Getting ready to move to TV. Bring generator and portable air conditioning unit?

[Coop63]

My wife and are in the process of downsizing, getting ready for our move to the Villages. I was wondering if I should bring the following items.

- 2400w portable generator, good for keeping furnace, refrigerator and other small appliances running in power outages. Leaning "yes"

- Portable upright room air conditioner. We currently have a multi story home, so nice to provide extra cool to the upstairs office on a hot day. I know most homes in the Villages are single story, so wondering if it would be nice for the lanai? Leaning "no"

Any feedback is appreciated.

[retiredguy123]

I would be leaning in different directions. Both are good to have, but a spare air conditioner would be more valuable when your HVAC fails in the summer.

[LuvtheVillages]

My wife and are in the process of downsizing, getting ready for our move to the Villages. I was wondering if I should bring the following items.

- 2400w portable generator, good for keeping furnace, refrigerator and other small appliances running in power outages. Leaning "yes"

- Portable upright room air conditioner. We currently have a multi story home, so nice to provide extra cool to the upstairs office on a hot day. I know most homes in the Villages are single story, so wondering if it would be nice for the lanai? Leaning "no"

Any feedback is appreciated.

If you are buying an older home in the historic section, you might need the generator on rare occasions. If your life depends upon meds that must be kept refrigerated or equipment that must be kept running, you might need the generator on rare occasions. Otherwise, power outages have never been more than an hour or so.

As for the A/C - If you are buying a new construction home with the lanai already enclosed, your a/c should be sized for the proper square footage. If you are enclosing a screened lanai, or the previous owner enclosed it, the supplemental a/c might be helpful. Window a/c's are not allowed.

[villagetinker]

No and no, the generator is way too small to handle AC, and in the area we are in (just south of 466A) I can count the number of interruptions in 11 years on one hand with the longest being about 1 hour. If (big if) you have medical equipment that needs to be available 24/7 then the generator may be suitable, but I would not recommend it. You would need to deal with extension cords, a way to get these from outside to inside the house, the possible tripping hazard of these cords. Then you have to have the generator OUTSIDE and away from the house to avoid CO2 poisoning.
As for the AC unit if this is a window type unit you will find it is NOT allowed per deed restrictions.
If you area really worried about an interruption plan on spending $10K to $20K for a whole house generator and the associated fuel tank (buried), transfer switch, etc. I have 2 neighbors with these, the only times they run is the weekly (or monthly?) test run.
Most of the villages have underground utilities, and SECO has a very robust system to feed their area of The Villages. The older section has DUKE and also has a lot of aerial lines which can be subjected to damage. I have very little info on the newer sections south of 44.

[retiredguy123]

No and no, the generator is way too small to handle AC, and in the area we are in (just south of 466A) I can count the number of interruptions in 11 years on one hand with the longest being about 1 hour. If (big if) you have medical equipment that needs to be available 24/7 then the generator may be suitable, but I would not recommend it. You would need to deal with extension cords, a way to get these from outside to inside the house, the possible tripping hazard of these cords. Then you have to have the generator OUTSIDE and away from the house to avoid CO2 poisoning.
As for the AC unit if this is a window type unit you will find it is NOT allowed per deed restrictions.
If you area really worried about an interruption plan on spending $10K to $20K for a whole house generator and the associated fuel tank (buried), transfer switch, etc. I have 2 neighbors with these, the only times they run is the weekly (or monthly?) test run.
Most of the villages have underground utilities, and SECO has a very robust system to feed their area of The Villages. The older section has DUKE and also has a lot of aerial lines which can be subjected to damage. I have very little info on the newer sections south of 44.
The OP has an upright AC unit, not a window unit. I have been considering buying one in case my HVAC fails.

[BigSteph]

I brought down a portal AC 3 years ago. Still collecting dust. I suppose I'll keep it, though, it is taking up space in the garage.

(It is the kind that sits on the floor and uses a duct to a slightly cracked window).

[DAVES]

My wife and are in the process of downsizing, getting ready for our move to the Villages. I was wondering if I should bring the following items.

- 2400w portable generator, good for keeping furnace, refrigerator and other small appliances running in power outages. Leaning "yes"

- Portable upright room air conditioner. We currently have a multi story home, so nice to provide extra cool to the upstairs office on a hot day. I know most homes in the Villages are single story, so wondering if it would be nice for the lanai? Leaning "no"

Any feedback is appreciated.

