Did you ever get that little voice in your head telling you to something, or just the gut feeling as I call it.
Well a month or two ago I had that feeling and it was to purchase a generator. I was tossed because I had some deep cell batteries and an inverter to run some power heads and heaters. I had some battery operated air pumps, I was all set.
In the end the gut feeling won and I trusted my instincts. I bought a 55kwatt generator.
This Saturday we had huge wind storm that knocked out the power at around midnight. I didn't't feel like hooking up the generator then so I setup the inverter, hooked up the powerheads, and went back to bed.
In the morning the Tunze streams were still chugging away but the tank was down to 73 degrees, (time to rethink the emergency heater setup). So off I went to pull out the generator.
I rolled it out of the basement away from the house, put in some gas, 1 pull of the cord and it was running. It took another minute to run an extension cord through the window and up to the tank. I plugged everything in and my entire setup was running. Lights, pumps, heaters, skimmer .. the works.
Next, since I have a well, I rigged up some wire to the supplied 30amp 240v plug then yanked out the circuit breaker for the well pump and attached it to the wire I rigged up. Pluged'er in and I had water.. I thought .... sweet .
Next I plugged in the fridge, didn't even phase the generator, next some lights and the TV/cable box. Wow ... cable is still on, this is even better.
With the wood stove working for heat, water for the crappers, TV and the tank running I was all set.
Well, the cable went out but everything else worked perfectly. We even made coffee and ran some other appliances.
The power ended up being out for around 32-33 hours. My rig with the inverter never would have lasted that long without being a royal pain to recharge. Outside it was 10 degrees with high winds and gusts up to 40mph. Without the generator I think I would have lost everything.
All I can say is if you're in an area like I am, prone to power outages and in a climate where it is difficult or impossible to maintain your tanks without electricity then the generator can be priceless.
I originally bought the generator just to keep the tank running in emergencies, and it worked. But I have to say, having the other luxuries like lights, some appliances, and especially working toilets was worth every penny.
Power is now back on with 0 casualties........
Greg
Well a month or two ago I had that feeling and it was to purchase a generator. I was tossed because I had some deep cell batteries and an inverter to run some power heads and heaters. I had some battery operated air pumps, I was all set.
In the end the gut feeling won and I trusted my instincts. I bought a 55kwatt generator.
This Saturday we had huge wind storm that knocked out the power at around midnight. I didn't't feel like hooking up the generator then so I setup the inverter, hooked up the powerheads, and went back to bed.
In the morning the Tunze streams were still chugging away but the tank was down to 73 degrees, (time to rethink the emergency heater setup). So off I went to pull out the generator.
I rolled it out of the basement away from the house, put in some gas, 1 pull of the cord and it was running. It took another minute to run an extension cord through the window and up to the tank. I plugged everything in and my entire setup was running. Lights, pumps, heaters, skimmer .. the works.
Next, since I have a well, I rigged up some wire to the supplied 30amp 240v plug then yanked out the circuit breaker for the well pump and attached it to the wire I rigged up. Pluged'er in and I had water.. I thought .... sweet .
Next I plugged in the fridge, didn't even phase the generator, next some lights and the TV/cable box. Wow ... cable is still on, this is even better.
With the wood stove working for heat, water for the crappers, TV and the tank running I was all set.
Well, the cable went out but everything else worked perfectly. We even made coffee and ran some other appliances.
The power ended up being out for around 32-33 hours. My rig with the inverter never would have lasted that long without being a royal pain to recharge. Outside it was 10 degrees with high winds and gusts up to 40mph. Without the generator I think I would have lost everything.
All I can say is if you're in an area like I am, prone to power outages and in a climate where it is difficult or impossible to maintain your tanks without electricity then the generator can be priceless.
I originally bought the generator just to keep the tank running in emergencies, and it worked. But I have to say, having the other luxuries like lights, some appliances, and especially working toilets was worth every penny.
Power is now back on with 0 casualties........
Greg
:bigeyes: 
Who are you getting to put yours in forensicdoc(if you don't mind me asking)? I will definately get a larger one eventually but that's a couple of years down the road.
