On Fri, 14 Sep 2018 10:35:56 -0700 (PDT), Tim
wrote:

True North

- show quoted text -
Don't you watch those various zombie...walking dead shows?
Gasoline is good after 10 years of sitting in old vehicle tanks and batteries hold their charge just as long.
......

Lol! Like that futuristic comedy by Woody Allen where they’re in a cave and found an old VW bug stuffed away. It had several inch’s if dust settled on it. They got in, started it, turned the headlights on and drove away....

If it was an old enough bug, there was a hole in the back for a hand
crank. Once the generator started putting out, the lights would come
on. Battery holding a charge? Not so much. Maybe a squirt of VR-6?
;-)

On 9/14/18 2:15 PM, Mr. Luddite wrote:
On 9/14/2018 12:14 PM, wrote:
On Fri, 14 Sep 2018 11:28:55 -0400, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

On 9/14/2018 10:50 AM, Its Me wrote:
On Friday, September 14, 2018 at 7:47:42 AM UTC-4, John H wrote:
On Thu, 13 Sep 2018 21:34:54 -0700 (PDT), Its Me
wrote:

Well, after we had to evacuate the house for nearly a week while
new hardwoods were being laid, sanded and finished,we are back in
the house today just in time for Florence. At this time the
biggest worry is power outage... the storm is down to a Cat 1, but
is moving so slowly it will dump lots of rain.Â* We're on a hill so
no worries of flooding, but power is a concern with a well. Should
have pulled the trigger on a gen, but we've briefly lost power
twice in ten years, so it hasn't been at the top of the list. Work
is 10 minutes away, and we have a huge gen, kitchen and showers so
really no big deal.Â* Plus I have about 5 ways to cook without
electricity, so we are OK.

Hope anyone in the path fairs well.Â* I'll probably just spend my
time painting the newly remodeled parts.Â* All new appliances next
Tuesday!Â* Then we'll have a complete kitchen again after almost 3
months.Â* Whew!

I've heard nothing but good about this generator from the RV crowd.

https://www.harborfreight.com/3500-w...tor-63584.html


As soon as I find a buyer for my Honda 2200, I'm getting the Predator.


Thanks, but I need 240V@30A to run the well pump.


I don't necessarily need 240v (split phase) but if my Honda ever gives
up the ghost I'll shop for one.

Speaking of the Honda ... I just pulled it out of the storage shed and
gave it three pulls.Â* Fired right up.Â* Last time it was used was last
winter when we lost power for a couple of days.Â* Still has the same
gas in it that it had then with a splash of Stabil in it.Â* I have it
running right now, trying to run it out of gas so I can use fresh gas
if and when I need it again.Â* It's just purring away on the old gas.

So much for the stories that gas goes bad in a month or two.Â* It may
lose some of it's BTU's so an engine can't develop it's full HP rating
but I see no evidence of that.Â* I put a 1500 watt space heater on it
as a load so it burns the gas faster and it runs just fine.



That is the good thing about propane. It doesn't go bad. The problem
is it may be hard to come by and very expensive after a storm. My
generator will run both.



I forgot that Harry looks down at little, gasoline powered generators
because *he* has a big, whole house generator, supplied by a 1,000 gal
propane underground tank.Â* It starts once a week, runs for 10 minutes
and shuts off, similar to my neighbor's generator whole house generator
he installed three years ago. My neighbor is actually hoping for a
longer term power outage just so he can justify the investment he made.

I've used my generator twice since Hurricane Wilma in 2005, not counting
the summer the stone cutters used it everyday when installing the pool.
Each power outage was of relatively short duration and we got by just
fine with it.

I don't look down my nose at gasoline powered generators. I don't know
if a gasoline-powered generator is available in the size we have that
would be adequate to run one of our furnace/heat pumps, the well pump,
and some appliances and lights. The well pump and heat pump require a
substantial generator to start up and run. In the winter, if you don't
have some heat available, the water pipes in the walls can freeze.
Fixing that would cost a lot more than a generator.

