Thon,I pretty much agree with everything you said, but after an ice storm back in '94 that left me without power for almost seven days, I went to (what was called Northern Hydraulics back then) and bought a 4500 watt standby unit.
I've used it several times since then, but not for anything like a week long outage, thank God. It sets out behind my shop, under roof, covered up, and right next to my air compressor. I just pull the main fuse block in my panel box, unplug the air compressor and then plug the output of the generator into that same outdoor receptacle and feed my power back into the house's panel box. No fancy and expensive automatic switching/disconnect system, but no danger to power company crews working on the lines either. Once I know power has been restored, I kill the generator, unplug it, and put the main fuse back into my panel box and everything is back to normal.
Now that may not be "to code" by many standards, but it works. Mike in KY (rural KY)----- Original Message ----- From: "tbamc" <tbamc gbta net>
To: <elec-trak cosmos phy tufts edu> Sent: Wednesday, December 12, 2007 7:59 AM Subject: (ET) More Power Inverters
Mike, Your suggestion of a generator is almost certainly the easiest solution but speaking for myself, and perhaps many ET owners: 1. I very much dislike ICEs if there is a viable alternative. 2. I already have stored energy sitting there in my ET, doing nothing. 3. The inverter and wiring may cost less than a generator, and should last considerably longer--with no maintenance issues. 4. I don't need another large machine taking up space. 5. It's a challenge! YMMV :-) Thon _______________________________________________ Elec-trak mailing list Elec-trak cosmos phy tufts edu https://cosmos.phy.tufts.edu/mailman/listinfo/elec-trak