No shortage of opinions. Fortunately this is a small dollar one. There is the expense of moving it. Can you properly pack it so it will not be damaged in transit.
A prof mover may not be willing to move a generator-fuel and oil.
It is a used air conditioner and a used generator. In Florida we also have used window air conditioners and used generators. Far as running a refrigerator, newer refrigerators have electronic controls, you need a stable generator to run them.

[AZ SLIM]

I have an older Honda 2000 generator and bought an upright AC/dehumidifier from Costco at a reasonable price. I tested them and found that I can run the AC to keep a small area of the house cool enough to sleep in. It also runs the refrigerator, a table fan, and a couple lights. Maybe more, I haven't tried yet. Hondas don't use much gas, so I keep about 6 gallons on hand plus (more importantly) one of those syphon kits from Harbor Freight so I can get gas out of our vehicles, which we keep full if storms are predicted. Should be good for many hours or days in the unlikely event that the grid is damaged. I know there is not a history of outages here, but I also don't want to have to leave if a big hurricane hits the coast and causes mass evacuations from there. These houses are not designed for good natural airflow.

[tophcfa]

My opinion, no on generator, rarely lose power with underground lines and when do it’s for a very short duration. Yes on portable A/C assuming you have adequate space in new home to store it (back corner of walk in closet would work). A/C would be nice to have as insurance in unlikely event your system fails during hot and humid season (it happens) and could also be used to cool off bedroom for sleeping during shoulder seasons when it’s not necessary to cool whole house with central air.

[Papa_lecki]

One night my AC stopped working. Had it fixed in a day

Spend the night at the brownwood hotel. It was wonderful.

[dewilson58]

Your "leans" are correct.

I brought the 5k generator I had up North.
Full disclosure, have not used it.
But, since I had it................"it's free".
But, But...............I would not buy one down here.

[Toymeister]

I have both in case of power outage. Odds are slight, yes. That is why its preperation, not a long term plan

[vintageogauge]

We've been here 7 years never had a power outage not even during Irma. If my HVAC goes out and I can't get same day service I'll go buy a room air conditioner or go to a hotel, no need to take up space in the garage to use maybe once in a decade if ever.

[MrChip72]

All the power lines are underground in every area of TV that I've encountered. I've never seen or heard of a power outage in The Villages.

[retiredguy123]

All the power lines are underground in every area of TV that I've encountered. I've never seen or heard of a power outage in The Villages.
My power was out for 15 hours a few years ago, and had a 2 year old house with all power lines underground. I have also had several shorter outages since then.

[Topspinmo]

My wife and are in the process of downsizing, getting ready for our move to the Villages. I was wondering if I should bring the following items.

- 2400w portable generator, good for keeping furnace, refrigerator and other small appliances running in power outages. Leaning "yes"

- Portable upright room air conditioner. We currently have a multi story home, so nice to provide extra cool to the upstairs office on a hot day. I know most homes in the Villages are single story, so wondering if it would be nice for the lanai? Leaning "no"

Any feedback is appreciated.

Depends on it you have room to store them? When I moved I downsized the stuff I used occasionally and brought bunch of stuff I didn’t need.

[MrChip72]

My power was out for 15 hours a few years ago, and had a 2 year old house with all power lines underground. I have also had several shorter outages since then.

That really wouldn't bother me in the slightest as a one time event. Would probably just go to the pool or play a round of golf, or a board game if it's late. We're from the north so used to power outages and are used to functioning with candlelight.

[Randall55]

My power was out for 15 hours a few years ago, and had a 2 year old house with all power lines underground. I have also had several shorter outages since then.Agree. Underground lines do not mean you will have a slight chance of outages during a storm.The electric company may turn off the grid, towers can fail, above electrical lines can fall. Fire is a risk along with wind and flooding A tornado can cause havoc. I was born in Florida and I have seen all of this happen.

Does this mean you need a generator? Up to you. We have spent many many days after a big storm without power. Really wasn't that bad. We charge our phones in our vehicles and have plenty of good flashlights and lanterns. We watch the news from our phones.