Oh, it's a 500-gallon buried tank. We did have one four-to-five day
power outage in which the genny served us well.

On Fri, 14 Sep 2018 14:04:59 -0400, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

On 9/14/2018 12:04 PM, Keyser Soze wrote:
On 9/14/18 11:50 AM, Mr. Luddite wrote:
On 9/14/2018 11:43 AM, Keyser Soze wrote:
On 9/14/18 11:28 AM, Mr. Luddite wrote:
On 9/14/2018 10:50 AM, Its Me wrote:
On Friday, September 14, 2018 at 7:47:42 AM UTC-4, John H wrote:
On Thu, 13 Sep 2018 21:34:54 -0700 (PDT), Its Me
wrote:

Well, after we had to evacuate the house for nearly a week while
new hardwoods were being laid, sanded and finished,we are back in
the house today just in time for Florence. At this time the
biggest worry is power outage... the storm is down to a Cat 1,
but is moving so slowly it will dump lots of rain.Â* We're on a
hill so no worries of flooding, but power is a concern with a
well. Should have pulled the trigger on a gen, but we've briefly
lost power twice in ten years, so it hasn't been at the top of
the list. Work is 10 minutes away, and we have a huge gen,
kitchen and showers so really no big deal.Â* Plus I have about 5
ways to cook without electricity, so we are OK.

Hope anyone in the path fairs well.Â* I'll probably just spend my
time painting the newly remodeled parts.Â* All new appliances next
Tuesday!Â* Then we'll have a complete kitchen again after almost 3
months.Â* Whew!

I've heard nothing but good about this generator from the RV crowd.

https://www.harborfreight.com/3500-w...tor-63584.html


As soon as I find a buyer for my Honda 2200, I'm getting the
Predator.


Thanks, but I need 240V@30A to run the well pump.


I don't necessarily need 240v (split phase) but if my Honda ever
gives up the ghost I'll shop for one.

Speaking of the Honda ... I just pulled it out of the storage shed and
gave it three pulls.Â* Fired right up.Â* Last time it was used was last
winter when we lost power for a couple of days.Â* Still has the same
gas in it that it had then with a splash of Stabil in it.Â* I have it
running right now, trying to run it out of gas so I can use fresh gas
if and when I need it again.Â* It's just purring away on the old gas.

So much for the stories that gas goes bad in a month or two.Â* It may
lose some of it's BTU's so an engine can't develop it's full HP rating
but I see no evidence of that.Â* I put a 1500 watt space heater on it
as a load so it burns the gas faster and it runs just fine.




Ahh, you put Stabil in your generator's tank and the gas was good
enough to start up and run your generator and therefore "So much for
the stories that gas goes bad in a month or two."

Gotta love that scientific methodology.



http://funkyimg.com/i/2Le5c.jpg



Universal truth from a single observation?


Just an additional data point from the time the generator sat for five
years unused with gas in it. (again, used some Stabil). After all that
time it ran, although it took extra pulls for it to fire up.
Once running, it burned up the five year old gas with no problems.

I am in the habit of adding Stabil to the gas storage jug immediately
after I fill it with fresh gas. In that way the generator always has
treated gas and it has always fired up and run fine after long periods
of sitting (i.e. 5 years). Just my experience and only with the little
Honda generator. Works for me.

Doing the same now with the gas I use in the little scooter, based on
the luck I've had with the generator. The only difference is that the
scooter uses high test (93 octane) gas.

When it's time to put the motorcycle away for the winter, I'll do the
same for it. In fact, the owner's manual for the Suzuki specifically
says to fill the tank with fresh gas, add an appropriate amount of fuel
stabilizer (the manual recommends Stabil), run the motorcycle for a
while to distribute the treated gas throughout the fuel system including
the fuel injectors before permanently storing the motorcycle.

That is the good thing about being a regular boater. I always have
fresh gas around. My problem now is the cars. We don't drive enough
these days to keep the battery up on all 3 of them. I am not sure my
wife has been behind the wheel for a year.
I should sell one I guess.

