Several years ago, Belle and I bought a 6.5kw generator. It will pull the load in the shop, except for the electric stove. If a natural disaster hits, we'll fall back to the shop, where we can run our A/C units and keep food cool. If necessary, I can cook on propane.
This morning, I dragged that generator out in the yard and performed the maintenance checks. I made sure that it had good oil and fuel, and cranked it. It started on the second pull. I let it run for a few minutes and closed the gas valve, to let the gasoline run from the carburetor. We're good now if we need it.
This season has been fairly quiet, but the peak of hurricane season doesn't arrive until mid September. If you live in a hurricane zone, it might be a good idea to drag your generator out and make sure it is ready. I'm just sayin'.
3 comments:
Getting ready in case of trouble is not a bad idea at all. Especially the part with having fuel to burn in the tank. If you don't use it for generator, just run through your vehicle at the end of hurricane - I don't think it would go bad in 4 months.
I have an 18 year old Generac 7550 EXL that has given outstanding service with only one problem that I repaired myself. I run it for 15 minutes under load every 3 months and rotate my treated gas supplies every six months. The oil and filter are changed every 100 hours of run time. The unit is stored covered under the stairs in my garage plugged into the on board charger. It has its 3rd battery and starts after only a few spins. I run my entire house except for the electric range on 7 1/2 gallons per day for 15 hours. I shut it down when we go to bed. Where I live we are pretty far down the restoration list in a big storm, so a reliable generator and 60 gallons of stored gas is a must.
Non-ethanol gasoline with Sta-Bil or Seafoam added is good for about a year in generators or mowers.
The best fuel for long term storage is 100LL avgas. However, DO NOT run it in any engine that has a catalytic convertor, like most cars/trucks.
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