I don't know if I will get a generator. But, if I do, I might consider something like Craig's list or keep an eye out for some clearance / end of season blow-out deals.

I can't justify $1,000 on a generator.

A very little light is helpful, but with all the great LED products on the market, we did well enough on light.
Wal-mart sells these little AAA and AA battery push on and off stick anywhere LED lights with 3-5 led bulbs that provide good light, are cheap and we haven't yet replaced the batteries after over a week of heavy use.

Refridgerator would be nice to keep running for a number of reasons. Obviously, to save food from going bad. But, just as an on-going major convenience over needing ice for milk, eggs, orange-juice, cold drinks and things I "Like" to have daily if possibly.

We can go a long time on dry and canned foods. But, refridgerated meats, for dinner and sandwhiches, ice for drinks and more. The fridge is easily over-looked - until you loose it.

But, make for a great opportunity to clean out and disinfect.

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A lot of people here have window units in storage that they break out for generator use. Those can be picked up for as little as $100 - $200 on clearance and would be nice in the bedroom at night. But, they draw a lot of power.

If not needing a window unit, I could easily get by with a smaller 5000 watt or so generator.

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A few problems that are common for people with generators:

**** GAS *****

They use a LOT of gas over a week or so period of time.

Most people who don't use them much don't realize, but even if turning them on and off through-out the day to conserve, most people seem to run about 12-16 hours per day and still use 5 gallons or so per day in gas.

So, if no electricity for 2 weeks, you could need as much as 70 or so gallons of GAS. That is a lot of 5 gallon jugs of gas. Most people don't have NEAR enough jugs of gas for long term needs. We were lucky that gas stations started getting some gas earlier on because most people would have had generators sitting dead and dry.


Also, that gas is expensive compared to electricity usage. Most people I know are paying $300 - $600 a month for electricity right now - which is VERY expensive in my book.

But, a generator with VERY limited ability to power your home could easily cost $20 per day = $600 per month at WAY less ability that power from utility co.

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Also, I am not sure entirely how this works. Most generators seem to have "some" auto throttle control. But, they don't really conserve gas very well no matter how much you draw. So, they tend to be VERY inefficient.

So, a big gas-guzzling generator could eat your lunch if you don't use and need all of the energy.

There is probably a tendancy to weigh two factors when shopping for a generator: cost of generator vs. total wattage output.

It might be well worth considering what the minimum reasonable requirements are to run what you need in your house and estimate the minimum wattage you can get by on (??????). It is our nature to try to get at much bang for the buck on that type of purchase. Which can be good to have the extra power. But, you will pay for it in gas. And not likely to be able to conserve the gas as easily as you hope.

.

Another thing over-looked by many prior to such a storm was to do all loads of laundry possible prior to storm hitting.

Lots of people running out of clean clothes.

Luckily, we thought of this.

Dishes are easy to wash by hand. I typically do that a lot anyway.

Washing clothes by hand is not so great.

.

Good to see you back on KG. I hope everything gets back to normal very soon. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crossfingers.gif" alt="" />

K/G - I hope folks read this thread and it gets them to thinking/prepping. You do not have to be some kind of whacko nut job to prepare for possible disasters! Hurricanes, tornadoes, fires, floods, ice storms, etc. DO happen all over the country, and the smart person prepares for them!! I have had a 5K watt generator for many years now, but have not really had to use it. About the only time I would use it would be to save food in the refrigerator and freezer. A spare 12 volt battery and power inverter will enable you to have lights and watch a small television for news in your area, a wind-up radio provides additional news and music, a propane grill enables you to cook, as well as a Coleman-type stove. I also have a ventless propane heater, which worked great when we had an ice storm last December. I keep SEVERAL cases of bottled water on hand, as well as several Aquatainers and 5 and 2 1/2 gallon jugs of water for washing up and flushing the toilet. (you can use the first for the second! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />) My shelf units downstairs look like a small grocery store, so we are fixed for food for quite a while. I have a LOT of flashlights and battery operated lanterns, as well as candles. I also keep extra dog and cat food on hand. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" /> So, when a problem occurs in our area we are quite comfortable. I DO keep 75 gallons of Stabil-ized gas in my shed for my tractor, vehicles, or generator if needed, as well as 4 100# tanks and 5 20# tanks of LP for the gas appliances.
I hope folks reading this thread might get ideas that will help them in the event of a problem/disaster. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" /> Tom

Hey KG,

Definitely glad to see you are doing okay. We ran around down there taking care of some family and family business interests for a couple of days and it was ugly. For the most part everyone was behaving themselves, but we saw an awful lot of damage.

