Do you own a generator?

[hicksta]

My family bought one a while back. Great for powertools . Never had to use it for a storm. Atleast not yet

[MONTEGUT_LA]

We bought one. It came in handy with H. Lili. Plug a small a/c in to cool off things.

[skufful]

My mother has a 40K auto at the house in Savannah, and I have three portables in Beaufort, SC. (If you fart hard here, the power goes out!!)

[HurricaneQueen]

I read my story earlier. After four days w/o electricity after Charley, I bought one-5550 Troybilt (very long story) and by the time I got it home....yup, the power was on!!! My husband got it out and tested it right before Dennis and it had two flat tires! Pumped them up and we're good to go. Actually, we may need it tonight if FPL doesn't get us back online soon. They're outside now so I hope they can find and fix the problem soon.

Lynn

[CFL]

I thought about getting one but I'm a little scared of them. My neighbor's blew up and burned down most of the garage right after Dennis. There were a couple of other deaths in the area related to improper generator use.

[Lindaloo]

My mother has a 40K auto at the house in Savannah, and I have three portables in Beaufort, SC. (If you fart hard here, the power goes out!!)

Now isn't that attractive.

[r_u_stuck2]

I have two. The original quit the third day after Ivan struck. Listening to the radio, I found out that Lowe's had a shipment in. Bought a new one. Was without power for 13 1/2 days after Ivan.

Just got power back today from Dennis. Friday at 5:00 pm.

Had the original generator repaired. Faulty oil level switch.

Only thing you folks need to know. I burn at least 10 gallons of gas a day. You MUST have gas stockpiled prior to a storm because after the storm it may be several days before gas stations have electricity to pump gas. I managed to get enough gas prior to Dennis( I started very early) to last us for 3 days. Almost every gas station in Pensacola was out of gas before folks completed evacuation.

[AdvAutoBob]

Only thing you folks need to know. I burn at least 10 gallons of gas a day. You MUST have gas stockpiled prior to a storm because after the storm it may be several days before gas stations have electricity to pump gas. I managed to get enough gas prior to Dennis( I started very early) to last us for 3 days. Almost every gas station in Pensacola was out of gas before folks completed evacuation.

I very strongly agree here. After Charley it was very hard to find fuel of any sort for the following week due to the number of people who didn't prepare, and for the people from Charlotte County coming down to us (a lot of their stations were destroyed). I had to siphon fuel out of cars in my shop for the first couple of days (I refilled them afterwards). Now, I have 80 gallons treated with Stabil stockpiled strictly for storm use and if it's not used by season's end, I use it in the family truckster.

I had a 5500 watt portable generator from before (used it for power at the races), and upgraded to a 7500 (13,500 surge) Generac for storm use, along with a manual transfer switch. I can power everything except my A/C and dryer.

[HurricaneQueen]

I worry about storing a large amount of gasoline in my garage for an extended period but realize that finding gas (and cans) just before a storm is nearly impossible. Does Stabil help with fumes and/or flammability? Does it affect performance of the generator and/or vehicles if that is where it ends up? We have 25-30 galllon capacity in the cans we have now but I'd like to have more cans on hand. Hubby says not necessary-we'll syphon if need be. I'd hate to be left short but am afraid of the storage issue. Thanks. Always looking for safety tips.

Lynn
PS I think I'll go Google Stabil

[digitaldahling]

We have two. One is an older Coleman we bought for my inlaws after an ice storm in NW Mississippi. They were without power for 8 weeks. Last year before Ivan, we bought a Honda 2000 (I think) for hurricanes and tailgating. Also bought a small, less than $100 window unit air conditioner that can cool one room if needed. Nothing worse than dark, hot, muggy nights with no power.

[Hurricaneman]

Used to, but it broke 5 years ago

[iceangel]

We do have a medical condition that requires power. My mom has to take nabulizer treatments 4 times a day. We got it in writing from her doc. Lucily, she was in the hospital for Dennis, because we didn't hear about the generator program until 2 days after landfall .

My Grandmother needs electricity for an oxygen generator.

My mom has breathing problems, and is COPD.

[gtalum]

I worry about storing a large amount of gasoline in my garage for an extended period but realize that finding gas (and cans) just before a storm is nearly impossible. Does Stabil help with fumes and/or flammability? Does it affect performance of the generator and/or vehicles if that is where it ends up? We have 25-30 galllon capacity in the cans we have now but I'd like to have more cans on hand. Hubby says not necessary-we'll syphon if need be. I'd hate to be left short but am afraid of the storage issue. Thanks. Always looking for safety tips.

This is another major concern I have. Storing large quantities of gasoline in the garage, especially when all the windows and doors (except the front door) are boarded up, seems exceedingly dangerous. We keep 15 gallons of diesel fuel for my wife's car in there, but diesel is not nearly as combustible as gasoline is.