It's gonna be a cool hurricane season
I went out and bought a generator after losing power during Ivan. So I had a generator when Katrina struck, which knocked out my power for about a week. After the storm passed, I cranked that puppy up and all was well. Plugged in my fridge, tv, etc. My primary concern was the fridge. Big mistake.
I started out with 17 gallons of gas. My generator will burn about 10 gallons per 24 hours. So I rationed the gas to make the fridge last. I ran 6 hours on, 6 hours off. I thought this would keep the fridge. 3 days and 15 gallons later, I had to borrow gas from other neighbors. But I kept it running for that friggin fridge.
To make the long story short, the fridge needed more than 12 hours per day to keep. It might have been ok for a few days, but I ran like this for a week. Maybe if I had run 1 hour on, 1 hour off. Dunno. And kinda hard to do while at work.
When it was over, I realized I had my priorities screwed up. I had agonized over trying to save the fridge, cutting off the generator at times when my kids wanted to watch TV or when we really needed the power for something else. I sacrificed comfort for the priority of perishable food. That week was really hot and miserable. Try sleeping in 90 degree heat at nearly 100% humidity in a pool of sweat. Miserable.
So...
Now I say "screw the perishable food!" It's just not worth it. New priority for the generator now is COMFORT!! So, after Katrina, I bought an air conditioner. Yay!
Found a window unit at Target for $70 that will cool up to 150 sqft. So the plan now is to sleep in an airconditioned room. Got my priorities straight now. I now plan to seal my master bedroom and bathroom from the rest of the house, mount the unit in that room, and live with my family in that portion of the house. Kinda like living in an efficiency apartment for a few days. Heck of alot cheaper than living out of a hotel room, and alot more comfortable than drowning in your own sweat.
They say air conditioning settled the south. I believe it!
I don't care if you call me soft. Several years ago, lightening struck my air conditioner and caused some extensive damage. When I called the insurance company, they wanted to declare my house uninhabitable due to lack of A/C. You just gotta spend a summer in the deep south to appreciate A/C.
I started out with 17 gallons of gas. My generator will burn about 10 gallons per 24 hours. So I rationed the gas to make the fridge last. I ran 6 hours on, 6 hours off. I thought this would keep the fridge. 3 days and 15 gallons later, I had to borrow gas from other neighbors. But I kept it running for that friggin fridge.
To make the long story short, the fridge needed more than 12 hours per day to keep. It might have been ok for a few days, but I ran like this for a week. Maybe if I had run 1 hour on, 1 hour off. Dunno. And kinda hard to do while at work.
When it was over, I realized I had my priorities screwed up. I had agonized over trying to save the fridge, cutting off the generator at times when my kids wanted to watch TV or when we really needed the power for something else. I sacrificed comfort for the priority of perishable food. That week was really hot and miserable. Try sleeping in 90 degree heat at nearly 100% humidity in a pool of sweat. Miserable.
So...
Now I say "screw the perishable food!" It's just not worth it. New priority for the generator now is COMFORT!! So, after Katrina, I bought an air conditioner. Yay!
Found a window unit at Target for $70 that will cool up to 150 sqft. So the plan now is to sleep in an airconditioned room. Got my priorities straight now. I now plan to seal my master bedroom and bathroom from the rest of the house, mount the unit in that room, and live with my family in that portion of the house. Kinda like living in an efficiency apartment for a few days. Heck of alot cheaper than living out of a hotel room, and alot more comfortable than drowning in your own sweat.
They say air conditioning settled the south. I believe it!
I don't care if you call me soft. Several years ago, lightening struck my air conditioner and caused some extensive damage. When I called the insurance company, they wanted to declare my house uninhabitable due to lack of A/C. You just gotta spend a summer in the deep south to appreciate A/C.
posted by Toxic Avenger at 9:29 AM
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