the freezer into for the occasional outage.

We do have a relative that has a medical condition, so he had one installed that kicks on automatically when the power goes out. I do recall it being "expensive" but not by that much.

[Maineah]

Originally Posted by reloop

Wow. That's a lot of money to shell out for a generator to run a few things IMO...

If I were in an area that were more prone to lengthy outages, or had a medical condition that necessitated continual power, I might consider an installed one, but I think I'll stick to one that I can fire up and plug the freezer into for the occasional outage.

We do have a relative that has a medical condition, so he had one installed that kicks on automatically when the power goes out. I do recall it being "expensive" but not by that much.

Like I said it wasn't so much the generator it was the entire package that cost my in-laws the amount it did. They did it 100% right and have the means to do it. It's more of a luxury than a necessity done that way but it sure is nice to have. I'm sure just the shed it sits in was $5,000!! You can get an installed system for a small house for just over $5,000 so again it depends on what you want to spend. Just like you can buy a new Hyundai for $15,000 or a Bentley for $150,000. Both cars will get you where you want to go but some people like to have the best of the best! You CAN spend a bundle on a back-up system or just use a generator and extension cords. It's all up to the individual and how much they are willing to spend.

[Maineah]

Originally Posted by OutDoorNut

My brother said that generator you recommended, the 3500 watt Honda Generator, is a very nice one, BTW.

My brother doesn't have a jacuzi or swimming pool either, but he did convert a perfectly good wood burning fireplace to gas.

His wife said with a gas fireplace, she wouldn't have to wait on my brother to start the fire, she could just push a button and instant fireplace.

I recommended that they leave their wood burning fireplace alone, and that she do her knitting by her gas burning kitchen range instead. LOL.

Well, they didn't take my advice; they now have a gas fireplace instead of a wood one, and she rarely turns it on anyway--I just now realized, could be they don't use it because it's boring compared to burning wood.

Does that pond cause your inlaws a mosquito problem or problems with their septic system?

They never use their gas fireplace either! It's in my FIL's trophy room (he's an avid hunter)and he only turns it on when someone is looking at his mounts.

The pond did cause problems for their septic system. My in-laws had to put in a mound system. Problem was it was all ledge in the area they wanted to use so they had to blast to put it in...talk about expensive!! The mosquitoes are held in check by a zillion dragonflies. It's amazing to watch the dragonflies hatch from the pond. The bass go nuts jumping out of the water to snatch them.They have fewer mosquitoes at their place than we do 1/4 mile away. There are so many dragonflies in the neighborhood though that mosquitoes are not much of a problem.

[Submariner]

Originally Posted by Sunday1

As for the generator, the owner of the house we are leasing is a builder and a great guy. We lucked out in that regard. I believe he took the generator that was here (he lived here) with him to his new house. He said if we loose power for more than a day, he'll get a generator here. I'd prefer it was already here (the next door neighbors are also renters and they have a back-up generator like the one maineah's in-laws have) but live and learn. The power has already gone out 4-5 times since August 1, but the longest duration so far was 5 hours. I expect this to be an issue for us this winter. For people moving into Maine and shopping for house rentals, I urge you to give those with back-up generators a significant advantage over those without (we didn't factor that heavily enough in hindsight. There were several that had generators ~ I just didn't think it was a big deal).

Your landlord may not want to put out the cash, before it is needed.

However when it is needed, it may be too late since the stores will have sold out.

You might consider buying your own generator. Having it sit there, would give you peace of mind, and you can take it with you when you move.

Consider it an investment toward your next home.

Since your landlord is such a great guy, he won't mind. It is one less thing that he has to think about.

[cebdark]

Originally Posted by Maineah

Like I said it wasn't so much the generator it was the entire package that cost my in-laws the amount it did. They did it 100% right and have the means to do it. It's more of a luxury than a necessity done that way but it sure is nice to have. I'm sure just the shed it sits in was $5,000!! You can get an installed system for a small house for just over $5,000 so again it depends on what you want to spend. Just like you can buy a new Hyundai for $15,000 or a Bentley for $150,000. Both cars will get you where you want to go but some people like to have the best of the best! You CAN spend a bundle on a back-up system or just use a generator and extension cords. It's all up to the individual and how much they are willing to spend.

