Home Generator Safety Checklist

Home Generator Safety Tips - Cummins

Follow these home generator safety tips when preparing your home and family for long-term power outages.

With a little more than one month left on the already tumultuous Atlantic hurricane season, not to mention the likelihood of severe winter storms on the horizon, now is the time for power outage preparation

Preparing for long term outages is important, and if you have already taken the step to ensure continuous emergency power by purchasing a generator, consider the steps you need to take to safely operate a backup home generator. 

The biggest risk of home generators is carbon monoxide (CO) gas. It is called “the silent killer” because it is odorless and colorless, meaning that most people inhaling it don’t even realize until it is too late. Symptoms of CO poisoning can look a lot like the flu, and in severe cases, it can cause permanent brain damage or death. CO can be especially dangerous for people who are sleeping or intoxicated.

Here are a few tips for keeping your family safe while operating a generator during your next power outage.

Portable Gas or Diesel Generators Safety Tips:

  1. Always follow manufacturer instructions when setting up a generator.
  2. Never use a generator inside your home or garage. They should be used outdoors in well-ventilated areas that are at least 20 feet away from any homes or dwellings.
  3. Look for any places air can enter the home near your unit and ensure that those are properly closed and sealed off. This includes windows or doors, air intakes, nearby dryer vents or crawl spaces.
  4. Reliable, approved, and operable battery powered CO detector alarms should be installed in proper locations on each floor in the home as specified by the manufacturer. 
  5. Give the generator a break that allows for any concentrated exhaust to clear away from the area. Open your windows and doors during this break to air out any concentration that may have collected in your home.
  6. Ensure that your generator is being appropriately maintained, including regular oil changes. 

Permanently Installed Gas or Diesel Generators Safety Tips:

  1. Install the generator outdoors only.  Work with a professional installer to locate the generator away from windows, doors, and other openings to the house where exhaust gases will disperse away from the house or occupied areas.
  2. Install all parts of the generator enclosure at least 60 inches from any openings in walls of structures that may be occupied.  Examples of wall openings include, but are not limited to, operable windows, doors, dryer vents, fresh air intakes for heaters, etc.
  3. Look for any places air can enter the home near your unit and ensure that those are properly closed and sealed off. This includes, but not limited to, windows or doors, air intakes, nearby dryer vents or crawl spaces. Your generator must be located such that exhaust gases are not able to accumulate in an occupied area.
  4. Ensure that generators are used, maintained, and operated in accordance with manufacturer recommendations. If there is a concern that the installation standards have not been met, get an appropriate party, like the installer, out to inspect it.
  5. Give the generator a break that allows for any concentrated exhaust to clear away from the area. Open your windows and doors during this break to air out any concentration that may have collected in your home.
  6. Check the exhaust system for corrosion, obstruction, and leaks every time you start the generator and every eight hours when run continuously.
  7. Ensure that your generator is being appropriately maintained, including regular oil changes.
  8. Reliable, approved, and operable battery powered CO detector alarms should be installed in proper locations on each floor in the home as specified by the manufacturer.

Cummins home generators are extremely quiet, aesthetically pleasing and remotely accessible. If you have not yet taken the step to purchase a backup generator, consider scheduling a painless home assessment with your nearest Cummins dealer. In just a few minutes you can know exactly how little the ultimate peace of mind can cost.
 

Catherine Morgenstern - Cummins Inc.

Catherine Morgenstern

Catherine Morgenstern is a Brand Journalist for Cummins, covering topics such as alternative propulsion, digitalization, manufacturing innovation, autonomy, sustainability, and workplace trends. She has more than 20 years of experience in corporate communications, holding leadership positions most recently within the Industrial Capital Goods sector.

Catherine began her career as a marketing writer for a biotechnology company, where she learned to take complicated and highly technical information and make it accessible to everyone. She believes the concept of “storytelling” is more than a trendy buzzword and loves to find ways for her readers to make personal connections to her subjects. Catherine has a passion for technology and innovation and how its intersection can make an impact in all our lives.

Catherine recently moved back to her hometown in the Hudson Valley, New York after a several decades in Los Angeles and Chicago. She is a graduate of UCLA and enjoys gardening and spending time with her husband and three children.

Cummins Custompaks are being used for water management as Thailand struggles with its water crisis

CustomPak on site

Water crisis

Sixty Cummins Inc. CustomPaks are in service in Thailand as part of a critical water management plan aimed at easing the country’s water crisis – a crisis that has caused enormous economic and social damage and stirred conflict among communities.

