Don’t let your genny set them woods on fire

It’s one of those, “Enough to ruin your whole day,” stories. Imagine taking your RV to your favorite boondocking spot, starting up the generator to run the air conditioner, and not much later, you smell smoke. Fire! Your RV generator has done a naughty and set the woodlands on fire.

It’s not an unbelievable scenario. Sad to say, improperly managed RV generators can and do set fires. What can happen, and what can you do to prevent a tragedy?

First, keep it clean. Don’t allow any accumulation of trash, grease rags, old oil containers, of what-have-you accumulate in your RV’s generator compartment. Generators do get hot, and things can move around, finding their way onto an exhaust heated part with bad results.

Second, be careful where you park. By nature RVers tend to like to ‘get away from it all.’ If that means parking out in the boonies, in dry grass or brush, problems can result. Before you ever hit the start switch, take a walk around and make sure that your exhaust pipe, muffler, and any other hot parts of the system are plenty far away from any combustible material. It’s not a bad idea to make sure your exhaust is blown clear of the rig to prevent carbon monoxide or other exhaust fumes from making their way into your rig.

Third, make sure you have a proper spark arrestor on your generator. This is particularly important with portable generators. How do you know if you have an approved spark arrestor on your generator or built-in genset? Read the documentation. If you’re still not clear, call the manufacturer and have your generator model number handy. Even some “built in” sets don’t come with a spark arrestor as standard equipment, but many of them-that-don’t can be fitted with an accessory that makes them safe in the dry wilds. And if you have a spark arrestor, be sure to follow the instructions and service intervals for cleaning it.

Smokey thanks you.

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