Shop groomers how many of you have some sort of backup generator

[Hellyion]

Someone ran into a power pole badly, took the pole almost down, should have been replaced probably years ago. 4 hours no power maybe 5. OK I am getting a portable one for backup. I would like it to serve my refrigerator and then in grooming my table, chargers for clippers, dryer HV and a couple light fixtures on stands.

Any suggestion for wattage and a brand name? I use laptop and keep it charged. It can recharge without creating any significant load, same with my phone.

[dogma]

No generator. I’ve never been down long enough that I couldn’t make it up by working on my day off.
We had a car hit a pole also. Back up and running the next day.
For me, it’s not worth the expense and maintenance to have a generator on the off chance that “something might happen”.

[IrishSetterTom]

I dont believe its necessary especially for a groom shop. Even if you lose power the crews work to get it restored quickly. A natural disaster, well, everything is out so no need to worry about a client getting a dog groomed after a hurricane or tornado.

When I owned my shop, we lost power for a couple hours 1x in the five years i was there..

If you really want the piece of mind, then look for a portable unit with wheels. Have several cords available. You probably need at least a 7 to 10,000 watt to be able to run a fridge, HV, lights and a few other items.

The correct way to connect it to a building is having a electrician install a transfer switch so you run 1 cord to the building and then you control what you want power to by turning circuit breakers on and off.

[whitedog]

I got one at a great price as we can have 2 or 3 outages a year. Some years clean, and then boom multiple issues especially with summer thunderstorms.

I think mine is 3,500 watts. I have LED lamps to lower demand. I have a small mini fridge with modest load. I have used my driers on lower setting and if it is warm you may get away without using heat element. Remember you will be running extension cords so make a schematic of the plan. Store the gas safely.

[123Linda]

We have one, and if we don't need it, we have needed it at our home. Get a portable one.