Posted on 08/28/2011 9:58:32 AM PDT by SamAdams76
Well at least this happened on a Sunday and not on a day I had to get to work.
Woke up this morning to some heavy rains and winds, all attributed to some storm named Irene that was supposed to blow itself out off the New Jersey coast last night. All in all, the winds weren't any worse than what we get from your typical winter storm but unfortunately some sort of tree or "branch" brought down a power line in my neighborhood, rendering us without any of the modern conveniences.
So now I finally get to use that Briggs and Stratton generator that I paid about $1,000 for three years ago after an ice storm left us without power for nearly a week back in December of 2008. Now ever since I bought that generator, it sat in the shed, in mint condition, waiting to get stolen, as we never lost power again. Or at least the power never went out when I was home to get it turned on.
Pouring sheets of rain, I dash out to the shed and was glad to see the generator still there, hardly moved at all since I put some oil and gas into it all that time ago. Dragged it out into the yard and now I have to figure out how to turn the thing on. Turned the house upside down looking for the manual and finally located it on top of the old refrigerator in the garage where I also found my old iPod player that I thought I had lost forever - turns out it's only worth $8 according to this website. I think I paid $399 for it, which allowed Steve Jobs to get a haircut back in the day.
After messing around with some switches and the choke, I finally get the thing started which was impressive considering the gas was nearly three years old and it was pouring rain. So now I have to run around the house and garage, collecting all the extension cords so I can start rigging up the lights, the refrigerator, and most importantly the router so that I can get the internet going again.
Now I'm rummaging in the basement, looking to see if I can get the sump pumps hooked up to the generator so that my house doesn't flood. It's dark down there and I can't see anything nor is there any working flashlights handy. Now I know that my house contains at least a dozen flashlights of various shapes and sizes, but on this particular morning, I cannot find a single one that works.
So now I have to have an encounter with The People of Walmart as that is the closest big-box store to my house that would possibly have flashlights still in stock after all the media fear-mongering of the past few days.
Getting to the Walmart was not easy as there were tree branches all over the streets and the rains were torrential and my wipers were not able to keep up. But I did get to the Walmart and I did find it to be open. I don't think even a real hurricane would close a Walmart. Besides, I think many of the workers actually live there so if they need to keep the lights and AC on all night, might as well let in some customers.
Now I just want to get in and out of this place, so I blow by the greeter before he has a chance to say hello and offer me a carriage and haul myself over to the camping section. As I expected, the flashlight section was more or less completely cleaned out. The only flashlights still available were those gigantic metal ones that take about eight size "D" batteries and double as a police nightstick. They were almost $50 - not including batteries.
Having no choice in the matter and knowing that I was going to look like a total dweeb buying this monstrosity of a flashlight in the Wal-Mart the morning of the big storm, I went up to the register along with a gigantic blister-pack of "D" batteries. Of course, the cashier has to prolong the experience by asking me if I want a Wal-Mart credit card, if I want a three-year extended warranty for my flashlight and then she had to throw in there that if I had come earlier, I could have gotten a cheaper flashlight.
Less than a half hour after getting home, the power got restored. But at least I know my $1,000 generator actually works and should the power go out again, I'll have a $50 state-of-the-art flashlight to get around the basement with - that is, if I can find it.
They were pretty much cleaned out on D batteries too. No Duracells which is the brand I usually buy. They had some Ray-O-Vacs at the check-outs though - maybe they found them hiding in a corner someplace in the warehouse.
So I know exactly what it is like to be on the other end...
I hope they (Lowes) charge a restocking fee and the employees triple check that the instruction manual is also return (poeple love to buy things; realize THEY can’t figure out how to operate the item then treat item carelessly either in storage or on the journey back to the store—expecting full remibursement for an item that sat in the rain; had gas in it; etc...and then the rest of us pay higher prices due to product loss.
:p
Also store with pure synthetic oil (Mobile One) or such. Regular oil will also deteriorate with time, synthetic won't.
I normally keep 2 gallons in the 7 gallon tank.
