Talk of The Villages Florida
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Talk of The Villages Florida (https://www.talkofthevillages.com/forums/)
-   The Villages, Florida, General Discussion (https://www.talkofthevillages.com/forums/villages-florida-general-discussion-73/)
-   -   Getting ready to move to TV. Bring generator and portable air conditioning unit? (https://www.talkofthevillages.com/forums/villages-florida-general-discussion-73/getting-ready-move-tv-bring-generator-portable-air-conditioning-unit-349225/)

ThirdOfFive 04-12-2024 07:28 AM
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 04-12-2024 07:56 AM
Generator and portable ac
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Coop63 (Post 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.
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 04-12-2024 08:08 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by Topspinmo (Post 2320866)
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 04-12-2024 08:26 AM
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

nancyre 04-12-2024 09:07 AM
Yes & yes. Portable units come in handy - enclose lanai, garage when you have to work in there, when the HVAC has an issue.

Switter 04-12-2024 09:13 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by Coop63 (Post 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.
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 04-12-2024 09:27 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by AZ SLIM (Post 2320791)
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 04-12-2024 10:35 AM
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 04-12-2024 11:31 AM
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 04-12-2024 01:29 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by Coop63 (Post 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 that stuff because of hurricanes. The world's ocean waters are at a record high.

Bwanajim 04-12-2024 02:44 PM
Yes to generator! Better to have it and not need than need it and not have it

Bwanajim 04-12-2024 02:45 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by villagetinker (Post 2320776)
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 04-12-2024 03:09 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by retiredguy123 (Post 2320777)
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 04-12-2024 05:54 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by Coop63 (Post 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.
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 04-13-2024 05:08 AM
No I wouldn’t


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