True. I see your point.

[Zarathu]

I think you have to decide what you really need a generator for. I have two, a gas model for temporary duty, and a diesel model for long duty. I wish the diesel was propane, since diesel can get fouled, the fuel can get like jello, and bacteria can grow in it.

In an outage I need the TV and my computer for info about what's going on, lights, and the fans that spread the wood heat around the house. 1800 watts is more than enough for that. For longer term I need to be able to pump water out of the well and pressurize the house water system at least for short spurts of time. I need to be able to run the refrigerator every several hours. For that, a 3000-4000 watt diesel or propane unit would be good. You can do this all for about $1500 if you run the wiring yourself, or a little more if you get an electrician to fix your junction box to allow you to power certain circuits with generator power.

zarathu

[OutDoorNut]

Originally Posted by Maineah

They never use their gas fireplace either!

Interesting.

Could be that people like your inlaws and my brother who have gas fireplaces, just don't "get" the appeal of a fireplace (I know my brother doesn't get it--like he doesn't get why I want to move to Maine instead of Long island, NY).

I had no fireplace when I was growing up.

In high school, I was lucky enough to have a friend whose father had a summer house dating from the 1770s, to which a bunch of us kids would spend a week every now and then.

We "heated" the place with two fireplaces. We had no electricity, water was from a well via a bucket on a rope, and for a bathroom we had an outhouse.

I loved it.

And I have never forgotten waking up to the smell of bacon mixing with woodsmoke from the dying fires on a cold spring morning, with the smell of morning misty fields and the forest beyond creeping through the chinks in the house.

Since then, I've never wanted to live any other way.

[Submariner]

Originally Posted by OutDoorNut

Interesting.

Could be that people like your inlaws and my brother who have gas fireplaces, just don't "get" the appeal of a fireplace (I know my brother doesn't get it--like he doesn't get why I want to move to Maine instead of Long island, NY).

I had no fireplace when I was growing up.

In high school, I was lucky enough to have a friend whose father had a summer house dating from the 1770s, to which a bunch of us kids would spend a week every now and then.

We "heated" the place with two fireplaces. We had no electricity, water was from a well via a bucket on a rope, and for a bathroom we had an outhouse.

I loved it.

And I have never forgotten waking up to the smell of bacon mixing with woodsmoke from the dying fires on a cold spring morning, with the smell of morning misty fields and the forest beyond creeping through the chinks in the house.

Since then, I've never wanted to live any other way.

You can find a wee bit of that lifestyle in Maine.

If you look.

[Zarathu]

Outdoornut,

You should have bought my cabin in western pa. It was a fully enclosed 2 story cape cod 20 x 24, but had only a composting toilet, a woodstove heat, a propane tank cookstove, electricity via batteriate and an inverter, no well ---on 40 acres of total woods.

It was great...... for about 5 years. And then gradually as I got older, having only 250 watts of power carried in, carrying water in, started to get really old.

I sold it to someone who thinks this is a great as I did 12 years ago.

[OutDoorNut]

Originally Posted by Zarathu

Outdoornut,

You should have bought my cabin in western pa. It was a fully enclosed 2 story cape cod 20 x 24, but had only a composting toilet, a woodstove heat, a propane tank cookstove, electricity via batteriate and an inverter, no well ---on 40 acres of total woods.

It was great...... for about 5 years. And then gradually as I got older, having only 250 watts of power carried in, carrying water in, started to get really old.

I sold it to someone who thinks this is a great as I did 12 years ago.

I forgot to mention, having no electricity we used oil lamps.

I'm 59 years old--and I have no illusions.

I favor central heating and hot and cold running water and flush toilets and electric light (but I still refuse to own a TV).

Bacon and eggs by the fireplace in the country was the good part.

The rest was the price to be paid for the privilege.

However I believe it unwise to live a push-button lifestyle: some daily physical labor to sustain one's little homestead is a good thing, even a healthy necessity for those of us with desk jobs.