Bought a generator yesterday

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rickryan.com

DJ Extraordinaire
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Dec 9, 2009
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Hendersonville, TN
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I finally broke down and bought an inverter generator yesterday. $470 at Tractor Supply. I'm likely going to start using this on ceremonies at my venue (since I'm no longer doing mobile gigs). Main reason I bought it, I now live out in the country and my job won't likely understand if I'm out of commission due to a power outage. I think this thing is even lighter than the EU2000.

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I finally broke down and bought an inverter generator yesterday. $470 at Tractor Supply. I'm likely going to start using this on ceremonies at my venue (since I'm no longer doing mobile gigs). Main reason I bought it, I now live out in the country and my job won't likely understand if I'm out of commission due to a power outage. I think this thing is even lighter than the EU2000.

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Looks like a pretty good little generator. With the recent ice storm we had here, there are ZERO generators to be had anywhere within a hundred miles from here. I was glad I already had one, but I let it sit too long without starting it, and couldn’t get it started the first day we were without power. I put a bottle of gas treatment in it and it started the next day, and we ran it for a day and a half before the power came back on. My brother-in-law just got his power back last night; almost a week after it went out. He had to throw out everything in his refrigerator.
 
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Always good to have one on hand. I am noticing that there are plenty of choices these days in dual- or tri-fuel generators on the market. These are a great choice if you don't expect to use it much. Gas goes bad if it sits too long in a tank. Natural gas and propane don't have those issues. I bought an after-market tri-fuel kit for my Honda 2000i many years ago. I couldn't find any portable tri-fuel options at the time but that is no longer the case.
 
Just fired it up for the first time. Easy peasy. The fuel cap has an on/off to let you seal off the fuel from outside air. I went ahead and put Sta-Bil into the fuel so hopefully it should be ready to go when needed. Very quiet, as expected.
 
...additional advice, run the unit weekly or bi-weekly regardless of deployment.

Invariably, any annoying failure to start/ignition issues will be traceable to prolonged dormancy and the gunkin' up of internal component that results. Just my oft realized (several rebuilt fuel system components), eventually adhered to experience.
 
Used my generator for the first time this weekend for ceremony power. I put it about 75-100 feet away and ran an extension cord. Couldn't even hear it (running on eco mode). Oddly enough, just as the party was starting to make their entrance it shutoff. Checked fuel, still full, and pulled the cord and it started right back up. About then, I happened to notice that I'd failed to open the fuel vent switch on the fuel cap. I'm guessing it ran out of air and couldn't get fuel to the engine. Stupid operator mistake on my part but no complaints from the clients. Dad even complimented me on ceremony sound (1 K10). The rest of the event went off without a hitch, although I now know I don't need to try doing these solo. The rest of the event went very smoothly, although it was very short. 3 hours total from beginning of the ceremony until they ended it. Still, the clients were very pleased. I also had a lady come up to me, glowing about how beautiful the venue is. She told me both her daughters have gotten married in the past year and she wishes she'd known about my place. She also told me a friend of hers has a daughter getting married and she was going to tell them about it. I have another event next week, 175-200. It could be my largest event to date (depending on how many show up).IMG_9777.jpgIMG_9786.jpg
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The rest of the event went off without a hitch, although I now know I don't need to try doing these solo.

Kudos to you, man... as much as we (objectively and constructively) pick apart your decisions here on ODJT, your place looks good and you're getting things done. At the end of the day, if the event doesn't suck and nobody got hurt, that's a win.

Those wires though... just kidding. If anything, I'd tell you that the donut wall doesn't need to actually be affixed to the wall. I'd suggest coming up with some sort of easel solution or build a rolling stand for it. Two reasons for this... 1) it looks more appealing than donuts literally on a wall. 2) You can set it up away from guests and roll it out when it's time to serve them.

Crazy that the buffet has to be behind plexiglass but the donuts can be exposed like that with no supervision. We're living in crazy times.
 
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I think the words over the donut board should say "Hole-y Matrimony" ...
 
Kudos to you, man... as much as we pick (objectively and constructively) pick apart your decisions here on ODJT, your place looks good and you're getting things done. At the end of the day, if the event doesn't suck and nobody got hurt, that's a win.

Those wires though... just kidding. If anything, I'd tell you that the donut wall doesn't need to actually be affixed to the wall. I'd suggest coming up with some sort of easel solution or build a rolling stand for it. Two reasons for this... 1) it looks more appealing than donuts literally on a wall. 2) You can set it up away from guests and roll it out when it's time to serve them.

Crazy that the buffet has to be behind plexiglass but the donuts can be exposed like that with no supervision. We're living in crazy times.

