Skip to main content

Generator Update and shortcuts

     A few months ago I found myself in a precarious position.  The lights had gone off for a tad more than 24 hours and I panicked.  You see, I work from home and hope to continue to work from home into the foreseeable future and to do that, I need a reliable source of power.  I am planning on NOT ever going to the Cleveland if I can help it.  

    My job is technically in downtown Cleveland, and we moved to Western PA to be closer to family and friends.  My mother, for example, passed shortly after we moved.  I

    So I spent a few days looking for a generator that could not only keep my up and running, but could also help keep the house warm by running our pellet stove and lights.   If you want, you can read more about how I ended up with the generator I did, here.  However long story short, it was important to me that I could keep my work PC on, a few lights, the pellet stove burning and maybe a TV and phone chargers

    I had also set a budget to get everything, including the hook up into the home electrical system at around $1500.   After getting some estimates by various electricians...it occurred to me that I was underestimating this project by roughly $500.

    Because I was going to exceed my budget and we didn't have another "serious blackout" yet, although we have had a few short minor outages of a minute or two.  In fact, according to a few people in the area; that was the first serious blackout in several years.

   The weather had also cooperated for the most part, in that we did not have a huge amount of snowfall yet this season, although we did get nine (9) inches one day, nor did we have drastic changes in temperatures.   Most days it hovers about 35 F (2 C).  

    Snow, cold, ice...all these things can contribute to a blackout in winter.   Or to put it in other words...things got pushed to the back burner as the memory of that blackout faded.  However I finally got around to getting the generator hooked up outside...a little differently then planned but it saved me money and effort and was done by a licensed and certified contractor, so I know it was done right.  The fact that he owed me a favor helped in the overall scheme of things too.

    All told, including buying the parts to put this puppy together, it cost me roughly $250 then what I had originally budgeted.  We also moved the generator to a much more secure sight then originally planned.  I'm calling this a WIN - WIN for me.

    The original plan was to drill a hole through the concrete block and set the generator on a pad.  Then come spring build a little box for it to protect it from the elements and hide the generator from prying eyes.    Now it sits secure in my locked shed and accessible to me when needed all because the shed was hooked up correctly by the previous owner.   Come a blackout, all I need to do is make a short hike and connect some things. 

    Now that being said, it's a little louder than I originally expected.  So far though, I'm happy with it.  Wen Generators are actually pretty easy to put together and operate.   While this next video is simply not the best example, it does provide with an idea of the size of the unit, how easy it was to put together - actually getting out of the box was the roughest part.  You may want to skip a head a bit in the video...I did, but it does give you pretty clear instructions on set up and procedure.


    I'm sure that sometime, somewhere I'm going to have to use this generator for something other than it's intended purpose..and I know that it is probably to much for my needs.  However if I am going to make a go at this rural lifestyle a generator is just one of those things that I need.  

    Its not exactly portable and it's loud...but it will keep my house warm, light and keep my ass working...and that is all I ask of it.

 

     

    

Labels:
Location: Stoneboro, PA 16153, USA

Comments

Post a Comment

What all the cool kids are reading.

Paradigm shifts and Project 2040

In 1906, Alfred Henry Lewis stated, “ There are only nine meals between mankind and anarchy. ” His observation has been echoed by people ever since and changed a bit over time, but has remained a stark warning. Only anarchy the way most people think of it rarely occurs.  We have found that people are more likely to band together when their communities face some sort of disaster, be it from war, plague or natural disaster.   We are all too familiar with pictures and videos of communities digging through the rubble of bombed buildings searching for survivors...but how many of us remember the moments during the Covid epidemic of people singing from their balconies?   When you have a community; people will always help people.  Despite these bleak times the things that make us human - our compassion - will see us through. Recently my life changed due to issues with a car .  While, in the scheme of things it was a minor crisis it did make me think if things coul...
1 comment
Read more

Want a greener and technology advanced future? Look to the Amish for guidence.

Years ago when I lived in Charlotte, North Carolina I was teaching 7th and 8th grade science.  One lesson in particular I remember very well.   It was on the uses of technology and I hoped to impress upon those kids one thought and one thought only.    Technology is neutral; it's what you do with it that matters. At that time there were no computers in the classroom and cell phones were still big bulky devices.  However these kids would be one of the first generations to deal with the technology we now take for granted.  So it was important that they at least an inkling of the promise of technology,  and how to deal with those consequences of technology. I still have my concerns about how we as a society approach technology and what, if anything, we have learned about it. We can learn from the past of course, but that's always jaded.   If only we had a real world example in the here and now that could serve as a guide on how t...
Post a Comment
Read more

Hallowed grounds

      September got away from me it seemed,     A lot of personal things happened in the last month which made me question a few things, including if it was worth continuing this blog; considering how my readership is so small.   In the end however I decided it was.  Rome, as the saying goes, was not built in a day.     I can already feel the winds of the coming winter starting, our garage is all ready full of three tons of wood pellets for our stove and yesterday was the first day we lit it.   It was not a bad or particularly cold day but we had a chill in the house that caused my hands to be ice cold, and lighting the stove helped chase that chill from them.            Soon it will be time to work on winterizing the home.  First however, we had one last trip that Sue and I had wanted to make; or more of a pilgrimage of sorts.  We were going to visit the National...
1 comment
Read more