My friend just moved to Indiana and is buying a Generator

[JanetRose]

Is that common in the Midwest?

I figured maybe if you lived near the ocean like Miami.

Just wondering....please no hate.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Is that common in the Midwest?

I figured maybe if you lived near the ocean like Miami.

Just wondering....please no hate.

Can't say how common it is, but we have a generator and live in California. Power outages happen everywhere.

 

[kdonnel]

Some places have less reliable power than others.

Some people like to be prepared.

 

[CGB]

Yes. We have a generator. We get everything from tornadoes to ice storms in the Midwest. It's worth the investment to save your fridge and freezer's contents when losing power.

 

[GoingSince1990]

Always a good idea, your friend sounds very sensible!

 

[tvguy]

Some places have less reliable power than others.

Some people like to be prepared.

Exactly. And in some parts of California we now have Public Safety Power Shutoffs on windy days so that if a powerline blows down, it doesn't start a wild fire, so more people are buying generators.
It may also depend on whether you have medical equipment that requires electricity, or other equipment that can't be without power.
I would expect most of those getting generators would tend to live in rural areas. Many businesses and facilities have generators......hospitals......TV Stations......grocery stores.
And getting a "generator" can be anything from a $179 portable gas powered generator to a $10,000 permanent whole house natural gas/propane powered system that powers your whole house.

 

[auntfrannie]

We got one a few years ago when my mother was put on round-the-clock oxygen. Can't take a chance with the power going out and her gasping for air.

 

[Meriweather]

We had one when we lived in WA

 

[focusondisney]

I live in a suburban development in Western NY. Our power company seems to have problems during severe wind & thunder storms plus we get major snowstorms a few times a year. Any of those can cause power outages. We bought a Generac whole house stand by generator 3 years ago. Since then I’ve seen a lot more people in our area getting them. There are a lot of severe weather issues all over the country. I think more people are just trying to be as prepared as possible, no matter where they live.

 

[bcla]

Exactly. And in some parts of California we now have Public Safety Power Shutoffs on windy days so that if a powerline blows down, it doesn't start a wild fire, so more people are buying generators.
It may also depend on whether you have medical equipment that requires electricity, or other equipment that can't be without power.
I would expect most of those getting generators would tend to live in rural areas. Many businesses and facilities have generators......hospitals......TV Stations......grocery stores.
And getting a "generator" can be anything from a $179 portable gas powered generator to a $10,000 permanent whole house natural gas/propane powered system that powers your whole house.

All small engine equipment will no longer be available for sale in California starting next year. I think existing inventory can be sold, but can't be obtained by the retailer after that date. Some companies are also exiting the small engine business - like Honda.

I personally think there will be a lot of people going out of state and picking up small engine equipment as it won't be illegal. However, the alternative is going to be corded and battery powered equipment. The kind of battery powered backup is going to be pricey though.

 

[AussieFan8]

We are considering getting one and live in the Midwest. Our local company no longer proactively trims trees near the lines, so our power goes out more frequently for up to 24 hours at a time when there are strong winds. Ice on power lines can be an issue, too.

 

[White Cat]

Common in new larger homes in Ontario.

 

[#1hoosierfan]

I live in Indiana. Lots of people have generators. We don’t ourselves. We had a bad wind storm in March and we were out of power for 3 days or so. We were a few hours away from borrowing one to run our freezer when the power came back on.

 

[JaxDad]

I love my generators! They’re both flex fuel, but I just use propane. I have them mostly for power outages, but they’re also great for car camping trips and other outings.

 

[Southernmiss]

Makes sense to me.

We live on hurricane area and a whole house generator is on our list of home improvements.

Any area can have a power outage

 

[QueenIsabella]

When we lived in upstate NY, we had a small generator in addition to a woodstove. Up there, most houses had wood stoves--plenty of wood, free or cheap, especially if you were willing to split it yourself.

When we moved to New Hampshire, the generator moved with us--we never used it there, ourselves, but BIL drove up to borrow it after Irene decimated a lot of New England (he lived in CT). He was out of power for more than 2 weeks, the generator was a Godsend.

Here in North Carolina, we have a whole-house generator. We're coastal, so we're hunkering down for Idalia to go over us on Thursday. I think DH is looking forward to a real test of the generator--it covers everything but the clothes dryer. During Florence, we were out of power for 4 days--I'm not expecting anything that bad this time, since we're not in the direct path. But, you don't know--if things are truly awful in Florida, there may be less crews available for other places.

Bottom line, having a generator can be a wonderful thing. For Florence, we just had a smaller portable generator--it basically kept the fridges/freezer going, with occasional microwave use. Not fabulous, but it did the job.

 

[tvguy]

All small engine equipment will no longer be available for sale in California starting next year. I think existing inventory can be sold, but can't be obtained by the retailer after that date. Some companies are also exiting the small engine business - like Honda.

I personally think there will be a lot of people going out of state and picking up small engine equipment as it won't be illegal. However, the alternative is going to be corded and battery powered equipment. The kind of battery powered backup is going to be pricey though.

Yeah, I hear Home Depot in Reno is doing a booming business selling light bulbs that the state banned the sale of 3 years ago. I put in a "modern" halogen fixture when I remodeled my master bathroom 10 years ago. One of the bulbs burned out this year. The Light Bulb store had the clear ones still in stock from before the ban, but not the frosted ones I needed. The did have the LED substitutes, but they are 4 times longer for the same light and hung out the bottom of the fixture and were just plan ugly. Looked on Amazon, got them in a few days from an out of state retailer.

 

[Allison]

Sure. Ice storms, blizzards, tornadoes. There are lots of reasons in the Midwest.

 

[TippyThomas]

I have generators and live in Indiana. One severe ice storm with power out for several days will make you very happy you have one. One of them came with my RV and I bought the other so I'd be sure to have enough power for long term outages. Very happy I did.

 

[fly girl]

Is that common in the Midwest?

I figured maybe if you lived near the ocean like Miami.

Just wondering....please no hate.

No hate.

Yes, it is common in Midwest.

I live in an area with underground power lines, and although we do lose it on occasion when a substation goes out, there isn't a dire need for one. However, many cities in the midwest do not have underground and the need is there when weather strikes. Downed lines happen with every season here.