Power failures

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gaines_wright wrote: 

Wow!  Free natural gas!  If I had that I'd convert everything in my house to run on gas:  heat, stove, water heater, and even a few lights.  I wonder if someone makes a gas powered AC?  If your AC is only 10kbtu, you wouldn't need a very large generator and transfer switch.  

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Oh, trust me, I would too.  Luckily, though, my water heater, furnace and range are already natural gas, so I rarely use the microwave or other electric cooking appliances, especially during the winter.  Well, save for the toaster, that is.  :p  

The only thing I wish was different was my furnace.  My house is small enough that a floor furnace would be perfect, and that would need no electricity.  So, though I have all the gas I need, when the power goes out I still don't have heat.  This house used to have a floor furnace, as well as a wood stove in the corner of the living room, but both of those were removed years ago, and the only indication that either one existed was where the flue went through the ceiling, which is now covered with wood.  

Both my folks and I live at the end of our dead end road, and my house, which they own, is across the street from theirs.  They had a choice as to which house got the free gas, and though most people probably would have chosen their own house, they chose this one, as they surmised that the free gas would make it more attractive to renters.  Whether it really did I have no idea, but it works for me.  :)  

The amount of free gas has a monthly limit, but in the 14+ years I've lived here I've never come close.  

My AC needs about 8.8 amps, so it's pretty efficient.  Even a mid sized portable generator would probably be enough to run the fridge, freezer, some lights, and the AC or furnace.  Maybe even a smaller one.  I see some at Home Depot for around $300 -$400 that would most likely be good enough.  Everything here is pretty small and doesn't draw much, though the fridge is pretty old and probably drawing a lot more than it used to.  Sometimes when it's warmer in the house it take the compressor in the fridge a couple of tries before it starts, though that could just be due to a weakening start/run capacitor. 

Edit:  I should add that I have no 220/240 service in the house, so no receptacle to be able to connect the cable in order for it to properly hit both hot bars in the panel.  I do to the panel, of course, and it's to the panel which I would have to connect the generator.  I'd have to have some help, but the neighbor knows a lot about electricity (he installs/maintains industrial heating/cooling systems), so he'd be able to help if I asked him.