Generator

[AmbulanceDriver]

(*) obligatory explanation that "zombies" is an intellectual shorthand for "planetary autoclave in progress, please stand by".

Is birdman playing with relativistic dust again?

[RevDisk]

I stand by my statement.  The reason gas kept flowing is because other areas were unaffected, and could supply gas, maintenance crews, etc.  If zombies(*) are walking, ain't nothing gonna flow, for long.

(*) obligatory explanation that "zombies" is an intellectual shorthand for "planetary autoclave in progress, please stand by".

Mike's right. If it's end of the world, who cares? Problem with a lotta prep/survival folks is they do their thing for the LEAST likely scenarios and do not "prep" for the MORE likely scenarios. Personally, I'm just going with gasoline. Probably a 10Kw unit, wired to my garage. I'll price compare between automated transfer switch and manual transfer switch.

[charby]

I stand by my statement.  The reason gas kept flowing is because other areas were unaffected, and could supply gas, maintenance crews, etc.  If zombies(*) are walking, ain't nothing gonna flow, for long.

(*) obligatory explanation that "zombies" is an intellectual shorthand for "planetary autoclave in progress, please stand by".

A generator that size is going to consume ~1.5 gallons of diesel per hour under load, so you probably using up to 30 gallons of fuel a day. Diesel has a shelf life of 18-24 months without any additives and many urban areas have ordinances against large fuel storage tanks on properties zones residential. Also your homeowners insurance may be voided if they discover more than a few gallons of fuel stored on your property.

If TIKIWIKI does occur, good luck getting any sort of fuel, but in areas not prone to earthquakes that have residential NG more than likely NG will continue to flow unless something disrupts the lines. Where I live, in Iowa there is NG storage everywhere, above ground and below ground. I image the same for other places. Its good to live in flyover country.

[RevDisk]

In a pinch, you can connect a propane or NG container directly to your generator. Assuming your generator is set up to handle said fuel.

[K Frame]

"Problem with a lotta prep/survival folks is they do their thing for the LEAST likely scenarios and do not "prep" for the MORE likely scenarios."

Winner Winner Chicken Dinner!

Before I got totally disgusted with it, I'd occasionally watch that shop Preppers and laugh my ass off at some of those idiots.

Some of them were literally preparing for the combined "Sharknado + Nookulur Locusts + New Madrid Earthquake + Instant Polar Ice Cap Melt + SARS + Collapse of Fiat Currency + Chinese Invasion + 190 deg. F heatwave + 24 feet of Ice and Snow + Mormons" disaster happening on the same *expletive deleted*ing day.

Castle Key has been in his house for quite awhile. He knows what the baseline parameters are for his area regarding availability of natural gas, electric, and water over that time. I think I'm pretty safe in saying that neither natural gas nor water have been affected in that time, but electric has gone out repeatedly, and a number of times for the better part of a week, or more.

[Hutch]

If zombies are walking  , chances of being able to replace gasoline or diesel is going to be pretty damned slim to nonexistent.

If the situation is that catastrophic, that's when it's time to unass the area.

You are correct in all particulars.  If that happens, it's time to open the second envelope.  Set condition one throughout the ship, unmask the main battery, and train it out along the main threat axis. (I just loves me some pseudo Navy-speak)

[K Frame]

Castle Key and I chatted briefly about this on the way to work this morning.

His assessment is that the absolutely critical devices to be powered by a gen would be (and I have to agree with him):

1. Household AC

2. Freezer

Everything else is a nicety.

[Hutch]

In defense of the doomsday prepper, the calculation is:  what the chance is of a Bad Thing happening, vs the consequence of the Bad Thing if it should occur.  My favorite (stolen) expression is: It ain't the odds that bother me, it's the stakes we're playing for.

I do chuckle at the notion that some folks are "prepared" to deal with Red Dawn, but couldn't jump start their car if they had to.

Regarding priorities listed, I'd add convenience lighting.  If you have any home security gear, I'd move that up as well.  Both of those are rounding errors, compared to home A/C.

[castle key]

If you have any home security gear, I'd move that up as well. 

The home security monitoring system does not need a steady flow of electricity but depends on the continual supply of meat products! The system does however prefer cooler environmental conditions coupled with fresh water.

[zxcvbob]

My parents were w/o electricity for about 2 weeks after Hurricane Ike.  They had 2 portable generators and lots of extensions cords.  They *thought* they had a lot of gasoline, but it goes pretty fast.  They would have run out if my uncle hadn't brought them another 10 or 20 gallons (probably siphoned out the Cadillac he had at the time), and even then it was close.  After that is when I got my little Yamaha generator instead of a 5500W generator that cost half as much; it sips gas rather than guzzles it.  But the gas will still run out if the power is out too long.

