If you are thinking about buying a portable generator for emergency electrical power to your home or office during a power outage, such as during a hurricane, here are a few quick tips for safe operation of portable generators to help you get started.
1. Portable generators are designed for providing temporary power to one or several appliances, based on the output of the generator and the power requirements of the appliances.
2. The first step in buying a generator is deciding how much wattage you need during an emergency power outage. The size of your generator in wattage is determined by which appliances you want to power and how much total startup energy they need.
See our Chart for approximate wattage needs of various appliances.
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3. Check the rating of the extension cord that you use to connect each appliance to your portable generator to be sure the cord is designed to carry the full amount of electrical current to the appliance.
4. Portable power generators are not designed to be run continuously, nor run inside your home or garage. They should be run (outside) for short periods of several hours, and then shut down for several hours before being run again.
5. We recommend adding a fuel stabilizer to your fuel tank , and running your portable generator for at least 10 minutes each month, to keep it ready to go when you need it.
For more tips on the safe operation of Portable Generators, please see these tips shared by:
Is your portable generator not running or giving you other problems? Black Creek Services can provide reliable maintenance and repair servicing to your portable generator to help you keep it ready to go.
Call 904.449.3986 to make an appointment to drop off your small engine powered Lawn Mower, Lawn Tractor, Portable Generator, or Pressure Washer at our Middleburg, Florida shop.
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We also can provide pickup and delivery service for clients in our service area.
Nice article. Thanks for the tips; I have a portable generator but hadn’t thought about changing the fuel periodically or running it from time to time. Thinking about what I bind I’d be in if I lose power and try to start it and it won’t start – glad I read your article! Thanks!
Thank you for sharing this article with tips on safe portable generator operation. The owner’s manual of my portable generator was helpful, but I learned more by reading this article.