If you have your own Solar panel or Wind Power setup, or a small Hydro system or other off grid supply of electricity, then this is not for you.
But if you don’t then this might be a wake up call.
I am told by people who buy, sell, and move power around the country that they expect shortfalls this year….By shortfalls, I mean shortfalls in the amount of generation vs the amount of demand for electricity.
See, lots of older plants have gone offline, due to obsolescence, just plain old age, or because the Green people in the Biden administration have regulated these older plants out of service.
But nothing is being built to replace them except wind and solar….which simply won’t get it for actual reliable grid supply. Thus my warning: Expect brownouts or blackouts.
Now, for about 3 days, most generating plants can operate at above 130% of rated load. Then they gotta cut back. Same same with most transmission lines. They can run at an overload FOR A WHILE.
So according to my source, we are about 4 hot days in a row (like over 100 degrees F here in the midwest) from brownouts or blackouts. At some point enough generating plants will be overloaded that they will have no choice but to trip offline. This can (and has) led to a cascade effect leaving lots and lots of people without power.
Got a generator? Know how to use it? Got fuel for it? Fresh fuel? Oil? Have you run it this year? Do you know how to safely connect it to your house? Do you have enough fuel to keep it running for those 3-5 days?
If not, might take a bit of time and remedy that lack, as it looks more and more like some of us might need it sooner rather than later this summer. Possibly most of us if the cascade happens.
If you don’t have a generator and are thinking about buying one, I highly recommend the Honda Inverter generators. Not cheap, but worth the money. Plus they run for a long time on less fuel. (don’t cheap out and get a Harbor Freight Special here, buy a decent generator….)Also have a means to secure the generator. (They can and have been stolen when everyone needs one. A good cable or chain helps at least) (don’t cheap out and get a Harbor Freight Special here, buy a decent generator) Figure your minimal needs. and get a generator that can handle them….. maybe just a bit more. The inverter types don’t run any harder than they have to to meet the demand, and are very frugal on fuel.
But have enough to run your fridge, freezer, and to operate a small window air conditioner at least…that way one room can be comfortable. If yer on a well, decide how much you need water for washing and sanitation.
But plan ahead. I’d not trust your government to care enough (or be competent enough) to make sure you have electrical power. (Unless you live in a Blue City (which will likely get some special priority vs Red rural folks) and maybe not even then)
“Blue city” getting “special priority?” Y’kiddin’ me; right? Out here in Commifornia “rolling blackouts” have been a part of the landscape for YEARS! I’ve got a whole-house genny because of that, and the fact that California Edison came out saying it would shut off power if it even THOUGHT there would be wildfire conditions…for DAYS, if “needed.” This is the “paradise” the Left wants for the entire country!
Push baxck now, or forever hold your peace, folks. There are MILLIONS of us in CA who are ready to go! We’ve HAD IT!!!
Well, Dude, I’m not talking Califronica, that is a lost cause.
I’m talking Nebraska to the east coast.
There, one can expect the Blue Cities to get priority if we have power issues….Which we normally don’t…
There’s a reason most of us don’t live in that state.
yeah just picked up another window unit to back up the one in storage. don’t knock the new hf predator gennies, they are pretty good. i’ve had to use mine a couple times already. i picked up another one of those too. my fridge won’t work on modified sine wave, pure sine only. be advised some newer pumps and motors are the same way.
Those specs look good.
But do you really trust anything from Harbor Freight?
My experience with their products has been that they are cheap, and don’t last. Reliability matters more for this application.
I may be wrong, but I haven’t heard that these will run for long times like other brands.
The trouble with Harbor FRIGHT is that their products are made to be used and then thrown away. There’s essentially NO support for them down the line. I bought one of those Harbor FRIGHT 2-cycle gennies at a yard sale for $5.00. The thing had been left to sit for a few years with fuel in the tank. I flushed the tank and tore the carb apart to clean it. When I was running in the screw that holds the fuel bowl on I felt that telltale “tick” of the casting on the carb cracking. No, I didn’t gorilla the thing in. The casting was just crap. I wanted to see what a replacement carb would cost. I called the 1-800 number on the side of the genny. The nice, surprisingly English-speaking rep told me “They don’t make that generator anymore, but we can get you a carburetor for $75.00.” …The genny only cost $89.00 new. No thanks. Just for shits and grins though, I JB Welded the broken casting back onto the carburetor. When dry, I put the thing back together and it ran fine! Ten years later, my son has that genny and it STILL runs fine!
For life or death reliability though, stick with one of the name brands. Honda’s the gold standard, with Yamaha close behind. I actually found a good one on Craigslist made by SUBARU, believe it or not. Their inverter gennies will satisfy finicky electronics, too. If you’ve already got a genny your electronics don’t like, try running a charger from the genny to a deep-cycle battery. Connect a GOOD inverter with a pure sine wave output to the battery and run the electronics from that. You’ve essentially just created an inverter generator. The bonus here is that you can move that inverter to your car or truck and use THAT combo as a generator in a pinch! It worked for me…
Think outside the bucks, folks!
i diversify. i’m fond of troy built gennies too. they have proven themselves time and again. as to honda, tell that to my neighbor who has a 3000 dollar honda dead as a doornail for the second time. the predator and briggs powered are easy to work on and have parts available anywhere. i have a sizeable parts drawer myself. to each his own, but i just don’t have the funds for honda.
You can get parts for a Harbor Freight unit?
Really? How? (Not dissing your choice, I have never been able get any parts from HF for anything….I’ve always considered their shit as disposable. Perhaps things have changed with them as a company).