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This. People that live in zones prone to power outages (such as hurricane prone coastal) then run about wildly when power dies. I lived in Virginia Beach for a couple years, saw this twice while there, from beach front owners.
???
I moved to Puerto Rico in 2000, one of the first things I heard about was Hurricane George, and no power for 69 days days in Cieba, PR where I lived before I got there. House was at elevation, flooding wasnt a concern for me.
I shortly went out and bought a quiet 1200 watt generator, auto transfer switch, and installation materials. Prices were low, home depot had everything in stock. About $1200 in expenditures.
I did the install, and back fed critical circuits in my (small) concrete home, and kept 2 weeks of gas on hand for 24 hour gen service running (included a 5000 BTU window A/C on a dedicated receptacle). I did electrical work as a Seabee in the Navy, I knew what I was doing.
Next storm, power went out for a few days. Neighbors piling up at my door with their kids to cool off. My lights were a beacon after dark for sure.I asked them what they did to get ready for the fairly common storms on the east side of PR.
Blank looks. But can I have another cold beer please?
They also wanted to store their food in my running fridge. I let them.
People live for the moment.
It's mandatory to stay with your own. We know that losers beg, but keep in mind that today's beggar is tomorrow's thief. Reread the posts on this forum made by bitter people with no money. Would you like any of them as neighbors? Rich people never beg or whine. That's one reason they're rich.
How is bringing in generators for sale "price gouging?" Isn't it humanitarian, helping people out and basic supply and demand? I bet there is many unprepared people who would gladly pay several hundred dollars more for a generator, that is if they could find one for sale, which they can't. But since "price gouging" is illegal they'll have to do without until supplies can be brought back in, by that time the power will most likely be restored.
The EU2000 has been discontinued. It has been replaced by the EU2200 model - more wattage, plus Honda has made some sorely needed improvements: a gas shut-off switch, a better oil change setup, where the fill tube is straighter, etc.
Still the same quietness and reliability. Will work with the older EU2000s in tandem.
Ah, I forgot about the eu2200 new model! The gas shut off and easier oil changes will be a nice addition. The extra 200 watts won't hurt either. My Honda has been through hell and back and is still running strong.
I've rigged mine up in a generator box with an extra muffled outlet and it's just about silent.
non-ethanol gasoline is all they ever ate. non-synthetic oil for dessert. health food for small engines.
Agree with you on the non ethanol gas but curious why non-synthetic oil? I have to run synthetic in mine due to very cold temps and a light weight synthetic is the only thing that will actually flow. Conventional oil makes my low oil shutoff light come on even though it's full because the oil is a frozen glob at the bottom of the pan. Even without that factor, I was under the impression synthetic oil is superior in all cases.
I live in Florida. My last house that I built here had a whole house diesel standby generator. In the early 2000s when there were three hurricanes that passed through the area in rapid succession and for a couple of them we were without power for a day or two. I had neighbors who wanted to run extension cords to my house so they could keep their refrigerators and freezers running.
Sure, no problem, I told them. $50/day for an extension cord.
Wife was not happy, but my point was twofold:
1.) If you fail to plan accordingly, it's not my problem
2.) It cost me money to purchase, install and maintain this equipment. If you want to use it, you have to cover the costs
A couple of years later when a similar situation occurred, I got no requests. Why? They had all bought their own generators. Mission accomplished.
And bringing in equipment to sell in and of itself is not price gouging. Selling it for grossly inflated prices is price gouging. I can recall on several occasions where some local big box stores got truckloads of generators in from other areas. They didn't raise prices, they simply sold them at their normal retail price until they ran out.
It depends on where you live and how the power system is where you live. We built and moved into our house almost exactly 29 years ago. We have underground utilities, and the electrical lines are underground all the way to the substation.
Over that time, our power has gone out exactly twice: Once, the temperature stayed below zero all day long, and the wind was howling. The power went off for a couple of hours because the system was overloaded ... about half here have gas heat, but the rest of us use heat pumps with supplementary heat strips. That was an extremely unusual situation.
The second time was after the tornadoes of April 2011. The EF-5 destroyed all the feed lines leading out of Brown's Ferry Nuclear plant, and power was out to the entire county for a week. Not much could be done about that.
Of course, other areas with above ground utilities have had outages from ice and snow storms, squirrels chewing through lines, and inadequate infrastructure (this is a very fast growing area, and it's hard for the utility company to keep up). They trim trees every year, and for the most part do a very good job. No doubt, places that have worse winter weather have many more outages than we do.
