Gomig-21
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So I'm not sure I want to go crazy and get some 25,000 watt whole house system (may be better to wait&see where Tesla Powerwall tech ends up).
Sounds like a logical plan.
I have a sump pump that when it rains heavily starts kicking in. When the power went out the first thing I did was check it out. The water definitely was slowly rising but still below the cement floor.
When I built my addition on the back of my house, I wanted a much higher ceiling (8') for the new basement area than the rest of the existing basement in the house (Circa 1880 so you can imagine lol) so I went down an additional 2' which put me about 18" below the water table. So I have a constant water level concern. I wanted to encapsulate the entire area with a rubber tub but the problem was the connected area to the old house would've been very difficult to contain, so it wasn't worth it. Instead I just installed a perforated French drain leading to the sump pump that pumps out into an old, existing leach field.
I also have a new sump pump on standby in its box on the side so I don't have to run out to HD and buy a new one if and when the working one conks out. I also have a battery-operated pump besides the main one in case of a long power outage. The battery backup one is positioned a little higher so it kicks in if the original one goes. That might be a good idea for you if you're worried about that possibility. I usually suggest that all the time to homeowners.
Maybe something to run the pumps, 2 electric space heaters, some of the refrigerators, and the microwave would be adequate.
Yep, that's the way to go if you're not really in an area that's prone to super long power outages. Just have the essentials hooked up to the generator. Couple of my buddies are having a very tough time since the first storm that dropped trees on their lots and took out power lines to their homes and have been out of power till this morning. The ones with kids had to go to hotels because no heat was too much to bear.
Consumer Reports gave a thumbs up to Generac's RS line for voltage consistency.
I like the dial with electric start so I don't have to fumble around in the dark..plus my wife can operate it.
Any of these products that get a thumbs up from consumer reports pretty makes them good choices. CR really makes or breaks any of these products.