3 + hours logged on my new Honda EM6500 SX Generator

Wow, you are a "poster child" for preparedness. It's so well worth the cost when you need it that bad. I'm in an area that has had catastrophic floods in recent years, too, and it can be a true disaster. (I'm not in a high risk area, fortunately). All I need do worry about is maybe a week of no power (fingers crossed), so I consider ourselves pretty lucky.

I am not as good as I'd like. We don't have enough food, medical supplies, etc as we would need in a major disaster. There were so many people in Sandy that had nothing ready. I don't want to be one of them.

Where are you? Is that Sandy, Or? I used to be in Portland and know of the problems around the Sandy River. Our problem is the Chehalis River.

Lots of good preparedness and survival sites on the net if you haven't looked into them.

No...I was implying that Hurricane Sandy was a recent reminder of the need for preparation. All those people without food and gas.

Oh, Hurricane Sandy. Sorry. Yes, it has been a reminder. I've seen the news about all the lines for gas and such. I've been in outages that shut down gas stations for miles. It's not pretty. Which is why I've got about 55 gallons of gas now between two full cars and several containers.

That's smart. I know some people keep drums. That makes me a little nervous to have that much explosive stored in one container.

It is important to keep stored gas fresh, though, by using it frequently enough. Six months should be okay usually, depending on how much air it's exposed to (oxidation) and temp. Stabil is okay, but even that only gives you an extra 6 months or so safely. I just overhauled a Harley carburetor that had gas in it for several years. The jets were completely clogged and a lot of varnish build-up on the surfaces. It wouldn't start for some reason...

Good quote about the cheep generators, they can be harmful to electronics with there voltage variances.
better to spend a little extra to protect the big screens and computers...

Also about gas and stabilizers, If you want to leave the fuel in your gas powered gen. or any tank long term. Most marina gas is now non meth, eth or alcohol added, or they have it as a option, it may cost a buck + more a gallon but I've had it in mine for 1 1/2 yrs. now and prior to Sandy, I took a sample from the carb bowl drain, looked and smelled fine, no tarnish and fired right up. I will drain it in the spring though and burn in the garden tractor.

Me, as for gas, I always have at least 10 gallons on hands. And the gas station down the road is own buy a guy who owns the dock terminals tank, and he is also a disttibutors for small stations within 100 miles. And the do have a genny for the regular and 1 diesel pump when power is out. So I think gas won't be an issue for while in case of a major outage ( wich haven't happen in 30+ years). And I have 2 gennys. 1 champion 3000/4000 watt and got a deal on a used odd brand genny http://www.energplus.com/products/p...prod_specs&catID=80&subcatID=795&prodID=78724

Never heard of the brand bedore but it's got a yamaha engine.

Eventually I would love to build myself a diesel genset with a old lister type engine..... But that's another story.

As far as water goes, I have a surface well. I bought a 12v rv pump to put in as a back up, but havn't had the time to set it up yet.

A three way switch is a must have. The power companies will spend time trying to figure out who is energizing the line, instead of fixing downed lines. Or as pointed out in another post, in this thread, or they will short out the lines and fry the source.

The manual for that Harbor Freight 800/900W genny states that it is NOT intended to be used with sensitive electronics. If you wanted to use it for such, I would get an UPS that conditions/filters the power to protect your entertainment equipment.

Thanks MM: I appreciate that bit of information. I am also considering a Ryobi i2000 inverter generator as I had the opportunity to use one for several days during last October's nor'easter when we lost power for close to 6 days. It was very economical on fuel and powered the blower fans for my insert as well as a few lights and the TV so we could watch DVD's. It costs about $500.00 but would definitely save a bunch of fuel during an extended power outage. It would be the go to generator for the better part of the day as opposed to using my big EM6500SX that powers most of the house but is needed especially for my well pump. I could get away with running the i2000 for most of the day and save a bunch of fuel for when the family is home and power requirements are much greater.