Originally Posted By: albusgrammaticus
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What really concerns me is the issue of heating if the power goes out. Wa have a modern methane furnace with radiators and a big pellet stove in the living room, but neither would work without electricity, leaving us in the cold. I've been thinking a while about purchasing a gasoline generator to power the pellet stove during blackouts, but I would have to run an extension cord from the generator, set outside on the porch, and the pellet stove on the inside, leaving a door or window cracked open.


Pardon the thread hijack, but can you run your main heating system off the generator? It sounds like it is powered by natural gas (methane=natural gas?) to produce the actual heat source. My furnace is natural gas. The electricity is only for the controls/fans/etc., and uses very little electricity to function, so it runs fine off the generator and keeps the house warm. Based on the exact installation and local codes, you may want/need to install a separate electrical box or switch to allow you to connect the heating system into the generator.
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