Originally Posted By: harstad
Some of you might have heard about the storms that came through Omaha, Nebraska yesterday. 100+ mile an hour winds, hail, heavy rain. So the power was out for 26 hours. Which wasnt bad because gives me an excuse to oull out the lanterns and radio and relax. My 20 month was less than thrilled about it. So was my wife.

So Im looking at generator but dont know where to start. I would like to be able to power the fridge and some other stuff. Maybe the AC? How would this work?? Is it even possible? I would like a portable one if that matters. I also would not like to spend and arm and a leg. $600- $700 would be good....

Thanks for any info you can give me.


Running whole house or central A/C is not normaly feasible from an an affordable portable generator. Such A/C is generally 208/240 volt and is not cord and plug connected.
A sufficiently large generator could of course run the whole house, including A/C,this would require a changeover panel between the meter and the main breaker panel, unless you have very considerable experience, this should be done by a licensed electrician.
A larger portable generator could be used to power a 120 volt cord and plug connected A/C unit, either of the throuh the window type, or the floor standing style that useing a flexi duct to remove the hot air.