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Comment by j79 | Hacker News Reader

> It also includes families and individuals who live paycheck to paycheck and can barely afford the groceries currently in their fridge, which will likely spoil.

In addition to the financial burden for these families, there's also the potential health impacts of eating spoiled food. Personally, I was hesitant to waste food that my wife had just purchased a few days prior. My stomach disagreed with that decision, and I spent most of my Sunday sitting in the bathroom with no power or cell service.

We're now dealing with the question of WHEN to replenish our food. I've also considered purchasing a generator for just powering the fridge. But, this is all new and any advice would be greatly appreciated.

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> But, this is all new and any advice would be greatly appreciated.

This video shows the three main ways to legally / safely connect a generator:

* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CKwBBesUKA8

Method 1 is the simplest and involves running an extension cord to the appliance(s) you want powered; or a power bar if you want multiple.

Method 3 is the most expensive, and it involves buying a very big generator to power the whole house, making sure there is a mechanism that prevents power back-feeding into the grid.

Method 2 is probably what you may want to look into. You purchase a small/medium generator as well as an electrical sub-panel. You then re-wire any appliances to the sub-panel. When the power goes out, you change the sub-panel's incoming feed from the main panel to the generator, which will then power your pre-selected appliances.

A potato-quality video illustrating Method 2:

* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lkbBt8hv8mQ

Method 1 is the simplest and involves running an extension cord to the appliance(s) you want powered; or a power bar if you want multiple.

Should one take this route, and you want to run some high-wattage stuff like a refrigerator, microwave, or space heater, remember to use the thickest cord you can find if it runs any length. Harbor Freight will sell you 50' of 12 gauge extension cord for cheap. Use that thin little thing you use to plug the shop light into, and it'll get warm fast.

I have experience in hurricanes and other natural disasters.

I purchased a decent size inverter (from Harbor Freight), and used that to power a full-size refrigerator.

It is hooked up to the car, and running the car will charge the battery.

California, leading the world in climate change activism, as its residents rush out to buy cheap generators and idle their cars to get power. Yay!

It could be a diesel vehicle that is powered by vegetable oil.

Even better! Let's deforest huge areas of virgin forest for crappy vegetable oil plantations, and then fill our own air with particulates that are awful for anything with lungs.

For one off situations you can also buy dry ice and put it in the fridge. We used to do this during hurricanes.

Regular ice works too, just take out your crisper drawers, put them on the top shelf and then empty the bagged ice into the drawers. If you can find it (good luck), block ice works best.

True, but dry ice sublimates instead of melts so there's no cleanup.

Yes dry ice is best, but it is about $1.25/lb, vs $0.25/lb; also regular ice is available in most countries year-round, dry ice has limited availability, even in the US.

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