We bought a generator last night. It cost $664 plus sales tax. It's a 5,500 watt generator, and received good reviews on Amazon. It should be plenty to power our refrigerator, freezer, and some lights during a power outage. We'll just have to watch drying clothes, and other huge energy draws. Our oven is also electric, so we'll have to see on that. Probably won't be able to bake a turkey dinner during a power outage.
We also got a bid from an electrician for installing a transfer switch, so we can plug it in to our electric system. The bid was $390. The total cost for this project will be $1,054. I was figuring $1,200.
We didn't get multiple bids for installing the transfer switch. My cousin is an electrician. We usually have him do our work. He didn't get back to me when I contacted him twice. Must be busy.
The electrician that we did choose has done a lot of work for my family over the years. We've found him to be trustworthy and reliable.
There is one thing I'm not sure about yet. If you have a generator plugged in during a power outage, how do you know that the electricity is back on? My in-laws have a dairy farm so they NEED generator to run the milking and cooling equipment. They have a light next to the generator that turns on when the grid power is restored (it's not connected into the generator stream). I'll have to call the electrician, and ask about that.
The Generator
September 10th, 2013 at 02:53 pm
September 10th, 2013 at 03:11 pm 1378822319
Good question on when the power comes back on.
What a great project!
September 10th, 2013 at 04:44 pm 1378827884
The generator is fueled by gasoline. We try to always have gasoline on hand for mower and snow blower.
September 10th, 2013 at 04:56 pm 1378828574
September 10th, 2013 at 05:35 pm 1378830922
September 10th, 2013 at 06:15 pm 1378833304
September 10th, 2013 at 07:56 pm 1378839365
Our neighbors across the road have a generator. There is a house across the mile. We could check that house.
Not a huge deal.
No street light to check, though.
What we'll probably end up doing is calling our electric co. for their estimate on power restoration, and check periodically.