A thunderstorm popped up last night causing a power outage at my home. I waited a few hours to see if power was going to be restored quickly. After seeing that only 10 homes were affected I determined that power was going to be off for a while so I got out my emergency generator.
I do not have my electrical distribution panel wired to accept a feed from my emergency generator so I utilize 10ga extension cords to distribute generator power to items I want to power in my home. I ran power to my freezer, refrigerator, sump pump and a light. I left my generator running overnight in case my sump pump was needed. Power was restored the next morning. I came away with the following concerns following my short power outage:
Positive
1) I had plenty of 10ga cords, of sufficient length, to distribute power. I have a 10ga 3 outlet cord end to run multiple small items like a fan and light in the same area.
2) I have a cable lock for my generator. I placed my generator outside my garage and backed my truck up to the garage. I locked my generator to the class III hitch on my truck. This set up worked well.
3) My generator started on the first pull. I test it every fall and use Sea Foam additive in the gas.
4) I have a large zero turn lawn mover so I keep multiple 5 gallon gas cans which also provide fuel for my generator.
Negative
1) While my generator is set up to power my gas fired furnace during cold weather it is not big enough to power my heat pump during the summer. It is less common to have power outages due to summer storms but I will have to consider upgrading to a large generator that will power my heat pump.
2) I do not have battery back up on my basement sump pump. It has been on my to do list but I have delayed purchase. I did replace my sump pump this winter under preventive maintenance. I had to run my generator continuously to power my sump pump. If I had battery back up, I would only have to run my generator every few hours to keep my freezer and refrigator cold and potentionally charge a sump pump battery. I am shopping for battery back up to add to my sump pump.
Nothing like a minor emergency to let you test your gear in a real life situation.
