PREP Generator -- Amount to Charge in Disaster

Generator – Amount To Charge in Electrical Disaster

If the grid goes down in my area [Northern Ohio] for an extended period of time — say two weeks to a couple of months, people are going to experience the following [at least]:

1. Wet basements [dead sump pumps]

2. Freezers/Refrigerator warming [if it is winter, then I assume most people can figure their way around this]

3. Pumps on Well [in the country] are dead

Here is the situation. I have one 10,000 watt generator [Generac /Briggs Stratton] and a 3500 Honda.

I bought the small 3500 watt Honda to use in the late 90s for the roll-over and because at that time I had a sump problem, living in a house that I did not own.

I bought the Generac in 2002 while building my house [before the electric company gouged me throughly to bring the electric line to my address].

Now — back to the grid breakdown.

At least one person [a former staff person who worked in my office] knows about the generators and a couple others could easily assume that I have them. My guess is they will be calling pronto in the event of the above outage.

I can see a problem quickly developing. So, to my friends [and my friends might multiply rapidly], I’m thinking of “free service” the first time [say, I am on their property 1 hour]. After that, I carefully explain that the charges are $35.00 for the first half hour and $50.00 for one full hour.

These are generators that I can load one the back of my pickup somewhat handily.

If the situation seems too volatile
– I will refuse to venture where it seems unsafe [there may be no safe places w/ a generator]
– I do not wish to loan a generator or leave it on another person’s premise in my absence. Though at lease one of my neighbors will quite likely be offended over this.

Any thoughts??

Thanks!

Theophilus

How about helping neighbors out of the goodness of your heart, for free? Why would you want to kick somebody when they're down? It's called compassion.

Mrs Smith said:

How about helping neighbors out of the goodness of your heart, for free? Why would you want to kick somebody when they're down? It's called compassion.

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Amen Mrs. Smith, God bless you.

What do local equipment rental places charge to rent a similar generator? That's a good place to start.

Theo, the problem is running out of gas.
Re-think everything!

If you want money from it...sell it now. Prep to not even need it. Then you don't have to maintain it, store fuel or otherwise be troubled by people who want what you have.

When the grid is down, I will still have heat, light and ability to cook. I have, and will continue to, shelter those neighbors/friends who need it in those times.

Generators

Consider the most likely scenario. power goes out, neighbors live day to day counting on daily Kroger's (Food Store chain in our area) runs. stores are closed or can only do cash transactions but your neighbors only had $14 dollars in the house and run out of food because the fridge and freezer croaked.

You, the prepster have two generators going to town, hamburgers on the grill cooking up a big smoke storm, lights on in the house watching the football game. As soon as the neighbors spot you where do you think they are going.

That, by the way, is precisely what happened in our neighborhood last year when we had an ice storm which knocked out power for 7 days.

I gave my most hopeless neighbor my small Honda generator to keep their fridges going. I got it back with two empty gas cans.... thankless SOB

You could still drive 20 or so miles to a restaurant with power so the natives didn't go postal.

My advice, keep a LOW PROFILE and tell no one on how stocked up you are or your house will be the new Kroger's.

You plan on driving around with generators in the back of your truck??

Good luck getting them back home after people hear them running during a "rental".

You should be chaining them down and embedding them in concrete so they don't "walk away"...

LarrytheCableGuy said:

My advice, keep a LOW PROFILE and tell no one on how stocked up you are or your house will be the new Kroger's.

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This.

Also, git 'r done.

Morality

Theo,

In addition to the practical problems of security that folks like Tech have brought up, you will have to deal with warped perceptions of morality if you charge for such a service. Mrs Smith and Rmomaha illustrate exactly what I'm talking about.

I don't mean to pick on them unnecessarily, but they illustrate the wrong-headed mindset of most Americans regarding services in an emergency. According to this thinking, when disaster strikes, everything should be done free of charge as a "good neighbor." There are countless laws on the books to prevent "price gouging" during emergencies, too. These things illustrate a lack of critical thinking that actually serves Americans poorly when disaster strikes.

Now don't get me wrong: I am not opposed to helping people and I have done a lot of free disaster work, but consider these facts (many of which I've seen first-hand here in hurricane country):

a.) Just before and immediately after storms, there is a run on plywood for boarding up windows. The regular building stores always seem to run out. God forbid some enterprising soul then brings in a truckload to sell for - GASP - a profit! They are vilified in the press for "profiteering on the disaster" and are sometimes arrested. The same is true for those selling generators and other similar supplies.