The excessive heat, on the other hand, can be unbearable for some. If you have a medical condition, you will need to find a way to cool down. It has never been a problem for us. We keep the windows open and sleep in the lanai, if necessary. During the day, we drive around with a/c on and visit stores that have power just to keep cool. We eat out or take food home and dine under the stars. Or, neighbors will come over and we all share our food. Some have propane grills and we feast on food in our refrigerators before they spoil. If you have camped, you will be fine. Not much different.

One of our cabinets in our garage is dedicated to hurricane preparation. Every few months, we check to make certain the items are in working order. Or, we replace with better technology. We now have several solar-operated items. We used them on a recent camping trip and found them to be extremely useful.

[maggie1]

My wife and are in the process of downsizing, getting ready for our move to the Villages. I was wondering if I should bring the following items.

- 2400w portable generator, good for keeping furnace, refrigerator and other small appliances running in power outages. Leaning "yes"

- Portable upright room air conditioner. We currently have a multi story home, so nice to provide extra cool to the upstairs office on a hot day. I know most homes in the Villages are single story, so wondering if it would be nice for the lanai? Leaning "no"

Any feedback is appreciated.

I say "yes" to both. If you have the storage space then why not? Although we seldom have lasting power outages, I'd feel safer knowing I had a power source just in case we did have an extended outage. The summer heat here is brutal, and the upright AC for the bedroom eliminates the need for cooling the entire house when you're sleeping. Hey, you bought the stuff, so bring it down. Granted, you might not need either item, but you'll have them if you do. Good luck, and welcome home.

[Ritagoyer]

My wife and are in the process of downsizing, getting ready for our move to the Villages. I was wondering if I should bring the following items.

- 2400w portable generator, good for keeping furnace, refrigerator and other small appliances running in power outages. Leaning "yes"

- Portable upright room air conditioner. We currently have a multi story home, so nice to provide extra cool to the upstairs office on a hot day. I know most homes in the Villages are single story, so wondering if it would be nice for the lanai? Leaning "no"

Any feedback is appreciated.
You also need a place to store it. You run out of room fast here. Are you going to give up that space for something you really need.

[Berwin]

I have friends who live outside TV who speak of when a tornado went through the area years back and power was out for about five days for some of them. When I moved, I ran my 2000w inverter generator out of gas and found a super sturdy plastic tote at HD (black one with yellow top) large enough to hold the generator. I packed some lightweight stuff in it to keep it from thumping around and told the packers to watch out, that one's kind of heavy. :-)

[birdawg]

Been here eleven years lost power for Three hours.

[eeroger]

[QUOTE=Coop63;2320771]My wife and are in the process of downsizing, getting ready for our move to the Villages. I was wondering if I should bring the following items.

- 2400w portable generator, good for keeping furnace, refrigerator and other small appliances running in power outages. Leaning "yes"

- Portable upright room air conditioner. We currently have a multi story home, so nice to provide extra cool to the upstairs office on a hot day. I know most homes in the Villages are single story, so wondering if it would be nice for the lanai? Leaning "no"

Any feedback is appreciated.

YES - bring the generator! The storms in FL are getting stronger and more frequent. AccuWeather just predicted an increase in the total # of Hurricanes & # predicted to hit FL. My neighborhood lost power for 18 hours during Hurricane Irma. Our portable generator kept us from loosing precious food in the refrigerator & coffee that morning tasted mighty fine. The northern section was without power for 5-7 days.

[MikeN]

We are in the new section of TV. Been here only a year. While I did bring down a small generator in case of an extended power problem we have had not lost power for more than an hour. With that said as always the weather people predict a robust hurricane season again this season so who knows. As far a a portable ac unit, up to you. Don’t know anyone here that has one

[defrey12]

My wife and are in the process of downsizing, getting ready for our move to the Villages. I was wondering if I should bring the following items.

- 2400w portable generator, good for keeping furnace, refrigerator and other small appliances running in power outages. Leaning "yes"

- Portable upright room air conditioner. We currently have a multi story home, so nice to provide extra cool to the upstairs office on a hot day. I know most homes in the Villages are single story, so wondering if it would be nice for the lanai? Leaning "no"

Any feedback is appreciated.

Lean ‘yes’ on both. We’ve lived in Florida for 10 years and you never know when you’ll need both in a storm…hurricanes. I wouldn’t run out and buy them but we kept ours when we moved here from Jacksonville two years ago. Less likely to need them here…like I said, you just never know.

