Picture the scene... 1997, we had just moved north and had a house big enough to invite everyone in the family (about 14) around for Xmas lunch... about the beginning of November we started having long power cuts....

No way were we relying on mains power so off I go to B&Q and low and behold find this for £79.99 on special offer...



2.5KW petrol generator.

Well they had it sorted for xmas and I probably used it twice....

Since then it has sat in the garage, been fired up to check it out as and when I remembered but generally just taking up space, never had a power cut since so never needed it..

So I decide to have a clear out and it goes on eBay, Deb found the handbook and receipt (I was very impressed) and it sells for £70 (total result, thinks me ) and the guy picked it up three days ago...

Now, the sharper ones among you can probably guess what's coming next...

10am this morning and ..... power cut... Deb got a text from the supplier to say it will be back on by 2pm, luckily it just came back..... Is this the start of something...???

Total and utter sods law.... 19 years I kept that "just in case"

Admin note: this post has had its images recovered from a money grabbing photo hosting site and reinstated  Pete
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2014 L405 Autobiography SDV8 4.4 Loire Blue Ebony interior
2011 L322 Vogue SE 4.4 TDV8 Baltic Blue. Parchment over Navy Interior. Sold
2012 L322 Autobiography 5.0 Supercharged Ipanema Sand, Jet Interior. Sold
2002 L322 Vogue 4.4 V8 Epson Green, Ivory over Aspen Interior (Fatty Offroader) Sold
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Never ever get rid of things, they will be there when you want them, if only you can remember where they are!

I've got loads of "just in case" in my shed too pete.

My house is wired for a generator but I have never used it, my mates joke I must have a hidden bomb shelter in the garden also!

Have a couple of gennys in the garage, for work, including an inverter generator which is ideal for electronical stuff. In theory you could just plug it into the one of the ring sockets and that ring would power up. BUT would would need to make sure that the house was isolated from the mains as it would also power that up to and feed back to the main and everyone else potentially causing a hazard to linemen working on the infrastructure.

If you have a double pole switch in the mains box you could just turn this off and all should be OK.

I too have not had a power cut since I have had a generator in the garage. There is nothing that can't be fixed with a hammer😜😜
FFRR 4.4 SDV8 Autobiography Santorini Black.
KIA E-Niro 4+
2010 LR D4 Commercial 2.7 TDV6

Pete, it goes with the territory bud. Just like a FFRR, absolutely fine until you really need it. The national grid knew exactly when you were selling that generator and timed the power cut to perfection

I to purchased the below 2 years plus ago, its still in the box never ever used and so far no power cuts or anything.

But not selling it cos I'll push my luck.

On the off chance someone reads this thread and thinks "hmmmmm gunna get me one of them”

If you use one then you MUST turn the power supply to your house off whilst using it! Otherwise when the power comes back on you will not need the heating for a while

Oh yes.... I had the most dangerous thing going, a lead with a 13amp plug at both ends!!!!! stick it in the downstairs ring main and turn the power off...

It would run the boiler, fridge/freezer, TV and a few lamps...

You had to keep an eye on the neighbour to see when power came back on...  Pete
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2014 L405 Autobiography SDV8 4.4 Loire Blue Ebony interior
2011 L322 Vogue SE 4.4 TDV8 Baltic Blue. Parchment over Navy Interior. Sold
2012 L322 Autobiography 5.0 Supercharged Ipanema Sand, Jet Interior. Sold
2002 L322 Vogue 4.4 V8 Epson Green, Ivory over Aspen Interior (Fatty Offroader) Sold
-Click for Project Fatty off roader-

Exactly Pete... Just wanted to make that point clear pal

Haylands wrote:

Oh yes.... I had the most dangerous thing going, a lead with a 13amp plug at both ends!!!!

Sorry Pete, that ain't the most dangerous thing ever. I'll tell you what is. That would be a small piece of Lego, the one you step on in the dark when mooching for a middle of the night slash. The one which makes you hop around like a demented pogo stick and leads ultimately to falling into the bath whilst still trying to hop and swear and hold the afflicted foot without waking the whole fekkin house up, unsuccessfully I might add.

My parents place is at one of the longest, if not the longest, supply in the UK. Years ago we used to average at least a power cut a month. Because of the business Dad about a 5kW petrol one, couldn't justify the 10 fold increase for a diesel despite having red diesel. Most of the farms around simply reverse a tractor up to a shed and use that... We only had the one tractor so he wanted it available.

Nowadays just leave stuff off, few candles and light the fire (it's a big fire). As long as the freezers aren't opened too much they can stay frozen for days. We run them very cold anyway. Ed

Theres an idea Pete, get a PTO on the FF and stick a genset on the end of it  FFRR MY06 facelift With TDV8 Alloys Zeros/ATR's
Mantec Sump Guard, Rigid Load liner, MY10 BT upgrade.