I really don't know why the gas stations don't open sooner, using their own generator to power the pumps, lights, and a cash register.  Maybe they figure they'll run out of gas in a day (a hard day's work) and then won't be able to get another truckload in so what's the point.

[41magsnub]

In defense of the doomsday prepper, the calculation is:  what the chance is of a Bad Thing happening, vs the consequence of the Bad Thing if it should occur.  My favorite (stolen) expression is: It ain't the odds that bother me, it's the stakes we're playing for.

I do chuckle at the notion that some folks are "prepared" to deal with Red Dawn, but couldn't jump start their car if they had to.

Regarding priorities listed, I'd add convenience lighting.  If you have any home security gear, I'd move that up as well.  Both of those are rounding errors, compared to home A/C.

Wait, you are saying preparedness doesn't mean only guns and beef jerky??

[K Frame]

"In defense of the doomsday prepper, the calculation is:  what the chance is of a Bad Thing happening, vs the consequence of the Bad Thing if it should occur."

Actually, I think the proper equation is more likely...

Rampant Paranoia X Social Disaffection Level / Black Helicopters³

As that output of that function approaches 1, hilarity ensues, and that shows was always hilarious. In a sad panda kinda way.





"It ain't the odds that bother me, it's the stakes we're playing for."

Yeah, and that's the problem... These are the guys who are standing on the sideline screaming in the coach's ear "PUT ME IN PUT ME IN PUT ME IN!" and who tear the *expletive deleted*it out of their knee just trying to get to the huddle... 

Literally all I could think of when watching that show was tactical wheelbarrows and debarked chihuahuas...

[charby]

Literally all I could think of when watching that show was tactical wheelbarrows and debarked chihuahuas...

I'm glad I'm not the only one.

[280plus]

So ok all you smarties. If I have an A/C compressor that has an RLA of 15 and a LRA of 63. How many amps will it draw on start up. It so happens I had to answer this one today. Not sure I have it right but I'm sure I have enough. LOL

Stove, nothing says you use the whole stove on the generator. I've used a couple burners and all I have is a 5KW. Judicious plugging and unplugging is the key. Also I have a water pump, to me THAT is the most important. I tried lugging water to flush. Lots of work. I also got myself into the habit of rationing the juice. Turn the generator off between meals etc. Saves a lot of fuel.

[280plus]

Update: research is telling me LRA IS Startup amps.

[RevDisk]

Rampant Paranoia X Social Disaffection Level / Black Helicopters³

What if you're rampantly paranoid, socially disaffected and made dark green helicopters¹ instead of black helicopters?





¹ I keep asking the dark green helicopter folks to keep an eye out for black helicopters. No luck thus far. 

[Tallpine]

Well, there's a reason that we decided to put in a deep well hand pump instead of buy a generator. 

Of course there is no NG service within 40 miles.

[Hutch]

"In defense of the doomsday prepper, the calculation is:  what the chance is of a Bad Thing happening, vs the consequence of the Bad Thing if it should occur."

Actually, I think the proper equation is more likely...

Rampant Paranoia X Social Disaffection Level / Black Helicopters³

As that output of that function approaches 1, hilarity ensues, and that shows was always hilarious. In a sad panda kinda way.





"It ain't the odds that bother me, it's the stakes we're playing for."

Yeah, and that's the problem... These are the guys who are standing on the sideline screaming in the coach's ear "PUT ME IN PUT ME IN PUT ME IN!" and who tear the *expletive deleted* out of their knee just trying to get to the huddle... 

Literally all I could think of when watching that show was tactical wheelbarrows and debarked chihuahuas...

Mike, you could take the fun out of a parade.

[K Frame]

Mike, you could take the fun out of a parade.

My job here is done!

[RevDisk]

Mike, you could take the fun out of a parade.

To do anything WELL, you do need to take some of the fun out of it and substitute craftsmanship. We all like shooting, but to get to the top tiers, it's a lot of work.

Most preppers would be dead in any serious SHTF scenerio and their assets would be added to the nearest warlord.

[CNYCacher]

The cost of a new NG oven/range is probably less than the price differential between a generator that can run your AC and a generator that can run your AC and your electric oven/range.

[K Frame]

The generator isn't being purchased to run the stove.

It's being purchased to provide electric to the AC / heating system.

[CNYCacher]

The generator isn't being purchased to run the stove.

Of course it isn't.  That would be crazy. Much more sense to get a gas stove.