[defrey12]

No and no, the generator is way too small to handle AC, and in the area we are in (just south of 466A) I can count the number of interruptions in 11 years on one hand with the longest being about 1 hour. If (big if) you have medical equipment that needs to be available 24/7 then the generator may be suitable, but I would not recommend it. You would need to deal with extension cords, a way to get these from outside to inside the house, the possible tripping hazard of these cords. Then you have to have the generator OUTSIDE and away from the house to avoid CO2 poisoning.
As for the AC unit if this is a window type unit you will find it is NOT allowed per deed restrictions.
If you area really worried about an interruption plan on spending $10K to $20K for a whole house generator and the associated fuel tank (buried), transfer switch, etc. I have 2 neighbors with these, the only times they run is the weekly (or monthly?) test run.
Most of the villages have underground utilities, and SECO has a very robust system to feed their area of The Villages. The older section has DUKE and also has a lot of aerial lines which can be subjected to damage. I have very little info on the newer sections south of 44.

He’s NOT using the portable generator to run the whole house! Just to run the portable A/C, refer, TV, charge phones etc. Perfectly fine. We’ve done this through many a hurricane. Works very well.

[banjobob]

My wife and are in the process of downsizing, getting ready for our move to the Villages. I was wondering if I should bring the following items.

- 2400w portable generator, good for keeping furnace, refrigerator and other small appliances running in power outages. Leaning "yes"

- Portable upright room air conditioner. We currently have a multi story home, so nice to provide extra cool to the upstairs office on a hot day. I know most homes in the Villages are single story, so wondering if it would be nice for the lanai? Leaning "no"

Any feedback is appreciated.

Your instincts are right .

[gwenhwalker@yahoo.com]

Lived here 10 years and never lost power. AC unit would be good for lanai or garage

[DonnaNi4os]

If you ever lose your air conditioning in the heat of the summer you will be so happy that you brought your portable ac unit with you. Trust me. I went thru 3 weeks in an extremely hot July without central air because parts were unavailable and an incompetent crew denied complaints I had before I ended up a complete loss of cold air. I recommend that everyone invest in a portable unit. I will never be without. As for the generator, it couldn’t hurt to bring it.

[Villagesgal]

Generator, no need. Portable a/c yes for the garage if you plan to work in the garage at all during the summer. I have a portable a/c unit in the garage and when I'm out there, it works amazingly well. I'd bring it. I had to buy one. I've lived here for 22 years and power has never gone out, not even during hurricanes. Power lines are underground.

[ThirdOfFive]

The way I see it, nobody buys car insurance because they plan on having an accident.

Yes...and maybe. Yes to the generator. Bring it and even if you don't use it and later on decide to part with it, it should sell pretty fast here in TV: stores like Lowe's, Sam's Club, Costco and Home Depot carry a lot of them. Don't know where "home" is currently but my guess is that it'll sell for more here than there. From the description I'd say that yours is an inverter, which is important because inverters will run things like your Wi-fi, TV, and any other "smart" appliance or gizmo without damaging them, whereas a regular generator may cause damage to such things. Ours will run everything in the house except the AC.

Don't worry about cords. Amazon sells 20 amp. flat cords that are designed to go under doors. I have two. Both functioned admirably during a couple of dry runs. Hook 'em up to a heavy duty power strip and you can run pretty much everything.

AC? If you have it, why not? Your generator should run it. For our part we have the whole-house AC and that's it. Our generator won't run it but it WILL run fans and I have several. People used to live in Florida long before the advent of AC.

[Sully2023]

My wife and are in the process of downsizing, getting ready for our move to the Villages. I was wondering if I should bring the following items.

- 2400w portable generator, good for keeping furnace, refrigerator and other small appliances running in power outages. Leaning "yes"

- Portable upright room air conditioner. We currently have a multi story home, so nice to provide extra cool to the upstairs office on a hot day. I know most homes in the Villages are single story, so wondering if it would be nice for the lanai? Leaning "no"

Any feedback is appreciated.

A few years ago, I went to a Fourth of July party when a hurricane was coming. I remember getting gas, batteries, and bottled water. I asked the 20 some guests what they were planning to do? The answer was nothing! They said “We get rain and wind here.” The power does not go out and if it did a very short time.

