"John Gilmer" writes:

Well, how much was paid for the "emergency" sump pump?

The Basement Watchdog Special that I have was about $200. I installed
one myself, and one came in the current house I'm in. It includes
battery, trickle charger, and a redundant pump.

http://www.basemen****chdog.com/sump...comparison.htm

How much to replace a freezer/ice box full of food.

If you go the DYI route, the battery and the inverter/charger are
each less than $1,000.

I'm curious now--Can you point me to an inverter/charger system that
can handle a refrigerator load? Given the reliability of our system
out here (good, underground service, short run to the
substation/t-lines, 18 yrs old).

I haven't gone that route yet. OTOH I do have a 5 kW generator.

Genset's definitely the way to go, IMO, with auto start and a transfer
switch all the better.

I've never heard an inverter/battery system every recommended to
protect a fridge before, so I'm curious who markets to that audience.

My internet connection tayed up nicely with wireless access point
firing... until the cable company's backup power failed and brought
their system down, heh. I so wanted to IM folks and say "Dang, the
entire neighborhood is out of power."

Best Regads,
--
Todd H.
http://www.toddh.net/