None of these idiots seems to appreciate the risk the entrepreneur takes in using his own resources to get supplies in that people voluntarily want to buy.

Of course a lot of police and other public servants make tons of overtime during
'canes, but no one seems to see that as "profiteering." Go figger...

Additionally, ER doctors, nurses and many other professions "profit" on emergencies and this is seen to be socially acceptable. However, if you, the private citizen capitalist, tries to make a buck in an emergency by providing a valued and desired service or product - at your own risk - you're seen as scum of the earth in many quarters.

The upshot of this is that ultimately, the influx of needed goods and services is actually slowed.

For these reasons, I'd advise you to reconsider your plans.

Best regards
Doc

Wow. Warped huh?

Gee Doc, maybe the next time there's a power issue/tree down on your elderly parents' house or your own that your neighbors turn their backs and refuse to help even cut down the tree, unless you pay them cash, of course. And just think about how you'll do that when you get to be around 75 or so, it's cold outside and your roof has been torn off. Good luck. I misjudged you, because I didn't think you were that cold.

Man, now THAT sounds jaded and warped even typing it. But what goes around, comes around.

Okay...
1. the wisdom here is to give it away for free
2. Hunker down and go grey

The generators are an investment — they aren’t free, they aren’t simple, and they could be a commodity in high demand. No one said anything about “kicking” someone when they are down.

If we have a big snow - we help each other out here with our tractors to plow out each other’s driveway. Our driveways are about 300 ft long, so it is timely and necessary. Seems reasonable, helpful, and neighborly.

But I was talking at a level beyond this. If I have to call a plumber in an emergency situation, I don’t expect him to come for free. Even if the plumber is a friend. If I have part of my roof blown off, I don’t expect the roofer to come for free.

But, I think Doc has it right: in this situation.... you have to realize you can’t win.

I am curious about what Mrs. Smith and Rmom are planning to give away. What have you invested in besides a loaf of bread and a bowl of soup that you are going to share?

Theophilus

Mrs. Smith, with all due respect, Doc1 is right. It is both naive and dangerous to be overly "generous" to strangers during times of disaster and emergency. Blame it on two generations of creeping political correctness/multiculturalism/secular humanism/cultural and political socialism, but the end result is we are now a lazy, selfish, spiteful and prideful people who only have the correct response to a threat when that threat is both universal and external--think World War II or September 11, 2001. Sure, there are still exceptions, but they are no longer the norm.

Theophilus, I would tell my friends that I sold the portable generators--yesterday.

Hate to go here...

Hate to go here...but that's never stopped me before. OK. Yes. Warped. Here's why:

For the second time in this thread, you have concentrated exclusively on your moral perspective that people should provide their labor and valuables for free to those who you apparently feel are deserving.

It's also insulting that you ignored most of my post to concentrate on your own pet peeve and have attempted to make me look bad in the process. Overall, I'd say that's warped.

Did you miss the part where I explained that I'm not opposed to helping people and have done a lot of free disaster work? Guess that wasn't worth acknowledging, eh? I've actually rescued people too, at risk to myself and will do it again. I know...yawn.

Did you read anything in my post about not helping my parents or the elderly or my neighbors? No, of course not, but your post tries to infer that. Again, warped.

Lastly, ignoring the main thrust of my post regarding the right to profit from risk and the actual harm done to communities by the attempt to stifle the entrepreneurial efforts before and after disasters is possibly not warped, but it's sure not the most honest way to engage in debate.

Best regards
Doc

Mrs Smith said:

Wow. Warped huh?

Gee Doc, maybe the next time there's a power issue/tree down on your elderly parents' house or your own that your neighbors turn their backs and refuse to help even cut down the tree, unless you pay them cash, of course. And just think about how'll you do that when you get to be around 75 or so, it's cold outside and your roof has been torn off. Good luck. I misjudged you, because I didn't think you were that cold.

Man, now THAT sounds jaded and warped even typing it. But what goes around, comes around.

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Vector said:

Theophilus, I would tell my friends that I sold the portable generators--yesterday.

Click to expand...