Later, my ac unit went out (blower motor failed) and it took three days to get the part and serviceman. The window ac unit would have been nice for the bedroom while I waited for the ac unit to be fixed.

[mtdjed]

Depends on it you have room to store them? When I moved I downsized the stuff I used occasionally and brought bunch of stuff I didn’t need.

All opinion, but I would definitely not bring generator unless you have extra room for storage (Which few of us have). Neighbor just sold his after no use since he got here in 2006. Biggest problem I saw for extended power outage was outside of The Villages for several days.
I bought a 10,000 BTU portable rollabout AC during a maintenance requirement error by SUNCOOL. W/o AC for 3 days and bought unit on day 3 and then SUNCOOL discovered their error that same day. Kept unit in original box and stored in garage. I offer it to neighbors when they have extended outage waiting for repair. Been used 3 times in 10 years by anyone but me. Oh, I forgot about the time we had a garage sale and I set it up to keep some cool air in the garage. Would rather have someone else having the loaner spare.

[MidWestIA]

If you have them I guess so. If Leesburg electric you may be down part of a day in a BIG storm IRMA 2017) Sumter Duke probably won't go down

[nancyre]

Yes & yes. Portable units come in handy - enclose lanai, garage when you have to work in there, when the HVAC has an issue.

[Switter]

My wife and are in the process of downsizing, getting ready for our move to the Villages. I was wondering if I should bring the following items.

- 2400w portable generator, good for keeping furnace, refrigerator and other small appliances running in power outages. Leaning "yes"

- Portable upright room air conditioner. We currently have a multi story home, so nice to provide extra cool to the upstairs office on a hot day. I know most homes in the Villages are single story, so wondering if it would be nice for the lanai? Leaning "no"

Any feedback is appreciated.

If you've got room to store them in your new place it never "hurts" to have them. I have a 1000w Honda generator. It's small, takes up very little room, and is enough to run my Internet, my fridge, a couple fans, and some lights if the need should ever arise.

We are pretty well buffered against hurricanes in the villages. The worst we get here, from what I have learned, is wind damage and lightning strikes. A lightning strike hit my house and fried the controller board in the furnace/AC unit. I don't know if that was just a freak incident but it meant no heat/AC until someone came out to repair it. A portable A/C unit would've been nice. If I know there's going to be a lot of lightning from a storm, I run around the house and unplug any expensive electronics and switch off my furnace/AC until it passes. I have a whole house surge protector but that's no guarantee.

As for power, as others have said, it will likely only ever be off for a couple hours at most. The bottom line, if it gives you peace of mind to have them both then go ahead and bring them. You can always sell them later and both would probably sell pretty quickly down here.

[JayBee]

I have an older Honda 2000 generator and bought an upright AC/dehumidifier from Costco at a reasonable price. I tested them and found that I can run the AC to keep a small area of the house cool enough to sleep in. It also runs the refrigerator, a table fan, and a couple lights. Maybe more, I haven't tried yet. Hondas don't use much gas, so I keep about 6 gallons on hand plus (more importantly) one of those syphon kits from Harbor Freight so I can get gas out of our vehicles, which we keep full if storms are predicted. Should be good for many hours or days in the unlikely event that the grid is damaged. I know there is not a history of outages here, but I also don't want to have to leave if a big hurricane hits the coast and causes mass evacuations from there. These houses are not designed for good natural airflow.
"My 2 cents" makes more than 2 cents of sense. I have lived in Florida for more than 30 yrs.Have the little Honda 2000ie, and it has bailed us out several times.Will keep your fridge and tv and internet and some chosen lights working while your neighbors are in the dark. A small window a/c unit will run too. Yes you need some extension chords! Secondly, the gas consumption about a gallon a day ( depending) is great.Having a 5G tank can give you almost a weeks' worth of power.
In addition, this little 35# generator is really ( soundproofed) quiet.I keep mine 20 plus feet from the house and barely hear it.

[Maker]

About using ot to AC the lanai..
The lanai ceiling is likely not insulated. Using your portable unit to try to AC that space will be difficult and expensive.
If the lanai is not glass enclosed, you are wasting your money.

If the lanai is glass enclosed, and ceiling is insulated, just open the sliding doors to it. The house ac will cool it fine, and is a lot more efficient.

[skippy05]

Yes and yes, if you are keen on the idea on keeping 2 items that may or may not get used for 5 days total over the remainder of your lifetime.