One thing I saw that I thought was very interesting concerning generators was a guy that we met while removing trees across the road in the Deer Park area. He had a portable generator that ran on natural gas or LPG. He said that he had an outlet installed at his house and at his business in case he needed to hook it up to the gas line for emergency use. He also had an LPG tank that was kept full at his house which held enough to run it for a few days. The natural gas generators are about 40% more efficient and no need to worry about story fuel at all if you still have gas service(which you usually will).

Excellent point Tolly! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbup.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

All Good advice Tom.

Tom's "GOT GAS"!!!!! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbup.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbup.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/bowdown.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />



But, really, it just isn't that hard to be prepared. Or it doesn't seem so hard to me (????). Some people don't seem to get it (????) <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />


You are right, you don't have to have your own personally bomb shelter. Although, in tornado alley, it is probably a good idea.

Hurricanes are often less violent than tornados. But, if you live in certain areas, hurricanes are so large, you are much more likely to have to deal with certain consequences.

-----------------------

I LOVE trees. But, I try to be practical about me trees and safety as well. There are so many people around here that don't understand the damage trees can cause - even without high winds. I have been around the real estate, mortgage and costruction industry for many years. Trees can destroy homes just from roots. So, many people here have 3' - 5' diameter trees right up next to their homes that lift, crack and destroy their foundations. This damage can cost MANY tens of thousands of dollars in damage.

Then there is wind. I don't condone cutting down nice trees because they "might" blow over. But, if a tree is leaning towards your home or has limbs that could be removed to prevent damage, people might need to consider removing these potentially dangerous trees or at least trimming dangerous limbs.

I VERY likely avoided any damage to my home because I maintain my trees. I hate cutting them down. But, I don't let them become hazards either. I plant replacements. I know some trees are irreplaceable. But, at least consider the risks.

I know many of my neighbors took some pretty good damage from trees because of being, cheap or lazy to maintain their trees. I see people leave dead dangerous trees in their yards for years.

Guess what, these tree removal companies work on supply and demand. When the demand is high, so are their prices. I talked to one guy who paid $10,000 to remove one tree from his home with a crane. He "assumes" his insurance co. will reimburse him. Good luck to him. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/rolleyes.gif" alt="" />

I have paid as little as $250 - $500 for VERY large 80' x 3'-4' diameter trees including remove all debris and stump grind.
But, I have seen others pay $1000 - $3000 per tree during high demand times.

It requires special skill to remove trees around houses.

---------------

To prepare for disaster, you have to consider what might go out.

We still had running water and natural gas. But, might not always.

If running water goes out, like you mentioned, you need water for MANY things other than just drinking. Like flushing commodes. And you can burn a lot of water on commodes. We fill up our bathtub with water in the case we need that water for commodes. I estimate the tub holds about 50 gallons or so.


Good ol' candles work great.

Pet food stock is a VERY worthy consideration.

Water, dry foods, soup, batteries, gas, basics. It isn't brain surgery. You just have to think through what you will need day to day and how to survive day to day without certain conveniences like electricity, possibly running water, possibly no Natural Gas, etc.

Fill up your car tanks for sure. I have seen that to be a problem for so many so often. I don't know why it is so often over-looked.

Further, conserve you cars gas by not wasting trips driving all around looking at other people disasters and visiting. If you need to help somebody prioritize gas use. You can't drive around like most of us do daily. Most people run through a tank of gas in less than a week. It is possible you need to go a lot longer than a week on one tank of gas or whatever reserves you have.

It is amazing to me how many dumb kids I saw sitting in their parked out of gas cars. Or stranded at empty deserted gas stations that didn't have gas - probably "Hoping" a gas truck would show up some day. Mostly high school aged looking kids. School was out. So, I assume they got bored without their Nintendos and felt they had to drive to all of their different friends houses til they ran out of gas. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/rolleyes.gif" alt="" />

Generator gas is another commonly over-looked stock-pile. I saw many who thought to have a generator, but didn't consider how much gas to have available or maybe they just didn't think they couldn't get gas (??????).

--------------

I also heard some talk about Natural gas generators. The are likely a great deal for some people. We had gas maintained. I don't know what it would take to cut off gas since most gas is underground. And I honestly don't recall ever loosing natural gas supply (??????).

