Hurricanes obviously cause a lot of damage when they come through, but the damage they cause also causes a lot of inconvenience.  We don't realize how much we depend upon electricity to lead our daily lives until the power is out for an extended period of time.  Even in a large metropolitan area, power can be out for many days and even weeks after a storm's passage, and Ike showed us this.  We were fortunate that our power was out only 4 days, but there were parts of the city that were without power for 19 or more days.  Going without power for that long is absolutely miserable, even with generators - it gives you a feeling of camping within your own home.  However, generators can allow you to lead a more normal life while you wait for utility power to be restored.

The problems with portable generators are expense, noise, wiring/power delivery and fuel.  They are relatively expensive pieces of equipment to acquire, and you won't use them very much.  When they're running, they're generally noisy, even as heard from inside the house.  Unless you've taken the step to install a manual transfer switch, you'll have to live with extension cords running everywhere.  And finally, you have to maintain a fuel supply for the generator, which is inconvenient, expensive, and potentially dangerous.

But when you're without power for an extended period of time, all of those problems go by the wayside, because you have cold and frozen food (and most importantly, beer!), lights, television, and - if you've planned properly - maybe even some level of spot air conditioning.  It makes the planning and expense all worth it when you can lead a semi-normal, semi-comfortable life during the outage - and you will be the envy of your less prepared neighbors.

As usual, I get long winded here; however, hopefully by passing along our experiences and thought processes, you can make a better and informed decision should you decide to purchase a portable generator for hurricane preparedness.

Our Initial Preparations (or lack thereof)

As Hurricane Rita was approaching in September of 2005, my dad and I were worried.  We weren't really that prepared to weather a storm or its lingering effects.  The main thing we were concerned about was having electricity after the storm passed - at the time neither of us had a generator.  After Katrina hit Louisiana just three weeks prior to Rita, there were virtually no generators to be found, as all new shipments were being diverted to the Louisiana area.  As Rita begain her approach to Texas, shipments began trickling in, but they were still hard to come by.  And then there was the nightmare debacle of an evacuation that occurred:  24 hours to Dallas when the trip usually takes only four.  We decided to stay and ride it out and see what would happen, even though we were nervous:  we'd never been through one before, and the nervousness was compounded by the horror stories we were hearing out of New Orleans.

Once the decision was made to stay, I set out to find us some supplies.  After making several stops, I knew that finding a generator was nigh to impossible, so I had given up.  I set about gathering other supplies such as water, food, some mud boots, and ammunition for several of my firearms.  I was at Gander Mountain procuring the last two items on that list when I saw them roll in a couple of pallets of Honda EU2000i 2,000 watt hand-portable generators.  They were expensive at $1,000 each, and relatively small in terms of wattage output.  However, I knew that this would be my one and only chance to buy one before Rita hit - everyone else was completely sold out of them.  I bought one right then and then called my mom to see if they wanted one as well.  After quickly consulting dad (who was on a consulting gig in Colorado Springs at the time), she called me back and told me to hold another one for them until she could get there to buy it.

Well, Rita turned to the east at the last minute and went in along the Texas - Louisiana border.  We experienced winds of probably 40 mph sustained with gusts into the 60s, but that was it.  Power at my house in Katy was out for all of 4 hours, and mom and dad were without power for about 7 hours.  It all happened at night, so we really didn't notice it - and the outage was short enough that neither of us ran our brand new expensive generators as a result.

The lesson learned here:  do NOT count on finding a generator in the days immediately preceeding a storm.  Don't make a panic purchase.  We got extremely lucky with the Honda generators, but a lot of the portable generators out there are crap - and there's a chance you can get gouged on the price.  Do your research and planning, and make the purchase during the offseason when generator stocks are high and choices are many.

Proper Planning & Sizing

Rita showed us that there would be widespread power outages of varying lengths should we take a more direct hit.  We had also learned the same lesson from watching recent hurricanes go into Louisiana.  Ike most assuredly proved the point.  The Honda generators we purchased were definitely a panic purchase, as there were no other options available for us.  That, too, taught us that we needed to be more prepared on a whole bunch of different fronts, but especially in the electricity department.  We had pretty much decided that after a hurricane strike, we would consolidate the three of us (my folks and I) into a single house so we could pool our resources.  But was a total generating capacity of 4,000 watts going to be enough?

More research told us that it was not.  We talked about the different electrical devices we would want and need to run in the event of an extended power outage.  That list includes:

• Two refrigerators
• Deep freezer
• Portable 12,000 BTU air conditioner
• Coffee maker and other small kitchen appliances such as mixers or can openers
• Laptop computer
• Cell phone chargers
• Entertainment center, including television, cable/satellite receiver and DVR, audio system and DVD player
• Multiple box and oscillating fans
• Lights in multiple rooms

Most of the items on that list are small wattage draws, especially since we had CFL (compact fluorescent) bulbs in all of the light fixtures we wanted to run.  Some of them would only be run occassionally (i.e. the coffee maker).  However, some of them are pretty high wattage/amperage draws, especially upon startup.  The air conditioners and the fridges and freezer are definitely high wattage consumers.

