10:33 – I just called to set up an appointment with an electrician to come out and tell us what we need to do to get our generator hooked directly to our well pump and pressure tank, and if possible to measure how much current those two motors draw under load.
Once we have that done, I can put a quart of gasoline in the generator, load it up with a couple of 500W quartz-halogen work lights, and time how long it’ll run on a quart of gasoline with a 1KW load. Between our vehicle gas tanks and gas cans, I want to have enough fuel on hand to pump 100 gallons of water a day for at least 30 days, and ideally 90 days or more.
I also need to pick up a couple cases of motor oil and a couple cans of ether-based starting spray. We haven’t been running the generator periodically as the manufacturer recommends, but I intend to start running it every two to three months on a pint or a quart of gasoline until it runs dry. That should ensure that it starts reliably if we ever have a power outage that’s long enough to make it worthwhile to fire up the generator. We’ll also move the generator from the garage down into the unfinished basement area. It’ll probably fit underneath one of the work tables. It’s a 6KW Generac unit rated for 7KW surge, so it should be sufficient to power the well pump and pressure tank, but we’ll verify that when the electrician visits.
I was running short of iodine, so I ordered 250 grams of ACS reagent grade for $34.68 from a Chinese vendor on eBay on March 4th. It arrived the other day via USPS, labeled as “Clothing accessory” with a stated value of $7.00. In my experience, Chinese vendors on eBay are completely honest about the important things. They ship what they say they’re going to ship, and it arrives quickly. They never short me on weight, and I have no doubt that this iodine is in fact ACS reagent grade. The only thing they’re dishonest about is labeling and shipping paperwork. Apparently, they’re not worried about getting caught by the postal authorities.