"Where To Put A Generator"

[Ray]

Now that I finally bough a generator the question is where to put it.I
live in a private home and would like to put it in our back screen room
but the morons that laid the slab before we bought the house put it
below the grass line so in a good storm it will take water.Obviously it
will be elevated but the user may be standing in a few inches of
water.Anywhere else around the house will leave it to the mercy of
inclement weather.

Another issue of the screen room is fumes.It's well ventilated but still
semi close to a bedroom window that has a small AC unit installed and a
sliding glass door.I've noticed in automotive garages during rainy
weather they hook an exhaust house to the tail pipe to vent the fumes
outdoors while working on cars,any such device for a generator close to
a window or would that only encourage indoor use (not a good thing)

This sounds like a stupid question to me but I got to ask now then find
out later,how dangerous is it to touch a generator if your on a wet
surface.

Also how weather resistent is a generator.I realize it can't be kept out
in pouring rain but how little is too much.

Also I read in the instructions a ground rod should be installed,are
yours and what type of gasoline additive do you recommend and do you use
standard oil or synthetic,thanks

Ray,

 

[Ashley Clarke]

Now that I finally bough a generator the question is where to put it.

That`s topsy turvy logic for a start.

I live in a private home and would like to put it in our back screen room
but the morons that laid the slab before we bought the house put it
below the grass line so in a good storm it will take water.Obviously it
will be elevated but the user may be standing in a few inches of
water.Anywhere else around the house will leave it to the mercy of
inclement weather.

Get the Piping chromed, add some Harley decals and put a Smoked Glass
top on it; a superb centre piece for the lounge.

Another issue of the screen room is fumes.It's well ventilated but still
semi close to a bedroom window that has a small AC unit installed and a
sliding glass door.I've noticed in automotive garages during rainy
weather they hook an exhaust house to the tail pipe to vent the fumes
outdoors while working on cars,any such device for a generator close to
a window or would that only encourage indoor use (not a good thing)

Use it to charge a Bank of Batteries when the weather permits and use an
inverter instead.

This sounds like a stupid question to me but I got to ask now then find
out later,how dangerous is it to touch a generator if your on a wet
surface.

Hardly dangerous, this is usually considered during its design process.

Also how weather resistent is a generator.I realize it can't be kept out
in pouring rain but how little is too much.

They are generally weather resistant but you shouldn`t touch any live wires.
They usually have special outlets for plugging things into and workmen
hardly ever use wall-type sockets with them.

Also I read in the instructions a ground rod should be installed,are
yours and what type of gasoline additive do you recommend and do you use
standard oil or synthetic,thanks

Just utilising a Ground rod isn`t safe enough; the earth must also be tested
between ground and the unit. You should also fit a safety cut-out.
The motors are usually bog-standard multi-purpose power units and last
a life time with hardly any maintenance. I wouldn`t be too fussy with it.

 

[(PeteCresswell)]

Per Ray:

I've noticed in automotive garages during rainy
weather they hook an exhaust house to the tail pipe to vent the fumes
outdoors while working on cars,any such device for a generator close to
a window or would that only encourage indoor use (not a good thing)

I have no special knowledge, but based on newspaper accounts of whole families
dying from carbon monoxide I wouldn't run a gas-fired engine inside my dwelling
(and that includes an attached garage) under any circumstances.

The three things I keep reading about CO are:
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
1) It infiltrates to a surprising extent. An apparently-solid wall may not
be a barrier at all. People leave cars running in the garage and die
in their bedroom.

2) It's presence is undetectable by people. CO alarms, maybe...but not
the human sense of smell.

3) Once you've been exposed enough, even if somebody drags you out into fresh
air you may still die because it bonds to hemoglobin more strongly
than O2 - so the fresh air doesn't do any good.

 

[William P.N. Smith]

will be elevated but the user may be standing in a few inches of
water.

I wouldn't want to try to do anything to a generator while standing in
a couple of inches of water. Even if it was powered off, refueling it
could be a real disaster by flashlight in the middle of a storm. And
running it 'inside' the house, for _ANY_ value of 'inside' is a really
bad idea.

Without knowing more about your generator, property and the layout of
your house, it's pretty much impossible to guess if there's a better
solution.

 

[Vaughn Simon]

I would put the thing out in the yard (hopefully on a higher bit of ground)
while it is running. Connect it with a hefty extension cord. Build yourself a
temporary folding shelter by buying two "handy panels" from a place like Home
Depot of an appropriate size for your generator (say, 3' by 3') and attach them
together with a piano hinge. You will keep the shelter folded in the garage
until you need it. Fuel the generator, start it, and then place the shelter
over the generator (It will look like a Cub Scout pup tent) Orient it so the
prevailing wind blows through the shelter and so the exhaust is pointed downwind
if possible. It won't keep all the rain off the genny, but enough. As a
side-effect, your shelter will attenuate the noise a bit.

 

[William P.N. Smith]

I have some new neighbors down the road and first they poured a concrete
slab and permanantly affixed a large, water-cooled generator to the slab.
Then they proceeded to build a shed around the genny which included external
intake and exhaust pipes. Within a few weeks you could see carbon deposits
around their exhaust pipe and now the pipe is completely detached and they
leave the shed door open all the time. Maybe it could work with more
planning and better materials but these guys seemed to have a pretty good
idea of what they were doing before they started.

Not to put too fine a point on it, but "a pretty good idea of what
they were doing" doesn't exactly cover this situation. IMHO,
generators should be purchased with housings, covers, shelters from
the manufacturer or not at all. Adding stuff on later is only going
to get you into cooling problems, and will instantly void your
warranty.

 

[JoeSP]

Not to put too fine a point on it, but "a pretty good idea of what
they were doing" doesn't exactly cover this situation. IMHO,
generators should be purchased with housings, covers, shelters from
the manufacturer or not at all. Adding stuff on later is only going
to get you into cooling problems, and will instantly void your
warranty.

How about building a screened-in platform for it on the roof?