Generator Safety

Connecting a portable electric generator directly to your household wiring can be deadly. A generator that is directly connected to your home’s wiring can ‘back-feed’ into the power lines connected to your home.

Utility transformers can then increase this lower electrical voltage to thousands of volts. That’s more than enough to kill a utility lineman making outage repairs many miles away. You could also cause expensive damage to utility equipment, your home appliances, and your generator.

If you wish to hard-wire a generator to your home, it should be installed by a licensed electrician with an approved cut-off switch that will automatically disconnect the home from the power grid when the generator is being used. Please check with your local utility company and building office before installing a hard-wired generator.

If a generator is plugged into your home’s electrical circuits, it can still ‘back-feed’ power into the utility company lines, which can injure or kill utility workers fixing on the downed power lines.

The correct way to use a generator is to connect a heavy-duty, outdoor-rated power cord to the generator. Appliances can then be connected to the power cord, as long as they are in the wattage range that the generator can supply.

Make sure that the outdoor-rated power cord has a sufficient wire gauge to handle the electrical load.

All generators have a power rating. they should be used only when necessary and only to power a limited number of appliances or equipment.

The total wattage used by the appliances should be less than the output rating of the generator. If you put too many appliances on the generator, it could seriously damage the appliances and electronics. Overloading the generator could also cause fires in the power cord. If in doubt, don’t add that extra load to the generator.

Check the generator owner’s manual for correct grounding information.

Gasoline should be stored in approved, non-glass safety containers.

Don’t store gasoline in a garage if there’s a water heater or other fuel-burning appliance in the garage. Vapor from gasoline is heavier than air and can travel invisibly along the floor. It could be ignited by a pilot light or other source of flame, such as an electric spark.

Extinguish all flames or cigarettes when handling gasoline or the generator.

Shut off the generator before refueling. Turn off all equipment powered by the generator before shutting it down.

Always have a fully charged, approved fire extinguisher located near the generator.

Read the owner’s manual before you operate the generator. If you’ve lost the manual, contact the manufacturer for another copy. You can often download the manual from a manufacturer’s Web site. Keep the owner’s manual with the generator in a zip-lock bag to keep it dry.