I live in the Northeast corner of the state of Arkansas so, like many people from the northern edge of Texas all the way to the east coast of the country, I awoke to an Ice-Age storm of Biblical proportions a few days ago. There was ice over an inch thick on every uncovered surface for miles around. As dusk was settling the first day, I stood in my garage and listened to the eerie sounds of trees breaking over all around us. It is a sound that in its devastation alone makes words impossible to describe.
God in his almighty power has humbled us once more. Mixing beauty with destruction, our world will change once again; just as it did for those in the wake of hurricane Katrina.
Chilly fingers of ice have snapped every tree as though they were just so many tooth picks; leaving the jagged edges shining raw in the sun. Hundreds of thousands of people are still without power and this is day five.
I went into the Lowe's store in Paragould , Arkansas -the only store open, running on generator power-to buy a box of fire logs for my fire place. They had none; sold out.
Well, what about a couple of small room propane heaters-sorry, sold out.
As I first walked into the store, I saw a line of generators being hauled out one behind the other. Trains of generators were coming down every aisle headed toward the Out' door.
And they continued the whole time I was in the store. I heard a lady tell several customers that all the generators were sold, but there would be another truck in tomorrow.
Arkansas (as I'm sure several other states are as well) is known for its ice storms and this isn't the first and won't be the last time a large area will be without power. This storm, however, has brought destruction beyond our wildest dreams. For no matter what part of the country (or the world) you live in, God and Nature will always find you; ice, rain, winds, floods, tornadoes, hurricanes, volcanos, earth quakes--they leave their mark and we can only pick ourselves up and start over.
Shortly after moving here from Texas , we experienced our first Arkansas ice storm and decided that being without power for several days is not an option we care to struggle through. With that in mind, we went to our nearest Home Depot store and looked over their selection of residential standby generators. We decided on a 15k watt Guardian and have never looked back. Now, any time the power goes out for any reason, our guardian takes care of us. Our house has total power, we have heat and all our electrical appliances are ready for us any time we need them.
We have had our Guardian generator for several years now and I am sure that the manufacturer has come up with newer and better models than the one we have.
Pros for the Guardian:
1. Was easy to connect.
2. Comes on and goes off automatically, so we don't have to be awake or at home when there is a power failure.
3. Ours runs on propane-there are models which run on Natural or LP gas.
4. Easy to operate
5. Very sound product-no problems since we bought it four years ago.
6. Not overly expensive for the usefulness and quality of the product.
7. Operates everything in the entire house (3 bedroom, 2 bath, formal dinning, large family room, and large kitchen, dining area. With central heat and air).
Cons for the Guardian:
1. Expensive to operate over several days since the cost of propane has gone up.
2. A bit noisy, but we placed ours out in the shop, so it's not a problem for us.
(I think they have quieter models now).
Would I recommend the Guardian Generator? Absolutely
We have opened our home to several families who are still without power since this ice storm began and we thank God that we are able to do what little we can for those in need.
Without our Guardian, we would have been looking for shelter from the first day.
If you live in an area that suffers power outages, you really should consider a standby generator with enough power to supply the entire house.
Please, pray for everyone in these devastated areas.
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