EMERGENCY! Anyone in Middle Georgia have a generator?

[1mbrews8]

Somebody hit a pole near my house so I have no power. The generator I have is not working but I am getting a workout trying to start this stupid thing!!!!
As you know I have a lot of nice Coral that I do not want to die. Does anyone near me or willing to drive to me have a generator that works that I can use for a while until this is fixed?
Power has been off for about an hour as of now. I don't know when it will be fixed, could be in the next hour or day.

Help!


Mike

 

[rdnelson]

Wish I could help but, I will say that if it is pole replacement it shouldn't take the power company more than a couple hours to get the power back on. They do that all day every day.

 

[1mbrews8]

My dad talk to a deputy who is right where it happened and he said it could take quite a while so it might be something else I don't really know.

 

[jbadd99]

I second what Rich said. You're lucky it happened in the middle of the day. At night it's usually a 4-5 hour ETA. During the day, 2-3 max.

I don't have a truck or I'd drop off my generator (even though I am a bit away).

 

[1mbrews8]

Just went and looked for it and found it. It's about a mile from my house and the lines are stretched all the way across the road so they have it blocked off. Fixing to head uptown another way to try a spark plug to see if that's the issue with my generator

 

[tangaray]

They will have it back on as soon as humanly possible. They want to get your meter back to spinning as fast as they can. Usually if its from a car crash the longest part is getting someone out to inspect it then they make the call on the parts needed for the repair. It will also depend on the seriousness of the crash. They can't even start rescue procedures and vehicle removal until the wires are dead.

 

[containerman1]

Try new spark plug make sure totally full of gas and add a little starter spray in carb.
Or a rental for a day or 2 would be worth it. Good idea. +1

 

[porpoiseaquatics]

Don't know how close I am but I have two. One small one for 15 amps of service and one larger one....not sure of its amp rating but it would be more than enough. Small one could be transported in a car trunk, big one needs a truck.

 

[1mbrews8]

It's been 3 hours.. I have been messing with this generator for that long.. my right arm is super buff from all this pulling! Not working..

Thinking of either going to Macon Lowe's or northern tool and equip maybe to johns creek to porpoise? Anyone know which is closer?

 

[eagle9252]

i would say the northern prob. i have a generater i'm closer but not by much about 40 mins. but all of the hd rent them.

harbor freight
&lt;a href=&quot;http://javascript<b></b>:void(0)"&gt;<span style="color: #444444">FAYETTEVILLE, GA #00352 (22.5 mi)</span>
<span style="color: #444444">1415 HWY 85 NORTH, #200</span>
<span style="color: #444444">FAYETTEVILLE,GA 30214</span>
<span style="color: #0066cc">770-461-5521</span>
<span style="color: #0066cc">Store hours: </span>
<span style="color: #0066cc">M-F 8:00AM-9:00PM </span>

<span style="color: #0066cc"><span style="color: black">northern tool</span>


http://www.northerntool.com/stores/macon-georgia.htm">[B]Macon[/B]</a>
4755 Ivey Dr
Macon, GA 31206

[IMG]http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/stores_repair-services">[IMG]http://www.northerntool.com/images/stores/icons/repair-services-button-small.gif" alt="" /></a> [B]Phone:[/B] 478-476-8018
[B]Fax:[/B] 478-476-1968


</span></a>

 

[thesilence87]

if you can get your car near a window near the tank, picking up a 1500w power inverter and running your tank off your car (while the car is running) is also a viable option.

 

[oz]

i assume the gas is turned to "on" for the generator. just making sure.

 

[1mbrews8]

Yup lol! Same thing my dad asked me like 15 *

It just came back on a second ago so hopefully I won't lose anything. I will keep everyone posted. The only thing that looks rough off the top my head is my big SPS colony of aquarium city red Millie.. It is a bit white underneath.

Thanks for the help and I will be definitely getting a new generator this weekend

 

[porpoiseaquatics]

If you have an Aldi nearby, they sometimes have killer deals too. If not, I'd head for Northern.

 

[1mbrews8]

What kind/size from northern would everyone recommend? I imagine I wouldn't need to run everything... Prob just return pump, chiller/heaters depending on weather, and maybe a powerhead or 2 for extra flow..?

Again, it is back on now so fingers crossed all is well.. I'll update tonight when I get home..

 

[rdnelson]

1mbrews8;804871 wrote: What kind/size from northern would everyone recommend? I imagine I wouldn't need to run everything... Prob just return pump, chiller/heaters depending on weather, and maybe a powerhead or 2 for extra flow..?

Again, it is back on now so fingers crossed all is well.. I'll update tonight when I get home..

Generators are rated in watts. For this purpose, watts equals volt/amps. Assuming all of your equipment is 120 volts a 1500 watt generator would give you a total of 12.5 amps. So, add up the rated amperage of the equipment you want to run and that would tell you what size generator you would need to run. Some equipment such as lighting is rated in watts already but you can convert back and forth as needed.

But, it may not be that difficult. Are you running everything on one circuit? If so and that circuit is on a 20 amp breaker I can assure you that you are not drawing more than 16 amps. A circuit breaker can only carry 80% of its rated load under continuous duty (running for 3 hours or more). If it is a 15 amp breaker then you are not drawing more than 12 amps.

Hope that helps you decide.

Edit:

rdnelson99;804877 wrote: For this purpose, watts equals volt/amps.

The way I wrote that is a bit misleading. LOL Should be volt-amps. In other words, volts times amps = watts. So if you know the amps, multiply time 120 volts and that gives you the watts.

 

[ichthyoid]

I agree that even a smaller generator may do, for everything but maybe lights and heaters. Those are the big current hogs on a reef tank.

Coral can go days without light if needed.

Glad the OP got power back!

ALDI had a killer deal on a generator, I think 5kw, a year ago for ~$200(?).

 

[mc524]

Did you try leaving the Sparkplug connected to the Plug wire, put the electrode near the block of the engine. Then give a smooth pull on the starter cable. See if you are even getting spark. Remember...you need Air, Fuel, Compression, and Spark. That's it!
If you are getting spark...is it blue?
If you are getting spark, then you likely are not getting the right amount of Fuel.
These things are like 4 wheelers that hunters use. They use them one time during the year...so they never start. They would bring them in, I'd drop the oil, drop the fuel, drain the fuel from the carb, and slap in a new Spark Plug. Maybe a charge on the battery or a new one. Things would start right up every time.

 

[saltlife1975]

You could look into investing in a battery back up. It will take over as soon as the power goes out and some will last as long as 24 hrs. You can find them on craigslist in your area.

Edit: My bad i meant ebay

 

[jef4y]

When it comes to generators, price is by how clean the power is, how small the generator is and how QUIET it is.

You can get a genset for a couple hundred bucks that will run your tank but it's gonna be noisy & not the cleanest power you've ever seen.