It is going to be hard to say that with a straight face when they can hear it chugging away in the backyard. What do you think would happen if you said, "Sorry I forgot to fill the gas cans I got back from you empty after the last emergency and I only have enough fuel left to take care of my family's needs."? A father and husband has a responsibility to look out for his own family not the world. If they ante up with some cash, fuel or other medium you feel is a fair exchange then it is time to dicker. Grasshoppers know how to beg and push buttons. My family has priority. They get taken care of first. That is this ant's answer to the locusts.

Ms. Smith I don't want to see anyone die of frost bite but a little discomfort can be very educational. Sometimes tuition is expensive. We lost two freezers full of meat before we bought a generator.

At the very minimum, the people that need the power need to supply either the gas for the generator to run on, or money to buy the gas. It works real simple, you take the generator over to their place EMPTY of any gas. If they want to use it, they provide the gas. This way they will not use up YOUR supplies, and you get to at least donate the time and energy needed to get the setup done.

Now, that being said, I would (as others have above), STRONGLY suggest that you DON'T do this in the event of a MAJOR catastrophe. Being nice and kind to friends and neighbors is one thing, but if you are looking at a TSHTF situation, even if it is just regional, you doing this "service" for pay or not, draws you into a LOT of different possible problems that you really don't want to get into:

• You will be away from your AO (Home or place), and while you are away, who/what is protecting it from others?
• You are going to an area that you don't know the stability or status of. Not on your home turf means that you are NOT in a safe place if it goes bad.
• You are in your truck, with fuel, and have at least one generator in the open back of your truck.
• You are showing the world what you have as you travel.
• You are going to a foreign location and running a noisy generator, around people that are in real need, that you don't know too well if at all.
• You will have to be there for a while.
• You will have to travel back to your AO along a similar path.
• You will be gone for at least a few hours.

If you are worried about these "friends" I would suggest helping them now by looking on places like Craigslist for non-running generators, getting them, and repairing them. Engine problems with most of them turn out to be junked up carburetors, easily cleaned and repaired. If they have their own, then you don't have to go anywhere.

I have posted more than a few times about what I saw during the extended outage when hurricane Isabel hit here. Two weeks without power does funny things to people that are not prepared. Longer times gets them VERY desperate. People don't think, they react, and that reaction is NOT what you want to experience.

Trust me, help them now, stay gray later. You also might want to get a few inverters and deep cycle batteries for yourself, along with a high amperage car charger. This will allow you to run things like your fridge and freezer for longer periods without having to run the generator as long, or as often. While the generator is running the fridge and freezer, it is also powering the battery charger and charging the batteries. When you turn the generator off, then you can run it on the batteries. Solar (what I run) even works better, as it has NO noise. Generators can be heard for MILES once everything is quiet because everything is powered down. My parents had "visitors" for blocks away wanting to know if they could borrow/rent the generator. It was on their back porch, and could not be seen from the street, BUT THEY COULD HEAR IT. IMHO, if you are looking at a period of no power for over two weeks, and especially if it looks like it could be MONTHS without, DO NOT SHOW ANY SIGNS OF BEING ANY BETTER OFF THAN YOUR NEXT TWENTY NEIGHBORS ON ALL SIDES OF YOU! You don't have enough generation capacity to run or even help your neighborhood if it is an extended outage, and any attempt to try will only guarantee that you don't have power either.

Loup

IMHO the plan to rent generator time is more trouble than it's worth. Gas, maintenance, and time involved during a disaster to fetch a rental and take it on to the next site wouldn't be practical.

Now if you bought cheap generators beforehand, then sold them on the side of the road out of the back of your truck (retail price plus percentage) you'd be way ahead.

I remember I was stuck once from a snow storm in Reno years ago. I had just gotten off work and the car couldn't make it over a hump of ice. I had to get home as I was a single parent and the babysitter had to go home. A guy in a truck came up to me and offered to pull the car out. I thought "Dang he's a real nice guy!". Then he said...

5 bucks.

I paid. But my opinion of him went down dramatically as he had approached me as offering a free helping hand.

But what the hell. I was unstuck, he was making some money, and I didn't have to call a truck to pull the car out.

Thanks Loup! Very helpful.

This thread illustrates how difficult it is going to be when the brown stuff hits the circular.

