>> Han wrote:
>>> "HeyBub" <hey...@NOSPAMgmail.com> wrote in
>>> news:x9qdnfrGwep6RjvNnZ2dnUVZ_gednZ2d@earthlink.com:

>>>> trad...@optonline.net wrote:

>>>>> A pile of gas cans is not a small problem.  Even with stabilizer
>>>>> added, it only lasts so long.   How long depends
>>>>> on how lucky you feel.   So, you still have a bunch of gas
>>>>> cans to manage.   You can also siphon it out of your cars,
>>>>> but that's no fun either.   I'd probably go with a natural gas
>>>>> portable.  I've seen 5KW or so ones for $2,000 with a
>>>>> Honda Engine.   You could also get a conversion kit and
>>>>> a gasoline generator and make one yourself for about
>>>>> half that.   Some kits allow use of 3 fuels and you can
>>>>> switch back and forth between gasonline, propane, nat
>>>>> gas.  Overall, one of those approaches sound better
>>>>> than a Generac standby to me.

>>>> There's another strategy that mitigates the problem of managing gas
>>>> cans.

>>>> Have ONE five-gallon can full of gas and ten or more empty ones.

>>>> If you have a local outage - say a pole gets knocked down - the five
>>>> gallons should provide enough slack such that you can fetch more
>>>> from a station outside the black-out zone.

>>>> If, on the other hand, wide-spread outage is possible, such as the
>>>> warnings over Sandy or a hurricane entering the Gulf, you'll have
>>>> ample warning to fill all the cans you have.

>>> That would be my thinking.  FWIW, Sandy has shown that something
>>> needs to be done to insure a supply of gasoline to gas stations, plus
>>> gas stations will need to have generators ...

>>> Hereabouts, the story is that someone came to his regular gas
>>> station, and asked for gas.  Gas station guy said I have gas, but no
>>> power.  Customer says, I'll loan you my generators, be right back.
>>> Result:  Long lines at that gas station.

>> In my town, the town provided generators to a couple of local gas
>> stations. The station I go to said the generator caused the computer
>> to shut down and he could only pump gas while the computer was
>> working. I suspect that if he had a UPS and had the generator charging
>> the UPS, he would have been OK.

> For some reason they only accepted cash ...