60+ year old thread.

Retiring after 41 years in the electric utility industry I'm here to tell you that a standby generator is a wise tool to have. The infrastructure of the grid is old and in need of upgrading and VERY vulnerable to damage or intentional attack. An even wiser tool is a generator with a non-gasoline motor.

 

Our generator is hooked up to our natural gas line. I am also looking at a solar array as those prices have come way down, seeing we live at 9+K altitude with number of sun days adds to the efficiency here. Still doing the math to make sure it isn't unattainable to recover cost. So far it looks good, adding battery back-up is where the cost gets wiggy.

 

Agreed on the aging electrical grid. We need an infrastructure spending bill, like, yesterday.

When we got our generator I intentionally stayed away from the non-gasoline models. We don't have natural gas running down the street in my rural area and I don't want to have to depend on the propane truck making it in to me on time. A chainsaw and a 4WD Taco will get gasoline to my home pretty much any time. That being said, our neighbor put in a standby unit with propane and I'm jealous of them when we have these shortish outages. Another 7- or 10-day outage though, maybe not.

 

The reason to stay away from gasoline is for extended runs. If you are out for 5 days to three weeks or more, where are you going to get the gasoline? Hurricane Ike came through here and you couldn't find gasoline within 100-150 miles and when you could you were being limited to fuel you could purchase. Having a gas tank of 100 to 200 gallons would help if you can store good gas. Diesel would be just above gasoline followed by propane and then natural gas would be at the top of the list for fuel except in earthquake areas then natural gas moves down the list.

These are my expiences with standby generators. Your mileage may vary but I've done the hunt down gasoline for a engine generator because my wife balls at every mention of a generator for the home we're in now.

 

Good advice on the fuels Tony. We have only lost power a few times but not for more than a minute or two except for when hurricane Sandy hit. Power was out for a day and a half and the missus, God bless her heart, and I bailed our sump pump for 18 hours carrying the buckets up from the basement. Thought about a generator but haven't pulled the trigger yet. I have natural gas so running for any length of time is no problem. Maybe with the weather patterns lately it might be a good idea because those damn buckets were heavy.

 

If I had natural gas I’d be using it for sure! A guy down the road with, well, let’s just say he has deep pockets, has an industrial rig that runs on diesel. Huge tank sitting out there.

 

We don't have natural gas lines out here in the boonies of northeast PA. Our heating, cooktop and the back-up generator run on propane. We have a submarine buried in the yard. Well, OK it's a 1000 gal tank.

Finally got my vanity plate today - ordered it back in early February.

 

And we ain't getting any younger.

I would love to have a diesel generator but filling that tank wouldn't be easy

 

The plate looks good on your truck.

Yeah them submerged tanks are great.

 

Good morning and Happy Day!!! I'm enjoying only having to remember weekdays and weekend days - because I will now stay away from shopping anywhere on weekend days. Life is good!

I received my official notice of the beginning of my Social Security payments - end of next month will see my first payment; for July, of course. I also love how they charge you the exact amount for Medicare...but round off what they owe you to the nearest dollar.

Hoping for some rain today. We need it up here badly.

Be safe and enjoy the day!

 

Morning folks . Rain is on the way Mark. Be safe and enjoy the day.

 

Be careful what you wish for -- looks like a nor' easter is heading our way.

https://radar.weather.gov/Conus/full_loop.php

 

Good morning all - have a great Friday.

My generator I moved from my Yurt I had on our six acres at 11,350' (just below tree line) when that county banned Yurts. Sold the Yurt (& property) then moved the generator and switched out the regulator from propane to natural gas. Sold my 500 gal propane tank to the new owner of the property so I didn't have to move it. One of the big reasons for buying our current home was having natural gas in a remote mtn neighborhood. It was run through the neighborhood a month before we bought the place. Most people still run propane up here.

Best thing I ever did. Running power lines through forest where high winds and snow loads are the norm we get a lot of power outages at all times of the year.

TGIF for some of you, Col I agree one of the best things about being retired is being able to shop during the week. Another is camping during the week in the National Forest, not much of a structured camper - too many regulations and people. LOL

 

It is definitely too peopley out there on weekends...sometimes on weekdays, too!

 

Getting enough rain Mark?

 

The rain just started here about an hour ago. Steady but not heavy.

 

It came down real heavy here for about 3 hours then got lighter and it stopped about an hour ago. Gave the lawn, shrubs and tree a good soaking.
Stay dry.

 

It's been raining pretty much non-stop here since just after noon. It eased up a bit around 3pm but now is back at it. That radar link I posted earlier shows Fay running right over top of us here.

EDIT: Here's a satellite image. Pretty awesome storm.

https://www.star.nesdis.noaa.gov/goes/floater.php?stormid=AL062020

 

Started raining here again about 45 minutes ago and it is pretty heavy. Supposed to hang around until about 9PM.

 

97 degrees with no humidity here in sunny Elk Grove, California. Just got out of the pool and am about to enjoy a gin and tonic with lots of ice and a wedge of lime. Tomorrow will be 100. Plan to repeat what I did today. Life is good when you are an old retired guy. My toughest decision today is what to grill for dinner. I’ll ponder that while sipping my gin and tonic.
Happy Saturday for those who are retired and for those who aren’t happy Friday.