Why do you NOT have a generator?

[Anonymous]

My ex-husband got it in the divorce. Even though he was moving to an apartment (temporarily) and then from an apt to his parents' home (they had their own). He just didn't want us to have it.
For the next few years, I couldn't really afford one. CS was spotty and I was working 1-2 part time jobs in addition to the full-time one. A neighbor offered to sell me his old one, but I was afraid it would break down and then I'd be out $300.
By the time I could afford one, PEPCO had trimmed trees and made other major improvements.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Because our row house is NOT in the suburbs. It is a short walk from an urban metro station. We RARELY lose power.

+1! Also, gasoline is dangerous and emits VOCs, so it's not the best choice in an interior row house, which can get ambient heat from neighbors anyway.

I could be wrong, but I suspect that the timing of you having a power outage is closely correlated with the timing of your neighbors having a power outage.

OMG this made me laugh!

Metro made me laugh

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No space.

We did just fine without power for 5 days during the derecho. We used a cooler and flashlights. We are out a lot (walkable).

If we had a larger yard and money to burn maybe we'd get a built-in one, but it's just not a huge priority for us.

We have tons of space.. but no generator.

We did fine without power for 5 days once in 20 years. We are out a lot (suburbs). We fired up the charcoal grills and the smokers.

1. eat all the ice cream
2. smoke all the meat that is smokable
3. Make jumps and forts
4. Grill the rest.

We had the best 5 days in our neighborhood but i think we drank every house dry.

Best time ever.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:1) Portable generators can't be run outside in the rain or in severe weather. Yet they produce so much carbon monoxide that if you even run it in a garage with the exterior doors open you could DIE. I don't think they're worth the risk.

2) Installed ones are expensive and my power doesn't go out enough for me to think it's worth it.

Portable generators can run in the rain or during severe weather.

Yes, ours can run in rain, sleet, snow. It's loud and uses gas, but I'm warm. Most of our neighbors have them as well, and we deal well with the noise, as it's only until the power comes back.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wow, OP. You live in a fairytale. Not everyone can afford to spend $500.

Let them eat cake.

Seriously... we have a portable generator. It was $500 at Costco and in the 6 years we have owned it we have used it once. That was during the derecho. I totally understand why folks don't buy them. In addition to the money, they may not have a place to store it.

DH bought one after the derecho. Had it delivered to the house and when they delivered it I wasn't home and he told them to put it in the basement instead of our shed. The thing weighs a ton and of course we can't run it in the basement because monoxide. So stupid. One of these days we really need to hire movers to get the thing out to the shed so it would actually be useful. It pisses me off every time I see it sitting in the corner of the basement.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Because I am not a wimp and my kids can go without electricity for a few days.

Oh please. You'd actually be ok living in house for 3 days without heat, with inside temps hovering around 45-50, with children? What kind of mother are you? We have 2 wood burning fireplaces, and once temps hit 50 in our house, it was unbearable unless you were sitting directly in front of the fireplace. Good luck with the snow!!! Stay warm!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Because I am not a wimp and my kids can go without electricity for a few days.

Oh please. You'd actually be ok living in house for 3 days without heat, with inside temps hovering around 45-50, with children? What kind of mother are you? We have 2 wood burning fireplaces, and once temps hit 50 in our house, it was unbearable unless you were sitting directly in front of the fireplace. Good luck with the snow!!! Stay warm!

No problem... been there done that. It was fun. 50 degrees made me laugh.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wow, OP. You live in a fairytale. Not everyone can afford to spend $500.

Oh, please. This is ridiculous. Anyway, consider the question directed at those who say that you should have a hotel room booked in advance of any snow storm.

NP. You are adorably naive.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wow, OP. You live in a fairytale. Not everyone can afford to spend $500.

Oh, please. This is ridiculous. Anyway, consider the question directed at those who say that you should have a hotel room booked in advance of any snow storm.

NP. You are adorably naive.

We get it. You're poor. Move on.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm wondering this, reading all of your responses in the snowstorm prepping topic. You can get a portable, gasoline generator for about $500 at Costco that, at the very least, can power the refrigerator, some lights, electronics, and a space heater or two.

If you spend around $1500 (for everything) you can have a large portable generator and an electrician install an outlet and switch to plug it directly into your breaker panel. This becomes (almost) a whole-house generator.

For $5,000, you can have a natural gas or diesel one that activates and switches over automatically.

What I don't understand is, why do people live in areas where you can lose power for days?

Makes NO sense in the USA in 2016

WTF??? We live off the GW parkway, and lose power because of the mature trees that surround our neighborhood may lose branches that bring down power lines. Happened during the '09-'10 winter, the Derecho, Hurricane Sandy - we lost power for days.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Because I am not a wimp and my kids can go without electricity for a few days.

Oh please. You'd actually be ok living in house for 3 days without heat, with inside temps hovering around 45-50, with children? What kind of mother are you? We have 2 wood burning fireplaces, and once temps hit 50 in our house, it was unbearable unless you were sitting directly in front of the fireplace. Good luck with the snow!!! Stay warm!

No problem... been there done that. It was fun. 50 degrees made me laugh.

I'm laughing at you, mother of the year. Feel free to freeze your ass off, as we'll be toasty warm with our heat.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wow, OP. You live in a fairytale. Not everyone can afford to spend $500.

Oh, please. This is ridiculous. Anyway, consider the question directed at those who say that you should have a hotel room booked in advance of any snow storm.

NP. You are adorably naive.

We get it. You're poor. Move on.

Critical thinking skills not so great, eh?

[Anonymous]

Who needs a refrigerator? If power goes out, all you have to do is put your food outside.

[Anonymous]

1) We don't lose power enough to have to worry about it (maybe once in 8 years).
2) For the $5,000, I would rather add a vintage watch to my collection.
3) If we lost power, our country club has rooms available and some decent restaurants.
4) If the club is booked, we'd check into the Mayflower for a few days and enjoy the city.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Because I am not a wimp and my kids can go without electricity for a few days.

Oh please. You'd actually be ok living in house for 3 days without heat, with inside temps hovering around 45-50, with children? What kind of mother are you? We have 2 wood burning fireplaces, and once temps hit 50 in our house, it was unbearable unless you were sitting directly in front of the fireplace. Good luck with the snow!!! Stay warm!

No problem... been there done that. It was fun. 50 degrees made me laugh.

I'm laughing at you, mother of the year. Feel free to freeze your ass off, as we'll be toasty warm with our heat.

50 is not freezing... google it