And maybe well before then. When increasing numbers lose their jobs, but see you doing okay. Some things you simply can’t hide.

If you can buy gas, but your neighbor can’t, it is quite noticeable. Moral pompous indignation will be in full effect on many fronts. According to Mrs. Smith, you would be expected [if you are the one with a tank of gas], to take your neighbor to Krogers on a daily basis for free. Otherwise, you would be “kicking” you neighbor when he is down.

We could [as a nation] become pretty nasty overnight. Unless you are in the total isolation, people may decide who the haves and have-nots are – and take action accordingly. Maybe this is exactly what the govt wants.

God forbid!!

Thelophilus

Theophilus said:

Generator – Amount To Charge in Electrical Disaster

If the grid goes down in my area [Northern Ohio] for an extended period of time — say two weeks to a couple of months, people are going to experience the following [at least]:

1. Wet basements [dead sump pumps]

2. Freezers/Refrigerator warming [if it is winter, then I assume most people can figure their way around this]

3. Pumps on Well [in the country] are dead

Here is the situation. I have one 10,000 watt generator [Generac /Briggs Stratton] and a 3500 Honda.

I bought the small 3500 watt Honda to use in the late 90s for the roll-over and because at that time I had a sump problem, living in a house that I did not own.

I bought the Generac in 2002 while building my house [before the electric company gouged me throughly to bring the electric line to my address].

Now — back to the grid breakdown.

At least one person [a former staff person who worked in my office] knows about the generators and a couple others could easily assume that I have them. My guess is they will be calling pronto in the event of the above outage.

I can see a problem quickly developing. So, to my friends [and my friends might multiply rapidly], I’m thinking of “free service” the first time [say, I am on their property 1 hour]. After that, I carefully explain that the charges are $35.00 for the first half hour and $50.00 for one full hour.

These are generators that I can load one the back of my pickup somewhat handily.

If the situation seems too volatile
– I will refuse to venture where it seems unsafe [there may be no safe places w/ a generator]
– I do not wish to loan a generator or leave it on another person’s premise in my absence. Though at lease one of my neighbors will quite likely be offended over this.

Any thoughts??

Thanks!

Theophilus

Click to expand...

I suspect that in an emergency and you deploy these generators, you will never get them back. They will be lost or stolen.

When the SHTF it's gonna be every man for himself if you know what I mean.

Bad business plan from the get go.

JMHO:

People ON MY BLOCK ONLY would get to use it. Second, I would charge $20 an hour, with a 2 hour max per house. I would insist as part of the deal that since I delivered it full of gas, I would pick it up filled as well. failure to fill means no more use.

More than that is, IMO gouging.

Loup's "gray" notes

Loup makes some important points about staying gray. I'd like to expand a bit on his idea of using inverters.

Big inverters will run a surprising number of appliances. They don't do that well with big cap start motors, but handle most other things OK. I lived for months off of my inverters and diesels after Katrina.

* In a gray context, running an inverter off of a car can be extremely quiet. Of course this isn't true if you've got an old pickup with a blown muffler, but most contemporary cars are very quiet at idle. You might do an experiment and park (and idle) your vehicle on different parts of your property to see how far the noise carries.

* You need a very large, dedicated battery bank to run any major electrical load off of battery/inverter power alone. My basic drill is to run the generator/vehicle for an hour or two every day - or every other day - and run the freezer and charge batteries. Also, after Katrina, I used this small window to run my well pump and draw water. After chargig the batteries in this way, I can easily go a day or so on battery power alone to run LED lighting, radios and other small appliances without cranking up the engines.

* I now have two diesel gennies (and modest solar capability) in addition to my inverters. One is a listeroid I quietened with an automotive muffler. It is ultra-quiet and impossible to hear outside my immediate area. The other is a portable high speed gennie that's a loud rattletrap. I have to be careful and use greater situational awareness to fire that one up! As Loup says, solar is the quietest way to go.

* This is important: If you want to go the vehicle/inverter route, buy an upgraded alternator now (while they're still available). Before Katrina, I bought a rewound 200 amp alternator and installed it on one of my diesel trucks. That did the lion's share of generating duties after the storm and was one of the best investments I made!

Best regards
Doc

Interesting thread.

I would just keep quiet during an emergency.

About half the folks are deserving neighbors and the other half are dangerous self centered bums.

