Backup generator in garage?.....

First, is it safe and/or possible? And second, if possible...does anyone here have a setup within their garage? Obviously there would need to be proper venting for exhaust and possibly a cooling fan. I have an attached 2 car garage with no entry into the dwelling. I'm looking at setting up a 10kw Generac "Guardian Series" model 6051. Any thoughts, advice, and opinions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

Is it attached or detached? Unless its at least 10 feet from the house I wouldn't try it. In the October storm several people died of CO poisoning from running generators in attached garages. If its detached, it might be ok with the garage door open. I'd be sure to have a couple of CO detectors in the garage since you'll need to go into the garage to attend to the generator.

Bad idea.

I would make sure nothing catches on fire, have a battery powered co alarm, and exhaust to the outside through the wall with a nice muffler so no one knows it's running from a distance. if you can separate it away from your garage that would be a plus....maybe someone like a fake dog house.

Yes...IF...done properly. I have a CO detecting machine and have tested this many times. As long as the generator's exhaust is pointed out AND the genny placed at the garage door opening, you will be fine. If in doubt, buy a couple top line CO detectors and place them in your house. We actually use a cattle fence at the opening of our garage which is secured to our main posts and the garage door is locked in a 1/3 open position. No one can get in to steal the genny and the exhaust is going outdoors. We do however keep a vehicle parked in the drive kinda blocking the genny and it is a Honda so it is very quiet.

The problem is with even the exaust ran outside and installed properly it could still be some type of accident that could cause a fire or a leak of CO or gasoline into the garage and it could spill over into the house.

What if there was a fuel leak, like the float got stuck with trash in it or a fuel line broke? [Natural gas could also leak into the garage also]
What if the exaust pipe got a crack in it? Heck what if the neighbors kid shoved something in the exaust outside your garage
What if a short happened at the gen and it caught on fire, and the gas tank is right above the gen head or the natural gas line melted?
There are 2 many what ifs to be had. And remember your familys life and yours and the house you worked so hard for is on the line.

On top of all the dangers the droning noise of it running would drive me crazy.

Even though there are no entrances for people, CO can still get in.

I'd find a different place for the generator. No sense in putting yourself at risk if a detector fails.

No. Bad idea.

Hurricane Ivan and Dennis both claimed the lives of entire families due to their improperly placed generators.

Yes.... In a detached garage....

People run good sized gennys in RV's parked close together all the time.

I'm not a proponent of doing this.

That said you could run a genny in your living room if you take the necessary safety precautions and engineer the installation correctly.

Obviously I'm not a brainwashed sheeple afraid of my shadow, and agree with those advising against running it in your garage ––unless you understand very well what's involved to stay safe. Considering most folks can't change their oil, it's scary to imagine them with a generator.

What some RVer's use is a 2 inch or so vertical stack from their muffer at ground level to above the rig.

Better than nothing but I'd prefer to stay away from another rig runnng a genny close by.

To show how insideous CO can be, we run a Honda 2000 outside the container briefly for my SO to use the microwave at suppertime.

Once the wind was blowing just right and the screen was being used, the CO detectors went off. At first I couldn't figure why and because the wind was blowing, I discounted the Honda. But that's what was doing it.

Insideous.

To the OP, if you understand all the points to stay safe, you could vent the exhaust, provide redundant safety devices and an additional vented interior enclosure for your genny, and get along just fine.

That units made to sit outside.

During the last hurricane, a local family, some Korean immigrants, set up their generator in their garage. Their teen daughter came home to find them dead. So I recommend against it.

In September of this year five bikers at a charity event died from carbon monoxide poisoning...Their generator was even outside.
Story here: 5-bikers die

excerpt:
" Officials say carbon monoxide fumes entered their RV from a storage unit where their generator was housed because a hatch apparently didn't shut properly."

So..... Based on that analysis you can't weld or anything else in your garage. My grinder makes sparks and I have a can of Coleman Fuel in garage too. ?
Have you ever tuned your engine in the garage with the door open? I sure have and I'm still here.

I would not put the genny in the garage either but holly smokes dude, make that same list for your car and you would never drive again.

I’m not trying to pick on you individually, I have seen this logic applied many many times on this forum and wonder if people actually DO anything anymore. I’m sure glad that the guys driving Sherman tanks on D Day did not apply that kind of logic.

Life is about risk assessment, not total avoidance.

You have to understand, this is what happens to folks after 50 years of being brainwashed in every respect of their lives.

Some resist the brainwashing they constantly receive and learn to apply common sense, others fall for it hook line and sinker.

This is one of many factors that are causing the collapse of the Western world and it isn't unintentional.

Thanks for all of the replies and advice. I think I won't risk any potential problems and just look for a suitable spot toward the back portion of my house. Maybe a small enclosure built over the genny will cut down on sound and be more appropriate for my situation. Thanks again.

Never run an engine indoors, unless you've for the exhaust properly piped to the exterior. And still you need a CO monitor, big time.

