Emergency Generators
August 28, 2008 – 8:41 amShort and long term survival in the Urban Environment can be tricky without the availability of electricity. We have all become accustomed to having things like refrigeration, air conditioning in the summer and heating in the winter. Most houses run their stoves off of electricity.
Having an emergency generator is a great idea, as long as you are taking the proper precautions. For instance, do not run it inside your house – you’ll kill yourself by carbon monoxide poisoning. Put it outside away from any fresh air intakes for your house!
Make sure if you are going to plug it into your house, you have a three way main circuit breakers placed properly. What will happen is that if someone is working on the power lines, you will be back feeding electricity into the electrical distribution system. The best thing to do is to have an electrician put the circuit breaker in.
Make sure that the generator is properly sized for what you want it to do. Just because you got a great deal on a small generator does not mean it will run the whole house – you may get a light, a radio and fridge/freezer on the circuit only – and that may be overloaded. You also need to take into account the peak current requirements, not just the operating current. As an example, I rented a generator while building my house to run some equipment. I only looked at the operating current and did not look at the Peak current of the equipment (that is when you start it up!) Long story short, I was popping the circuit breaker on the generator and ended up having to return the generator and renting a larger one!
Lastly, having enough fuel is one thing, but fueling is another. Be sure to shut the generator down for a bit to cool prior to fueling. After fueling it up, wait a bit if you spilled any fuel and then start it up. When in doubt, follow the directions.
For those who are looking to purchase a generator for winter, let me know – I am working with a few companies to get a good deal on a quality unit.
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2 Responses to “Emergency Generators”
My wife is a nurse. We’ve been told by the engineers at her hospital that a propane generator is the best way to go. I suppose we could have a propane tank in the yard. Any thoughts on any of this?
By Ross on Sep 1, 2008
Ross,
I personally would look at a diesel generator. Diesel fuel is easy to come by and you don’t have the issues with propane freezing up the valves, etc. Most hospital generators are diesel fired as well. The nice thing with diesel is that it is combustible, not flammable! You need to look at the situation. I personally am getting a Diesel fueled Generator. I have several friends who are farmers who keep large quantities of diesel on hand.
By editor on Sep 1, 2008