PORTABLE ELECTRIC GENERATORS
by Larry Larkin
STAY UP NORTH
If you go north for the summer, my advice is to stay there during
the months of September and October as those are hurricane months
in Florida and you will just come down to trouble.
TRY TO MINIMIZE YOUR LOSSES
If you just have to come down, don,t load up your freezer with
food until November. If you are a full time resident, start to
empty out your freezer during September and October. That way
when you lose power for several days, losses will be minimized.
IF YOU WAIT UNTIL AFTER THE HURRICANE
However, if you find yourself with a full freezer during hurricane
season, you may need a portable electric generator for a few days.
If you wait until after the hurricane and the accompanying power
outages, FEMA may reimburse you for your generator. In this case,
size of the generator will not be an issue. You will buy what
you can get. Home Depot will probably be the only place open and
you will stand in line for an hour or two (meet lots of interesting
people that way) and you will get a 5000-6000 watt generator and
it will cost you $600-700. This will be a large enough generator
to run your fridge and freezer and whatever else you might be
able to hook up with extension cords. In addition to the generator
you should get.
1) 2 Extension cords - at least 50ft each
2) 2 gas cans - 5 gals each
3) 2 quarts 30 wt oil
4) 1 bottle gasoline stabilizer
You should get the gas cans and stabilizer early and fill the gas cans with stabilizer added because most or all gas stations will be closed (no power or personnel). You can always put the gas in your car if we get lucky and the hurricanes miss us.
PURCHASING A GENERATOR BEFOREHAND
SIZE NEEDED
Calculate the amount of power you may need by the formula:
Power = amps x volts x surge factor
My refrigerator says it draws a maximum of 7 amps. Now, electric
motors are a special case. When they start up, they can draw 2
to 3 times their normal current. So, my refrigerator may need
7 x 120 x 2.5 = 2100 amps
So, we are looking at a minimum of 2500 watt generator.
The following table was taken from information found on the internet
ITEM Running Watts At Surge
Refrigerator or Freezer 700 2200
Coffee Maker 1750 1750
Washing Machine 1150 2300
Electric Fry Pan 1300 1300
Table Fan 800 2000
Radio 100 100
Television 300 300
VCR 100 100
Computer 300 300
Light Bulbs Number x Rated Wattage
So you see lights and radio and TV(Comcast is out of commission
too so plug in your DVD or VCR player) are not a problem for power
requirements. Your refrigerator and freezer and heating appliances
are big users. You may have to stagger the use of one freezer
or another
(4 hours on freezer and then 4 hours on fridge) if you have minimum
2500 watt generator. With my 5500 watt generator, I could plug
both with no problem.
GENERATOR PRICES
I got these prices from the internet. If you want the best,
Honda is probably what you should look for. They are kinda pricey.
HONDA
2500 Watt $700
3500 Watt $1400
5000 Watt $1900
For a minimum generator, Norwall Systems listed the following
Coleman Powermate 2500 Watts $400
Home Depot web site listed the following:
Generac 4000 Watt $780
Pramac (Honda Engine) 2800 Watts $500
Coleman Powermate 5000 Watts $600
Briggs & Stratton 5500 Watts $700
So, you are talking about $400-600 for a portable gasoline generator.
FINAL COMMENTS
Run the generator outdoors during the day. To conserve gas run it 4 hours on 4 hours off. Not a bad idea to chain it down to something substantial. Turn it off at night and bring it inside.
After the first running period of 2-4 hours change the oil. Follow the instructions manual.
Put the recommended amount of fuel stabilizer in all your gasoline.
During the off season, run your generator periodically (like once a month) for 20-30 minutes.