Don't give or sell anything unless you -really- know and trust the person -very- well.

Maybe a barter would determine a person's real intentions but don't give away too much information in case somebody is just trying to find out what you have.

I have a neighbor who is a cop. Works very long hours. He doesn't have a snowblower. Once or twice every winter I help him plow out his driveway. Every year he asks me how much a snowblower is and what kind to get. But he never got one.

Last year I had one of those little 2 cycle push type snowblower's left over from my FIL's estate. Two year old Torro. The receipt said it was $600.00 new. Mine worked OK and was much bigger so I sold him the little Torro for $150.00 in the middle of a 12" snowfall. He got a great deal and was happy as a clam.

The jerk never returned my container of gas I lent him and now my big snowblower is broke.

Never again.

Keep your extra stuff for a backup during an emergency or sell it during a non-emergency for the absolute top dollar.

During an emergency - go grey!

Dont loan tools....

If your neighbor needs a chain saw, go cut the tree up for him

If he needs your tractor, go run the tractor at his placed

If he needs a skill saw, go cut the wood

If he needs to use your generator for two hours go and set it up and have a beer with him while his freezer cools down.

If he needs a truck, go drive the truck...

People that dont own stuff dont know how to run it, take care of it, check the oil, ground it, drive it, or what ever......

Great thread, good to think about these things now......

Medic3 said:

Dont loan tools....

If your neighbor needs a chain saw, go cut the tree up for him

If he needs your tractor, go run the tractor at his placed

If he needs a skill saw, go cut the wood

If he needs to use your generator for two hours go and set it up and have a beer with him while his freezer cools down.

If he needs a truck, go drive the truck...

People that dont own stuff dont know how to run it, take care of it, check the oil, ground it, drive it, or what ever......

Great thread, good to think about these things now......

Click to expand...

I can see liability issues if things go bad.

I moved to Florida in 2003, the 2004 hurricane season was an "eye opener" for me. I did not have a generator and as such any food left in the refridge went bad (we did eat them down and relied on can goods for the duration). I had one neighbor offer to roll his generator over so I could cool down the food but I declined since it was already gone (and thankfully, the power came back within an hour).

For 2005, and each year since, I have been ready with my own generator and plenty of gas (but no hurricanes). Having said that I would not be running around "renting" a generator out. Mine will stay put, securely in my back yard. It will not run at night and I will roll it in the house after it has cooled down. Now, if my neighbors (only on either side) want to run an extension cord over to a fridge I will have no problem or if they would like me to keep some frozen meat for them I will be glad to do the free of charge, but, the genny stays here.

I would sell the smaller one and keep the larger one for my own use.

Medic3 said:

Dont loan tools....

If your neighbor needs a chain saw, go cut the tree up for him

If he needs your tractor, go run the tractor at his placed

If he needs a skill saw, go cut the wood

If he needs to use your generator for two hours go and set it up and have a beer with him while his freezer cools down.

If he needs a truck, go drive the truck...

People that dont own stuff dont know how to run it, take care of it, check the oil, ground it, drive it, or what ever......

Great thread, good to think about these things now......

Click to expand...

Good point, my cop neighbor had no idea that you had to mix oil with the fuel for the 2 cycle Torro.

I'm no expert on many things but there are many people, (especially urbanites) who don't know anything or have any common sense at all. Especially mechanical or electrical stuff.

Imagine you loan the guy something and he hurts himself?

Medic3 said:

Dont loan tools....


People that dont own stuff dont know how to run it, take care of it, check the oil, ground it, drive it, or what ever......

Click to expand...

Amen. I don't have a generator. Wish I did.

A couple of years ago in my town, a guy loaned his generator to his pregnant neighbor. She and her baby were asphyxiated.

Red Baron, your points are well taken too........

Bottom, line we gotta be very low profile.....we can help, but we gotta be Clark Kent about it..........

Zoose......the butt heads that will sue you will be the most polly able bodied... Your point is well taken though....be carefull.....I know two educated guys who set themselves on fire with a generator fueling when it was running and hot....

If you are helping someone, use common sense. I have never been sued when cutting up a neigbors tree after a storm, or pulling them out of a ditch or mud with my truck...yes it could happen....but that is part of why our country is so screwed...I never charged for my help either....when you are charging someone to do work and you screw up.......you better have insurance. Business is one thing, helping a neighbor is another.