But, where I live, most people can't have huge tank supplies of propane or natural gas. So, hopefully if going a natural gas route, you feel VERY confident in NOT loosing natural gas supply. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crossfingers.gif" alt="" />

My grill and outdoor sideburner on my grill is natural gas. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbup.gif" alt="" />

A lot of people have propane grills. Propane cooks just fine. But, you have to refill the little tanks a lot. I assume propane tanks became in high demand here just like many other things. I am glad I didn't have to go try to find propane. MANY people waste a LOT of car gas driving around for things like that.

I LOVE cooking on a natural gas cooktop. I used to have one and want to replace my electric cooktop. For those who use electric cooktops, gas cooktops are WAY nicer to cook with IMO.

.

Nice info KG.

I read some online write-ups about generators, the had second thoughts. In addition to what you said, you're supposed to maintain and periodically run the generator (like fire it up for 15 minutes every month or two). Knowing myself, I doubt I'd keep up with that maintenance. I've only "needed" a generator twice in a bit over 10 years, so I'd probably skip running it in Winter, then stack a bunch of stuff around it, once Spring rolls around it'll be hard to get to, then by the time I need it it may not have been started for a year or two.

I do have some nice Petzl LED headlamps and I bought several Gerber Bonfire Blaze LED lanterns on clearance a while back. That was enough light to see and read by. I've also got a very nice 19.2-volt Craftsman fluorescent lantern that I loaned my Mom (along with one of the headlamps). I've also got flashlights hanging by their wrist straps on most of the doorknobs in my house. Mainly, I just hate losing all the food in the frige, but I could go through several cycles of that before a generator's paid for. I'd probably do better to look for a nice battery-powered TV (I've got plenty of lights, but not even a single battery-powered radio).

You're right about clothes. A family friend never lost power; she let me wash/dry a load at her house so that I had clean clothes for work. I really didn't think the wind from Ike would be a problem all the way up through Indiana/Ohio, but it sure was.

It is obviously easier to stock up on things living in the country compared to an apartment in a city environment. However, some preparations can still be made for that situation as well. A few cases of bottled water along with a couple of Aquatainers can make life a whole lot easier if an unforseen event happens. Also, DON'T FORGET TOILET PAPER !!! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crazy.gif" alt="" /> WalMart sells a gas-tube assembly that replaces the old gasoline tank and pump on a Coleman type stove. You can use those small cylinders or 20# tanks commonly used for propane grills when you buy a connecting hose. In cold weather, a sleeping bag opened up makes a great comforter for your bed - very warm. Again, an extra 12 volt battery and power inverter will provide power for lights and a small TV, and those newer battery operated L.E.D. lanterns work well. Food items can be tuna fish, canned beef, ham, and chicken, along with canned vegetables and fruits. Always have a MANUAL CAN-OPENER handy! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbup.gif" alt="" /> Those 1-pan quick meals are great for those times of stress, along with a few snack-type "comfort foods". Heavier paper or foam plates eliminates the need to wash many dishes too! All of these items could be stored in an apartment closet without much trouble. And if you pick up a couple of items every week, you will quickly build up an emergency supply without breaking the bank. Saves money for more knives! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

glad to see you back KG

glad everything is going reasonably well for the circumstances

Hey Doug!

That rant on "Todays Youth" was awesome! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

I laughed out loud and loved all of it! My favorite line that to me speaks volumes..."When was the last time you saw a kid climb a tree?" <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/bowdown.gif" alt="" />

WOW!! How true it is Doug! I left trees for food and bed and that was it. We used to play near the town creek and stomp through it in the summer,play hockey on it in winter. But man those trees! They went the length of the creek for miles. Both sides and were not planted but left there when the 1950's sub-divisions were built.

I climbed my childhood away in those trees! Fell,cut,bumps,bruises and a lifetime of great memories.
We played in new housing basements and sites in and around the homes. Our favorite thing was throwing dirt clods at each other as we ducked for cover! We threw with all out might too! That was good clean fun!
<img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbup.gif" alt="" />
Now if it doesn't entertain without participation kids want nothing to do with it! Spoiled brats with high tech very expensive toys that only isolate and insulate them from reality and the outsides world. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/barf.gif" alt="" />
NO people skills,NO ability to think on their own,NO love of the history of our country. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/banghead.gif" alt="" />
My daughter in her junior year of high school has NO idea when the Civil War occurred! She has a 3.96 for the last 7 years and is always on the high honor roll.

They don't even teach American history anymore! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/banghead.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/doh.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/barf.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />

Sad state of affairs. Douglas I love you man! But I better stop now I feel like I am about to go off on the youth of today. Great post and I too of course am more than pleased to know you are safe and healthy. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbup.gif" alt="" />

God bless,

Dave.

Peace.