Generator Safety Tips

Generator safety tips Introduction

I want to share a few Generator Safety Tips with you. As you know we just went through one heck of a storm here in Florida. So I’m guessing there’s probably several hundred if not thousands of people that are using generators.

Maybe some of them have used them in the past like we used ours through Sandy when we lived up in the Northeast. And you know I just have a few things that I want to share. These could make things safer for you and your family. If you’re going to be using a generator to provide electricity. Even if it’s a fan or maybe you’re using it for your refrigerator or deep freeze. Things that you want to keep cold and these generator safety tips could help you and the family.

Carbon monoxide dangers

Beware of Carbon Monoxide

Because you know the number one thing with this is being aware of the Carbon Monoxide and using the generator far enough away from the house that that gas isn’t going to come back in because people don’t think about it. You know you’ve got to get that cord in through a door in through a window and when you do you’re leaving a gap, so I’ve got some tips on that and I will share those with you.

Generator run-through

Now let’s get started okay so here’s a run-through on the generator. Right there’s your cutoff switch, use a key turn it to run. If I had a battery in it then we’d be able to use the electronic start. But it starts so easy I just turn it to run and it’ll fire off.

Now it’s got to 120 volt 20 amp outlets and one 30 amp outlet. I only really just use the 120 volt outlets haven’t had to step it up anymore. Another important thing here is the breaker. Okay so generator’s running and for whatever reason you lose power inside but you can still hear the generator outside. Come check this, there’s a good chance that you know maybe depending on what you had plugged in say if you had a refrigerator maybe a deep freeze those both decided there the compressors kick on at the same time it could have drawn too much and just kicked this off like that.

Generator reliability is key

So it’s real simple and real easy fix. Okay so with a generator this is one of the most important things you want. That’s the confidence that anytime you come over here and you pull this rope it’s going to start. I’ll tell you this. Change the oil regularly everywhere anywhere between 25 and 30 hours. Well I use the synthetic blend oil on this generator. It’s just easier on the engine. If possible use ethanol FREE gas. That’ll take care of the hoses in the carburetor because even this one before Irma came I ended up having to clean out all the varnish you know.

I guess that’s what it is that builds up in the carburetor. So if you know there it’s just one of those things with a gas that you have you’re going to run whatever you have and if you can burn ethanol FREE then do it. But if you can’t you just got to go with what you have and then worry about cleaning it up later.

Keep an extinguisher to hand

So with regards to this generator let me just show you this side here. That’s where the exhaust is going to come out. So ideally keep this thing about 15 feet away from the house and keep it keep it way out. Here I’m out in the one eye. It’s got plenty of ventilation and you know it you just can’t be too careful. Alright so a couple of things that I keep on hand around the generator out here is this first alert Tundra extinguisher it’s got 32 seconds of extinguishing power. I guess that is what they call it. you know it lasts longer than most fire extinguishers and this doesn’t expire until June of 2022.

All right and this is key because I mean anything could go wrong as it’s a generator.
It’s got a combustible fluid and it’s got a big alternator and that’s another reason why it’s out here you know and and not out by the cars or anything like that. But definitely keep you a fire extinguisher around. Then also I’ve got this portable carbon monoxide alarm. Now this one. What I do is I take it and it goes inside the house where I run the cord whatever entry port that is if I came in through the door and the garage or coming through here.

Gas point of entry

I’ll show you that in a second. Because I take this and I put this on the floor down there where I’m coming in. This is because that’s going to be the point of entry for that carbon monoxide gas and I want to know if we get any dangerous levels in the house. So that said let me get the door set up. Like I run the extension cord through there and then what I’ll do is I will I’ll come back and show you how I have that all done.

Alright so here on the generator get the cord plugged in one of the things. What I will not do is actually tie that to the generator. I want to be able to disconnect that cord in the case of an emergency alright. So here well I’ll show you is the way I do this going back into the .Just follow this back here. I put a knot in it okay and that not just simply if somebody should somehow you know trip on the cord. Which would be kind of hard because they are all taped down.

Taping up

You know they’re not gonna be able to  accidentally pull it out and as you can see I use this blue just I think it’s just gaffer tape on the inside of the door there alright because I do have girls in the house that don’t care for little lizards and other crawly bugs to come in. So I do actually put that tape on both sides. But I just you know for the video I want you to see that’s how simple it is. Right just run the cord through and then on the inside which lets switch in there next. So here on the inside of the house let me show you.

You see just taped up the door seam just you know to keep out the the lizards use a little trucker’s hitch on the handles. Nothing very strong just something that’ll you know keep the doors pulled together and then down here where it comes in the bottom. That’s where I use that carbon monoxide monitor and I suggest you do too, just to be safe. Never hurts to be safe alright guys. So just in wrapping up this whole talk about generator safety tips I’m gonna go through this little list real quick alright.

Carbon monoxide detectors

So number one just remember these things put off an immense amount of carbon dioxide. You can’t see it, you can’t smell it you don’t know that it’s there. Please make sure that you have a carbon monoxide detector or a little alarm that you can have handy. The battery-powered ones work great. I definitely recommend that no need to take any chance with carbon dioxide getting into the house and hurt you or your family okay. Carbon monoxide alarms on Amazon.

Number two just don’t run it indoors. I kind of goes without saying but I just have to say it. Because it just seems like all the time you’ll hear about somebody having an issue because they ran it inside. Don’t run it in the garage. You can get creative if it’s raining. If you’re afraid that you’re gonna you know it’s gonna get wet you can use some plywood that you’ve taken off you know some of your windows maybe. Put that out across the top of it and that will keep it dry.

Fuel stabilizers

Also utilize that fuel stabilizer within your fuel camps. That’s going to give you some longevity with the fuel. But you know in a perfect scenario you’re gonna burn ethanol anyway and you wouldn’t mean it. But definitely use a fuel stabilizer. Fuel stabilizers on Amazon Also when it comes to those electrical cords. Make sure that you do use ones that are properly rated for the type of appliances that you’re going to be running, all right. More heavier duty – better, and I’ve actually got links in the description below for things like the fire extinguisher, the carbon monoxide monitor, the extension cords anything that I use in my setup.

I’m actually gonna have all those links in the description below and you know I can’t say it enough you know. I’ve got a dog I’ve got kids myself my wife you know during the storm you’re gonna be going places in this house and hurry so tape down those extension cords. It will save you in the long run. I won’t even live it you know here it is how many days past ARMA and I still had him taped down because I wasn’t sure what Jose was gonna do.

Generator safety tips questions

And now I know there’s two more storms coming but I’m not gonna wait they’re all coming up. I’m tired of looking at them and I can put them back down later. But I just use a simple gaffer tape which is really good and tacky. It holds the cords down. They won’t move but yet when you take up that tape it’s not gonna leave any residue behind, all right. So I really do hope you guys appreciate the video and I hope that you know if you do you’ll share it with family members and friends that you think could get a few generator safety tips out of this, all right.

Got any questions about generator safety tips leave a comment below and I’ll definitely do my best to get back in here show you and if you’d like go ahead and click Subscribe to be in the know the next time a video like this goes live. Thanks for watching.