Generator

OMG, I have reached the pinnacle of suburban living when I need a generator; and this thing is super cool. Well, it's super cool if you like tools and electricity and having the lights stay on for hours after there is a major storm that rolls in and takes out the electricity for 18 hours (see my post about Father's Day).

This year alone (2008), we have had about 4 electrical failures. One of them lasted all day long on Father's Day and the others were less lengthy, but long enough to threaten the (refrigerator-keep) milk supply of a nursing mother. Once we nearly lost that 4-day supply, Katie had enough and we decided it was worth the expense.

We pony'd up for the 10HP 5500 watt model from Briggs and Stratton. Additionally, I purchased a transfer switch to so that we can plug the generator into our house and power certain electrical circuits. We don't need to run extension cords through the windows/doors and plug in our refrigerator. This thing will power the outlets that all our electronics are already plugged into. That means the Internet, TiVo, TV, lights, computers and furnace all stay powered up by this generator. If you are curious as to how a manual transfer switch works and why it's really neat, here are a few links:

www.green-trust.org/generator/genny_install.htm

www.reliancecontrols.com/Stream/ProTranInstall/ProTranPlayer_T1.aspx

I've been fascinated with generators and electricity since I was a child. We had a generator when I was growing up - a 1200 watt Sears Craftsman. It ran and ran and ran. It only provided 1200 watts of power, so you were basically limited to one freezer or fridge back then. We had to switch the extension cords back and forth from the kitchen to the basement. It was a pain. On top of that, it only ran for a few hours because it had a small gas tank. Today's generators are much better; the one I have provides 5500 watts of power and has a runtime of over 10 hours per tank. While I don't look forward to having a power failure, I like to know that I am ready to light up when the time comes.