Over the past several decades, Thailand has continually faced water problems caused by severe drought. Water reserves in dams and reservoirs are insufficient while water resources are often contaminated with toxins caused by urban communities and the industrial and agricultural sectors.

Severe flooding is a threat, too, at a time when the realities of climate change are hanging over the country.

As a result, the allocation of precious water resources, which must be shared among various stakeholders including new and existing industry, large and small agriculture, and cities and villages has become a flashpoint.

Kittithanapat Engineering Co. (KTP), has been involved in the water management system since 1996, working closely with authorities such as the Royal Irrigation Department, Department of Water Resources, Bangkok Metropolitan Authority and others.

CustomPaks on site

600 hp CustomPaks

To help KTP meet its often urgent requirements, Cummins DKSH (Thailand) has recently supplied 60 Australian-built CustomPaks – 45 powered by Cummins’ X15 engine rated at 600 hp, and 15 powered by the QSL9 rated at 325 hp. These fully self-contained powerpacks are emissions certified to Tier 3.

The CustomPaks are coupled to hydraulically-driven, large-volume submersible water pumps sourced by KTP from US company Moving Water Industries (MWI); KTP is the exclusive distributor in Thailand for these MWI Hydroflo pumps.

Prior to Cummins’ involvement, KTP was using another diesel engine brand but service support wasn’t up to the standard required.

Long-serving KTP engineer Kittisak Thanasoot says Cummins DKSH’s reputation for technical and aftersales support along with the reliability of the Cummins product were a key reason behind KTP’s decision to specify the CustomPaks for the Royal Irrigation Department.

The ability of Cummins DKSH to respond to short delivery times was also important.

“Supplying large quantities of high horsepower diesel engines for emergency situations such as flash flooding can be a challenge for KTP,” says Kittisak Thanasoot.

“Responding to the needs of the government agencies to manage such problems in a timely manner and with least impact on communities, KTP has found the answer in our partnership with Cummins DKSH.”

Power, pride and passion

Parked semi truck

The switch back to Cummins power has been beneficial for iconic New Zealand company Uhlenberg Haulage. It's all about whole-of-life costs.

Uhlenberg Haulage is closing in on 60 years in business, having been founded in 1966 by Mike and Carol Uhlenberg.

Based in Eltham, Taranaki, in New Zealand’s North Island, the operation is today owned and operated by their sons Chris, Daryl and Tony Uhlenberg.

Describing the Uhlenbergs as “old school family truckies”, Daryl talks about the company’s time-honored journey with a definite tone of pride, especially the work of his parents in laying the foundations for what is today an iconic fleet in its own right.

Cummins Inc. made its debut in the Uhlenberg fleet in 1971 with an NH250 powering a second-hand Kenworth K923 used in logging. A second Kenworth, a new W924 with a Cummins NTC335, followed soon after hauling an LPG tanker.

The Uhlenberg operation today comprises 40 prime movers and a variety of trailing gear to cater for the myriad of a jobs the fleet is involved in.

A number of Peterbilts feature in the fleet although Kenworth is now the brand of choice with six new units to be delivered over the next 12 months to cater for business growth.

Cummins’ X15 Euro 5 engine rated at 550 or 600 hp is the preferred power specification, with 18 red engines currently in the fleet.

Uhlenberg family in front of truck

Whole-of-life support

“The switch to Cummins has been a very good experience for us. We have nothing but praise for the Cummins organization,” says Daryl.

“The whole-of-life picture is the key thing for us and we’ve got that nailed with the support we get from Cummins – parts availability, scheduled maintenance, life expectancy and in-frame rebuilds.

“So the red engines turn up, we run them to life, which is 900,000 to 1.2 million kilometers, and then Cummins does an in-frame overhaul in a timely manner. If there’s an issue, parts and support are close by.

“The support we get from Cummins Palmerston North is fantastic, second to none.”

Daryl recently looked under a Kenworth that was in the workshop for a service and was surprised to see no oil leaking from the one-million-kilometer X15. “I remember when I was a fitter we had to wear a raincoat when working under a truck,” he jokes.

Fuel agnostic

Acknowledging that the push to decarbonize is now “very real”, Daryl likes the idea of Cummins’ fuel agnostic concept where one base internal combustion engine, optimized to run on diesel, can also be customized to run on ultra-low and zero-carbon fuels like renewable natural gas and hydrogen.

“My father was a pioneer of linehaul trucking in New Zealand and he always embraced new technology. He was never scared of it,” he says.

“I tend to be a little more cautious but I can see where a 500 hp natural gas or hydrogen engine would work for us in short haul applications,” he admits. “We’re certainly willing to look closely at these alternative fuel technologies when suitable infrastructure is in place.”

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