I now consider a generator a mandatory piece of equipment, but that wasn't always the case.
We just don't get extended power outages in Central New Jerse!
We've lived in the house for 32 years, where a power outage was maybe a minute or two before power was back on. You didn't have the time to get up and find a flashlight, and the power would be back on. I didn't have a generator.......didn't need one. Life was good..........Up until 4 - 5 months before Sandy (October, 2012), when the power went out. I looked at my wife, and said, just wait a minute or two, it will come back on. Well after a half hour I told my wife, we're in trouble, let's go buy a generator. We went to Sam's, and for $299, we now had a generator (3650 watts.) As we were returning home, on our street, the lights to all the houses came back on. Doh! I pulled into our driveway and the generator went right into the garage, untouched, and still in the box. The tank survived this hour or so without power.....no damage done. We later found out that a block over someone had hit a telephone pole and that was the cause of the power outage.
So four or five months after purchasing a generator I never would have had if it wasn't for a car accident, a little blow came through town by the name of Sandy. It hit our town bad. We are surrounded by water on three sides; The Raritan Bay (Atlantic Ocean) to the East, Raritan River to the North, and the South River to the West. I believe we lost somewhere in the area of 350 homes.....the worst from the South River. Anyway, we were without electricity for over seven days. I popped open the box to the generator, put the few pieces together, loaded it with oil, and .......gas, I didn't have gas. Maybe a gallon or so in the gas can I use for the lawnmower. Now gas could not be had...the gas stations had no power to pump. Luckily I have seven or so cars, so I siphoned gas from three of the cars.
I also had to scrounge around for extension cords and other odds and ends, but eventually got the generator up and running on our side porch (fully open). This little generator ran my entire tank, the refrigerator, my boiler, the television and a few lights. During the day we ended up being refuge for some of the elderly, who had no heat in their houses. I think it was day 3 or 4 when I was finally able to find an open gas station, and waited a good hour and a half in a "can" line to get ten gallons of gas. That little generator ran 24/7, for over seven days, and saved my tank.
After Sandy, and when life got back to normal, I wanted to be fully prepared if this ever happens again. I purchased heavy duty extension cords, power strips, etc. I also wanted a place where all this stuff would be in one place. Picked up a small little shed and now everything is kept in this "generator shed" all ready to go when the next blow comes through.
In retrospect, and regardless of the tank, we also have three refrigerators and two freezers, with I don't know how much $$$ in food. The generator would be worth it just for the food alone.
Get a generator!
