Guidelines for Safe Operation of Portable Generators
- June 27, 2023
Stay safe while using a portable generator with our expert tips. From proper fuel handling to correct usage, keep your home and family protected during power outages with our guide.
Portable generators for home use can power necessary appliances during a blackout. When you’re setting up camp away from home, a small generator can power things like TVs, portable devices, machine tools, and even lighting. Power equipment like grinders, cutting tools, and compressors can be operated on construction sites using both big and small portable generators.
Portable Generator Safety Tips
Portable generators are an essential tool to have on hand during an emergency or during a power outage. However, proper use and maintenance are required to avoid carbon monoxide poisoning or other dangerous situations. In this blog post, we’ll take a look at some portable generator safety tips so you can safely use your portable generator when you need it most.
Trying to find generators can take a lot of time and energy. Don’t spend all day looking for generators. It can be very challenging to select the ideal generator because there are so many different kinds of them.
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Portable generator safe tips and precautions to avoid accidents:
One of the most important safety tips is to avoid carbon monoxide hazards. Follow the other instructions to avoid accidents.
Protects against carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning
How to prevent carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning when using a generator at home
Never use generators, grills, camping stoves, gasoline, propane, natural gas, or charcoal-burning equipment in your home, garage, basement, or any partially enclosed area.
Keep these devices outside, away from doors, windows, and vents that could allow carbon monoxide to get inside.
Using fans or opening windows and doors won’t stop CO accumulation in your house. Although carbon monoxide cannot be seen or smelled, it can quickly cause death. Even if you can’t smell exhaust gas, you may still be exposed to carbon monoxide.
If you feel nauseous, dizzy, or weak while using the generator, get to the fresh air immediately—don’t delay.
Install carbon monoxide alarms in central locations on every floor of your home and outside sleeping areas to provide early warning of carbon monoxide buildup.
Test batteries frequently and replace them as needed.
If the carbon monoxide alarm goes off, move quickly to fresh air outside or open a window or door.
Get help from fresh air and stay there until emergency personnel arrives to help you.
If you’re like most people, you probably think of carbon monoxide poisoning as a thing that happens to people in movies or on TV. But in reality, carbon monoxide poisoning is a real threat to your health, and it’s something you can easily avoid by following a few simple safety tips.
- Even with ventilation, never run a generator indoors. Using fans or opening windows and doors won’t stop the build-up of carbon monoxide inside the home.
- Obey the guidelines provided with your generator. Place the gadget outside, away from any openings via which carbon monoxide could enter the structure. Make sure your appliances are properly vented. Appliances that produce carbon monoxide, such as generators need to be vented to the outdoors. Ventilation not only helps distribute oxygen throughout your home, but it also allows carbon monoxide to escape.
- Keep your doors and windows closed when you’re inside. This will help prevent exterior air from entering your home and carrying carbon monoxide with it.
- Replace any dead batteries and regularly test your carbon monoxide alarms.
- Call an ambulance right away if you have any carbon monoxide poisoning symptoms, such as confusion, chest discomfort, or shortness of breath.
To protect yourself from trouble:
By following these simple safety tips, you can protect yourself and your loved ones from dangers and troubles.
Electrical Hazards Examples and Tips
- Keep the generators dry and avoid a lot of using it in wet or rainy situations.
- Appliances should be directly connected to the generator.
- Never try using a wall outlet to power the house wiring while the generator is running. This is an extremely unsafe method that increases the risk of electrocution for nearby residents and utility workers who are served by the same electrical transformer.
- You should hire a licensed electrician to install the necessary gear in line with local electrical codes if you need to connect the generators to the home wiring in order to power appliances.
- When there is a power outage, stationary generators that are permanently installed are better suited to provide backup power to the house. Even an appropriately connected portable generator may experience overload.
Fire Hazards
- Never store generator gasoline indoors. Kerosene, gas, and other flammable liquids need to be kept in appropriately labelled, non-glass safety containers and out of reach of buildings.
- If the gasoline is spilled or the container is not correctly sealed, the appliance’s pilot light or electrical arcs from the switches could ignite fuel vapours that are undetectable to the human eye.
- Turn off the generator and allow it to cool before refuelling it. Fuel leaks could ignite on hot engine components.
Use caution during bad weather
- Running a portable generator in the rain, snow, or other inclement weather is risky. This is due to the fact that generators generate high voltage, which inclement weather can enhance the threat of electrocution or potential explosions.
- Based on your generators, you may be able to set up a specifically made tent-type canopy at a store like BISON With the aid of a cover like this, you may securely run a generator in even the most hazardous situations without risking electrocution or harm to the machine.
Stock up on extra fuel
- You know what might happen, especially in an emergency. Preparing enough extra petrol, gas, or diesel fuel is important.
- It’s usually ideal to have more than enough on available to go on for approximately 48 hours.
