I’ve been #StormPrepping for almost my entire life. At 18, I joined the volunteer fire department in my hometown, following in the footsteps of my great-grandfather, grandfather, and uncles. I grew up riding on fire trucks, always dreaming of being in that "line of Blue" riding down a parade route. My uncles worked as electric linemen; they’d be up in bucket trucks ensuring the power stayed on during storms, but the moment their fire pagers went off, they were out the door. I knew I wanted to be just like them.
Military service ran in the family, too—from the Civil War and WWI through Vietnam. Not one of them was forced to join; they were all volunteers. They are my true heroes. Growing up, our power outages never lasted more than a couple of hours. If it happened in the winter, we’d put sleeping bags down by the fireplace and use kerosene heaters. Storm prepping was in my blood from the start.
Fast forward 20 years: I had three small kids when Hurricane Sandy hit Southern NJ. I lived in Somers Point, just south of Atlantic City. We had no electricity for 10 days, seven of which were hit with extreme heat. We averaged 50 fire calls a day—chasing wires, pole fires, flooding, and search and rescue. I still had to work my full-time job, then help the FD all night before starting over. At home, I worried about my wife and kids, making sure the gas generator stayed running. We had to drive 30 miles inland just for fuel because local stations had no power to pump. Our generator wasn't large enough to keep the fridge and lights on simultaneously.
Then came 2020. When the world stopped, I knew I needed a real energy backup plan. If the world could stop, so could the grid. I started my solar journey with a small 1800W portable power station. The commercials made it sound easy: "recharge in 2.4 hours with two free panels!" I was hooked, not realizing I was overpaying for subpar equipment and weak foldable panels. The fine print revealed that to last 19 hours, I’d have to unplug my fridge every other hour.
I needed more power and better storage. I started with a 5kW grid-tied solar system, but at $18,000—plus another $15,000 for batteries—I couldn't afford both. I kept wondering why companies like Anker didn't make a backup system that worked with existing grid solar. I started teaching myself via YouTube: calculating voltages, amps, and panel angles. In January 2024, Anker released the F3800. I knew it was the jump in power I’d been waiting for. Fast forward now I have this Amazing E-10, Power dock and Smart Generator . Thanks hope you enjoyed my story.