10 Reasons to Have a Portable Generator

Many regions in the US and worldwide are exposed to harsh weather, such as heavy winds, ice buildup, floods, etc. Utility brigades usually restore outages less than in a day, but there’s always a probability that things get too complicated. Do you even imagine sitting home without electricity for more than a few hours? With a portable home generator, you won’t have to suffer at all. Read this guide by the electrogardeningtools.com crew to know all the answers. 

What to look for? 

Average portable home generators produce around 12,000 Watts, weight from 210 to 300 pounds, work on 1 or 2 fuel types and have 120V and 240V outlets. The average running time of such tools is between 7 and 9 hours, depending on the number of plugged-in appliances and fuel type. Take a look at this DuroMax XP12000EH review by electrogardeningtools.com team for a reference on what a good emergency home generator looks like, and keep reading to know all the reasons to have one. 

1. Save food supplies

Food is one of the most important resources in the case of cataclysms, so it’s highly important to keep it well-refrigerated. This is an easy task for a portable home generator that works on gas, propane, or diesel. It will keep your refrigerator running smoothly until the outage is fixed. But don’t keep it off for more than 4 hours as perishable foods are considered spoiled after that time without proper storage. Keep the fridge running all the time to avoid losing hundreds of dollars in food. 

2. Maintain well water supply

If your home is connected to a municipal water system, you won’t have any problems if there’s an outage. You may also have an emergency supply of water in your basement. However, if your home is using well water, you need to keep the pressure in the system by using an electric pump. A portable generator makes it easy to connect any water pump and run it on demand when you need some fresh water. It’s recommended to collect some emergency water into bottles and larger containers in case the pump goes down for some reason. 

3. Power up the sump pump

Sump pumps are crucial in houses that are in flood-hazardous areas. Sump pumps drain all the excess water from the basement away to prevent damage to the house foundation. If an outage is caused by heavy rain or thunderstorm, the first thing you must do is launch the pump to keep the water from coming inside. All sump pump owners have to keep a portable generator and a fuel supply in their basements to be able to prevent the worst scenarios. 

4. Fire-risk zone shutdowns

If you live in an area surrounded by woods and exposed to droughts, you should know that power shutdowns will occur if heavy winds start during a drought or a fire starts in the woods. This way, utility companies prevent a scenario when power lines cause more fire when damaged by heavy winds. A home generator will help you keep all the crucial systems of your house running until the situation stabilizes. 

5. Do you have medical devices? 

If one of your family members depends on an electronic medical device, such as a battery-powered wheelchair, heart monitor, or oxygen supply, you must have an emergency power generator to keep them connected in case of an emergency. It’s a life-or-death situation, so you have to be prepared in advance. Don’t forget to ensure the compatibility of the medical equipment with your generator by making a test run. It’s also important to have long extension cords to be able to reach appliances that cannot be moved from bedrooms and a decent fuel supply to keep the power up uninterruptedly. Actually, the ideal way is to have a standalone portable generator for medical devices.

6. Keep working remotely

Many of us have a home business or a remote workplace today as remote work policies progress, and the Coronavirus doesn’t let most of us reach offices. If you don’t want to stop working if something goes wrong, a generator is a must. However, sometimes power outages may affect cable Internet providers in your area, so it’s important to have an alternative way to go online, such as an unlimited 3G/4G/5G tarif on your smartphone that can work as a WiFi hotspot if necessary. 

7. Stay in touch

You can use a generator to charge up your laptops, smartphones, and tablets from a generator too. It’s highly important to keep at least your phones to be able to contact emergency services and your relatives and friends who may need your help. 

8. Charge your e-vehicle

Electric cars are becoming more and more widespread in the US. If you are one of the environment-conscious EV owners, you should have an emergency generator to be able to charge up your car. Some emergency situations may require you to leave your home, so having a car that’s on the go is crucial. It will also help you to go to the groceries, an emergency room, or anywhere else during an unexpected outage. 

9. You may need power tools

If a power outage is caused by harsh weather, you should be ready that your house gets damaged as well. You will need to use your power tools in this case. Such appliances as drills, heaters, electric chainsaws, and many others, run perfectly well from any portable generator. Even if an outage is not the case, you can use your generator to accomplish your DIY projects in areas remote from outlets. It’s extremely convenient when you have a large piece of land. 

10. How About Camping? 

A portable generator is a must-have for every family that loves staying at the campsite for several days in a row. Having such a versatile power source, you can charge up all the electronics, keep the drinks cool in the fridge, and give your trailer’s battery a push if needed. Such generators are usually smaller and less powerful than home emergency generators and produce 1600-2200 Watts, but you should consider them for your camping and DIY anyway. 

Enjoy safety & convenience!

Now that you know all the cases when you may need a portable home generator, you also know how to protect yourself and your family when something goes wrong. A decent generator will set you free from most problems caused by power outages, so it’s wise to have one if outages occur in your area at least once a year.