We put in an outside plug and wires into out load center years ago where we can pull out a portable generator and hook up backfed though a 30a 240 breaker If we loose power.

It would take an hour to get up and running but we could have our furnace running pretty quickly.

We only used once when a storm knocked down our power line up or house and they came to reattach. They cut the power for half a day it was nice to have the fridges and furnace running.

Our generator is 5kw or 20A and can run pretty much our whole house save the electric dryer you don't need a fully automatic natural gas powered generator for $10k, a $500 unit and $50 worth of cord and plugs will get your house mostly operational.

Also: an SUV is an excellent back up fuel tank holding 25 g of the liquid gold should you need to run the generator for extended periods.

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2011 E70 • N55 (me)
2012 E70 • N63 (wife)