On Fri, 14 Sep 2018 14:15:25 -0400, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

On 9/14/2018 12:14 PM, wrote:
On Fri, 14 Sep 2018 11:28:55 -0400, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

On 9/14/2018 10:50 AM, Its Me wrote:
On Friday, September 14, 2018 at 7:47:42 AM UTC-4, John H wrote:
On Thu, 13 Sep 2018 21:34:54 -0700 (PDT), Its Me wrote:

Well, after we had to evacuate the house for nearly a week while new hardwoods were being laid, sanded and finished,we are back in the house today just in time for Florence. At this time the biggest worry is power outage... the storm is down to a Cat 1, but is moving so slowly it will dump lots of rain. We're on a hill so no worries of flooding, but power is a concern with a well. Should have pulled the trigger on a gen, but we've briefly lost power twice in ten years, so it hasn't been at the top of the list. Work is 10 minutes away, and we have a huge gen, kitchen and showers so really no big deal. Plus I have about 5 ways to cook without electricity, so we are OK.

Hope anyone in the path fairs well. I'll probably just spend my time painting the newly remodeled parts. All new appliances next Tuesday! Then we'll have a complete kitchen again after almost 3 months. Whew!

I've heard nothing but good about this generator from the RV crowd.

https://www.harborfreight.com/3500-w...tor-63584.html

As soon as I find a buyer for my Honda 2200, I'm getting the Predator.


Thanks, but I need 240V@30A to run the well pump.


I don't necessarily need 240v (split phase) but if my Honda ever gives
up the ghost I'll shop for one.

Speaking of the Honda ... I just pulled it out of the storage shed and
gave it three pulls. Fired right up. Last time it was used was last
winter when we lost power for a couple of days. Still has the same
gas in it that it had then with a splash of Stabil in it. I have it
running right now, trying to run it out of gas so I can use fresh gas
if and when I need it again. It's just purring away on the old gas.

So much for the stories that gas goes bad in a month or two. It may
lose some of it's BTU's so an engine can't develop it's full HP rating
but I see no evidence of that. I put a 1500 watt space heater on it
as a load so it burns the gas faster and it runs just fine.



That is the good thing about propane. It doesn't go bad. The problem
is it may be hard to come by and very expensive after a storm. My
generator will run both.



I forgot that Harry looks down at little, gasoline powered generators
because *he* has a big, whole house generator, supplied by a 1,000 gal
propane underground tank. It starts once a week, runs for 10 minutes
and shuts off, similar to my neighbor's generator whole house generator
he installed three years ago. My neighbor is actually hoping for a
longer term power outage just so he can justify the investment he made.

I've used my generator twice since Hurricane Wilma in 2005, not counting
the summer the stone cutters used it everyday when installing the pool.
Each power outage was of relatively short duration and we got by just
fine with it.

You can get a propane kit for just about any of them. Mine is a 5.5kw
Briggs. It is real easy to install and costs about $100. If I ever use
my generator for some little job, it will be running on a 20lb bottle,
not gasoline.

On Fri, 14 Sep 2018 14:27:32 -0400, Keyser Soze
wrote:

On 9/14/18 2:15 PM, Mr. Luddite wrote:
On 9/14/2018 12:14 PM, wrote:
On Fri, 14 Sep 2018 11:28:55 -0400, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

On 9/14/2018 10:50 AM, Its Me wrote:
On Friday, September 14, 2018 at 7:47:42 AM UTC-4, John H wrote:
On Thu, 13 Sep 2018 21:34:54 -0700 (PDT), Its Me
wrote:

Well, after we had to evacuate the house for nearly a week while
new hardwoods were being laid, sanded and finished,we are back in
the house today just in time for Florence. At this time the
biggest worry is power outage... the storm is down to a Cat 1, but
is moving so slowly it will dump lots of rain.Â* We're on a hill so
no worries of flooding, but power is a concern with a well. Should
have pulled the trigger on a gen, but we've briefly lost power
twice in ten years, so it hasn't been at the top of the list. Work
is 10 minutes away, and we have a huge gen, kitchen and showers so
really no big deal.Â* Plus I have about 5 ways to cook without
electricity, so we are OK.

