Running a Portable Generator in Rain / Snow

[wsmm]

Every manual I've read, says not to run your generator in the rain or snow. I use mine to power my house when we loose power, which seems to be way too much this year. Do any of your use your generator in the rain or snow? If so what precautions do you use. Any and all suggestions and advice is appreciated. My generator is a Honda clone, 6500 watt. I have a plug on the exterior of my house that feeds the transfer panel in the house. We lost power about 3am on the 24th and they don't expect to have it restored until 11:36 Monday the 28th. Weather man just said rain today and fir the next few days, just great. Don't want to ruin my generator, but with my wife just home for the hospital, need to power the house at least during the day. In the night I try to keep the fire place going, that keeps the chill somewhat off of the house.
Thanks for any and all help,
Bill

 

[D beatty]

Do you have a hay wagon or trailer with deck high enough to set it under and cover floor of what you use so water doesn't drip on it? I set my Generator in one of the bays in my work shop ( 100 foot from house) and run cord to house. The generator stays dry and out of the weather and out of weather to refuel.

 

[Zachary Hoyt]

We bought a Generac 5500 watt in 2004 or thereabouts and use it intermittently during power outages. During really cold weather I run it full time so the boiler can run to keep the pipes from freezing. It has been running out in the rain, snow, sleet etc many times with no problems so far.
Zach

 

[MSD]

Might be a grounding issue more than if it can run in rain or snow which shouldn't really bother it. Mine calls for grounding even in dry weather.

 

[sotxbill]

a cover would do fine... as to rain,, dont want water to hit the hot engine or get into the air filter... so protect it from falling rain and blowing rain.. as to snow,, dont want the snow to build up around the generator and prevent it from cooling , and having the snow melt and then freeze and seal up the generator.... so again a cover to keep the snow away to the hot air can move and cold air can come in... it needs to have access to clear open air, not blocked into a small confined area... must exchange air and get oxygen and expell carbon monoxide. DO not run it in an attached garage or building to your house!!!!

 

[tractorguy2]

I think the generator manufacturer doesn't want to get sued by someone getting shocked from a wet generator is why the manual states not to use it in moisture.

As long as you don't get water in the fuel and have the generator grounded I don't think you will have a problem.

In freezing weather I would be careful of water freezing inside the generator armature.

 

[Phil in Pa]

At work in heavier rain or snow we throw an appropriately sized piece of plywood or something like that over it and some weight to keep it from blowing off. My home 12 hp generator is stationary, I build a hinged plywood box cover and routed the exhaust out the bottom of it to one side so it can run in all weather.

 

[RodinNS]

The only problem I've had was running it in driving snow... and it got a buildup of ice on the throttle/governor linkage... Aside from that I can't imagine rain would matter. Just make sure you DO NOT run it in an enclosed space. More people die of carbon monoxide poisoning from running gens indoors (or near a door, window or air intake) than die of the cold in the same storms.... CO is the silent killer....

Rod

 

[David G]

I would not want to suck the windings full of water, but it should drive if you work it hard enough to keep it warm.

 

[Geo-TH,In]

I like to be able to move my generator so the wind doesn't blow exhaust towards the house. I have a large piece of tin I can put over my honda clone to keep the rain and snow off it.

 

[David G]

dry, not drive

 

[Married2Allis]

I run mine at the entrance to my shop with the 9x7 door open, inside just enough to keep it out of the weather. Don't want to mess with 50 amps taking the wrong path. If I were you I would cover it with 4x8 plywood over 2 saw horses or something like that. Not good for rain or moisture getting pulled inside. You could blow the electronics or cause corrosion problems.

 

[old]

What the manual say is more or less a safety thing due to water and electricity not mixing well and can be a shock hazard. A simple cover will do the job so you can run it in any weather. I know with me I have plans to mount my generator in a covered trailer and also have my portable welder in the same trailer but both units are so big you need a loader or such to move them

 

[Dick2]

Brother in ND hooked up his PTO driven generator to supply power during a snowstorm. After the first day, the generator quit working. He called me in AZ to see if I knew what happened. I told him that was highly doubtful that there was anything wrong with the generator itself; the most likely problem was snow/moisture in the control panel. Told him to park the shop and turn up the heat so it could dry out.

He called back a few hours later and said that he had the generator back on line. He was amazed that I had diagnosed the problem 1850 miles away. Didn't tell him that it was just an educated guess.

 

[88-1175]

I park my work van close to half way between my house and neighbors and put the generator in it running,run cords to both houses,we only run 220 to one housefor the well,used this setup quite a few times

 

[teddy52food]

Snow can cause problems when it plugs the air cleaner.

 

[buickanddeere]

Even with the door open. The CO levels in the shop will be surprisingly high.

 

[El Toro]

Fueling one of those portable generator's in the dark is dangerous. I bought a 14kw Kohler standby in 2012. It will run on LP or natural gas.
It included the transfer switch. It's programmed to start and run for 20 minutes once a week. It has 16 circuits with one dedicated keeping the battery charged. I change the oil and filter once a year. The storm Sandy hit the east coast the same week and it was nice having power. My neighbor had one installed. Hal

 

[D beatty]

When I run mine in work shop both over head doors are cracked about 3 foot off floor and I don't stay in the shop when generator is in use. When I go to fuel it throw both over doors wide open for while before entering the building and also generator just sets inside the over head doors.

 

[Charles in Aus.]