We run the PTO rig in the garage whenever we use it. We use the diesel tractor, so CO if far less a problem than for a gas rig.

1. I have CO detectors in the house, we heat with coal so it is a necessity b/c of that.

2. It's a diesel, we'll smell it if it enters the house. We do keep both bay doors and the windows open in the garage due to heat build up when the rig is running.

I have run some underground wire so that we could relocate the PTO generator in the future. We could also move it so we could run the driveshaft from the gennie, thru a small door in the outside wall, and then to the tractor which would be outside.

If you run the exhaust line up and above the roofline you should be OK.

Ops

LIfe is about making "Common Sense Decisions" ,So that one can stay alive.
I do many things in my garage that are not 100% safe, but I also use common sense when it comes to safety.
I guess I saw too many guys try and do the risk assessment thing and lose.Remember this is real life and not a video game that you can do over again.

I don't call it being brain washed, I call it an unnecessary risk and a common sense safety hazzard to run an engine inside a garage attached to a house where people are living.
Even with the exauast vented (a leak can still happen), a fuel leakage could happen or an over heating event could happen in the engine or generator head causing a fire.
And before you mention gas appliances, Furnaces have many safe guards built into them to prevent this.

One other note call your insuarnce company and ask if they will pay if your house catches fire from doing what the OP wants.

For 23 years, I have 99% heated my house with a wood stove. I could take your ‘logic’ and create a parallel list for the wood stove. Hawk flies into chimney, chimney cracks, chimney fire, firebox burns thru –> coals make it past the tile and get on to the wood floor, etc. Funny thing is virtually everybody I know has wood stove and nobody has died… You never read about houses burning down in our local paper either.

A genny could be safely run in the garage if the system is designed properly.

“I guess I saw too many guys try and do the risk assessment thing and lose.”

Care to elaborate on the ‘many guys’ that lost?

I wouldn't do it... just seems like an unnecessary risk, absent some mighty compelling reason to do so.

This summer I ran my Genny up at the cabin in the shed/pump room. It was 30 yards away from the cabin. At your own risk for a detached garage. Never an attached one. I think it would be smarter to build a "dog house" enclosure to store it in. It would keep it stored securely, vented correctly, and no one would be inside it with a running generator because no one and nothing would fit besides the generator, fuel, and cords.

What abt all the RVs that run one right under where folks are sleeping?

What if the floor leaked and the exhaust cracked?

Or the window was open and the wind was blowing the wrong way?

Folks sure love being wrapped in .gov trained cotton balls and not able to think outside the mandated box.

Oh well, more for the rest of us...

Boy, I sure am glad our mechanics never work in garages with cars running. All the mechanics in our town work on cars outside...rain, sleet, snow and ice....

Although this is compareing apples to oranges. Here was a risk that cost my friend his life ,I was riding with him at the time of the accident.
We just had gotten to the beach and was leaving my house there, and I asked Rocky do you think we need to wear helmets?
His answer "No, Were just going up the street".
Rocky Lane Huneycutt


Another story

We were flying planes many years ago and a friend decided to go thru resticted air space, I decided not too, He died..
Scott Lambret

55. NTSB Identification: ATL83FA366 For details, refer to NTSB microfiche number 22833A

Accident occurred SEP-10-83 at MT. HOLLY, NC
Aircraft: PTERODACTYL/LAMBERT NONE, registration: N2084Q
Injuries: 1 Fatal.

The pilot was on a cross-country accompanied by a pilot in another ultralight vehicle. The accident aircraft was faster, so the pilot maneuvered around while en route. During a turn, the accident vehicle got out of sight from the pilot of the other vehicle & became permanently separated. At 0957 EDT, a Boeing 727 crew reported a near miss with 2 ultralights in that vicinity. The captain estimated a separation of approx 100 ft. However, he observed the ultralights again about 10 to 15 sec later & saw no evidence of an upset. At about 1000 EDT, witnesses saw the left wing of the accident aircraft fold upward, then heard a loud pop & saw the ultralight fall vertically to the ground. An exam of the wreckage revealed only overload failures. Reportedly, the ultralight was involved in some type of mishap on the previous day. The circumstances were not verified, but the prop & the axle of the main wheels required replacing. During construction, the builder had made modifications to the aircraft.

Stupid chances that need not taken. Why do things that are stupid like run a generator indoors where people are?

Common sense could of prevented both these deaths of my dear friends, but like others sometimes we take risk where risk need not be taken.

I wouldn't marginalize indoor internal combustion use. I would just say that until the risk vs. reward ratio changes for some pursuasive reason, it's not really worth it.

Assuming the power is out, perhaps tree limbs are down...fire/ems response may be delayed. Not worth burning the house down while running a genny. Let alone the inevitable attempts at hot refueling.

If there were LA riots going on and you had to keep your grandmother on some electrically powered medical device, O2 concentrator etc, or had to keep the perimeter lights/alarm on...sure, post a watch & have CO & smoke detectors. Otherwise put it outside w/a cord that keeps it out of flames reach of anything you like.

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