Generators Tips
Read these 7 Generators Tips tips to make your life smarter, better, faster and wiser. Each tip is approved by our Editors and created by expert writers so great we call them Gurus. LifeTips is the place to go when you need to know about Home Improvement tips and hundreds of other topics.
What to run?
When the power goes out, plug into the furnace (in cold weather), and the refrigerator. These are the two most important appliances.
Safety first
Never run your portable generator inside the house or the garage. Gasoline engines produce carbon monoxide which is very dangerous.
After the storm
When the power goes out because of a storm, chances are that trees have fallen on the power lines.
The worst reason that several houses in a neighborhood seem to be ignored by the repair crews is that no one called to report the outage. Each of the neighbors assumed that someone else had called the power company. Don't be afraid to call. Besides, what else do you have to do?
Crew safety
One reason it takes so long to restore power is to ensure the safety of the crews. For a large outage, each crew will repair one circuit at a time. They start at the substation and work toward the end of the circuit. If more than one crew worked on a particular circuit, there is a possibility that someone could be electrocuted.
Don't power the breaker panel
Don't connect your portable generator to your breaker panel. Most generators produce only enough electricity to run a couple of 20 amp circuits. You can't run your whole house with a small portable generator.
Go for the basics
If you are fortunate enough to have a temporary (portable) generator, learn how to start your generator before you need it. Start your generator once a month and let it run for 20 minutes.
| Guru Spotlight |
| Ray Lokar |
