I agree that a generator is very much a short term ‘fix’. I got rid of mine ,after many years of ,well,not using it. I would fettle it,start it every so often,but boy,it was noisy! In a power cut ,I wouldn’t want the noise signature attracting vermin .When we first moved here 30 and more Summers ago,we had a bad dump of snow that took out power and water for a week. It was interesting to walk the dogs in the dark,tracking the people with gennies ( caravanners generally we found).Even those ( at that time) that were ,I suspect, little Honda jobs like the one pictured earlier, you could hear across a country mile.Yorkshire Andy wrote: ↑Mon Mar 14, 2022 9:12 pmjansman wrote: ↑Mon Mar 14, 2022 6:52 pm Please forgive me if I am missing something here,and do correct me if my technical knowledge is wrong…A generator could run a computer,but what about the power to your internet routers? Even if you were using 4G ,the relay stations wouldn’t be operational for that long in a major power loss.
Ok,you may just want information stored on that computer,and of course,a generator could enable that. On the other hand,information can be stored on a tablet,and that can be powered by a decent power bank- Anker is my choice- and that can be solar power charged. That may not be possible in the depths of Winter,of course,but REALLY vital stuff can be printed beforehand,or you could slum it,and have…BOOKS.
I have dabbled with generators, but they are noisy,and take very (2022) expensive fuel…Even a Honda suitcase job has a noise signature when there is no other noise…just sayin’
Our router is 12v I have the wires made to run it from a car battery for short term use (news/ Comms) for as long as it lasts local power cut the exchange stays powered for a good while . But I won't be rushing to make it work unless I NEED it
I see a generator as a couple of days prep it will keep the freezers / fridge cold to give us chance to batch cook/ roast what ever we can to keep it edible whilst it's boosting the fridges a strip adapter will let me hammer charge into power banks / leisure batteries with the "fast chargers" especially in winter when long dark days don't do many favours with charging...
Fuel storage is another issue of course,and now even more so, the cost. £2 per litre isn’t far off now. I saw a gardener- friend at the petrol station yesterday filling cans for his gear. It’s costing him a mint ; but I digress. That’s one reason I have gone down the route of power banks,rechargeable batteries,solar and the like.
Freezers seem to be the issue for most,but we are prepared to lose the contents. Mind you,a freezer will hold easily ,unopened, for 24 hours, and even after that,it becomes a refrigerator for several days.It would be a simple matter to eat through the contents first. We had one of our walk- in freezers throw a seven over the Christmas holiday. We reckon it had been off three days,and there was still ice in most stuff. We probed it,and it was legal to use.
Anyhow,speaking of Winter,it’s light enough now,and I have an Ash tree to repatriate into my log storage