Do Telecommunication service men in your part of the world use those little collapsible tents , the ones used to cover them when working in underground pits ?
One of those is ideal for your purpose , light , no storage issues and able to protect the generator from any weather . Probably available for free if you keep your eyes open .
Use a plastic forklift pallet for a base to keep it out of the mud .

 

[Jim in Ma.]

I have used a 55 gal. plastic barrel cut in half the long way, Added 4 legs to hold it just above your jenny.

 

[Lou from Wi.]

wsmm,
We have 6500W generator also, we use ours in a garage that is not even remotely connected to the house,except by panel box. We run ours next to the service door and keep it inside with the door wide open while running. We are considering boring a hole in the cement block and extending a exhaust pipe thru the block from the generator. We have added a 10 gallon gas tank to ours for extended run time,took off the 1 gallon tank as we was filling it every hour on the hour.Now it will last 10 hours run time. They are nice to have.
If you don't have a building where you can put it without getting CO2 poisoning, maybe a tarp with PVC for a framework around the generator to extend partially down the sides to keep the rain and snow from hitting it while in use. The guy with the 55 gal drum isn't far off for a shelter for protection. Wishing you all the luck,
LOU

 

[notjustair]

I know someone who burned up a generator in wet weather. The repair guy said if it had been up to operating temp and then gotten wet it's not big deal. The heat dries it.

Growing up we had one with an eight horse Briggs in the milkhouse. There was a hole through the wall and the muffler was outside. Know anyone at a junk yard? A car hood across the top would be perfect! Do you have a loader tractor or skid steer? Mount it on a pallet and build a roof over it. When you need it just get it out of the shed.

 

[buickanddeere]

(quoted from post at 11:16:11 12/26/15) Every manual I've read, says not to run your generator in the rain or snow. I use mine to power my house when we loose power, which seems to be way too much this year. Do any of your use your generator in the rain or snow? If so what precautions do you use. Any and all suggestions and advice is appreciated. My generator is a Honda clone, 6500 watt. I have a plug on the exterior of my house that feeds the transfer panel in the house. We lost power about 3am on the 24th and they don't expect to have it restored until 11:36 Monday the 28th. Weather man just said rain today and fir the next few days, just great. Don't want to ruin my generator, but with my wife just home for the hospital, need to power the house at least during the day. In the night I try to keep the fire place going, that keeps the chill somewhat off of the house.
Thanks for any and all help,
Bill

The cord on mine is long enough so that the gen set can be rolled to the down wind side of the garage.

 

[Andy Martin]

I put mine in the back of my pickup and park it in the carport out by the power pole. Lots of ventilation and of of sight for drive by thieves.

 

[davyfireball]

My cousin down in MO. uses a old chromecraft table from a garage sale and a old tarp. Puts a brick on the sides so it doesn't hit hot exhaust. And just leaves table sitting outside

 

[David G]

You are correct, running an engine in any building for period of time can cause lethal CO.

 

[davpal]

You could probably put it between two saw horses and nail a piece of tin or plywood over the top in a hurry. Instant shed! That's pretty much what i've done over the years. Or get a fancy covcr.

 

[buickanddeere]

Most people have not operated a Drager gas tester with CO, CO2 , O2, H2S and CH4 sensors.
It's a surprise how many combustion byproducts are drifting in the vicinity of and and pooling around operating engines, pits, sumps, wells , tanks, etc.

 

[guido]

Hello wsmm,

Do you drive in a ground rod? The generator should have a lug for that purpose! Earth ground is just as important as the weather protection. I did I not see anyone mentioning the ground,

Guido.

 

[RodinNS]

It's only a surprise to those who haven't operated one... I'm more partial to the MSA Altair 4x. I find small engines are particularly prone to giving large quantities of CO VERY quickly.

Rod

 

[wsmm]

Yes, it is grounded.

 

[buickanddeere]

The only MSA equipment I have used is the SCBA when I was on the fire and rescue crew . Seemed to work well enough .
Our Drager X-AM 700 units were balky to work with until they had a software update down loaded.
I wish more people understood how thier red blood cells have an affinity for CO over O2.
So many headaches , tiredness, the flue , mystery ailments and people just plain dropping dead without a clear reason why. All due to CO poisoning .
As previously stated . Installing CO monitors in habitated buildings will sometimes indicated unexpected alarms.

 

[showcrop]

Running generators in attached garages even with all the doors and windows open runs your property taxes up due to the number of CO detector and CO poisoning rescue calls that your municipality Fire Dept. has to respond to. I have a half sheet of 3/4 plywood with my generator. If the weather is bad it lies on top of the generator, if there is not rain or snow it leans against it on the side towards the house to lessen the noise.

 

[RodinNS]

I'm not familiar with the Drager units. MSA is fairly common here because of local support. Sensors are also replaceable in the MSA units. Other cheaper units do not have replaceable sensors and are throwaway in 2-3 years when the O2 sensor dies vs 3-4 yr life on the MSA sensor and replacement when it does fail... These ones are simple to use and fairly tough.

Rod

 

[buickanddeere]

Dragers take 3-4 minutes to change any one of the five sensors. Somewhere between 5 minutes to an hour for the new sensor to 'warmup" the first time. Do a calibration with the zero and span gasses and she is good to go.

 

[SDMike]

We have built some "doghouses" for our portable generators at work. 2x4 frame, solid tin roof, perforated or vented soffit tin for the ends and sides, open bottom. Keeps the water/snow out, lets the generator breathe. Make it about twice the size of the generator.

Mike