No, not Aniston, Tilly or Lopez.
…because that can wait for another time.
No, I mean generators of the small, affordable and reliable kind which run on either gasoline or propane, or both. If it’s only one or the other, that’s fine too.
I know diddly about this topic, so all the terms used in the descriptions of generators mean about as much to me as Sanskrit poetry.
Here’s my scenario.
I don’t want to get caught without power during a freezing Texas winter ever again. (From experience, this is when this shit is most likely to happen.)
Technically speaking we’re not allowed to have one of these things running in the apartment (of course, I’d run it outside on the balcony, where we’re not even allowed to barbecue, but if the SHTF then fukkem).
First question: What’s the effective wattage and horsepower I should look at?
My electricity needs would be relatively light:
- phone charging
- laptop power supply
- wifi router power (assuming that the network itself hasn’t fallen over)
- an electric blanket
- a small bedside light
- a small electric grill or hotplate, and
- perhaps my fridge, or maybe even both (garage & kitchen). If it’s that cold and the fridges too power-thirsty, I’d just pop the perishables into some coolers and store them out on the balcony.
I have little or no room to store the generator in the meantime, so size is very important. Quiet would also be nice, but not essential because fukkem.
I know how to maintain gasoline for long-term storage, and of course propane is no problem.
As for my options…
Is a cheapie like this Sportsman even worth considering? What about this Westinghouse, Pulsar or Champion, at double the price? I really can’t afford to go over a grand — and even that would be a huge stretch — so I would put $600 as my upper limit for cost. (Is this completely unrealistic?)
As with all such RFIs I put out, personal experience on the topic is paramount.
All assistance is gratefully accepted.
...as long as you weren’t turned on, darlin’.