You can always get someone to sign a release of liability before you help them....that is why I have insurance...bottom line you cannot be stupid.

Again, really good thoughts here.....

More on safety

1. Anytime you run extention cords out doors you need a portable ground fault plug.

2. When using a generator make sure you have a ground rod and properly ground the generator.

Doc1... you said:
You need a very large, dedicated battery bank to run any major electrical load off of battery/inverter power alone

I forgot about this method, tho I now remember you talking about it sometime ago.

When you say, "large, dedicated battery bank," how many batteries do you put together and how big is you inverter?

Medic3 said:

Dont loan tools....

If your neighbor needs a chain saw, go cut the tree up for him

If he needs your tractor, go run the tractor at his placed

If he needs a skill saw, go cut the wood

If he needs to use your generator for two hours go and set it up and have a beer with him while his freezer cools down.

If he needs a truck, go drive the truck...

People that dont own stuff dont know how to run it, take care of it, check the oil, ground it, drive it, or what ever......

Great thread, good to think about these things now......

Click to expand...

Exactly what my husband does, for the same reason. He'll go at the drop of a hat, but no one uses his trucks, his trailers, his tools but him. I've watched him drive 150 miles to pick up a horse trailer and horses for people whose truck broke down, but no way will he let them use his truck or drive it.

Doing it cheap

I collect extra inverters when I can get them cheap. Last week I found a marine-grade Portawattz 700 watt (1300 watt surge) inverter at the flea market for seven bucks. 700/1300 isn't that big, but it can do plenty of useful work. I have a 3000/6000, two 1500/3000s and several smaller ones.

Now buying a inverter for $7 is a gamble, but this one worked fine when I got it home and tested it.

Even buying an inverter new won't break the bank. A full tank of fuel in your vehicle and a modest 1000-1500 watt inverter will give you decent generating capability for quite some time. You can find used ones in the 1000 watt+ range all day long on eBay cheaply. Your investment should be well under a hundred bucks and possibly under $50.

No one on a prep board has any business crying about no emergency power if they can't come up with $50 - $100 for this basic capability.

Also, you can save a bundle by salvaging old car batteries for your battery bank. Yes, I know...they're not as good as deep cycles, but they can work if you balance them right. I've been doing this for years. Junkyards are full of good batteries that get discarded for bad reasons. Even a single mediocre car battery will power several 12 volt LEDs for a very long time.

Post SHTF, there will still be lots of alternators and old car batteries around!

Best regards
Doc

I have to agree with Doc1. What is ironic, if you had a snow blower, or plow you could make lots of money with an unusually heavy snow. But if you store extra food, or have a generator somehow it is evil to try to make a profit or even break even on your time and expense. Hopefully you would help your neighbors for free, but I know that I can’t afford to prep for them.

I have one set of elderly neighbors I would go out of my way to help them. One neighbor is older, but a bit of a pepper so we could help each other. The rest are on there own.

Mrs. Smith there was I time that complete strangers went out of there way to help my elderly parents. I was more grateful them you can image. I would, and have repaid that kindness over and over again. But when I look at most of my neighbors they are complete polliys who continue the waste money and refuse to prepare. Mostly they talk about their last ski weekend, their newest plasma screen TV, stuff like that. Since I have never had a ski weekend or even one plasma screen TV, I get a little sick hearing about it. They pay Green Lawn to spray there grass and complain about a dandelion in my yard. I think where you live plays a roll in how willing you are to help your neighbors for free.

Portable generators are a potential problem, everybody (family, neighbors, FEMA) will want your spare generator. FEMA could possibly TAKE-IT.

I've thought about this before and I decided that anything portable, can be confiscted for the "greater good".

A fixed roof mounted Solar PV installation is pretty much not going to be dismanteled in a short emergency. It's going to stay put.

So....

1) I obtained a small Honda EU2000 that will just barely service my needs.
2) Bought a nice 2000 watt (cntinuous) Pure-sine wave inverter (with charger/UPS switch) and some deep cycle batteries. That is the beginning of what I ultimately hope will be a modest, fixed, bolted on the roof solar electrical system for my radios and a few other pieces of gear.

I think, you should consider selling one genset and applying that money towards a fixed Solar PV system even if it's just a few panels, inverter and battery system.

