Tell me you live in Florida, without telling me you live in Florida....LOL

And puppies. In a van. Down by the river. Or so I've heard.

masturbating in the dark

so pretty much like any other day

If you have a nearby fast-moving river, a 20 ft wooden wheel, and some copper wire, you can solve any electric outage problem you have.

Mine is a Generac. We have switches on all major circuits and the computer monitors load. I pay for a checkup every 6 months and thats a bargain. Its on a 500 gal LP tank and they estimate its good for 8 days

6900 gallons of water in three storage tanks.
My own well.
Transfer/isolation switch at house that allows me to plug in 1 of 3 generators to power some lights and well pump.
Fuel storage
Propane tanks for bbq's, stoves.
Natural gas. Gas will keep flowing unless zombie apocalypse/ world war.
Portable solar panels.
Propane/ battery operated lanterns.
Food storage for 7 months.
Plenty of guns and ammo in case it is not just a power outage and it is the zombie apocalypse....

Oh, and 5 horses, chickens,cats and dogs. If power is out for more than 72 hours, my wife's horse dies first for meat.

My list as well, living on the TX Gulf Coast.

I also make sure to fill my extra car's gas tank and ten 5 -gallon gas tanks to have enough gas to run the generator for 2 weeks if need be. I can't stand dealing with gas lines, because when the power's out you've got to drive pretty damn far to find working pumps, and they always have long lines. No thanks.

Every time there's a hurricane, it's the same shit. People freaking out, and hoarding everything from food to fuel. If more people took the time to get prepared at the beginning of the season, it wouldn't be nearly as bad.

In the meantime, I'm at home patting myself on the back for being prepared and not having to deal with the chaos.

You nailed it - be prepared! I have my gas tanks filled with STA-BIL fuel storage additive, a couple crates of bottled water, and a couple of propane tanks. Was ready for Beryl this year when it hit. Was without power for 6 days. No problem. Since Beryl, I restocked, and was ready for Helane in case it came this way.

I learned valuable lessons from Hurricane Ike, like BE PREPARED! Because the chaos, and all the stupidity with it, can swallow you up. Fast.

This - mine is hardwired in and automatically kicks on - maybe a 5 or 10 second delay. There is something heartwarming about having lights and power while my asshole neighbor huddles around a ****ing candle with his bitchy wife and their stupid yappy dog.

I do invite the good neighbors over of course; I'm not a savage.

You should not be pulling your electric meter. That is against the terms of service with any electric company. They can accuse you of stealing electricity.

wood burning stove w/catalyst at the lake house. Doesn't help in the summer however it's great in the winter. On a well house so we can lose water. Have multiple 5 gallon jugs for drinking and can tote lake water for toilets if necessary.

my city home if there's issues, I just stay with family/friends.

Our generator ran and provided power to the house for the first time In The 4 years since installation. We had a wicked storm blow through in August that took out trees and roofs.
My next door neighbor and I were the only ones with whole house generators. The power was out in our neighborhood for 12 hours. It was pretty nice to have our power and AC.

I am the last on my line, so power goes out ANYWHERE, I go out. I have well water. Propane heat. Old farm house.



When I did a major renovation, I had the electrician put in one of these so I could power the whole house with one pigtail:

https://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/s...l-eTM&usqp=CAc

An aside: Mine is a 3 way lever switch, big box 3'x 1.5". Up is connected to the grid, middle is neutral, down connected to the generator. When the electrician put it in, he connected a light bulb next to it which is linked to the grid. I use the generator in the down position. When the light turns on, the grid is back up:) genous!

Then bought this. Duel fuel. Remote start which I can use in the bedroom.

https://westinghouseoutdoorpower.com...g?v=1709135539

I had been running gas only. Trying to buy gas during the '05 ice storm, proved difficult (3 weeks w/o power). I had 6 5 gal cans and went through them in a week. Also, how long will the gas be good, even with Sta Bil? So with Helene in my mind, why not use the propane (bottled gas stays good for a long time) from my 500 gal propane that runs my house. I was thinking about trenching a hard line into my garage (+200 ft). But a bunch of trees around, not a cheap idea. The propane guy from my area suggested tapping off of the tank to re-fill my small 20 gal BBQ tanks.

https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/i...gHh0UokY7Ehg&s

I decided to use those and a bought a wheeled 40 gal tank. Not cheap, ~$200.


https://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/s...e6QTg&usqp=CAc

I decided to place the generator in one location, instead of moving the cars outside (electric garage door) to maneuver the generator outside, close to the garage door next to the short pig tail and vent. I understand that propane burns cleaner (doesn't need as much venting) and quieter. Also, it will burn twice as long. Downside is that it provides 80% of gasoline power.

So I needed 50' (heavy duty 8/4 wire) of this to run across the garage ceiling to drop down the pig tail next to the generator from the breaker box. Not cheap ~$200.

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/...wL._SX522_.jpg

Now, just un- cover the unit, turn on propane, start it, plug in pig tail, once there is electricity, crack the garage door:)

I have heard about the headaches with Generac's. Also, out $6-8k. Mine comes out <$2k and my time. I don't own a farm/business to warrant the cost difference. I suppose the Generac provide better peace of mind.

edit: I put on a battery maintainer after my trial run this summer and found the battery was dead. It turns out the generator came with a plug in trickle charger!!

Pot belly wood stove
Cord of wood
Remington Tactical loaded with #4 buck
Pantry
Got plenty of water running in the back yard that would just need to boil
Batteries
Couple books & DVDs
Patience & stay busy


Haven't gone down the generator road just yet for some reason.