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

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 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.

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.

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.

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).

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.

My two cents worth
 

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 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.

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

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

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Bring it!
 

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.

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.

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. :-)

Been here eleven years lost power for Three hours.

Generator
 

[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.

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

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.

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.

Your instincts are right .

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

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.

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.

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.

Generator and portable ac
 

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.

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.

Bring
 

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

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

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.

"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.

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.

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.

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