Hope anyone in the path fairs well.Â* I'll probably just spend my
time painting the newly remodeled parts.Â* All new appliances next
Tuesday!Â* Then we'll have a complete kitchen again after almost 3
months.Â* Whew!

I've heard nothing but good about this generator from the RV crowd.

https://www.harborfreight.com/3500-w...tor-63584.html


As soon as I find a buyer for my Honda 2200, I'm getting the Predator.


Thanks, but I need 240V@30A to run the well pump.


I don't necessarily need 240v (split phase) but if my Honda ever gives
up the ghost I'll shop for one.

Speaking of the Honda ... I just pulled it out of the storage shed and
gave it three pulls.Â* Fired right up.Â* Last time it was used was last
winter when we lost power for a couple of days.Â* Still has the same
gas in it that it had then with a splash of Stabil in it.Â* I have it
running right now, trying to run it out of gas so I can use fresh gas
if and when I need it again.Â* It's just purring away on the old gas.

So much for the stories that gas goes bad in a month or two.Â* It may
lose some of it's BTU's so an engine can't develop it's full HP rating
but I see no evidence of that.Â* I put a 1500 watt space heater on it
as a load so it burns the gas faster and it runs just fine.



That is the good thing about propane. It doesn't go bad. The problem
is it may be hard to come by and very expensive after a storm. My
generator will run both.



I forgot that Harry looks down at little, gasoline powered generators
because *he* has a big, whole house generator, supplied by a 1,000 gal
propane underground tank.Â* It starts once a week, runs for 10 minutes
and shuts off, similar to my neighbor's generator whole house generator
he installed three years ago. My neighbor is actually hoping for a
longer term power outage just so he can justify the investment he made.

I've used my generator twice since Hurricane Wilma in 2005, not counting
the summer the stone cutters used it everyday when installing the pool.
Each power outage was of relatively short duration and we got by just
fine with it.

I don't look down my nose at gasoline powered generators. I don't know
if a gasoline-powered generator is available in the size we have that
would be adequate to run one of our furnace/heat pumps, the well pump,
and some appliances and lights. The well pump and heat pump require a
substantial generator to start up and run. In the winter, if you don't
have some heat available, the water pipes in the walls can freeze.
Fixing that would cost a lot more than a generator.

Oh, it's a 500-gallon buried tank. We did have one four-to-five day
power outage in which the genny served us well.

Diesel is a good option for a big generator like that but diesel gets
stale too. Natural gas is best but that is far from universally
available as soon as you get very far out of town

On 9/14/18 2:32 PM, wrote:
On Fri, 14 Sep 2018 14:04:59 -0400, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

On 9/14/2018 12:04 PM, Keyser Soze wrote:
On 9/14/18 11:50 AM, Mr. Luddite wrote:
On 9/14/2018 11:43 AM, Keyser Soze wrote:
On 9/14/18 11:28 AM, Mr. Luddite wrote:
On 9/14/2018 10:50 AM, Its Me wrote:
On Friday, September 14, 2018 at 7:47:42 AM UTC-4, John H wrote:
On Thu, 13 Sep 2018 21:34:54 -0700 (PDT), Its Me
wrote:

Well, after we had to evacuate the house for nearly a week while
new hardwoods were being laid, sanded and finished,we are back in
the house today just in time for Florence. At this time the
biggest worry is power outage... the storm is down to a Cat 1,
but is moving so slowly it will dump lots of rain.Â* We're on a
hill so no worries of flooding, but power is a concern with a
well. Should have pulled the trigger on a gen, but we've briefly
lost power twice in ten years, so it hasn't been at the top of
the list. Work is 10 minutes away, and we have a huge gen,
kitchen and showers so really no big deal.Â* Plus I have about 5
ways to cook without electricity, so we are OK.

