January 11, 2024 – With winter weather heading our way in East Texas, here are a few safety reminders to keep you safe when using a generator. These can apply to any situation including automatic generator installations and portable units used in emergencies.
When the lights go out, even just a small unit that restarts your fridge, runs a few lights, and charges your phones and laptop can feel like a lifesaver.
Generator Do’s and Do not’s
Never run a generator in an enclosed space or indoors. Most generator-related injuries and deaths involve CO (carbon monoxide) poisoning from generators used indoors or in partly enclosed spaces. That includes a basement or garage, two spaces that can capture deadly levels of carbon monoxide. Always place the generator at least 20 feet from the house with the engine exhaust directed away from windows and doors.
Don’t run a portable generator in the rain. You can buy tents for generators—that keep them shielded but still well ventilated—online and at home centers and hardware stores.
Before refueling, turn off a gas-powered generator and let it cool. Gasoline spilled on a hot engine can ignite. Allowing the engine to cool also reduces the risk of burns while refueling.
Do stock up on extra gasoline and store it properly. When you think you’ll need to use the generator for an extended time, you’ll want extra fuel on hand. Just be sure to store gas only in an ANSI-approved container in a cool, well-ventilated place. Adding fuel stabilizer to the gas in the can will help it last longer, but don’t store gasoline near any potential sources of heat or fire, or inside the house.
Don’t attempt to backfeed your house. Backfeeding means trying to power your home’s wiring by plugging the generator into a wall outlet. Male-to-male extension cords, sometimes called suicide or widowmaker cords, are dangerous extension cords that can kill or injure you. People sometimes use them during a power outage to feed electricity from a generator directly into their home’s circuits to avoid the use of multiple extension cords. But their design makes male-to-male extension cords very unsafe, and you should never use one.
Backfeeding can also allow current to flow from your home to the grid and potentially injure linemen during repairs.
