Mmmm... been there, done that.

Remnants of Hurricane Ike passed through here in '08. Turned our patio cover into $100.00 worth of scrap aliminum. We were in Indy that day for the MotoGP. Nicky Hayden was gaining on Rossi 'till they called the race for excessive wind. Believe to this day that Nicky would've won had the race been in just the wet, 'cause Hayden had chosen tires well. When we got home the damage was done. Power out for eight days. Lost everything in fridge & freezer.

Next year was the ice storm. Power out for six days. Emptied fridge & freezer onto patio, lost almost nothing.

That summer a friend helped me install a manual transfer switch. Portable 8.5kw generator plugs into the house at a plug on the patio. We can run everything except central air.

All that was before I discovered high performance portable lumen dispensers.

slmjim