Hope anyone in the path fairs well.Â* I'll probably just spend my
time painting the newly remodeled parts.Â* All new appliances next
Tuesday!Â* Then we'll have a complete kitchen again after almost 3
months.Â* Whew!

I've heard nothing but good about this generator from the RV crowd.

https://www.harborfreight.com/3500-w...tor-63584.html


As soon as I find a buyer for my Honda 2200, I'm getting the
Predator.


Thanks, but I need 240V@30A to run the well pump.


I don't necessarily need 240v (split phase) but if my Honda ever
gives up the ghost I'll shop for one.

Speaking of the Honda ... I just pulled it out of the storage shed and
gave it three pulls.Â* Fired right up.Â* Last time it was used was last
winter when we lost power for a couple of days.Â* Still has the same
gas in it that it had then with a splash of Stabil in it.Â* I have it
running right now, trying to run it out of gas so I can use fresh gas
if and when I need it again.Â* It's just purring away on the old gas.

So much for the stories that gas goes bad in a month or two.Â* It may
lose some of it's BTU's so an engine can't develop it's full HP rating
but I see no evidence of that.Â* I put a 1500 watt space heater on it
as a load so it burns the gas faster and it runs just fine.




Ahh, you put Stabil in your generator's tank and the gas was good
enough to start up and run your generator and therefore "So much for
the stories that gas goes bad in a month or two."

Gotta love that scientific methodology.



http://funkyimg.com/i/2Le5c.jpg



Universal truth from a single observation?


Just an additional data point from the time the generator sat for five
years unused with gas in it. (again, used some Stabil). After all that
time it ran, although it took extra pulls for it to fire up.
Once running, it burned up the five year old gas with no problems.

I am in the habit of adding Stabil to the gas storage jug immediately
after I fill it with fresh gas. In that way the generator always has
treated gas and it has always fired up and run fine after long periods
of sitting (i.e. 5 years). Just my experience and only with the little
Honda generator. Works for me.

Doing the same now with the gas I use in the little scooter, based on
the luck I've had with the generator. The only difference is that the
scooter uses high test (93 octane) gas.

When it's time to put the motorcycle away for the winter, I'll do the
same for it. In fact, the owner's manual for the Suzuki specifically
says to fill the tank with fresh gas, add an appropriate amount of fuel
stabilizer (the manual recommends Stabil), run the motorcycle for a
while to distribute the treated gas throughout the fuel system including
the fuel injectors before permanently storing the motorcycle.

That is the good thing about being a regular boater. I always have
fresh gas around. My problem now is the cars. We don't drive enough
these days to keep the battery up on all 3 of them. I am not sure my
wife has been behind the wheel for a year.
I should sell one I guess.


My wife's 2017 Toyota has about 5000 miles on it, and that includes two
1600-mile round trips to the Jax area.

On 9/14/2018 2:27 PM, Keyser Soze wrote:
On 9/14/18 2:15 PM, Mr. Luddite wrote:
On 9/14/2018 12:14 PM, wrote:
On Fri, 14 Sep 2018 11:28:55 -0400, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

On 9/14/2018 10:50 AM, Its Me wrote:
On Friday, September 14, 2018 at 7:47:42 AM UTC-4, John H wrote:
On Thu, 13 Sep 2018 21:34:54 -0700 (PDT), Its Me
wrote:

Well, after we had to evacuate the house for nearly a week while
new hardwoods were being laid, sanded and finished,we are back in
the house today just in time for Florence. At this time the
biggest worry is power outage... the storm is down to a Cat 1,
but is moving so slowly it will dump lots of rain.Â* We're on a
hill so no worries of flooding, but power is a concern with a
well. Should have pulled the trigger on a gen, but we've briefly
lost power twice in ten years, so it hasn't been at the top of
the list. Work is 10 minutes away, and we have a huge gen,
kitchen and showers so really no big deal.Â* Plus I have about 5
ways to cook without electricity, so we are OK.

