# Shed for Generator??



## MikeyPrepper (Nov 29, 2012)

Hey All,

Im thinking of building a mini shed that holds just my generator... like a dog house sorta... good idea? it will be [email protected]!!! Also chained up... when we had sandy people were actually robbing generators outside that weren't chained


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## rjd25 (Nov 27, 2014)

I toyed with the idea of running 10awg to my shed and run the genny from in there powering the house but it seemed too costly. I instead poured a concrete pad with a steel eye bolt in it under my deck which provides plenty of shelter and ventilation. An added bonus is my pool filter has a 30 amp circuit and the outlet is right there.


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## MikeyPrepper (Nov 29, 2012)

That's a good idea



rjd25 said:


> I toyed with the idea of running 10awg to my shed and run the genny from in there powering the house but it seemed too costly. I instead poured a concrete pad with a steel eye bolt in it under my deck which provides plenty of shelter and ventilation. An added bonus is my pool filter has a 30 amp circuit and the outlet is right there.


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## rjd25 (Nov 27, 2014)

MikeyPrepper said:


> That's a good idea


Lol which one?


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## MikeyPrepper (Nov 29, 2012)

concrete pad



rjd25 said:


> I toyed with the idea of running 10awg to my shed and run the genny from in there powering the house but it seemed too costly. I instead poured a concrete pad with a steel eye bolt in it under my deck which provides plenty of shelter and ventilation. An added bonus is my pool filter has a 30 amp circuit and the outlet is right there.


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## rjd25 (Nov 27, 2014)

MikeyPrepper said:


> concrete pad


Yeah, its cheap quick and dirty but it gets the job done. Then I just chain it to the eye bolt with a pad lock and boom! If my lights go out I know someone is trying to snatch it and they get greeted by my 9mm.


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## Tennessee (Feb 1, 2014)

MikeyPrepper said:


> concrete pad


bad one is the 30amp circuit


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## MI.oldguy (Apr 18, 2013)

My 3500 watt gennie sits in my shed.gassed and covered by a moving blanket.I may only use it in an emergency like,we really need juice.if it has to run,it will sit outside,with a gigantic chain attached to a gigantic eye hook with a gigantic lock where I can see it.

If I dont hear it hear it running,it may be out of gas or,some A-hole WAS attempting to steal it....repeat,WAS.


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## paraquack (Mar 1, 2013)

An added benefit to a shelter is noise reduction, but be careful of over heating. I ran into a situation where I had to put up a 32 sided with top cover shelter due to ran and had a bear of a time with percolation of the fuel in the bowl.


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## rjd25 (Nov 27, 2014)

Tennessee said:


> bad one is the 30amp circuit


You are limited by the size of the wire you are using. I chose a 30 amp breaker because I would prefer not to have an electrical fire in addition to being without power but hey, you are welcome to hook it up to a 200 amp transfer panel if you want LOL


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## MikeyPrepper (Nov 29, 2012)

All great info everyone!!


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## Pathwacker (Nov 18, 2014)

Chain it up and be done with it. A Home Depot Briggs 6500w is my house portable but i sleep with one eye open camping with my Yamaha 2000w. $1000 easily carried 43lb and high returns in the black market


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## Pathwacker (Nov 18, 2014)

rjd25 said:


> I toyed with the idea of running 10awg to my shed and run the genny from in there powering the house but it seemed too costly. I instead poured a concrete pad with a steel eye bolt in it under my deck which provides plenty of shelter and ventilation. An added bonus is my pool filter has a 30 amp circuit and the outlet is right there.


I'm doing a similar way. I'm feeding the house panel through an exterior hot tub 30amp circuit.


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## MikeyPrepper (Nov 29, 2012)

Yea might just do that, I also have a shed I really don't use



Pathwacker said:


> Chain it up and be done with it. A Home Depot Briggs 6500w is my house portable but i sleep with one eye open camping with my Yamaha 2000w. $1000 easily carried 43lb and high returns in the black market


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## HuntingHawk (Dec 16, 2012)

Remember that the generator needs fresh air so a vent low to the ground is needed. 10ft from the house is plenty far enough to remove noise & carbon monoxide.


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## shootbrownelk (Jul 9, 2014)

MikeyPrepper said:


> Yea might just do that, I also have a shed I really don't use


 Don't forget a couple of small electric attic ventilator fans with thermostats, that generator will heat-up that shed PDQ. and run the exhaust outside.


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## sparkyprep (Jul 5, 2013)

#10 awg wire = 30 amps, max.


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## oldgrouch (Jul 11, 2014)

My stand by genny is made to sit outside and since it weighs about 400 lbs and doesn not have wheels ---- well it is a little hart to move. My concern however is how to fabricate some type of faraday cage for it.


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## Dubyagee (Nov 9, 2012)

Shielded cables going to and from. Faraday cage the electrics. Not too hard but its tedious. The cables will receive any EMP pulse like antennas and will carry the energy to the least resistant path to ground. Usually through the electronics, frying them. I would build a sound reducing enclosure and integrate the faraday cage into that. I would have a master disconnect within the enclosure to keep it isolated. If you have it set up to auto switch then it would be hard to EMP proof.

Then comes the issue of EMP protecting any items that will be powered by the genset after any EMP.


This is why I have a diesel 12k completely disconnected in the garage with 500 gals of fuel.


