Ike is moving towards us and is forecast to gain strength. Currently a cat 3 storm, it’s expected to weaken to a cat 2 and then explode into a cat 4 by Monday afternoon.
Preparing for a hurricane is expensive! Of course, I have the tendency to over-prepare. But, that habit sure does make things a lot less stressful when the sh*t finally does hit the fan.
Take a look at the finally tally …
One Time Purchases
- 5,500 Watt Generator + 2 5-gal plastic gas cans $696 (bought in Aug 06)
- 8,000 BTU portable air conditioner $318 (bought in Aug 06)
- Oil funnel & drip pan (to change oil in generator) $6
- 10.7 gal fueling station $131
- 2 5-gal metal gas cans $82
- 2 gas can spouts $31
- NOAA Weather Radio $52
- 2 100-ft 15amp extension cords $145
- 1 2-ft 15amp power block $14
Ongoing Purchases
- 5 qt Pennzoil synthetic oil (for generator) $21
- 30 gal fuel (for generator) $113
- 12 gal drinking water $11
- Nonperishable food $50
Total = $1,670…Â Hmm, me thinks that’s a lot of dough.
I guesstimate our generator will use 3/4 gal of fuel per hour powering the portable air conditioner, the refrigerator, the deep freeze and a couple of other things (laptops, DSL modem, router, etc.). We can potentially have enough fuel for about 54 hours of continuous power.
By the way, check out this coooooooool device I picked up. It picks up free AccuWeather and the color of the screen changes depending on the temperature (blue for cold, red for hot). It gives you the current temperature, the UV conditions, the time and the wind speed and direction and the 7 day forecast.
