Why you need a generator...

[jennm]

We have one for the shop... but it has been broken for a while. Had it looked at, couple of people were unable to fix it, so that task went on the back-burner... til Thursday.

As you may know, an EF1 tornado went through our area on Thursday night. We didn't sustain any damage, but we lost power for 27 hours.

Our generator was still on the blink.

Thankfully, a neighbour in our plaza, runs the construction company building the new hospital complex just up the road. He had his staff provide us with a 10,000 Watt generator, which has literally, saved my business. I don't even want to think about the potential devastation we would have suffered, in livestock and perishable losses, had we not been so fortunate.

Repairing our generator is now at the top of the priority list. Or, if it can't be fixed, I'll get another one - ASAP.

Another of our customers who lives behind the shop in the subdivision just below us, ended up spending $900 to get one of the last generators to be found locally.

Make a plan - get a generator or alternative power source to keep the water moving. Make sure it's in working order - test it regularly. If you get one with enough power, it can keep your refrigerator/freezer going and avoid losing your perishable foods.

We dodged a MAJOR bullet, actually two, since the tornado spared us from any structural damage to either home or business. I'm the luckiest person ever, that my neighbour stepped up to help, and he was happy to do it.

Don't just think about it - DO IT.

Jenn

 

[bycjoe]

So glad to hear it! I was watching the news thinking off everyone I've met in ARC up in canton and my family in Acworth and Woodstock, fortunately everyone made it thru okay. We dodged most of it out here in Tucker.

 

[tonkajeep600]

+1 to the importance of a generator. my daughter was born with severe lung issues, and required quite a bit of medical life support when we finally got her home from the hospital. We live in the boondocks when it comes to various services so i had to have a generator for those "just in case" moments. Gladly now she is free and clear of her problems, so now i have repursosed the generator to aquatic life support. and let me tell you, it is a real (and litteral) life saver when the power goes on the blink.
So the long and short of it, when you can afford to buy one, get one. better to have it and never need it, than to have your system go ka-put!

 

[porpoiseaquatics]

As often as this happens in this area, you would think that people would get this message. But sadly, they don't. I have two generators and I have made up drop cords with 4 plex boxes at the end. Generators usually only have 2 or 4 plugs on them so if you are wanting to power multiple pieces of electronic equipment, you need more plugs. Make sure to do it all and not just the buying of the generator.

As Jenn says above...owning the generator is only part of the solution too. You have to make sure it is in good working order....start it once a month and allow it to run for 10-15 minutes before you shut it down. Make sure you shut it down CORRECTLY! Most people will just turn it off and think that's the right way....IT'S NOT! You have to shut off the fuel valve and allow the generator to "purge" itself. Fuel is very hard on the internal components of the carburetor and will rot out the rubber/plastic parts that's why you have to allow it to basically run dry.

If you've never owned a generator, make sure to do your homework before and after purchasing.

 

[jennm]

We bought ours when the threat of the remnants of a hurricane were headed our way - we "beat the rush" - only just. It's come in handy over the years, I'm not sure just what is wrong with ours at the moment - motor runs but it will surge or something... (I'm not very tech-savvy on such things)... if we'd used it we'd probably have fried our equipment.

You have a good point about having extension cords, splitters etc. I had those already on hand (from prior experience)... when my neighbour extended the offer for the generator, he made a call to have it brought to me, and by the time two nice men arrived with it, "Jen Jr." and I already had most of our pumps and stuff plugged in and power cords run out the back door and ready.

Definitely a "test run" is in order, to make sure you do have enough suitable extensions/splitters etc. We also have an adapter for the "dryer plug", that converts it to a regular plug.

We were able to run everything we needed, from the 4 regular outlets on the generator. We only ran what was essential - no lights, chillers, skimmers. Just circulation pumps, our freezer and fridge (all my food from home is in the shop fridge/freezer right now LOL).

If my phone had been working, I'm sure I'd have been getting calls from others without power, asking what to do - shop phone was down too yesterday.

So far, all we lost is a day of sales.... it will be a few days before we see if any of the stress from this, takes a toll on any livestock, but we're cautiously optimistic.

Not having a generator, the fate of the livestock would have been sealed.