Then the answer to why you have electricity is because you have a system mounted on your roof.

Mrs Smith said:

How about helping neighbors out of the goodness of your heart, for free? Why would you want to kick somebody when they're down? It's called compassion.

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Actually it could be called compassion or stupidity, depending on the neighbors.

One has to discriminate between free help to people that afterwards will repay your kindness back many times over for bailing them out and then ask if you can help them prep.

and

Those that think that since you have extra you SHOULD help them for FREE and it would never even occur to them to replace gasoline used and then expect the same treatment during the NEXT emergency... never having learned the first time. Those are Darwin award candidates.

Generators are expensive. They use expensive gas & oil. There is maintenance to be performed on them. Breakdowns are expensive. They have a limited life span and at some point will have to be replaced.

Those are a few reasons why I would never let someone borrow my gen, and I would NOT take it to their house for their comfort. If they can't pay for the expensive power I would provide, then I'd keep that power for my future, not give it away.

[FONT=Verdana,Arial]Theophilus, Have [/FONT]you kept records of what it costs you to run & maintain your various gens? I'd use those costs as a base, then figure the cost of gas/upkeep/repairs/depreciation/etc for the truck, and your labor. I think standard labor is about double the cost of materials, or is it triple or more now? Back when DH was a contractor, he would price materials, add 10%, then double that for his labor, but that's been over 20 years ago. I'm sure prices are much higher today, especially in an emergency when safety is factored in.

zoose said:

I suspect that in an emergency and you deploy these generators, you will never get them back. They will be lost or stolen.

When the SHTF it's gonna be every man for himself if you know what I mean.

Bad business plan from the get go.

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Took the words right out of my mouth. During an emergency, people's attitudes about caring for another person's generator change drastically. They won't know how to use them, and they won't give a damn about caring for them. I don't have time to elaborate on that, but some of you will know what I mean. I have several neighbors who I know would "lend" my generator to some of their low-life friends and I would never see it again. Nor would they care if I never saw it again.

So I have already decided that I would only make it available for an hour at a time when I was not using it, and I would stay right there with it for that hour; and that for only three residences in the neighborhood of six. In addition, I would expect the person to fuel the generator AND the tractor with which I would have to haul it.

In addition, I would expect some sort of barter response from the recipients of my service. Food, fuel, ammo, labor, or anything suitable.

There's more, but I haven't time now.

Dennis Olson said:

JMHO:

People ON MY BLOCK ONLY would get to use it. Second, I would charge $20 an hour, with a 2 hour max per house. I would insist as part of the deal that since I delivered it full of gas, I would pick it up filled as well. failure to fill means no more use.

More than that is, IMO gouging.

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Dennis, unless you require a hefty deposit, I would suggest you not turn your back on the unit for even a minute. Under the "emergency mindset" to which I alluded earlier, the folks to whom you deliver that generator will be heavily importuned by neighbors and relatives of their own begging for the use of the generator, and they will think nothing of turning that generator over to those "third parties". BTDT, Dennis.

I 2nd the idea of anchoring it in concrete. This story came out of St Louis, Missouri...

Power outage for a few days in the dead of winter. Man has a generator running all night cause his heat is electric. The gen is in a locked shed to keep the noise down and protect it from theft. Someone cut the lock and stole it.

Man buys another generator... this time he puts it under his window so he can hear it running. Nobody will get far cause as soon as the noise stops he'll be out the door.

Man wakes up cold in the night, gen is still running, but heater is not working. Turns on light, no light. Checks other lights, none, no power.

He goes out to check the gen and fix the problem... It was very easy to find the problem... there was a lawnmower setting where his new gen had been.

Anchor that thing in concrete!

Sacrifice now, or suffer later

39 posts and only one suggests that the other person sacrifice something now and get their own generator. How many of these people are driving newer cars, have new fashionable clothes, take vacations to Mexico every year?

The list of things that I don't spend my money on is a lot longer than the list of things that I do spend my money on. I don't own a car that is less than twelve years old. I have never gone on a vacation. I don't buy expensive new clothes that the ladies will like. I sacrifice now so that I can survive later. It is not my fault that others choose differently. I don't expect people to feel sorry for me and I don't expect to feel sorry for them.

Anyone remember the one about the ant and the grasshopper?