Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
1. Generators must not be run in enclosed areas lacking proper ventilation. Like a car, generator ex-
haust includes carbon monoxide, which is a poisonous, odorless gas that will kill you if the ex-
haust vents into an enclosed living space!
2.Ifyouconnectyourgeneratordirectlyintoyourhouseholdwiring,thismustbedoneproperlywith
a code-approved transfer switch to ensure that no one gets hurt and that your insurance policy is
not invalidated due to a non-code-approved installation.
3. Some people have been known to make their own custom “male-to-male” plug extension cord
to hook the female electrical outlet of their generator directly into a female plug outlet on their
home.
This is not a code-approved way of providing power to your home, and is very dangerous,
so I must advise against this technique!
It is dangerous for two reasons. The first is that when this
special homemade adapter cord is plugged into an operating generator, the male plug on the other
end is “hot,” meaning it could electrocute someone if they accidentally make skin contact with
the male plug contacts protruding from the opposite end of the cord (imagine a child innocently
unplugging an extension cord from a wall socket and then touching the “hot” prongs of that plug
with his hand!). The second is that electrical codes require that generators hooked into residential
housing must be hardwired through a special switching circuit that automatically disconnects the
residence from the local power grid whenever an operating generator is engaged at the residence,
to prevent sending power to the neighborhood grid and possibly electrocuting someone working
on the local power lines.
Backup Light Sources
Candles are a simple, cheap, readily available backup source of light, but can be a fire hazard,
and, if you have ever tried to read by candlelight, you will know that a single candle does not
put out a lot of light. A candle lantern will make your candles more wind and weather proof,
pretty much eliminating the fire hazard, and makes their light much more useful via the use of a
built-in reflector.
For regular usage, an old-fashioned oil lamp offers much brighter light than a candle, can
last for two weeks on a single filling of oil, and will cost much less to operate than burning
through dozens of candles. Oil lamps come in numerous styles and sizes that offer low-cost