[jimjamuser]

My wife and are in the process of downsizing, getting ready for our move to the Villages. I was wondering if I should bring the following items.

- 2400w portable generator, good for keeping furnace, refrigerator and other small appliances running in power outages. Leaning "yes"

- Portable upright room air conditioner. We currently have a multi story home, so nice to provide extra cool to the upstairs office on a hot day. I know most homes in the Villages are single story, so wondering if it would be nice for the lanai? Leaning "no"

Any feedback is appreciated.
Yes, bring that stuff because of hurricanes. The world's ocean waters are at a record high.

[Bwanajim]

Yes to generator! Better to have it and not need than need it and not have it

[Bwanajim]

No and no, the generator is way too small to handle AC, and in the area we are in (just south of 466A) I can count the number of interruptions in 11 years on one hand with the longest being about 1 hour. If (big if) you have medical equipment that needs to be available 24/7 then the generator may be suitable, but I would not recommend it. You would need to deal with extension cords, a way to get these from outside to inside the house, the possible tripping hazard of these cords. Then you have to have the generator OUTSIDE and away from the house to avoid CO2 poisoning.
As for the AC unit if this is a window type unit you will find it is NOT allowed per deed restrictions.
If you area really worried about an interruption plan on spending $10K to $20K for a whole house generator and the associated fuel tank (buried), transfer switch, etc. I have 2 neighbors with these, the only times they run is the weekly (or monthly?) test run.
Most of the villages have underground utilities, and SECO has a very robust system to feed their area of The Villages. The older section has DUKE and also has a lot of aerial lines which can be subjected to damage. I have very little info on the newer sections south of 44.
V
I have a 6500 W Yamaha generator and it powered everything in my 5000 square-foot house except 2 of the AC units. It did power the small 1500 unit for the bedrooms.

[Annie66]

The OP has an upright AC unit, not a window unit. I have been considering buying one in case my HVAC fails.

Our main AC unit died in the middle of the summer. The HVAC repair company provided us a standalone AC unit which we used in the bedroom at night. It was an upright unit that evaporated the condensate and had an exhaust hose that was flush with the screening. The evaporated moisture was blown outside through the hose. Neighbors could not tell there was a window unit operating.

[nn0wheremann]

My wife and are in the process of downsizing, getting ready for our move to the Villages. I was wondering if I should bring the following items.

- 2400w portable generator, good for keeping furnace, refrigerator and other small appliances running in power outages. Leaning "yes"

- Portable upright room air conditioner. We currently have a multi story home, so nice to provide extra cool to the upstairs office on a hot day. I know most homes in the Villages are single story, so wondering if it would be nice for the lanai? Leaning "no"

Any feedback is appreciated.
Depends on wher you plan to move to. In the villages with Sumter electric cooperative providing power, completely unnecessary. Duke energy, well maybe. Leesburg power, I don’t know.

[HoosierPa]

No I wouldn’t

[retiredguy123]

Our main AC unit died in the middle of the summer. The HVAC repair company provided us a standalone AC unit which we used in the bedroom at night. It was an upright unit that evaporated the condensate and had an exhaust hose that was flush with the screening. The evaporated moisture was blown outside through the hose. Neighbors could not tell there was a window unit operating.
According to the Deed Compliance office, the upright portable air conditioners with a flexible hose window connection are acceptable for use. Only the window unit types are prohibited.

[Nell57]

Been here 15 years…..never lost power more than 4 times for maybe 3 hours.
I value my garage space too much to add anything else.
No matter what you’ve packed so far, in a year you won’t want a third of it

[opinionist]

I had a generator up north and decided to give it away when I moved south. My thinking was underground service should be reliable. I was in a different community when IRMA passed over and lost power for 2 days. Underground service was not the problem. Transformers can fail and it takes time to replace them. In retrospect, it was still a good decision to leave the generator up north. Gas generators make a lot of noise and that is a problem with homes packed close together. I thought about getting a solar generator. Totally quiet and lasts for hours depending on the load.

I had an A/C already installed in my lanai for my first Florida house. I had water leak problems around the A/C and had to remove it. My current house in TV has a mini-split on the lanai and it works great.

