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Portable
Generators
Follow these safety tips to protect against CO
poisoning: • Never use a portable
generator indoors, including in homes, garages, basements, crawl spaces, and
other enclosed or partially enclosed areas, even with ventilation. Opening doors
and windows or using fans will not prevent CO buildup.
• Follow the instructions that come with your portable generator. Locate the unit outdoors and away from doors, windows, and vents that could allow CO to come indoors. • Install battery-operated CO alarms or plug-in CO alarms with battery back-up in your home, according to the manufacturer’s installation instructions.
• Keep the
portable generator dry and do not use it where it could get wet by rain or snow.
To protect it from moisture, operate it on a dry surface under an open, canopy
like structure. Dry your hands if they are wet before touching the
generator.
• Plug appliances directly into the portable generator. Or, use a heavy-duty, outdoor rated extension cord that is rated (in watts or amps) at least equal to the sum of the connected appliance loads. Check that the entire cord is free of cuts or tears and that the plug has all three prongs, especially a grounding pin. • Never try to power the home wiring by plugging the portable generator into a wall outlet, a practice known as “back-feeding” This is an extremely dangerous practice that presents an electrocution risk to utility workers and neighbors served by the same utility transformer. It also bypasses some of the built-in household circuit protection devices. • If you must connect a portable generator to the home wiring to power appliances, have a qualified electrician install the appropriate equipment in accordance with local electrical codes. Or, check with your utility company to see if it can install an appropriate power transfer switch. • For power outages, permanently installed stationary generators are better suited for providing backup power to a home. Even a properly connected portable generator can become overloaded. This may result in overheating or stressing the generator components, possibly leading to a generator failure.
• Never store
fuel for your portable generator in the home. Gasoline, propane, kerosene, and
other flammable liquids should be stored outside of living areas in properly
labeled, non-glass, safety containers. Do not store them near a fuel-burning
appliance, such as a natural gas water heater in a garage. If the fuel is
spilled or the container is not sealed properly, invisible vapors from the fuel
can travel along the ground and can be ignited by the appliance’s pilot light or
by arcs from electric switches in the appliance.
• Before refueling a portable generator, turn it off and let it cool down. Gasoline spilled on hot engine parts could ignite.
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