Thanks Brendan, that means a lot coming from you. Things are progressing, although I have to admit, I'm sucking wind (hard) on cashflow right now. Have 5 dates who have all verbally committed but can't get the deposit. I'm just praying that things will break open after Thanksgiving. I'm encouraged by the great comments that I'm getting. The lady who was wishing she could've used my place instead of where her daughters got married was something I really needed to hear. Those were some nice venues she used and she said mine was every bit as good (or better) than either one of those. The parking lot was a good lick. It makes the place look much more finished and really improved the parking situation. The ceremony site has pretty much settled out (beside the pond) and that new arbor hit the spot. This week, I've got to build out more seating for the ceremony site and planning to use 2 crossties (stacked) with a 2"X12"X10' on top. I also have to go buy another 40 chairs, which should finish out my 200 count.
 
Have 5 dates who have all verbally committed but can't get the deposit.

Remind that them that nothing is booked without that deposit; if it's that important to them, they'll find a way. The verbal commitment is nice to hear, but it's not going to pay your bills. Even if you have to call their bluff and tell them that someone else is interested in their date just to light a fire under their ass, so be it. If they back out at that point, they weren't serious about booking in the first place.
 
Remind that them that nothing is booked without that deposit; if it's that important to them, they'll find a way. The verbal commitment is nice to hear, but it's not going to pay your bills. Even if you have to call their bluff and tell them that someone else is interested in their date just to light a fire under their ass, so be it. If they back out at that point, they weren't serious about booking in the first place.

Already doing it. The booking game for venue is really different than DJ or Photography. By the time they get to DJ, the event is pretty much set in stone and budgeted. At the venue level, there are lots more if/buts involved. A friend of mine, who owns a venue in TN, told about a recent tour she did where the girl didn't even have a fiance yet. I've got either 2 or 3 of the current ones who have chosen a date but can't come up with the deposit money because of unexpected outlays (car accidents, sickeness, etc). I have 2 more that said they're trying to get the deposit together now and will book after the holidays (I hope they meant Thanksgiving).

I will tell you this, the building IS working, even better than I really expected. Tonight, we had a rehearsal for our first 150+ wedding that's being held indoors next Saturday. The bride doesn't like cold and it's 50% rain this Saturday so she wisely pulled the plug. I was pleasantly surprised at how easy it was to put it all together, including some of their little custom config stuff. I have 20 tables installed with 8 chairs each and I could squeeze a few more tables if needed. I still do need to buy another 30 chairs to round out my 200 though. If I can just get some decent promo shots off 11/28 and 12/12, I should be in really good shape, promo wise. I also think my pricing is getting more solid; $2950 for single day or $3750 for the entire weekend. However, it's my gut reaction that I can probably raise that another $1k-$2k by next year. If the verbals make I currently have 10 weddings on the books for next year (full rate events). I'm shooting for 25 and think I have a strong chance of making that. I'll likely have another 10-15 cheap dates (birthdays, reunions, etc) as well.

If I can just survive this divorce and get her paying at least some of her own bills then my life will be drastically improved, this time next year. By the way, let me ask for opinions on something. My ceremony site looks like it's going to end up being down by the pond. I want to install benches permanently (using 2 crossties, stacked with a 2"X12"X10' board on top, painted). I'm thinking it would be best to not have grass in between benches but I'm not quite sold on a concrete pad (yet). What would you think if I coated the entire bench area with BB-sized walkway gravel (compacted of course)? Once it's settled, it should be close to pavement consistency and I wouldn't have to worry about grass or moving benches to mow. I'll probably end up with 36 benches (seating for 200). The arbor would still be on grass. Any thoughts? Here's a pic of the current setup:

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Avoid concrete for that if you can. People who love that ceremony spot love it because it's natural and green. The three sections of benches are confusing though... which aisle does the bride walk down?

Pea gravel is dusty and not appealing. Stick with grass.
 
Avoid concrete for that if you can. People who love that ceremony spot love it because it's natural and green. The three sections of benches are confusing though... which aisle does the bride walk down?

Pea gravel is dusty and not appealing. Stick with grass.
Grass is tough to maintain when it gets trodden and then hit by rain .. no one wants to walk a mud path ..
 
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Avoid concrete for that if you can. People who love that ceremony spot love it because it's natural and green. The three sections of benches are confusing though... which aisle does the bride walk down?

Pea gravel is dusty and not appealing. Stick with grass.

The 3 columns was the 10/3 client's idea. I think I want to go with 2 columns X 15 rows but there's a tree I've got to take out. You may have a good point on the grass vs gravel but I really like the idea of no grass in the seating area. Definitely want to keep grass for the area where the bridal party stands. I dunno, still thinking thru it all. Thanks for the input you guys.