In article , Chris Lewis says...
According to Banty :
In article tr0Eg.1854$VQ.930@trndny05, Pop` says...
I don't agree that you can't use a genset outdoors. I've never seen one
with instructions to NOT use it outdoors, in fact, or heard of such a thing.
I ran ours outdoors for three days during the Ice Storm of '98, in fact.
I think the question is - did you use it in the rain? Did you run it outside in
the freezing rain, or are you talking about running it while waiting for the
power infrustructure to be repaird?
A genset won't care much about (freezing or otherwise) rain for
a couple of days, unless you're talking a sustained tropical
rainstorm that floods the muffler or carb.
A genset should have some sort of minimal rain shield (like a chunk
of plywood), but beyond that it should be as open as possible.
For permanent installations I suggest a small roofed shed with
at least 4 inches of airgap at both top and bottom of the walls,
or even no walls at all, and probably at least a foot clearance on all
sides between the walls/roof and the unit.
Four 4x4 posts sunk into the ground on a 3'x3' pattern, with about 3'
exposed above ground. A roof on top with a few inches overhang.
A 30" square concrete patio slab to park the generator on, and a heavy
cast eyebolt (or heavy chain end) concreted into a concrete-filled post
hole. Or maybe two of them. The eyebolt[s] are for the security chain
that you WILL need.
If you want to try to suppress noise, slap on some plywood walls,
with 4-6" of airgap at both top and bottom with some insulation
glued to the inside. Put rubber feet under the generator.
If you're going to park this against the side of your house, don't.
If you must, make VERY sure there are no airgaps in the house (eg:
caulk wire penetrations) and close all windows in that area, and
walls on the shed aren't recommended.
Thanks for all this info!
The freezing rain lasted intermittently for about 1-2 days after
initial onset.
I drove around a bit at the peak of the "ice storm", and it
was actually rather pleasant weather-wise.
Mild, no wind, the rain was relatively light. A generator
wouldn't have had any trouble operating in that weather.
The problem was that it was all sticking to the trees.
Slippery as all hell of course.
The trees and hydro poles breaking/falling sounded like being in
the middle of a gun battle. The falling power lines lit
up the entire sky.
BTDT in upstate New York, although I'm not far up enough to have been hit by the
January 1998 freezing rain. I'm in the area which gets freezing rain, big ugly
heavy snowstorms like the April Fools Day 1997 storm (lost power 5 days in that
one), AND tropical storms.
So, sounds like a steady tropical rain with wind would not be good to have the
generator out in?
Banty
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