Shut off the engine before refueling
- It is extremely dangerous to try to refill a generator when it is hot, or worse, while it is operating. It might even explode up or start a fire right soon. At all costs, you should refrain from doing this. Rather, turn off the engine and let it cool. Despite the fact that it may require 15 to 30 minutes, extra caution is essential.
Maintain appropriate generator storage
- You probably will be storing your machine inside, along with the gas, unless your backup generator is a standby generator, which is a unit that is designed to remain outdoors.
- A garage or shed can be a secure place to store both as long as the gas is properly labelled and stored in the appropriate containers.
- A cover can help keep moisture and dust from condensing on your generator when it’s not in use.
Safety Tips When Using a Generator at Home
The main risks to avoid when using generators at home are electric shock, fire, and carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning from poisonous engine exhaust. The instructions that came with the generator must be followed.
- To avoid electric shock, keep the generator dry and not use it in rain or wet conditions. Use it under an open canopy structure, such as a tarp supported by poles, on a dry area. Never use damp hands to interact with the generator.
- Be sure to turn off the generator and let it cool down before refueling. Gasoline splashed on hot engine parts can ignite.
- Store generator fuel in an approved storage tank. Use the fuel type recommended on the instructions or generator label. Local laws may limit the amount of fuel you can store or where you can store it. Ask your local fire department.
- Store fuel in a locked shed or other protected areas outside living areas. Do not store it near fuel-burning equipment, such as a natural gas water heater in a garage, to prevent accidental fires.
- Plug the appliances directly into the generator, or use a heavy-duty, outdoor-rated extension cord rated (in watts or amperes)at least equal to the combined load of the appliances connected. Check that the entire cord isn’t cut or torn and that the plug has all three prongs, especially the ground pin.
- Never attempt to power the house wiring by plugging a generator into a wall outlet. This practice, known as“feedback,” puts utility workers, your neighbors, and your family at risk of electric shock.
- Remember that even a properly connected generator can overload, causing overheating or failure. Be sure to read the instructions.
- If necessary,stagger the operating hours of various equipment to prevent overloading.
- Keep your children and pets away from the generator.
Safely Moving Your Generator
Safety tips for moving an industrial generator from one place to another
Moving an industrial generator is a complex process that requires careful planning. Portable generators can be moved easily, but industrial generators are fixed to concrete slabs. The following tips can help you move your industrial generator as safely and efficiently as possible:
Contact a professional rigger
Industrial generators are huge and heavy. Industrial assemblers are trained to lift and move heavy commercial objects such as generators safely. Professionals have the equipment and knowledge to relocate generators without risking workers. They will assess the site and current electrical systems to ensure the generator is safely moved and reinstalled.
Choose your location carefully
Experts can help with site planning. You need to place the generator confirm, level ground. You also need to make sure that the concrete pads in the new location are the right size and thickness. Professional installers will consider a site that allows the generator to power your equipment without moving again.
Disconnect the generator
When the generator needs to be moved, you must disconnect it from the main circuit breaker and all connected equipment. Let workers know that there will be power outages during the move. Once in place, the main electrician should connect the generator to the main circuit breaker.
Implement Tagout
Tagout is a safety procedure designed to protect employees from accidental activation of machinery or equipment. Tagout, also called lockout, helps prevent electrical or electric shock from stored energy. Appoint someone to turn the generator off and unhook it from the power source before you move it.
Consider the weight limit
Only someone trained in rigging can lift the generator. They will consider the weight of the equipment, the capacity, and the weight constraints of the equipment used to lift the generator. They will determine how to lift the load to stabilize it, keeping your generator and workers on the ground below safe.
Contact BISON today
Power generators are an essential part of running a safe, efficient business and minimizing downtime due to power outages. To get the most out of your generator investment, it’s important always to prioritize safety.
At BISON, we value safety, quality, and reliability in meeting our customers’ electrical needs. If you need to purchase a generator, contact BISON online or call us at (+86) 17380831819.
Portable Generators Safe Tips FAQ
What happens if you don't have a transfer switch installed?
Without a suitable transfer switch, the power provided by the generator could be backfeed along the power line, posing a severe electrocution hazard to anyone touching the power line, including power line workers making necessary repairs.
How far is the safe distance from the house?
National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) suggest that even 15 feet distance from home is too close to operate a generator safely. Remember your neighbors too. Keep your generator a safe distance from their home.
Is the area around the generator safe for my child to play in?
No.Kids should not be allowed around portable generators.
Additionally, make sure to keep generator fuel out of children's reach.
How big is the carbon monoxide problem associated with using a generator?
More than 80% of carbon monoxide deaths associated with portable generators occur in the home, usually due to the use of portable generators in living spaces.
Can't I just plug my generator directly into an outlet in my house?
Do not connect the generator directly to household electrical wiring unless an appropriate transfer switch has been installed by a licensed and qualified electrician.
