If you've ever gone camping, then you probably know how inconvenient it is to have to do without electricity. Without electricity, you had no lights, no radio, no TV, no telephone, no running water, no video games. You were very limited in what you could do. Without the blessing of electricity, you were just as your forebears were - rise in the morning, work during the day and go to sleep early because it was simply too dark to do anything else.

When There's No Power People without electricity often spend a great deal of time getting the most basic things done. In certain parts of the world, people often spend long hours trudging back and forth from the river or well to their home, carrying water. They spend time gathering firewood to cook meals with. With electricity, these tasks could often be accomplished more quickly, freeing up time for other things such as education. A water pump could save all that travel and hardship. An electric or gas stove could make wood gathering a thing of the past. A radio could warn villagers that a storm was coming and give them time to evacuate to higher ground.

But there are still places which don't receive electricity for one reason or another. Maybe the power company decided it wouldn't be profitable to extend their service to the area because there are too few potential customers or maybe the terrain is simply impassable.

How a Portable Generator Can Help This state of affairs could be helped by a portable generator. A generator is a device which creates electricity from mechanical energy by using a motor to move a magnet within coils of wire (or vice versa). Portable generators are designed to be transported, so they are self-contained generators and either light enough to carry or are mounted on a trailer or cart of some kind. There are gasoline generators, diesel generators, natural gas generators, and propane generators available for use as portable gensets. There are also hand-cranked generators that can power appliances like small lights and radios. Portable generators are offered in many capacities, ranging from small gasoline-powered gensets capable of 800 watts to trailer-mounted generators rated up to 1000 kilowatts. They can be air-cooled for simplicity and cheapness or liquid-cooled for quieter operation. Most generators come as either 3600 rpm or 1800 rpm units.

Portable generators can also act as emergency generators, keeping essential services running until electricity can be restored. They can also enable the round-the-clock operation of some services, such as construction, that would otherwise be stopped by nightfall. They also find use in powering out-of-the-way facilities like radio stations and beacons.