Definitely a plus that BC Hydro has forewarned you of the outage. Buying a small generator should get you through with the least amount of hassle & you might be able to run a few other things in your home, like the fridge, to keep your steaks in the freezer compartment from thawing out. Or you could have bbq steak for dinner.

I've been meaning to get a small generator myself, the only backup I have is a couple of battery powered air pumps and car batteries with inverter. I've been very fortunate in that there have been no long term outages here in Vernon since I set up my tank. And yes, should you decide to buy a generator (as I probably should as well), plan to keep it. I have to agree that buying anything with the premeditated intent of returning it after having used it temporarily is not the mama.

Totally agree. I'm curious of the reason they use for the return. I'd be too ashamed to say "ahh I just dont need it anymore". It is the same as stealing as this also drives up prices.
If you cant afford this hobby maybe it's time to find another one.

I like Marks whole house system he added in his build thread. Now thats the way to go. I worry about power outage when Im not there. Who digs the generator out of the shed and fires it up, etc.

I used to be in retail (big box), and sad to say, there was a lot of this... And yes, it is part of your shrink, which cuts into your margin, and it all adds to the cost for everyone else.

But people should also know that if you are on some type of loyalty program or use a credit card, this type of data can be tracked.

I wonder if Costco does anything about it though. They track because I return stuff without receipt sometimes. And yes its because it's actually broken.

I can tell you that retailers are pretty good at distinguishing between legitimate and bogus returns. But they have to be very careful not to p off good customers and lose business.

Been busy and forgot about the outage until a second notice today..
 

Hi All,

Thank you all for all your responses. I've decided to rent a generator from Home Depot for the day... it'll run me about 40 bucks plus gas for a small one. Certainly can't afford to buy one and keep and I'm not one to buy use and return.

I was hoping to find a cheaper backup solution (battery backup/UPS) to buy and keep for future usage but I'll think about that later.

Anyway, got another notice today saying that the power outage has been moved to December 4th now.

What I'm wondering about is how much gas will I need to have to have the generator working the entire day. I won't be home all day and I'm counting on my brother (who conveniently lives next door) to refill the gas and keep the generator going. I have a 10 litre gas can that I can fill up but am wondering if it'll last the day.

Anyone used a generator all day long before?

Fuel consumption depends on a number of variables, the size of the generator & the load you put on it. You can usually get some idea of average consumption for a particular unit, but we have no idea what you are renting? Best to talk to the folks you're renting from to get that info. An average vehicle uses in the order of 10 litres/100 kms highway driving. That takes about an hour, but is a fairly large engine moving a bit of weight. Your 10 litre can might last a day, but probably a good idea to go to Can Tire & pick up a 25 litre.

On another tangent, but with some relevance, seeing as BC Hydro are cranking up the electricity rates in the coming years to the tune of 25% or so, I'm thinking the payback time for installing solar panels on your home will get to the point where it's worthwhile to invest the capital. Once you have that set up with enough batteries & inverters, you'll have a relatively clean alternative to use as a back up when the power corporation fails you or shuts you down for maintenance.

If anyone is interested in buying a generator I picked this one up at home depot for $399.

http://www.homedepot.com/p/PowerStro...3500/203183987

I bought it primarily to work on my cabin it provides 3500W. It's the first geenrator I have owned but it works slick and I would run it 8-10 hours at a time several days in a row without issue. Once I am finished with it at the cabin i will be bringing it back to the house for potential extended power failures.

I used to sell Whole-home Generators when I was with an Electrical firm...the cost was huge (especially for the transfer switch). Now the market has really dropped the pricing. I bought my 8kw Generac for dirt cheap from KMS tools...it's natural gas and it powers my entire tank setup (fish room and tank) plus fridges, freezers, furnace, lights, fireplace starter, bathrooms and ceiling fans. Gotta service it once per year, but the kit costs $16 from Home Depot and a little elbow grease.