[snowtigger]

During the summer, look for generators at your local box stores(Costco, Sam's Club,etc). They carry off-brands at really low prices. I would not recommend them for heavy use, but, in an emergency, they'll do. Another good place to look is Craigslist, but ONLY in the off-season.

Here in Alaska, I use a 2,000 watt Honda. It will not run the whole house, but my furnace can be unplugged and it will run it. You can also put a couple lights on it. JUST DO NOT HOOK ANYTHING UP TO YOUR HOUSE WIRING,it can fry the linemen working on the power supply!!!

[3boysdad]

Here in Wyoming I have a 12,000W propane powered back-up generator that automatically starts up and switches over when the power drops out. The transition takes a couple seconds and is virtually transparent, and I can run my normal household load off of it. Heck, sometimes I don’t even know the power has been disrupted until I look down the hill and notice the town has gone dark!

[ActresponsiblyinVA]

My daughter and son-in-law live in Atlanta and went on Facebook and found a stranded motorist within a mile of their house. They went out and met her and let her spend the night with them. They did not know her, but felt the need to help out. I am so proud of them.

[ctdonath2]

The day of the storm, Home Depot online has a sale on propane powered generators. I bought one that day.