Hope anyone in the path fairs well.Â* I'll probably just spend my
time painting the newly remodeled parts.Â* All new appliances next
Tuesday!Â* Then we'll have a complete kitchen again after almost 3
months.Â* Whew!

I've heard nothing but good about this generator from the RV crowd.

https://www.harborfreight.com/3500-w...tor-63584.html


As soon as I find a buyer for my Honda 2200, I'm getting the
Predator.


Thanks, but I need 240V@30A to run the well pump.


I don't necessarily need 240v (split phase) but if my Honda ever gives
up the ghost I'll shop for one.

Speaking of the Honda ... I just pulled it out of the storage shed and
gave it three pulls.Â* Fired right up.Â* Last time it was used was last
winter when we lost power for a couple of days.Â* Still has the same
gas in it that it had then with a splash of Stabil in it.Â* I have it
running right now, trying to run it out of gas so I can use fresh gas
if and when I need it again.Â* It's just purring away on the old gas.

So much for the stories that gas goes bad in a month or two.Â* It may
lose some of it's BTU's so an engine can't develop it's full HP rating
but I see no evidence of that.Â* I put a 1500 watt space heater on it
as a load so it burns the gas faster and it runs just fine.



That is the good thing about propane. It doesn't go bad. The problem
is it may be hard to come by and very expensive after a storm. My
generator will run both.



I forgot that Harry looks down at little, gasoline powered generators
because *he* has a big, whole house generator, supplied by a 1,000 gal
propane underground tank.Â* It starts once a week, runs for 10 minutes
and shuts off, similar to my neighbor's generator whole house
generator he installed three years ago. My neighbor is actually hoping
for a longer term power outage just so he can justify the investment
he made.

I've used my generator twice since Hurricane Wilma in 2005, not
counting the summer the stone cutters used it everyday when installing
the pool.
Each power outage was of relatively short duration and we got by just
fine with it.

I don't look down my nose at gasoline powered generators. I don't know
if a gasoline-powered generator is available in the size we have that
would be adequate to run one of our furnace/heat pumps, the well pump,
and some appliances and lights. The well pump and heat pump require a
substantial generator to start up and run. In the winter, if you don't
have some heat available, the water pipes in the walls can freeze.
Fixing that would cost a lot more than a generator.

Oh, it's a 500-gallon buried tank. We did have one four-to-five day
power outage in which the genny served us well.


I ran the furnace and circulating pump (7 zones) in an eight thousand
square foot house using the 2000 watt Honda. It also ran a refrigerator
at the same time although it grunted a bit when the compressor first
started.

I agree though, it would never be adequate for heat pumps/ central air
conditioners, well pumps or anything that requires 240 volts or current
draws of more than 13 amps or so. I just have never had requirements to
do that (other than once in Florida). Our power outages up here are rare
and typically occur in the winter. They also don't last long. As
previously mentioned, I can only recall
two in the past 13 years and combined they lasted a total of 3 and a
half days.

On 9/14/18 2:38 PM, wrote:
On Fri, 14 Sep 2018 14:27:32 -0400, Keyser Soze
wrote:

On 9/14/18 2:15 PM, Mr. Luddite wrote:
On 9/14/2018 12:14 PM, wrote:
On Fri, 14 Sep 2018 11:28:55 -0400, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

On 9/14/2018 10:50 AM, Its Me wrote:
On Friday, September 14, 2018 at 7:47:42 AM UTC-4, John H wrote:
On Thu, 13 Sep 2018 21:34:54 -0700 (PDT), Its Me
wrote:

Well, after we had to evacuate the house for nearly a week while
new hardwoods were being laid, sanded and finished,we are back in
the house today just in time for Florence. At this time the
biggest worry is power outage... the storm is down to a Cat 1, but
is moving so slowly it will dump lots of rain.Â* We're on a hill so
no worries of flooding, but power is a concern with a well. Should
have pulled the trigger on a gen, but we've briefly lost power
twice in ten years, so it hasn't been at the top of the list. Work
is 10 minutes away, and we have a huge gen, kitchen and showers so
really no big deal.Â* Plus I have about 5 ways to cook without
electricity, so we are OK.

