Survival food

[Call_me_Ishmael]

Solar units are quiet. Gas generators are loud and advertise to the world you have stuff.

But if you use gas generators, you can replace the simple spark arrestor type muffler they have with a real muffler and cut the noise a lot. Then build a simple "box" (4 plywood panels tacked togethor to form 4 walls, no top) and put the generator in it so sound is directed up. The result is still noisy but a lot better than a standard generator sitting in the open.

And there are the super quiet Honda gas generators, they are really quiet to begin with and you can get the EU2200 units and link them to get 120 and 240V.

No..no...no.... you don't get 240 volts by "linking up" two 120 volt generators. You get twice the power. Or put another way .. twice the current.... but all at 120 volts.


And also.... you don't need gasoline. There are plenty of kits to convert to propane or natural gas. Hutchmountain is absolutely the best. They are not "one size fits all" but are made specifically for those Honda units.


https://www.hutchmountain.com/


Note @Old Ridge Runner


IMHO. . Those EU2200s are the best quality and easy to move around. The conversion kits by hutch mountain are well made and easy to install.


Alternatively... you could get a Westinghouse IGEN4500DF (dual fuel) to provide the same power as two of the Honda EU2200s plus it's electric start and they already made it to accept gasoline or propane with a turn of a knob. I think the Hondas are probably better made (which is why I have two) but the Westinghouse IGEN4600DF has been running just fine. Propane is safer to store than gasoline.

I also have three of a cheaper brand.... WEN. There are plenty of these 79cc engine clones. (as opposed to those 120cc Hondas). Some of those 79cc generators may be superior to WEN. I don't know. I picked WEN because they sell parts on the website. But quality is so important in an outage, I look at my Hondas as the real survival gear. STILL... my TEOTWAWKI survival philosophy is heavily weighted in favor of redundancy. Thus multiple small units provide graceful degradation upon failure. I can replace a failed one easily or at worst adjust my priorities and power less.

[Call_me_Ishmael]

We have some money left over from the loan we made to get the well fixed, so I've been considering solar or a gas generator to hook up out freezer and frig to in case of a power outage. I think I am going to go with the generator because the money we have left over will cover most if not all of the cost. Then I'll have to start stocking up on gas, which I am not to keen on doing, having all of that stuff sitting around. As far as cooking I'll pit my grill on the back porch and use that.

Don't be fooled by the ads.

Those "solar" units are just batteries and an inverter plus some are sold with a solar panel to charge the battery. But they run out of power in an hour or two or three ( Obviously depending on the load) whereas the gasoline or propane generators will run for days and days if you keep it fueled. There's no comparison. You could never charge the "solar generators" fast enough to meet your needs. Marketing has gotten absurd... calling those units "solar generators". They are batteries and an inverter.

For example

BLUETTI Portable Power Station AC200MAX, 2048Wh LiFePO4 Battery Backup, Expandable to 8192Wh w/ 4 2200W AC Outlets (4800W Peak), 30A RV Output, Solar Generator for Outdoor Camping, Home Use, Emergency Amazon.com : BLUETTI Portable Power Station AC200MAX, 2048Wh LiFePO4 Battery Backup, Expandable to 8192Wh w/ 4 2200W AC Outlets (4800W Peak), 30A RV Output, Solar Generator for Outdoor Camping, Home Use, Emergency : Patio, Lawn Garden

It's advertised at 2048 WH. So you might get about 2000 watts FOR AN HOUR. THAT'S IT. Then you have to recharge with solar panels. With a 2000 or 2200 watt generator you get that all day and all night long if you refuel.


The marketing is ludicrous.

[Old Ridge Runner]

Thanks for the info guys. I don't know what I am going to do yet except for the fact that it probably won't be solar. Our township has some weird edict that makes solar more expensive to put into a private home than it does to build a solar farm.

[Wilson2]

3093033[/URL]]No..no...no.... you don't get 240 volts by "linking up" two 120 volt generators. You get twice the power. Or put another way .. twice the current.... but all at 120 volts. .

Thanks for the correction.

With the Eu2200 linked to the Eu2200 Companion you get 30 amp 120v outputs.

[Call_me_Ishmael]

Thanks for the correction.

With the Eu2200 linked to the Eu2200 Companion you get 30 amp 120v outputs.

Yes. But you don't even need the "Companion" version of the EU2200. Two standard EU2200s can be paralleled. But then you need a parallel kit like this.

Parallel ANY 2 Eu2200i / EU2000i Honda Gens - no needed - Cable kit 806802942223 | eBay
s-l400.jpg

I have a regular eu2200 and a companion eu2200 and the benefit is that the companion already has a 30 amp socket.
Pros and cons. The companion costs a little more so the added 3rd party kit adds nothing to the cost. In fact it's probably less expensive with that 3nd party thing and 2 regular EU2200s. And the 30 amp socket on the companion is at the expense of a 2nd 20 amp socket. Other than that the units are identical.

But to parallel my WENs, I have the WEN 30 amp parallel box.

56421.main_1020x1020.jpg
The paralleling circuitry is nothing special . It is LITERALLY the connection of the outlets. The magic is in the generators themselves which detect the power draw and phase of the other generator and stays synced up . You can't do that with the old non-inverter generators.

[Northern Rivers]

I'm away from the place...but, once home...putting a lot of gardens in...grain fed caged lamb...cattle...pigs...all sorts of poultry.

Well...that's the plan.

[OldSchool]

I'm still thinking about starting a garden installation business for my retirement years. With a good tractor and strong PTO rototiller.... and providing fertilizers, weed and bug control, etc.... I might do alright.

I'll have to buy franchise in one those GMO seed company's thou. lol

[OldSchool]

Thanks for the info guys. I don't know what I am going to do yet except for the fact that it probably won't be solar. Our township has some weird edict that makes solar more expensive to put into a private home than it does to build a solar farm.

I helped a man get elected as township supervisor when their edicts were so damn far out of line...... he was my employer - a small business owner... the people at the time had enough and it was time for a change.

[Old Ridge Runner]

I helped a man get elected as township supervisor when their edicts were so damn far out of line...... he was my employer - a small business owner... the people at the time had enough and it was time for a change.

I just started going to the monthly meetings last month, I was board sitting round the house so I decided to go and see what was kickin'.

[OldSchool]

I just started going to the monthly meetings last month, I was board sitting round the house so I decided to go and see what was kickin'.

I'm in the city now, and that township is basically a suburb.

I'm far from from bored.... ironically or not - the job I have now (with a relativity small business) does work for public services and large corporations in the city, I have dealings with numerous business in the city, my employer knows people and he is known. He doesn't have political ambitions, neither do I, but.... I'd like to be more involved with city dealings..... someone's gotta set them straight. But that would be after I quit current job. He wouldn't want to have ties with a hell raiser. lol?