Backup Generator

I'm not an optimist. Power here is pretty reliable but I'm concerned about the possibility of a severe ice storm or worse some intentional sabatoge to the grid that could cause us to have an extended outage. I had a 5kw portable gas genrator for years and used it a handful of times over the years. But it just is not safe or practical to keep enough gas around for an extended outage. Hell gas seems to only last about a month or two as it is with the ethonal crap they put in it now. I got a 15 kw propane unit now. Can pretty much run everything. Maybe be overkill but it makes me feel warm and fuzzy.

You can always do what I do with mine. I keep a 5 gallon Jerry can full with Stabil in it, I also put 11 gallons in the generator with Stabil in it. Then I have two other Jerry cans that are empty. Now, with the 11 gallons in the generator and the 5 gallons on stand-by I have enough gas for two days. What I'll do next then is when power goes out I'll fire up the generator and before I'm through the gas in the tank I take the two cans out and get them filled. BUT, I only do this if I know it's going to be a prolonged outage more than several days (Summer of 2011 was a prime example). If the power is going to be out for a day or a few hours I don't bother getting more gas.

As far as the national grid being taken out by some hostile force...well...I don't see that happening...But if it ever does then we can only hope the end is swift.

I've been able to keep fuel in a 55 gallon drum for a year to 15 months - & we have some of the worst gasoline in the country. Main thing is to remember to tighten the bungs down when your done. Air will cause BIG problems.

I've got a 12V Fill-Rite pump hooked to it, so I just flip the lever & pump away, just like at the station. I bought the barrel off eBay - it came from Sweden or Switzerland filled with eucalyptus oil that a company out in the midwest bought, so it was VERY clean inside, plus lined to prevent corrosion - exactly what I was looking for. Came in handy during that Oct. snowstorm. Couldn't get out of the neighborhood due to downed trees ... and even if you could, half the stations had no power anyway. Neighbors were coming over & buying gas from me instead. In that situation you'd be surprised how fast 55 gallons goes though ...

When I first got the barrel, I drained the residue into a pile of paper towels before I filled it. The whole barn reeked like Hall's Mentholyptus for a month!

I'm On Fire wrote:You can always do what I do with mine. I keep a 5 gallon Jerry can full with Stabil in it, I also put 11 gallons in the generator with Stabil in it. Then I have two other Jerry cans that are empty. Now, with the 11 gallons in the generator and the 5 gallons on stand-by I have enough gas for two days. What I'll do next then is when power goes out I'll fire up the generator and before I'm through the gas in the tank I take the two cans out and get them filled. BUT, I only do this if I know it's going to be a prolonged outage more than several days (Summer of 2011 was a prime example). If the power is going to be out for a day or a few hours I don't bother getting more gas.

As far as the national grid being taken out by some hostile force...well...I don't see that happening...But if it ever does then we can only hope the end is swift.

Well my thought process in evalutating the solution was based on worst case senario. It doesn't have to be a hostile force other than mother nature. A severe ice storm could take out an individuals electric for well over a week and even up to 2 weeks in a wide spread event. A hostile force outage could be much longer. The flaw in your plan is that when you go out to refill you cans, that there may not be gas available. Also maybe the gas station may not have power for the pumps.
I said I wasn't an optimist.

coalkirk wrote:

I'm On Fire wrote:You can always do what I do with mine. I keep a 5 gallon Jerry can full with Stabil in it, I also put 11 gallons in the generator with Stabil in it. Then I have two other Jerry cans that are empty. Now, with the 11 gallons in the generator and the 5 gallons on stand-by I have enough gas for two days. What I'll do next then is when power goes out I'll fire up the generator and before I'm through the gas in the tank I take the two cans out and get them filled. BUT, I only do this if I know it's going to be a prolonged outage more than several days (Summer of 2011 was a prime example). If the power is going to be out for a day or a few hours I don't bother getting more gas.

As far as the national grid being taken out by some hostile force...well...I don't see that happening...But if it ever does then we can only hope the end is swift.

Well my thought process in evalutating the solution was based on worst case senario. It doesn't have to be a hostile force other than mother nature. A severe ice storm could take out an individuals electric for well over a week and even up to 2 weeks in a wide spread event. A hostile force outage could be much longer. The flaw in your plan is that when you go out to refill you cans, that there may not be gas available. Also maybe the gas station may not have power for the pumps.
I said I wasn't an optimist.

That did happen during Irene last summer. I had the four cans filled. Used two and left to get more. Had to do a bit of off-roading to get out of my lake then take several convoluted paths to the gas station only to find out there was no power at the station. Drove to another station found there was power but no gas. Went to a third and they had both power and gas. But it took 45 minutes to get there and it realistically is 15 minutes down the road.