Hope anyone in the path fairs well.Â* I'll probably just spend my
time painting the newly remodeled parts.Â* All new appliances next
Tuesday!Â* Then we'll have a complete kitchen again after almost 3
months.Â* Whew!

I've heard nothing but good about this generator from the RV crowd.

https://www.harborfreight.com/3500-w...tor-63584.html


As soon as I find a buyer for my Honda 2200, I'm getting the Predator.


Thanks, but I need 240V@30A to run the well pump.


I don't necessarily need 240v (split phase) but if my Honda ever gives
up the ghost I'll shop for one.

Speaking of the Honda ... I just pulled it out of the storage shed and
gave it three pulls.Â* Fired right up.Â* Last time it was used was last
winter when we lost power for a couple of days.Â* Still has the same
gas in it that it had then with a splash of Stabil in it.Â* I have it
running right now, trying to run it out of gas so I can use fresh gas
if and when I need it again.Â* It's just purring away on the old gas.

So much for the stories that gas goes bad in a month or two.Â* It may
lose some of it's BTU's so an engine can't develop it's full HP rating
but I see no evidence of that.Â* I put a 1500 watt space heater on it
as a load so it burns the gas faster and it runs just fine.



That is the good thing about propane. It doesn't go bad. The problem
is it may be hard to come by and very expensive after a storm. My
generator will run both.



I forgot that Harry looks down at little, gasoline powered generators
because *he* has a big, whole house generator, supplied by a 1,000 gal
propane underground tank.Â* It starts once a week, runs for 10 minutes
and shuts off, similar to my neighbor's generator whole house generator
he installed three years ago. My neighbor is actually hoping for a
longer term power outage just so he can justify the investment he made.

I've used my generator twice since Hurricane Wilma in 2005, not counting
the summer the stone cutters used it everyday when installing the pool.
Each power outage was of relatively short duration and we got by just
fine with it.

I don't look down my nose at gasoline powered generators. I don't know
if a gasoline-powered generator is available in the size we have that
would be adequate to run one of our furnace/heat pumps, the well pump,
and some appliances and lights. The well pump and heat pump require a
substantial generator to start up and run. In the winter, if you don't
have some heat available, the water pipes in the walls can freeze.
Fixing that would cost a lot more than a generator.

Oh, it's a 500-gallon buried tank. We did have one four-to-five day
power outage in which the genny served us well.

Diesel is a good option for a big generator like that but diesel gets
stale too. Natural gas is best but that is far from universally
available as soon as you get very far out of town



We use propane for heating in the downstairs heat pump (electric
backup), hot water heaters, stovetop, two fireplaces *and* the generator.

On Fri, 14 Sep 2018 07:50:06 -0700 (PDT), Its Me wrote:

On Friday, September 14, 2018 at 7:47:42 AM UTC-4, John H wrote:
On Thu, 13 Sep 2018 21:34:54 -0700 (PDT), Its Me wrote:

Well, after we had to evacuate the house for nearly a week while new hardwoods were being laid, sanded and finished,we are back in the house today just in time for Florence. At this time the biggest worry is power outage... the storm is down to a Cat 1, but is moving so slowly it will dump lots of rain. We're on a hill so no worries of flooding, but power is a concern with a well. Should have pulled the trigger on a gen, but we've briefly lost power twice in ten years, so it hasn't been at the top of the list. Work is 10 minutes away, and we have a huge gen, kitchen and showers so really no big deal. Plus I have about 5 ways to cook without electricity, so we are OK.

Hope anyone in the path fairs well. I'll probably just spend my time painting the newly remodeled parts. All new appliances next Tuesday! Then we'll have a complete kitchen again after almost 3 months. Whew!

I've heard nothing but good about this generator from the RV crowd.

https://www.harborfreight.com/3500-w...tor-63584.html

As soon as I find a buyer for my Honda 2200, I'm getting the Predator.

Thanks, but I need 240V@30A to run the well pump.