Jenn

 

[rk4435]

I had no idea that a tornado came through Canton Thursday. I'm an hour north. After we started the salt water tanks in January we knew we had to have a plan because we watched our cichlids get wiped out after the tornado came through Ringgold in 2011.

I am planning on purchasing a natural gas generator, but of course I am dragging my feet. All we have at the moment is a power inverter to keep the flow going off of a car battery and my intent to borrow one from Uncle Sam if the need arises.

I'm glad you guys dodged the bullet and thank you for reminding me about the importance of generators.

 

[containerman1]

I am very glad you made it through safe and had help to keep things a float.
I bought a 6500 watt generator for around 350 from home D years ago and I keep a 5 gallon bucket with several 100 foot extension cords and power strips with a bottle of stabil and a can of starter spray with a new spark plug replacement and a 5 gallon can of gas I labeled emergency cover my A@@ kit
Every few mths I pull it out crank it let it run for a hour and pack it back up just in case.
Great investment it has saved me several times

 

[jdavid]

How loud is a small generator. Say, 1000 watts. What would you compare it to, a lawnmower perhaps?

Are they too loud to run with neighbors close by through the night?

 

[containerman1]

JDavid;874604 wrote: How loud is a small generator. Say, 1000 watts. What would you compare it to, a lawnmower perhaps?

Are they too loud to run with neighbors close by through the night?

Yes , it's about like a Lawnmower and you can purchase a Honda which is a lot less noise but a lot more money. There are things you can add to quiet them down also but I put up with the noise my neighbor probly doesn't like it but its only temp.

 

[ralph atl]

I have had a 3,000 watt generator for years....unfortuanley the last time I needed it, the pull cord snapped! Yikes! (the following week I got the new part in and repaired it)

The good news was that I already have a backup plan, as I have 2 vortech batteries piggybacked, so by the time the power went back on 6-7 hours later, it wasn't a big deal.

That generator is enough to power Tank, TV, refrigerator and a fan....

Happy for you Jenn!

 

[containerman1]

mysterybox;874606 wrote: I have had a 3,000 watt generator for years....unfortuanley the last time I needed it, the pull cord snapped! Yikes! (the following week I got the new part in and repaired it)

The good news was that I already have a backup plan, as I have 2 vortech batteries piggybacked, so by the time the power went back on 6-7 hours later, it wasn't a big deal.

That generator is enough to power Tank, TV, refrigerator and a fan....

Happy for you Jenn!

Hey Ralph
How long will the vortech back up batteries last?
I was thinking of getting one just for short outages and not have to break the
Whole generator out .

 

[jennm]

I've not used one, but I see Harbor Freight advertises one for $99 for 1000 watts. Not sure if that's a regular or sale price, but with a 20 or 25% off coupon (found in Sunday newspapers or printed online) you could get it for $75... noisy or not, that could make the difference between life and death.

We're thinking of getting one of those to run our fridge at home. Too bad if the neighbours don't like it (we hear enough of their shouting and carrying on on a regular basis...)

Jenn

 

[ralph atl]

containerman1;874607 wrote: Hey Ralph
How long will the vortech back up batteries last?
I was thinking of getting one just for short outages and not have to break the
Whole generator out .

I've had both batteries for 3 years now, and they both still work (albeit at 80%). I'll be getting a couple of new ones in the next year or so.

1 battery is supposed to run an MP40w for 36 hours.......

 

[porpoiseaquatics]

For those thinking that those battery backups that you can buy (like the APC brand and others) will last for years....the life of the battery inside those is 3 years even if they were put on a shelf and never used. They use liquid cell batteries that the charge dissipates over time to where it will no longer hold a charge no matter what you do. Just like a car battery. I recently has to replace the battery in my "emergency" halogen light but now it's as good as new.

My key advice (and this comes from years of Facilities training) is....test, test, test...at least on a monthly basis. We test every emergency light in every facility once a month for 90 seconds. The purpose is just to make sure they power on.

 

[containerman1]

mysterybox;874610 wrote: I've had both batteries for 3 years now, and they both still work (albeit at 80%). I'll be getting a couple of new ones in the next year or so.

1 battery is supposed to run an MP40w for 36 hours.......

That's just right, most of my outages have ended up being from 1- 12 hours so that would work perfect .
I will have to put that on my want list : )