If you do not install a transfer switch, then make absolutely sure that
you disconnect the main breaker before powering up your generator
system. If you don't do this you really can seriously injure/kill a
lineman with the electricity that can be fed back out to the line.

Any utility I have ever dealt with required a transfer switch for a home
generator.

EJ in NJ

Twayne wrote:
Twayne wrote:
I live in north Missouri where ice storms can readily
happen..... and knock power out

I also live alone and in rented duplex....so my needs
for power are smaller and require more portability than
others.

Having said that... I'm wondering if buying a small
Honda generator and 120 volt devices is better than say
getting jump start batteries and using them with 12volt
devices (lights, etc)
Wow; a lot of responses, some good, some well, not so.

Basically IMO it depends on what you need and how long an outage you
want to plan for.
As long as it's only a little light, the radio & maybe small TV,
you would be fine with 12V devices. If you need to continue life as
though the power weren't out, neither solutio would help unless it
was a good sized genset.

If you have to provide heat (freezing weather or colder) or air
conditioning, use anything that draws substantial current (any large
item; refrigerator, freezer full of meat, microwave, toaster, lots of
lights and gosh knows what, you should work out the wattage you need
by adding those all up according to what's on the nameplates, and
get a generator of at least that much capability, which may top
3,000 watts worse case.
In a way, living alone adds additional btu requirements since
there aren't others there to contribute body heat either.

IMO if you don't have to worry about refrigerators, freezers,
furnaces, air conditioners, you'd be fine with batteries; just check
how long they last at the loads you'll place on them and go from
there. Oh, and if you have well water, you'd have something else
to power, too.

We have a 5,000 Wat generator and it will run our well pump, fridge
and freezer and a few lights all at once. But usually we kill the
regrigerator/freezer to run the well pump just to keep the generator
from being overly taxed; everything on makes it work really hard
should they all demand power at the same time.
There's a transfer switch: Start the genset and flick the switch,
and it turns on the house power thru its own set of breakers. So be
sure to add a Transfer Switch to the cost if you fo the generator
route. They're arond $100 plus installation which you'd need
permission from the owner to do.
In the overall, batteriy power it best if it can give you enough
to do the things you need to do for as long as the longest period of
time you think you'll need it.
Hmm, maybe a battery system and a small genset to charge the
battery system if it's needed? Nothing to install that way; just
plug the battery chargers nto the genset when you need to charge it.
No transwer switch, no installation.

HTH

Twayne




Instead of a transfer switch, you can just drag a couple of heavy-duty
extension cords with triple taps around (plug your light-duty cords
into that). It work pretty well, actually.

Bob

Yes, that will work as described for anything with a plug. In fact it's
how I handled it until I could get the transfer switch installed.
Can't close the doors or windows the cords come in thru though, and
often exposes an opening for CO to come in. A CO detector would help
there. Quite a nuisance if you had to do it very often as we do areund
here, but perfectly workable if it's OK with the user.

Twayne