
Originally Posted by
Don G
The storms in VA have me looking again. We have been fortunate this time not to have had any outage but some of our family is still without power and they have been told it would be Friday before they have service back.
We have a 3 1/2 ton heat pump, deep well, electric hot water heater, etc. I am looking for suggestions as to what generator we need.
I see where Lowes has the Generac brand. Some are portable and some are permanent mounts that will do self tests.
I need some ideas on what wattage unit I will need.
The generator I bought years ago was 5500 watt. I only really need to run 2 fridges, and maybe some tv and internet. BUT... being no dummy, I made sure it was also enough to run my a/c, which is 5000 watts. I have the Briggs & Stratton 5500 which has fed 3 of my neighbors as well, and each of them pitches in on gas. In a nut shell, that little gem has saved untold amounts of money in lost food. It's most recent service was for my in-laws this week, who were without power for days. I'd get a portable and keep in the garage, run an extension cord and call it a day. The reason I say this is because fixed in place units WILL burn up the instant your wife uses her hair drier. Just sayin..
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Sen. Hillary Clinton - Speech at Democratic Fundraiser, June 2004