Hurricane Irene

Yes, electricity is back tonight! No phone service though and Internet is down so still no squeezebox music. Contents of frig gone. ... Sweetest sound tonight -a/c and the clunking of the ice maker.

I knew there was a reason speedos scared me!

One word folks. Generac. :-) My neighbors thought I was crazy when I installed a transfer switch and generator 10 years ago at a cost of around $3000. Now, almost every house has one. It doesn't solve everything but at least I can shower with hot water, keep food cold, and watch 150 channels on DirecTv. Here in New Hampshire it pays for itself quickly.

Dan_ed, What is the source for power? Diesel?

How do you keep fuel from going stale or is it natural gas powered?

Albert-

If Dan_ed doesn't mind, A Generac unit runs either on propane or natural gas, and the transfer switch senses load or lack thereof, and adjusts accordingly. I am looking at a 20Kwh unit myself.

That makes sense, there would not be the issue of stale gasoline or Diesel.

Natural gas would be great for generator, I've never seen gas shut off unless they were working on our hot water heater.

I don't suppose it would be cheaper to generate your own power with gas as opposed to buying from the utility.