Did it look like this?



Thanks.

Craig.

That's exactly the one I have.

Craig, thanks for the info on the repeater.
Nice to see it was built to last.

I had one of those, and the handle broke off way too easily.

Do they make anything similar in sturdy medal handle styles?

Bountyhunter

I agree. It's kinda cheap. OTOH, it's all that was available on short notice before Frances, and it's a lot better than trying to siphon gas with a garden hose. Longer term, I intend to replace several things which I've bought recently. But two (now three?) hurricanes have made finding anything like this very difficult. And that's in Orlando. Along the coast it must be a lot worse.

If you have time, and can choose, get something better. If you walk in the store and that's all they have, grab it.
(I did. :-)

Sounds about right Groo, most of the information that i have seen for a 5kw output is almost a gallon an hour. This also depends on the engine you have on your generator. As a rule the older style flathead engines are less fuel effient that the newer overhead valve engines, the OHV are usually a little quieter too.

The generator i used is a 4kw lincoln weld and power with an overhead valve briggs engine and it would run the fridge, freezer, couple of lights, fan, TV and water pump for 10 hours on 2 1/2 gallons of gas.

Great! I was only able to find two 5 gallon gas cans. I have 8 in the generator, plus 10 in the cans, plus about 10 in the car (usable for generator). Before Frances, I would have said that was enough. But gas was hard to find after Frances and will probably be even harder to find after Ivan. Still, that's 28 hours at full load, more if I just power the fridge.

Don't forget gas isn't the only consumable. Many generators run a surprisingly short time (e.g. 50 hours) before calling for an oil or air filter change.

Also regarding having enough gas... it's a good idea to keep enough gas in transportable containers to get to whatever backup destination you might want to get to, so you don't have to depend on getting gas along the way. E.g. 3 or 4 five-gallon containers will get you pretty far, especially if you start with a full tank. And if you stay put you can use it in your generator.

That's the same gas I use for the lawn mower. I rotate the old gas out. Also add fuel stabilizer like StaBil. Our "getaway" vehicle uses premium so that's what the lawn mower runs on! <img src="/images/graemlins/shocked.gif" alt="" />

Steve

Yes, I bought some oil this week and plan some periodic maintainence this weekend.

On the gas issue, I agree with your strategy. I have two Justrite Type 2 DOT safety cans. My research indicated that they were the safest available. After what happened in north Florida during the approach of Frances, I don't believe that I would employ an evacuation strategy wihout a couple of these in the van. However, I am still squimish about carrying gasoline inside a vehicle. I hope I never have to do it for more that a couple of miles..

Craig.

That gas pump thingy seems kind of overkill for just filling a gas can from your car. It looks intended to pump liquids uphill, or maybe to pump gas from one car to another.

For pumping gas out of a tank into a can that's lower than the tank, I remember getting a siphon pump at the hardware store for $5 or so. It was just a piece of plastic tubing that had a squeeze bulb at the end with a flapper valve inside. Squeezing the bulb was the equivalent of sucking on the hose. You'd just give it a few squeezes and gas would start flowing. The whole thing weighed just a few ounces and there was not much of anything that could go wrong with it. I guess you could even pump uphill by keeping on squeezing, but it would be tedious.