Invest in the Gulf

Probably won't amount to anything around here except for additional rain as the bands pass through. I figured high altitude winds will shear it off before it becomes serious. Anyhow, got both generators ready to go. Haven't done that in a long time before hurricane season. As you get older, you learn I guess. One generator powers the entire house, but I had a hard time starting one once. Ann demanded a backup just in case. Ran them out of fuel, then drained the tank. Followed by cleaning the carburetor bowl. Chains saws tuned up with spare chains in my shop.

We haven't had a major storm in quite some time. Didn't want to be complacent due to the inactivity. Doesn't hurt to be prepared fellas.

I've always tried to stay ready so I wouldn't have to get ready. Old man's motto. Go TCU!

I am seriously thinking about converting my generator over to L.P. gas. Easier to store fuel......fuel will not go stale or need stabilizer and no more cleaning carburetor.

I refurbished mine 2 months ago.....removed gas tank, cleaned and drained, added non-ethanol gas with treatment.....new air filter....removed and cleaned carburetor...new gas lines...pump up tires.....nothings easy....got 2 100 foot cords....one for refrig in main house and one for our small apartment out back where we got a/c, TV and phone there for our escape....seriously need to get a 17 kw for the main house....hate to part with the big bucks....

Okay, y'all inspired me. So to prepare I went in my building and checked. Yep, the rv is still there and ready to leave. Will pull it to Toledo if I have to. If it gets bad there will pull it further. :biggrin

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Originally Posted by prefers shiners

I refurbished mine 2 months ago.....removed gas tank, cleaned and drained, added non-ethanol gas with treatment.....new air filter....removed and cleaned carburetor...new gas lines...pump up tires.....nothings easy....got 2 100 foot cords....one for refrig in main house and one for our small apartment out back where we got a/c, TV and phone there for our escape....seriously need to get a 17 kw for the main house....hate to part with the big bucks....

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Wow, 17 kw for the house. You must be all electric. Anything over 10 kw is expensive indeed. But if you have that pool house out back, all should be well with what you have I would think.

G, thought about that myself. Low pressure supply isn't sufficient, nor economical (according to what I calculated). Might work well for those on natural gas the cities supply - until they receive the bill. I'm on propane out here in the country. I'll drain a tank in a heartbeat, roughly 100 gallons after 6 days. I'll look at a high pressure system before long, might be better off (we'll see). Not really concerned about the bulk fuel going bad. Use in truck, boat, etc. Non-ethanol of course.

​We put in a 20Kw whole house generator in 2013 when we built new house. It's hooked up to natural gas so unless that supply fails we are always prepared. Before we had it installed I calculated that in a worse case scenario of having to run the generator a month the bill would be around $700. As much as I appreciate air conditioning in the summertime I figured that would be okay (short term). So far we've not had to run in more than 24 hours in any one month.

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Originally Posted by Tracker123

Wow, 17 kw for the house. You must be all electric. Anything over 10 kw is expensive indeed. But if you have that pool house out back, all should be well with what you have I would think.

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my research said 8 kw for a 4 ton a/c and 7 kw for an electric stove......

It's cheaper by a longshot and a lot less hassle than finding gas, filling cans, filling generator every few hours and still can't run the central a/c. And natural gas is ultracheap. I spent about $40 per day on gasoline during Gustav and did not run many appliances. My neighbor with a whole house generator spent much less during the same eight days on natural gas and they stayed cool. I am now set up to operate my 5th wheel off a 6500 watt generac. But will not stay home for a storm anymore. Insurance will take care of house. Been through enough storms.

I'm with you "D", I head for the hills or any other safe place. Depending on which direction the storm is taking after it comes ashore. The main thing is to know how and when to get out of town. I had a brother in law try to get out of Houma the day before a storm. He got on Hwy 90 near Gray and got off 2 miles and 4 hours later on Hwy 311 and went home. He left home in the afternoon before the storm. We left at 2 AM the following morning after checking with state police on the traffic on Hwy 90 near Morgan City/Patterson which is where the bottleneck is. They gave us the all clear and we headed to Lafayette and up 49 to Bossier City. If that isn't an easy out, I head up Hwy 1 toward Port Allen. If traffic is bad at I-10 when we get to Plaquemine we turn off on hwy 77 and head to Grosse Tete and go catch Hwy 190. Then west to 71 and north toward Alexandria. That is only one of many routes I've driven ahead of time to get out of here. Most people think the only way out of Houma is Hwy 90 west through Morgan City or Hwy 90 East to catch I-10.

I spent Hurricane Hilda in 64 in Thibodeaux and saw a two story apartment nearly come down on us. The following year Betsy came through so we went to a ground level house and had the eye come right over us. Talk about scared $***less. After that, no more. I made a promise to me and mine that we'd leave and come back later to pick up the pieces if that's all that's left.

Keep safe everyone, it's that time of year,
"gene"

I have a 10kw hooked up to the house due to the power always going out, need to run pumps but runs it off natural gas but it was propane prior to that and all i did was take out the propane jet from the regulator, turned up the speed for the correct watts on the meter. What a lifesaver it is but looks funny when you the only one with lights in the neighborhood at night.

When I saw the title of this thread my 1st thought was financial investment; DUH..................

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Originally Posted by prefers shiners

my research said 8 kw for a 4 ton a/c and 7 kw for an electric stove......

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I can see 7 kw for the electric range since heat generation requires serious wattage. 8 kw seems high for a 4 ton A/C Bruce, did you calculate in the SEER rating of the unit?

Can't get natural gas here, too far out in the country. Otherwise, I would do the conversion to city supplied natural gas. Bulk propane only here. Don't like to keep the propane tank full during hurricane season because if a tree fell on the tank wouldn't be pretty.

Don't run back and forth filling gas cans during the event. I prepare by having enough in bulk. Use the bulk afterwards in various equipment (truck, jeep, etc.). 10kw whole house unit keeps me cool, supplies water from the well, hot coffee in the morning, etc.

I have thought about bailing out in the past when Ann was really concerned, but have an ignorant instinct in me to stick and tend to what is mine. Of course that may change as I get older.