Portable Power Generator: Keeping Your Family and Home Safe
Author: Ann Triune
Nothing is more convenient than a portable power generator during an outage. You can rely on a good generator to give you enough power to run important appliances and equipment. Generators however are potentially dangerous. You should know how to protect yourself and your family from the consequences of incorrect generator use.
The product manual should be the first thing you look into. Read the manual and make sure you understand everything in it before you install your generator. If you know that you aren't very good with technical details, then ask an electrician to help you. You may have to pay extra for installation but the cost is worth it if it means you are kept safe. Keep the product manual in a prominent place in your home. You may have to refer to it in case you have problems with your unit.
CO Precautions
One of the top dangers of generators is its tendency to emit carbon monoxide. This gas can kill and you may not even know that it is around because it has no color and smell. Prevent carbon monoxide from entering your living space by putting your generator in its own ventilated area. This should be outside your home and garage. You should also make sure that the generator isn't anywhere near your neighbor's windows. Otherwise your neighbors could succumb to CO poisoning.
Take extra precautions against CO from your portable power generator. Install carbon monoxide detectors in your home. These will warn you if CO still manages to find its way to your home.
Connections
Do not connect your generator to the wiring of your house. Doing so could result in an electrical back feed that could kill a linesman repairing electrical connections. It is best to connect appliances directly to the generator. You can also use an outdoor standard extension cord. If you truly prefer to have a direct connection, then you have to contact a licensed electrician. An electrician would use a transfer switch to ensure that back feed cannot occur.
Wattage
Check the generator wattage before you buy a generator. This will help you find out the limits of your generator. Portable units are only supposed to be used on a couple of appliances. It is never intended to provide power to your entire house. Powering too many appliances can result in an overload that could lead to damage or fires. If you need to provide power to a lot of appliances, then you can rotate the appliances that you attach to the generator.
Fuel
You may think handling fuel is a matter of common sense. A lot of people however, still take fuel flammability for granted. A small spark could easily ignite generator fuel if you do not use and store it properly. Always turn off your generator when refueling. Your reserve fuel should also be kept outside your main living area and away from small children. Make sure that the containers are not made of glass and are properly labeled.
You can never be too safe in using your portable power generator. Be extra careful all the time to ensure your family's safety.
Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/tools-and-equipment-articles/portable-power-generator-keeping-your-family-and-home-safe-411622.html
About the Author
Read tips on what to look for in a good portable power generator. Choose the right residential generator for your needs.
what would cause a portable gas generator to not have any compression?
i got a generator for free and it doesnt seem to want to fire. got gas, got spark and nothing
Hi,
You will be better off building an enclosure outside of your porch. It will also be much quieter.
S1lent
most of these stores know that people buy things all the time with the full intention of returning them
such as lawn mowers just to mow for the weekend
in many cases the store does simply clean it and resell it if it still looks new … after all it still has the full warrenty
but somethings get scratched in the process
so those things get sent in for “refurbishing”
once it is determined they are in good working order they are returned to the store with a refurbished marking and sold for about half price and carry only a LIMITED warrenty
over half the power equiptment i have for my remodeling company came from home depot at less then one third the price as refurbs
because of people buying things they know they are not keeping
gotta love people that take advantage of store policies
of course what most people dont know is that every return is recorded ( hence the ‘may i see your drivers license’ line that comes up in any return process)and only three returns in a year are allowed anything after three and they are stuck with it no matter what happens to it
so choose which items you need to return wisely
I need to know how to check a portable gas generator electrically?
The unit is only putting out about 3.5 volts. The breakers and connections are all good. I’m being told that the rotor is bad. How do you test this? But I was also told that there is a thermistor that may be bad. Where is this located? It’s a Generac 5550 watt generator. Hmmm?
are there any circumstances when a portable gas generator is safe to operate in a screened-in porch?
I’m thinking most of the Carbon monoxide comes out the exhaust pipe. Why not add a longer pipe(12 ft) to extend the exhaust pipe so the exhaust can be directed outdoors away from the indoors. Also, high velocity fans can be used to blow the air away from the indoors. Two carbon monoxide detectors would be helpful. limiting the time of day and the number of hours of use might help. definitely don’t want to sleep while the generator is running.
Sorry, but you will have to use the AC output. I have one like that and if I need more current on 12 volts, I have to use a battery charger on the AC output plug. There is nothing other than an engineering rebuild, there is nothing you can do to the internal mechanism for the home owner that will work.
If your thinking you want to try it anyway, here is what you will have to do,
Pull the armature and remove all the wire, now rewind it with larger wire to handle the 30 amps, replace the diodes with higher current ones, and put in a heavier duty regulator. That should fix you up.
Returning a portable gas generator after using it for a couple days?
We just had a major storm in the midwest and many areas lost power for 3 to 5 days. Someone mentioned they bought a large generator, used it for 3 days and returned it for a refund.
My question is what does the stores do with the used equiptment? They can’t sell it as new. I am interested in seeing the prices they are offering for a basically new generator, reconditioned or used. Any one have an insite?
How can I get more 12vdc amps from a portable gas generator?
It has a 12vdc 10 amp receptacle and 120vac 10 amp receptacle. I need 30 amps @ 12vdc..
I was thinking of pulling out a alternator from a dead car and hooking it up to a electric stand fan motor. How about that?
If you are asking here, you do not have the needed expertise to make the repairs. Take it to the nearest Briggs and Stratton service center and have it serviced. I have one that has lasted more than 25 years and it is getting some parts installed tomorrow. I have more than 50 years in the electrical industry and the problem you describe needs an experienced generator electrician to repair it. As to just what is wrong, it can not be diagnosed on line without many tests. You need at least 2 different test meters, and a complete wiring drawing.
The thermistor would be located in the windings or on a circuit board on the exciter coil of the generator. Some of the generators need to be flashed in the exciter circuit to start the cycle. This is also something that only experienced personnel should attempt.