[Carlsondm]

If the generator can start and run the portable AC unit, bring it, especially if it is a good quality generator. I have been south of 44 for 5 yrs and only one 8 hour outage. In the summer heat that could be brutal. Rescuing your refrigerator food and meds is another reason to have a small generator. We still have some above ground power lines in the “southern areas” so the 60-70 mph winds from a hurricane (that’s what we get) or drenching electrical storms can interrupt electrical and internet.
If you have equipment you use and love I would bring it. I am kicking myself for selling my Honda gen and oak furniture at the advice of others. The Harbor Freight gen is harder to operate and less efficient.

[SeaCros]

Don’t think you would need either one here. Plus if you are downsizing would have to think of where you would store them in a small space.

[mikemalloy]

My wife and are in the process of downsizing, getting ready for our move to the Villages. I was wondering if I should bring the following items.

- 2400w portable generator, good for keeping furnace, refrigerator and other small appliances running in power outages. Leaning "yes"

- Portable upright room air conditioner. We currently have a multi story home, so nice to provide extra cool to the upstairs office on a hot day. I know most homes in the Villages are single story, so wondering if it would be nice for the lanai? Leaning "no"

Any feedback is appreciated.
I know this is a little later than most replys. First of all, we had a generator up north because storms would take down trees and disrupt power sometimes for a day or two. Been here 10 yrs. and recall one outage for about an hour when a vehicle hit a utility pole. Lines are underground and even hurricanes don't cause a problem is every area except maybe the original section. Here we don't have attics or basements and your primary storage area is your garage. AVOID TAKING ANYTING THAT YOU'LL PROBABLY NEVER USE. You can't afford the storage spece. My advice is no to the generator and the air conditioner. You'll most likely never need either.

[dewilson58]

Lines are underground and even hurricanes

Many people & posters think this makes The Villages immune from outages.

Lines feeding into The Villages are not all underground.

[BettyInFL]

My wife and are in the process of downsizing, getting ready for our move to the Villages. I was wondering if I should bring the following items.

- 2400w portable generator, good for keeping furnace, refrigerator and other small appliances running in power outages. Leaning "yes"

- Portable upright room air conditioner. We currently have a multi story home, so nice to provide extra cool to the upstairs office on a hot day. I know most homes in the Villages are single story, so wondering if it would be nice for the lanai? Leaning "no"

Any feedback is appreciated.

Our generator has been sitting on our lanai unused, the three years we have lived here. We DO use a portable room a/c because our neighbor cut down the oak tree that shaded our front room, so the FL sun beats into the room keeping it over 80 degrees during the 'sunny' months.

Neighbor also used our portable a/c when their home A/C went out. It was a life saver.

[jpvillager]

I don't see a discussion on GAS STORAGE. Garages here are much hotter than up North. Best to run and store non-ethanol high test gas and add stabilizer. When gas sits for long periods its octane rating will lower. By starting with high test and using stabilizer high test might degrade to mid or regular and still be fine. Because generators set for long periods and they should be started periodically to make sure they will run when they are needed.

[AZ SLIM]

Thinking that you will be able to move to a hotel after a big hurricane might not work out. If a big storm comes, the people from the coast will already have taken up most, if not all of the rooms. For example, I was working hurricane response after Katrina. When the Second one came (Rita) we had to leave while it passed and had to drive all the way to Memphis to find a room. Barely got one then. Way back in '92 we were sent to Kauai following hurricane Iniki. We had to sleep in tents at a park.

[ThirdOfFive]

I don't see a discussion on GAS STORAGE. Garages here are much hotter than up North. Best to run and store non-ethanol high test gas and add stabilizer. When gas sits for long periods its octane rating will lower. By starting with high test and using stabilizer high test might degrade to mid or regular and still be fine. Because generators set for long periods and they should be started periodically to make sure they will run when they are needed.
Good point about gas.

It does take planning ahead. Our Westinghouse iGen 2500 revs up only if power is called for, and can run for about 10 hours on a tank of gas (approx. one gallon), but probably more under a heavy load. Gasoline isn't a problem. If we need generator gas I just siphon a gallon from the golf cart and we're good to go.

Stale gas can be a problem. I run our generator about once every other month or so (more in summer) to power my lawn tools (mower, hedge trimmer, edger) so I keep the gas relatively fresh. If longer than that and I suspect stale gas, I just dump what is in the tank into a gallon jug and then pour it into the car's tank.