Sold the Honda today. But, Harbor Freight is out of the generator I want. Actually, they're out of
all generators. Hope we don't lose power for too long. I think our longest outage, in 27 years with
this company, has been for about four hours.

On Fri, 14 Sep 2018 14:04:59 -0400, "Mr. Luddite" wrote:

On 9/14/2018 12:04 PM, Keyser Soze wrote:
On 9/14/18 11:50 AM, Mr. Luddite wrote:
On 9/14/2018 11:43 AM, Keyser Soze wrote:
On 9/14/18 11:28 AM, Mr. Luddite wrote:
On 9/14/2018 10:50 AM, Its Me wrote:
On Friday, September 14, 2018 at 7:47:42 AM UTC-4, John H wrote:
On Thu, 13 Sep 2018 21:34:54 -0700 (PDT), Its Me
wrote:

Well, after we had to evacuate the house for nearly a week while
new hardwoods were being laid, sanded and finished,we are back in
the house today just in time for Florence. At this time the
biggest worry is power outage... the storm is down to a Cat 1,
but is moving so slowly it will dump lots of rain.* We're on a
hill so no worries of flooding, but power is a concern with a
well. Should have pulled the trigger on a gen, but we've briefly
lost power twice in ten years, so it hasn't been at the top of
the list. Work is 10 minutes away, and we have a huge gen,
kitchen and showers so really no big deal.* Plus I have about 5
ways to cook without electricity, so we are OK.

Hope anyone in the path fairs well.* I'll probably just spend my
time painting the newly remodeled parts.* All new appliances next
Tuesday!* Then we'll have a complete kitchen again after almost 3
months.* Whew!

I've heard nothing but good about this generator from the RV crowd.

https://www.harborfreight.com/3500-w...tor-63584.html


As soon as I find a buyer for my Honda 2200, I'm getting the
Predator.


Thanks, but I need 240V@30A to run the well pump.


I don't necessarily need 240v (split phase) but if my Honda ever
gives up the ghost I'll shop for one.

Speaking of the Honda ... I just pulled it out of the storage shed and
gave it three pulls.* Fired right up.* Last time it was used was last
winter when we lost power for a couple of days.* Still has the same
gas in it that it had then with a splash of Stabil in it.* I have it
running right now, trying to run it out of gas so I can use fresh gas
if and when I need it again.* It's just purring away on the old gas.

So much for the stories that gas goes bad in a month or two.* It may
lose some of it's BTU's so an engine can't develop it's full HP rating
but I see no evidence of that.* I put a 1500 watt space heater on it
as a load so it burns the gas faster and it runs just fine.




Ahh, you put Stabil in your generator's tank and the gas was good
enough to start up and run your generator and therefore "So much for
the stories that gas goes bad in a month or two."

Gotta love that scientific methodology.



http://funkyimg.com/i/2Le5c.jpg



Universal truth from a single observation?


Just an additional data point from the time the generator sat for five
years unused with gas in it. (again, used some Stabil). After all that
time it ran, although it took extra pulls for it to fire up.
Once running, it burned up the five year old gas with no problems.

I am in the habit of adding Stabil to the gas storage jug immediately
after I fill it with fresh gas. In that way the generator always has
treated gas and it has always fired up and run fine after long periods
of sitting (i.e. 5 years). Just my experience and only with the little
Honda generator. Works for me.

Doing the same now with the gas I use in the little scooter, based on
the luck I've had with the generator. The only difference is that the
scooter uses high test (93 octane) gas.

When it's time to put the motorcycle away for the winter, I'll do the
same for it. In fact, the owner's manual for the Suzuki specifically
says to fill the tank with fresh gas, add an appropriate amount of fuel
stabilizer (the manual recommends Stabil), run the motorcycle for a
while to distribute the treated gas throughout the fuel system including
the fuel injectors before permanently storing the motorcycle.


Are you up in Connecticut now or down south with us racists?

Why put the bike up for the winter. There's usually a bunch of great riding days in the winter, at
least around here. I just keep it ready to go all the time.