We have been quite fortunate.
Most of our lines are above ground. There is a push to get more lines underground; but that is twice as expensive as above ground lines and I do not know if they can get the funding.
We did have a problem with squirrels and raccoons climbing up the poles and getting fried on the transformers. But the companies installed some kind of insulator to protect the transformers that seems to work. I have had to look in other places for my 'flash fried' squirrel appetizers!
Yesterday I removed one large limb from the line going to our house. They do trim the trees; but only up to the last pole and not from the pole into your house. That last section of wire we are responsible to maintain. I am currently in the process of removing many large trees that could threaten our house or wires. It is very expensive for those that do not have the tools or knowledge. There is one tree that I will probably pay to have removed because it's weight is in the wrong direction and it threatens both our house and wires. That will probably cost $1,000 or more and many people do not have that money available for tree trimming.
This last year I did not see the trimming crews that I have seen in past years. But we have had some major events and I presume their funds are low. I still feel that there are problems with trimming. Many property owners are 'tree huggers' and fight hard battles against any pruning. It is hard to communicate to them that what effects them; also effects their neighbors.
Most of our lines are above ground. There is a push to get more lines underground; but that is twice as expensive as above ground lines and I do not know if they can get the funding.
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I wouldn't bother with the underground lines, if they are twice as expensive. Underground lines are not completely trouble free. The same forces that will break pipes can damage underground electric. Twice as expensive is basically the same cost as having every single above ground line get damaged and having to be replaced.
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This last year I did not see the trimming crews that I have seen in past years. But we have had some major events and I presume their funds are low. I still feel that there are problems with trimming. Many property owners are 'tree huggers' and fight hard battles against any pruning. It is hard to communicate to them that what effects them; also effects their neighbors.
Yep. That is where the real problem is. Someone earlier questioned why they didn't take out the trees, instead of just pruning one side or "topping" them, and that is the main reason. Some people foolishly, but loudly, complain about power companies taking out a tree that will sooner or later cause real problems with the utilities. The government and utilities don't stand up to the whiners and that is why disasters get worse and worse.
This. People that live in zones prone to power outages (such as hurricane prone coastal) then run about wildly when power dies. I lived in Virginia Beach for a couple years, saw this twice while there, from beach front owners.
It isn't just there, or just Hurricanes. People react to possible future disasters with complacency and denial (we see that here, every time a non-prepper posts their stupidity) and they react to impending or in progress disasters with panic ans stupidity. (I learned that from an epidemiologist.)
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I shortly went out and bought a quiet 1200 watt generator, auto transfer switch, and installation materials. Prices were low, home depot had everything in stock. About $1200 in expenditures.
...
Next storm, power went out for a few days. Neighbors piling up at my door with their kids to cool off. My lights were a beacon after dark for sure.I asked them what they did to get ready for the fairly common storms on the east side of PR.
Blank looks. But can I have another cold beer please?
....
Yeah, you forgot to get the black out curtains and silencer box for the generator
Few rural areas have natural gas so it's irrelevant to the survivalist.
That's where propane comes in handy. Anywhere I've lived, propane is fairly easy to find. Big box stores sell tanks and have exchange sales for the 20 lb size. Several propane companies in my town fill 20 lb tanks for about $15 or so. My mother had a propane heating system. She lived in a small town and had a large tank in the back yard. She had propane delivered and never ran out in 20 years or so that she lived with it.
Most people can get by OK with a portable, to have a few lights, fridge, water pump if rural, etc. Gasoline is easy to get nearly anywhere and can be kept awhile. Get nonethanol if available.
I do recommend standby's for some people. If you have medical equipment, run a business from home or if your grid power is unreliable. Do you lose power often? Are you among the first to lose power and the last to be restored? If any of these apply, you may do well to spend the money for a standby.
I don't doubt Honda generators have their benefits but, depending on your needs, there are plenty less expensive generators that will do the job. There is a small generator that often sells for $89 at Harbor Freight that will power a few lights. There are 3500 watt generators can be found on sale from several sources for about $300. A Harbor Freight 7000 watt generator with electric start is $600 or less.
Remember the larger the generator the more gas it will burn. If you just need a few lights a small 700 to 1000 watt generator will go a lot longer on a gallon of gas.
Some people feel they need the best, I buy what's adequate for a lot less.
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