I still don't know where my kitchen is!!!

Interesting little device here..

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...g=bookofjoe-20

Solar charge your phone and tablet whilst using them. Kind of pricey, but I bet it would seem cheap if you were without power for an extended period.

But it's not so much the food spoiled as the complete inconvenience and discomfort of living without power. It changes the whole house you live in from a well-known & well-loved haven into a kind of primitive cave where life is hard & depressing. We didn't lose power this time, but years ago I did lose power for a week during another hurricane, & life got so difficult and uncomfortable that I would have given anything for a little controllable power.

I have a relative here in the northeast who bought a generator decades ago from a local garage sale and he's used it almost every year since he bought it, though sometimes for only a day or two. It gives him peace of mind. I've made up my mind I'm going to start looking for a generator soon. If I can find a decent one at a garage sale, all the better.

He's a forest manager in the Parks Dept. Because so much of the damage was caused by falling trees he was immediately called in to the office the day before the hurricane hit. From what I gather he was with a load of suits from the mayors office, (being a suit himself) barking into their blackberries and having crisis meetings. Now he's on the mayors debris cleanup operation, organizing the people on the ground. He's working out of some emergency hub in Brooklyn. We're in Queens, which is where he normally works, luckily we got through the hurricane with zero damage or impact really, although the same could not be said for the houses behind us and across the street.
My friend queued up for gas for 6 hours last night and she didn't get any! I'll be glad when things get back to normal to be honest.

Glad to hear you're doing OK!

I guess it's one of those "different strokes for different folks" things. Because we were very well organized before this storm hit, we didn't find it particularly stressful -- we were more ticked off about finding ourselves in this predicament for the third time in twelve months! (My motto below obviously came into play!) We built big log fires every evening and listened to music on an old battery-powered CD player and actually enjoyed ourselves. We have now agreed that we have to stop vegging in front of the TV every evening and do that more often!

As to finding a used generator -- do be very careful that you don't buy someone's cast-off death trap; get it checked out carefully by an expert.

I can highly recommend the Honda 2000i, great on gas and is really quiet.

wisesales has the best price, ( +/- $900.00 )

This sounds great! You were well-prepared. My relatives who lost power this time also said they enjoyed doing things like reading & crossword puzzles in their free time instead of just staring at the telly, so it was a welcome change of routine.

Well, I tend to think the new ones are just as dangerous as the old ones in inexperienced hands (some new ones are more dangerous maybe). But I'll have a good mechanic (the afore-mentioned relative) look anything over before I buy. In the meantime, I'm researching carefully.
http://www.pinellashealth.com/PHP/He...or_Dangers.pdf
http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/g...ying-guide.htm

Thanks for the recco! Looks good, has the right capacity... at not a bad price.

If you've got propane, consider one of those?

http://www.electricgeneratorsdirect....tor/p8199.html

I don't think that's the exact one the inlaws have, but it looks very similar. I know they did get a couple grand off the price as it was a end of season sale, the place was clearing up for new models.

It does a weekly test and you'd not even notice it was on unless you were standing next to it.

Though for a lot of people, this is probably going OTT, but getting petrol might be a problem when power is out, but getting a propane tank usually isn't a problem, so it's something to consider. The folks have it powered from a huge garden tank that is used to heat the basement/pipes and a couple of the rooms, the rest of their place is heated via a wood furnace.

In situations like these, why isn't there a move to pass an emergency act to allow the military to provide humanitarian aid without breaking Posse Comitatus? Or is the sight of Americas Finest helping its own citizens too provocative on the eve of an election?

I get annoyed about the uk government using the military as slave labour to fix their problems (fire brigade strikes, Olympic security), but this seems like an entirely justifiable solution in this case. Do it so it frees up the police to do police work if that's the worry.....

I don't know what you think they could do, those are specialist needs. The National Guard has been mobilized and is on the job, but doing only what they are capable of doing.

Another storm due to hit NJ on Wednesday...which according to the weather peeps has the potential to cause more damage than Sandy. Thank goodness we will be out of here tomorrow.

What a nightmare - all the best to everyone over there.

thats great but it seems like theres still need for more help if FEMA and other agencies are overwhelmed with the scale of what's needed. What about the army engineers - aren't they specialist? And even non-specialists can help with distributing supplies, helping move people, erecting temporary accommodation? All the things they do to help out in other countries when they have a natural disaster?

If some people are going to be out of power for another month and a half, surely it won't be long before we have vulnerable people succumbing to hyperthermia. In America!!

That's a nice generator, but like you said a bit OTT for occasional useage, that's why I recommended the 2000i, They make multi fuel generators also, but again this would be a bit OTT.

We have been off the grid for about 15 years, we have a good solar system, but need a bit of back-up during the winter. I have considered the propane generator for all the reasons you have pointed out. And storing petrol is a hassle, ( I just rotate 3, 5 gallon cans ).

My advice to anyone is keep your gas tank as full as you can, fill up frequently .... you'll have it.......when you need it the most, ( I learned that driving through Utah/Nevada).

My best to all on the East Coast

.... the weathers been bloody lovely here though