The Key to Sizing

The key to properly planning how much generating capacity you'll need is to figure out what devices you want to power, figure out how much power they pull, and then do the math to add up the power requirements.  It really is that simple.  However, some appliances like the air conditioners and refrigerators require a surge before they settle down into their lower wattage-draw running state.  For example, when running, a refrigerator might need only 300 watts, but when it starts up its compressor, it could draw as much as 1,500 watts for a brief time.  When planning overall capacity, you MUST take these surges into account and plan accordingly so as not to overload your generating capacity.

As a side note on generating capacity, one of the cool features of the Honda generators we bought is a parallel capability.  There is an accessory cable you can purchase that interconnects them, essentially making two generators run as one and effectively doubling the capacity.  It was quite fortuitous that we happened to buy two identical units in the panic purchase, as the $40 parallel cable allowed us to team our two 2,000 watt generators and effectively make a single 4,000 watt generator.  And because those units are so fuel efficient, we would be able to generate that much power at the expense of only 2.2 gallons of gasoline over a 9 to 12 hour period.  Another cool feature of the Hondas:  Economode.  There is a switch that makes the engine throttle down and run slower (and therefore quieter; although even at full-bore, those generators are incredibly quiet), and at slower speeds they're more fuel efficient.  They'll throttle up as necessary to take a load or meet a surge demand, but then they'll go back down to as low a speed as they can to meet demand.  Very nice.

Anyway, after doing the math, we knew that 4,000 watts wasn't going to be enough to run everything we wanted to run.  We didn't want to spend a megabuck buying more of the little Hondas, but we did find a 5,550 watt Briggs & Stratton generator for $550.  We decided that generator, along with the two Hondas, would give us plenty of power with a combined output of 9,550 watts.  We would also be able to spread the load around so that none of them was running over about 65% capacity at any one time.

Why only 65%?  Keep in mind that the more load you put on a generator, the harder it has to run - and the more fuel it will consume to meet the demand.  Fuel and fuel availability becomes a major concern after a storm passes, so minimizing the amount you use is critical - especially on the less fuel efficient generators.

Fuel Planning

Most portable generators run on gasoline (a few actually burn diesel), and obviously you have to have some on hand in order to keep them running.  Safe, approved gas containers are as hard to come by right before a hurricane as generators are, so we started stocking up on them during the offseason, buying a couple here and a couple there.  Ultimately, with all of our gas cans combined, we are able to stock up on and store 100 gallons of gasoline.  The garage on my house is detached from the house.  Well, mostly - there is a covered breezeway that technically attaches it to the main house, but the garage space is not under the roof of the main house.  Before Ike, we actually had 75 gallons stored out there, as several of my cans were buried in my storage warehouse at the time.  Anyway, even though it was a little nerve wracking having that much gas stored in the garage, we felt relatively comfortable with the prospect. 

Even so, why risk having this much gas on hand?  Why not get, say, 20 gallons and then take the empties to refuel?  Experience with recent hurricanes in Louisiana - not to mention the nightmare with fuel as a result of Rita - taught us that finding fuel after a storm's passage would be a royal pain in the ass.  There's no telling how far we would have to drive in order to find a station with both power and gasoline in their bunkers, not to mention the hassle of having to wait God knows how long in lines for some of that gas.  We made the decision to have so much on hand so that we could be self sufficient and avoid as much of that hassle as possible.  With our generators and what we were planning to run, we estimated that our on-hand supply of 75 gallons of fuel would carry us probably 6 to 7 days, and it would be 5 or 6 days before we really needed to start looking for fuel.  A lot can happen in storm recovery after that much time has passed, especially on the front of restoring fuel supplies.  In short, we figured that the longer we could extend our independence, the better our chances of finding more convenient fuel would be should power be out that long.

It turns out our thoughts were somewhat prophetic.  Fuel was scarce for the first three or four days, and lines at locations that did have fuel were long.  My neighbors across the street were in the right place at the right time at a Home Depot out 290 and were able to get their hands on a generator the Sunday after the storm passed.  But they only had a single fuel can, and finding gas was a pain.  We ended up sharing 10 gallons of our fuel with them, so it was handy to have that much on hand for purposes of sharing.  However, as time passed, more stations got both power and fuel, and the distance required to get to those stations diminished.  We were fortunate that our power was restored after only 4 days, and we shared our remaining fuel with folks that ended up borrowing our generators after our power was restored.  However, our forethought on that front saved us the hassle and stress of having find and wait for gas.  Different fuel amounts will suffice for different people; however, my next door neighbor had only 15 gallons of storage capacity (22 if you include the gas in the generator's tank).  Granted, he had a single larger generator, and because of the blessings of the weather, we were able to meet most of our needs with the Hondas because we didn't have to run the air conditioners much.  However, the point is this:  he had to refill his cans twice, whereas we didn't have to refuel at all.  Something to consider when making your plans.

