2 stupid questions

[Jewcati]

First,

I still have my rains on from the last track day of the year. If the bike is on stands in my garage, is it bad to keep them on? Garage is not heated but rarely gets under 60 degrees.

Second,

I just bought a 7500 watt generator for my house, never had one before. It says not to run it in the rain or snow, so what am I supposed to do when we lose power in a hurricane or snow storm?


Thanks

[butcher bergs]

Rain tires should be fine provided the sunlight is kept off 'em.


Generator - Keep it dry when it's not running and as dry as possible when it is. I've put my 6500W in some very poor weather and haven't had an issue....sideways rain and fun stuff like that....but always ensure it is as dry as possible.

[Rosco61]

http://www.amazon.com/GenTran-GS7500-Generator-Generators-7500-Watt/dp/B000Q7FDSQ/ref=cm_cr_pr_pb_i'

Just a quick search turned this up. You can make one pretty simply too.

[Chippertheripper]

Rain tires should be fine provided the sunlight is kept off 'em.


Generator - Keep it dry when it's not running and as dry as possible when it is. I've put my 6500W in some very poor weather and haven't had an issue....sideways rain and fun stuff like that....but always ensure it is as dry as possible.

This, but make sure there's no chance the exhaust will fill your house with CO.

[Jewcati]

Cool. Thanks guys. I found this cover gentent.com , seems like it should work.

[R7]

Wirelessly posted

You could get fancy, or keep it simple like my neighbors do. Get a 4x4 piece of plywood, set it on top of your generator frame, and set a couple cinder blocks on top to hold it down.
Its really not a huge deal if they get a little wet, worst case, you'll be tripping the gfci

[Garandman]

I just bought a 7500 watt generator for my house, never had one before. It says not to run it in the rain or snow, so what am I supposed to do when we lose power in a hurricane or snow storm?
Thanks

I use a big plastic storage container with the sides cut out as appropriate. It can be even simpler if you have a garden table: put a tarp over it.

Much more importantly, get an electrician to wire up a transfer switch or lock-out to run your house with the genset. A lot of people make a "suicide cable" that they use to back feed into the fuse box. This is dangerous for a lot of reasons: the outlet plug is a hot male plug, you have no fuse protection from the gen back to the fusebox, and there is no lock out to prevent backfeeding of the power lines (which can injure linemen).

Supposedly if you don't use an approved setup home insurance will not cover you: some have even suggested getting an underwriter out to the house to inspect the setup beforehand.

Also, be aware that construction-style generators (that run at full 3600rpm) use a lot of fuel: plan for 10-20 gallons a day depending on how much you will use it. After hurricane Sandy, the biggest shortage was gas cans, followed by gas itself. I use Justrite metal safety cans, mostly, and one No Spill five gallon plastic can.

[Falko]

Wirelessly posted

You could get fancy, or keep it simple like my neighbors do. Get a 4x4 piece of plywood, set it on top of your generator frame, and set a couple cinder blocks on top to hold it down.
Its really not a huge deal if they get a little wet, worst case, you'll be tripping the gfci

Exactly what I do, easy and cheap.

[Stromper]

You can get a lock out for most circuit boxes that physically block the main when the GEN breaker is on less than $150

6500 should be enough to run everything but air conditioning