Have never had a problem in 7 years with my small 5.5 KW gasoline backup to the big 15KW diesel tractor driven generator.
I’d go one step further.
In situations like this, I’d advocate a “no returns” policy.
State clearly that any generators purchased for the next 3 days, will not be refunded for any reason. Set up a demo table in front of the store with a can of gas, and an employee. Let purchasers test out the generator there, “all purchases final”.
I feel for the customer service counter employees at WalMarts, Home Depot, Lowes this coming week. People will be returning unopenned batteries (doable) but some will try to return obviously used flashlights; coolers; and big ticket items like the generators (that could have sat in the rain, or in the back of someones truck).
Its amazing what people try and get away with :(
Well, you were incredibly lucky that the generator started after three years with old stored fuel. If you want it readily available, you should exercise it every two months enough to use up any old fuel in the tank and refill with new fuel. Otherwise, go for long term storage: drain the tank completely, run the generator dry, drain the little fuel cup below the fuel line valve; then take out the spark plug and squirt a little motor oil into the cylinder, replace the spark plug without connecting the wire, pull the recoil cord to turn the engine over once to distribute the oil, replace the spark plug wire and let sit until you next need the generator.
I see nothing wrong with retailers protecting themselves in this manner.
Amen—the big box stores can eat some loss on those returns—its the smaller hardware store that really can’t
.
On the upside, many big boxes will have ‘deals’ on generators (returns) in the coming week.
Excellent writing - with pictures even :)
Walmart’s return policy is really good...but that is a really nice flashlight.
Unfortunately, any change in normal business practice opens retailers up to “gouging” litigation and winds up costing more than just accepting damaged merchandise for refund.
I have about decided to move to the country and pitch a pup tent.
I have tons of gensets but when the power goes out my most reliable flashlights are the Surefire and several high end clones like the Infinity, they use 3 volt Lithium batteries that have a shelf life of 10 years.
I bought two boxes back in 2002 from Surefire (best deal) and I still use them as needed. Ditto on the LED headlamps, also best to keep some LED camping lanterns on hand.
With the more affordable inverters available nowadays you can get one or two deep cycle batteries and some LED RV or boat interior lights and have yourself instant light in the house. And you can have 120 volts for a small TV or radio.
I rebuild RV’s on the side and I install massive golf cart batteries and large inverters, and the last one had a 60 watt solar panel on the roof as well.
The gas from some states has methanol, nasty stuff to keep in any stored engine, I think Stabil has a specific bottle for that stuff, I hear that premium gas stores better. As far as other stuff I would use Amsoil in the engine, its a superior long term storage synthetic oil.
So in summary the best emergency flashlights are the ones that have variable settings and use the 3 volt lithium batteries. I would though store the battery in a ziplock bag if you decide to keep that flashlight in a dedicated emergency storage place. They don’t like getting wet but the better flashlights that use them are pretty much waterproof, I have washed my Surefires in the washing machine many times by accident. They have never leaked and they ALWAYS work.
This is funny stuff :-)
LOL, I was kind of tough on a few of them. Sheesh!!! Anyway, glad you and the rest of them are okay.
“Of course, the cashier has to prolong the experience by asking me if I want a Wal-Mart credit card, if I want a three-year extended warranty for my flashlight:
Is this a new development? I only get to Walmart once a month or less, but have never been asked to get a Walmart card or extended warranty on anything. Harbor Freight will sell you an extended warranty for a refrigerator magnet, OTOH.
I remember the days when Radio Shack would give away a flashlight
with the purchase of 8 "D" batteries as a promotion.
Cheap, plastic, ones, not machined aluminum, naturally.
I ended up spending 700 bucks for a propane generator. Coolest thing ever. My heat is propane so I had the propane company put an external line up outside. Just hook up the generator to the line and I'm good to go. Don't have to buy gas or fill up gas cans. If there's a very extended power outage and I run out of propane in my 600 gallon tank then 20 pound tanks are available almost anywhere. Don't have to worry about the carb clogging up because I left gas in it.
AND sold the non-working generator on Craigslist for 100 bucks...
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