Gasoline Alternative 

An alternative that we're still trying to complete:  converting a gasoline-powered generator to burn natural gas.  This will cut down slightly on the rated output of the generator.  However, our natural gas supply never stopped working during Ike, and we would have never been in danger of running out of fuel for the Briggs.  We bought a conversion kit for it from US Carburetion so that the generator could actually run on three different fuels:  gasoline, propane or natural gas.  Because of the way the frame around the generator is made, we're waiting on a custom fab intake extender to be made.  Once that's done, though, the Briggs will be able to plug into where I fuel my natural gas grill, and we'll be good to go.  Having this option available will allow us to run the big Briggs generator indefinitely without having to refuel it since the flow of natural gas never stops.  It will also allow us to drastically reduce the amount of gasoline we have to keep on hand.

We also found tri-fuel conversion kits for our Honda generators.  It does take a little work to install them, but the install is straightforward and simple.  At present, one of the Hondas has been retrofitted with the conversion, and it runs great!  I will be sending the carburetor from the second generator for conversion soon.  I found the kits at Central Maine Diesel, and they sell for $179.  Way worth it as far as I'm concerned, especially since both my folks' house and mine are plumbed for quick disconnect natural gas stuff.

Maintenance

This actually covers multiple areas.  I'll first talk about maintenance when the generators are running in a power outage situation, then I'll talk about storage and exercising.

Running in a Power Outage

A generator is essentially two pieces of equipment mated together:  the electricity generator and the engine to turn the generator.  As such, the engine needs maintenance just like your car or lawnmower.  It isn't much, though.  They do need to rest for a period of time if you have it under a heavy load - especially if the engine is air cooled (as most portable generators are) and it is hot outside.  The most important maintenance item, however, is regular oil changes.  If you have a new generator, it can run for only a few hours on the initial oil you put into the unit before it needs an oil change (be sure to read your generator's manual for the length of this break-in period).  After that, most generators I've seen recommend oil changes after every 50 hours of service.

In short, if you're in an extended power outage situation, you need to plan to change the oil every 2 days.  You also need to make sure you have enough oil on hand to be able to meet that need.  That was a mistake we made:  we only had three quarts of oil on hand.  That got us through the break-in oil change and one regularly scheduled 50 hour maintenance on the three generators with a smidge left over.  Turns out that's all we needed since our power was restored so quickly.  However, we made a point of finding more motor oil to have it on hand in case we needed it.

Storage and Exercising

Most of the time, your generators will be sitting idle - not running, shoved in the back of your garage somewhere.  Even so, they still need periodic maintenance.

First and foremost, to make sure your generator will serve you when needed, you must exercise it a few times per year.  I make it a point to run it a time or two during the winter and spring, then I exercise them regularly once hurricane season is upon us.  That way I know that my generators are in top running condition.  It also makes sure that I've got time to get any repair issues taken care of before a storm hits.

Fresh Fuel!

One of the most important maintenance items is fresh fuel.  Gasoline doesn't stay good forever - it will become 'sour' after a time.  There are fuel stabilizers that delay this and allow you to keep fuel fresh for a longer period, but even those extend the life of stored fuel to only about a year.  If you don't have fuel stabilizer, the fuel becomes unusable in small engines after 2 to 3 months.  As a result, before storing your generators for the winter season, you need to completely drain the fuel tank AND the fuel bowl of the carburator.  That way the gunk doesn't build up and clog the carburator jets.  If you fail to do this, your engine will run for a few seconds, die, and not start again the next time you try to fire it up.  You'll then be making a trip to the small engine repair shop.

When a storm looks like it will be approaching, I will typically make a run to the gas station and fill up half of my storage cans and immediately add Sta-Bil fuel stabilizer.  If the storm misses us, then that fuel is good through the end of the season.  If we don't need it, I'll run it through my mom's Explorer (as she has the only gasoline-powered vehicle in the immediate familiy; everything else is diesel).  By the way, while they can't take really old, really sour fuel, automobile engines are better able to burn aged fuel than small engines, especially when mixed with fresh fuel in the tank.  That why we put it in there to use.

Anyway, the important things to remember here:  fresh fuel, fresh fuel, fresh fuel.  And that includes the small amount that will remain in the carburator bowl if you don't flush it out.  Doing this will make sure that your generators will start up and run every time with no problems.