On Jul 15, 1:56*pm, Metspitzer wrote:
My sister lives in an area where the power goes out frequently. *She
has asked me more than once to "just" come out and add a plug for her
so she can use a generator to keep her food from going bad. *This is
never going to happen. *Not so much because I would not do it for her,
it is more because after the first season or two of no maintenance on
her generator, it would not crank anyway. *I know this from listening
to the kids complain about the four wheelers not working or the
lawnmower is "broke"

If I were to set her up with a generator, I think I would add a lock
out switch to her existing panel. *This way, she could use anything in
her house. *The only bad thing about doing this would be if she could
not use self control and try to overload the circuit. *Having the
breaker trip a few times might give her the message.

When the power goes off, just turn the breakers off to the bedrooms
and huddle in the den with TV and gas heat.

I start my generator on the first weekend of every month and let it
run for five or ten minutes.