If you’re anything like me (and Crom help you if you are), you could probably benefit from a well-intentioned and well-timed reminder:
- 1) Go run the generator for an hour
- 2) Go check the batteries in all the devices to make sure they haven’t crapped out and are slowly destroying your device.
It s a cold, clear day with the late fall sun slanting down giving everything that odd look that says “seasons are changing”. It’s the sort of day where you can feel that something approaches. A lizard-brain response to the upcoming winter, I’m guessing. Or maybe a subconscious response to the current zeitgeist. Regardless, whether its simply winter or Civil War 2: Electric Boogaloo, it’s always a good idea to make sure some of the critical gear is ready to go. Standing on your porch, holding a flashlight in your teeth, when its five below zero and you’re sweaty from repeatedly and unsuccessfully whipping that recoil starter cord back and forth is no time to discover that maybe you should have run the generator three weeks ago to make sure it was up to snuff.
The generator, flashlights, radios, GPS, and the like were not cheap. Spend an hour today making sure you didn’t waste money and time.
Like minds…I just ran the Genny today
We’ve got the first snow of the season slated for Tuesday. I crammed in all the pre-winter tasks I had to do this weekend. Even hired a maintenance guy from work to help.
I’m ready, or at least as ready as I’m going to be.
I’m going to hit the Black Friday food sales… plan to can lots of ham and turkey this weekend. Both freezers are full after helping out at my neighbor’s cattle ranch this summer. Forget fiat paper, I got paid in beef!
My gennie is down at the moment. Hurricane season is past and so is my biggest risk.
Conversely, I’ve recently bought several Mr Buddy heaters in various configurations…. So far, they’ve worked great when I needed a bit of extra heat.
And I bought a used window AC unit for little money. I’ll love it if I need it next summer. That brings me to three units I can run off the small gennie if needed. Heck, once I get my solar in place, I’ll have enough to run the smallest if I have to.
Buy low, sell high works with timing too.
nick
Generators must needs be checked.
And for gas/diesel, Pri- or Staybil products added annually, or else old gas burned off before it goes bad.
Batteries, OTOH, should be stored with the items in question, not inside of. Ziplok makes Baggies from Snack size to Gallon size for just that purpose, and a wrap of Velcro strip or duct tape keeps power supply and item together in perpetuity.
(It’s also always a lot easier to throw out a package of corroded batteries and replace with a fresh package, than it is to chisel said corrosion out of the depths of an expensive or critical device. Ask me how I know this.)
FWIW, I also keep Chemlights velcroed or taped above each and every door, and replace them annually. If you do these tasks, along with checking smoke and CO detectors/batteries, on Daylight Savings Time switch days (at least until the nation junks that idiotic concept altogether), it simplifies remembering, and they generally correspond to seasonal necessities anyways.
I have a 3.8Kw Yamaha genny that I’ve religiously run every month for the last six years. Running up consisted of running it for about fifteen minutes under a 1000 Watt load, and topping off the gas. I figured that was enough. WRONG. I had my power panel replaced a couple of weeks back and had to run the genny all day while the work was done. Around four hours into the evolution the thing started backfiring and belching black smoke. I had to shut it down and bring in the B-team; a Chinese 5Kw diesel, which noisily but successfully carried me through the rest of the day.
I tore apart the carb on the Yamaha and cleaned the jets. The gas tank and fuel filters were pristine. I had drained and refreshed the fuel just prior to the failure event, so I knew that wasn’t the issue. I put the thing back together and let it run under load for four hours before pronouncing it “good.” The carb had obviously sucked in something it didn’t like…
Advice: Every two or three months, run your genny for SEVERAL HOURS under something close to its anticipated load. It’s the only way you can be sure it will swing for the fence when you need it!
To this list, I would add checking your fire extinguisher(s) and smoke detectors/carbon monoxide detectors.
Smoke and carbon monoxide units: change the batteries and check the manufacture date on the units. If they are over 10 years old they may not work.
Fire extinguisher(s): check the hydrostatic due date and get it tested if it needs it. If it has a gauge, make sure the needle is in the green and if it’s a dry chemical, flip it over and give it a few whacks with a rubber mallet to loosen up the powder.
Great Advise: Here in “God’s waiting room” AKA Florida. I start my pre-hurricane four page checklist in May for expected storm in late August – early September. The checklist goes through early months of checking and restocking supplies. Sure helps the mental know that you are ready before the hurricane panic hits.
A friend just returned the new generator and cables he bought in response to the CA PG&E high-wind shutdowns. Their map showed several of his properties were in the cutoff area, but a later website with address checking (more accurate) indicated the map was incorrect. Other than several fridges and freezers, he doesn’t stock anything for bad times, other than guns and ammo. Asians have that “fatalistic; what will be, will be” attitude.
CZ, I have a solar generator(1.5kw) that requires a charge check (plug it in to Hydro) every 3 months and I Honda EU 2000 that I use for hunting and camping that gets checked several times a year. I also keep candles ( I know, I know no one likes candles any more) and two hurricane lamps(fuel fired, with spare wicks) so my basics are covered. For my genset I use a 1500w hair drier for a test load on the low setting of course, about 900 watts. that is about 60% load. TTFN
Hair driers are great for loading a generator, as they can be set, as you said, to high, medium, and low, depending on what your unit can handle.
That being said; if you plan to run electronics on the genny, test them on it NOW. Most generators put out not a pure AC sine wave, but a modified square wave. Many electronic devices don’t like this power, and won’t operate. Many UPS units will balk as well. Again, check now.