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## tinkerhell (Oct 8, 2014)

I'm considering a 6" aluminum dryer hose for the exhaust so I can suppress the noise of my generator in my garage with minimal risk of fumes.


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## rjd25 (Nov 27, 2014)

tinkerhell said:


> I'm considering a 6" aluminum dryer hose for the exhaust so I can suppress the noise of my generator in my garage with minimal risk of fumes.


too dangerous for my blood... run it out of a shed at that point.


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## tinkerhell (Oct 8, 2014)

rjd25 said:


> too dangerous for my blood... run it out of a shed at that point.


I have a 4' wide lean to shed that runs the 30ft length of the garage. This would be much safer, but most of the time, I can not get to the back of the storage area without shin pads and spilled blood.


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## James m (Mar 11, 2014)

I'm told the dryer vent will probably melt.

I'm very surprised that some company hasn't come up something they can sell to fix this problem.


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## tinkerhell (Oct 8, 2014)

good point. You can get 4 feet of 4" galvanized heat duct.

I use some in a teepee woodstove. And, the original intend was to run the woodstove as hot as I can get it for a few hours to see if I can burn off the zinc ( to avoid zinc toxicity). Anyway, the heat discoloration doesn't travel down the entire length of the pipe, so there would be a good chance the heat from a generator could not melt this kind of ducting. And, I would guess that some aluminum ducting attached to it would be safe as well.


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## shootbrownelk (Jul 9, 2014)

James m said:


> I'm told the dryer vent will probably melt.
> 
> I'm very surprised that some company hasn't come up something they can sell to fix this problem.


 They do, it's called flexible exhaust tubing, they've been seeling the stuff for years. Check NAPA & Other Auto parts stores.


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## tinkerhell (Oct 8, 2014)

Might even be able to salvage an older muffler for it someday.


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## thepeartree (Aug 25, 2014)

In my eyes, it's all about sound dampening. Post shtf it's going to be real important not to make too much noise. Put the genny in a shed and insulate the heck out of it. That should help with heat coming through the walls. Use a thermostat-controlled attic fan for ventilation. I think I'd sink the corner posts of the shed in concrete and put a big ugly lock on the door.


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## GTGallop (Nov 11, 2012)

After talking to some electricians and real estate types, I have come to the conclusion that the #1 modification you can do to a house is to put in a generator connection. Depending on where you live, for $300 to $600 you can add a separate box with specific circuits that you want the generator to run. You can even install TWO boxes if you want a primary and secondary generator. And most importantly you run a master throw-switch that will completely unhook your power from the grid - that way your electricity is yours and doesn't back feed to other homes - or kill a lineman who thinks he is working on a dead line. Remember, linemen are part of your SHTF team because they are restoring infrastructure.

Just about every professional I've talked to will guarantee a 100% return on your investment for the additional panel, grid-kill-switch, and ability to hook in a generator or alternative supply so I think getting that done and done right while we are not in a disaster recovery mode is essential. I don't care if you are going to use a generator, solar, batteries or any other source, having a way to manage that source and where the current goes is paramount.

My electrical box is on the side of my house but adjacent to the electrical meter outside of my fence (perimeter). For that reason, I'd like a short run of conduit to go into the back yard. Minimal charge - maximum security.

Second to the power management is your concrete platform base with an Eye Bolt for security. I would also include an 8' ground rod to be driven into the ground. No sense in taking a problem at the generator and passing it into the house. Lets ground that out here and not add to our SHTF issues.

Third is structure. Putting a mini shed - Especially if it is disguised as a dog house - helps with a number of things:
1. Sound dampening
2. Leave your generator in place all year and not have to store it somewhere else
3. Concealment of assets
4. forced ventilation (like a fan blowing through the dog house / wind tunnel) may actually keep it cooler than no breeze
5. keeps the sun and rain off of the generator when running (cooler / dryer)
6. If you do it right, you may be able to reduce the heat signature in IR so that someone flying over can't see the generator running.
7. Metal shielding in your structure can reduce radio interference. Also keeps people from using your RFI to locate your generator.

Outside of the structure, I'd plant some shrubbery around it like Oleander or maybe some tree cover. That just serves to enhance the items I mentioned above.

Have you considered fuels? Using something that runs on natural gas or LPG may also benefit from the shed idea too and you could incorporate the plumbing into the design.

Also - When they switched (in the 70's) and started mandating unleaded gasoline and then in the 2000's to drop MTBE and include ethanol, performance in small engines has decreased. they LOVE those old fuels. Grandpa use to stop at a small local airport and buy AV-Gas to run in his boat motor and small engines. You might try the same and see if you don't get a little improved performance / economy running AV-Gas (not Kerosene or JP1, but the stuff they use in piston driven aircraft). Gramps seemed to think the engines ran quieter, cooler and at lower RPM for the same amount of work being output. Might also help some of the reasons to run your generator in a mini-shed.


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## thepeartree (Aug 25, 2014)

Be real careful with oleander. It's extremely poisonous to us and pets! Also, in a pinch everybody has a kill switch. It's called the master breaker. Pop that and nothing will come in or go out.


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## MikeyPrepper (Nov 29, 2012)

Ok so i decided to use my old shed since that is best ventilated. thanks all for all the suggestions and help


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