Generator security

[kev]

After hurricane Rita passed through here a year and a half ago - there were stories going around of peoples generators going off in the middle of the night, by the time they got outside all they saw was the tail lights of the truck leaving with their genny in the bed.

Do not let this happen to you.

When you buy your genny, also buy about 20 feet of chain and two locks. My genny was chained to an oak tree about 3 feet in diameter.

Then my truck was backed up to the genny so no one could see it from the road. Use your trucks or cars to block the view of people passing by.

Take the wheels off your genny. Do not make it any easier for the thieves.

Keep your genny in the back yard, or where ever you might have a fence up.

If you have a fenced back yard, put locks on the gate.

Do not keep your genny in the garage while running - fumes will still get into the house.

I built a portable shed about 4 feet tall, 4 feet wide and about 3 feet deep out of debris from the hurricane - three sides were closed, one side was open. This helped keep the genny out of thew weather and helped dampen the sound of the motor running. Now that the genny in stored in the shed, I turned that portable three sided shed into a wood shed for my bar-be-que pit.

[Ammo]

I put mine next to my work shed, locked it with a heavy chain, to a large eye bolt poured into the slab.
Backed my 3/4 ton cargo van, up to the other side of the generator, and chained/locked it to my class III hitch.
Loaded 12 ga., just inside back door.

[eeyore]

It is a shame we live in a world, that is filled with people that have no character.

One other option might be to pull off the muffler and add a piece (or pieces) of pipe to extend it out through a wall or window, so that the genny might be more secure.

[nightshift]

Mine was in the back fenced yard under the watchful eye of "Wonder mutt". I do need to chain it....

[billrok]

excellent information. Thanks.

[Maurepas]

In New Orleans after the storm, people were powering their tools with generators. Many stories were heard of people using their skill saw or whatever and suddenly it didn't work. Tracing the extension cord back, thinking something had come unplugged, they found out they were right. Someone unplugged them from the gennie and stole it in broad daylight.

I chain mine when in use. I have two Honda 2000's. They live in my truck tool box when not in use, out of sight.

I want to take a cargo rack that fits into a trailer hitch and modify it. By welding a sort of a cage in which to place the generator and fuel and padlock it down. The rack can be padlocked into the hitch. Could use this on my truck or fifth wheel and the gennies could be run in place within the lock up.

I thought about just buying a small hitch tool box but the gennies need more ventilation than that would provide.

[GMDSS]

Blacking out your windows at night if you are using lights may help also. To keep noise down, you may surround your genny with bails of hay (keep away from the hot exhaust), as we do on ham radio field day. The hay will muffle the sound, so it may delay its detection. On an otherwise quite night, it will be heard though no matter what.

[telesniper]

Buy concertina and string it around the area you want to secure. Theives can use bolt cutters to cut chains and locks, but if they try that with concertina, all they get is a face full of concertina that was under tension. Not saying don't lock it, but use concertina wire in combination with locks. Think in layers when it comes to any kind of security. Concertina also comes in handy to string masses of it below windows to deter unauthorized access, etc.

[Scruggs]

About 5 years ago I was at a wedding reception at a private residence in a fancy housing development. In my attempt to find a place to hide I went in back of the house and saw a large box constucted out of treated lumber. I peeked inside and there was a large generator inside. The owner then joined me to burn one and he showed me his neat setup. He had poured a 8" concrete slab under the generator and the generator was secured to the slab with huge hardened steel "U" bolts that were around the tubular frame and sunk into the concrete. It was a permanent thing, no way to move the generator without hacksawing the U bolts (there were 10 of them!) He explained that it served two purposes. It prevented theft and, more importantly to him, prevented neighbors with getting the idea that they could "borrow" his generator when the power went out. During one power outage he was inundated with requests to borrow it to keep the neighbors freezers cold. So he just set the whole thing in concrete! It was a different approach, to say the least.

[telesniper]

Originally Posted by Scruggs

About 5 years ago I was at a wedding reception at a private residence in a fancy housing development. In my attempt to find a place to hide I went in back of the house and saw a large box constucted out of treated lumber. I peeked inside and there was a large generator inside. The owner then joined me to burn one and he showed me his neat setup. He had poured a 8" concrete slab under the generator and the generator was secured to the slab with huge hardened steel "U" bolts that were around the tubular frame and sunk into the concrete. It was a permanent thing, no way to move the generator without hacksawing the U bolts (there were 10 of them!) He explained that it served two purposes. It prevented theft and, more importantly to him, prevented neighbors with getting the idea that they could "borrow" his generator when the power went out. During one power outage he was inundated with requests to borrow it to keep the neighbors freezers cold. So he just set the whole thing in concrete! It was a different approach, to say the least.

The thing you have to wory about in that situation, is the theif getting ****ed off and just sabotaging the whole works - puncturing the fuel tank and lighting it up. Better have it set up so the whole area is secure in the first place.

[Dwind]

luckily I live in a state that allows me to defend my property with deadly force when needed, rather than California- where you even have to decide between jail and the grave

[Thedragon]

Two of mine are mounted on trailers for mobility and securally mounted. The trailers have tow hitch disablers and chain capability on the wheels and axle to secure the trailer.

[Milkman12114]

Originally Posted by GMDSS

Blacking out your windows at night if you are using lights may help also. To keep noise down, you may surround your genny with bails of hay (keep away from the hot exhaust), as we do on ham radio field day. The hay will muffle the sound, so it may delay its detection. On an otherwise quite night, it will be heard though no matter what.

Intead of hay (fire hazzard). Get flex pipe. Hook a couple of coffee cans togther. Cut the tops off. Before you hook the pipes up together stuff cans with steel wool. the bottoms should have the same size hole as flex pipe. Flex pipe from auto parts store. Works like a silancer.

[DownInABunker]

There is a ton of great info in this thread, and in the other generator thread too, I think they should be combined into a sticky. Admins?