generator theft measures

[Tom]

last year, after wilma, we had in s.florida several neighbors with "walking
generators", ie. when they were away from house even for an hour or at
night, their gen took legs and disappeared.

this year, many have bought chainlocks but am wondering what's the opinion
here, is there a better or more practical way to secure the genny?

about the only thing I can think about is pouring a concrete slab and
bolting the genny with a metal cover to the slab (with adequate ventilation
slots)
of course the metal case could be ripped off and the bolts also removed but
it's got to be better that leaving it running in backyard on it's wheels?

ideas? motion sensor alarm hooked up to gen?

 

[L.Mills]

Jumper the plug wire to the chassis.

aarghh.... bzzzTTT!!!

 

[Harry Chickpea]

aarghh.... bzzzTTT!!!

Funny as hell, but a legal liability.


Drill a couple of 1/2" holes in a concrete sidewalk, add a shield, and
lag the sucker to the sidewalk and cover the lag bolts with grease or
debris. Let 'em get hernias before they give up..

 

[Harry Chickpea]

I have mine chained to my boat trailer but I don't live in Florida and
nobody driving by can see it they'd still have to open my front gate and get
past my dogs and most thieves around here should expect to get shot anyway
and if they don't expect it then I guess they'll be surprised.

After the next 'cane I plan on duct-taping a few of my used target
practice targets on the fence gate, with a note "Looters and
trespassers - before entering ask yourself - 'Do I feel lucky today?'
No trespassing - strictly enforced."

 

[Ray]

<snip>#this year,#many have bought chainlocks but am wondering what's
the opinion here,#is there a better or more practical way to secure the
genny?
~~~~
AK-47, AR-15, Mossy 500, 1911-A1.Sorry but the reality is only the
determine and strong survive when your on your own.Life's determined by
your will to survive,not the government to protect us during a
catastrophic disaster.Protect your family and property at all cost and
deal with the consequences later.It's either fight or flight,been
there...

Ray

 

[(PeteCresswell)]

Per Tom:

last year, after wilma, we had in s.florida several neighbors with "walking
generators", ie. when they were away from house even for an hour or at
night, their gen took legs and disappeared.

Another issue that I heard in interviews with people who experienced Katrina's
aftermath: theft based on the sound of a generator.

Apparently some people were drawn to the sound of generators to rob the
occupants of houses connected to same.

The reputed silence of the Honda units takes on new meaning in that context...

 

[William P.N. Smith]

this year, many have bought chainlocks but am wondering what's the opinion
here, is there a better or more practical way to secure the genny?

That's probably as good as you need, the target of opportunity is
someone else's unsecured generator.

Ours is behind the house, under the deck, built-in, hard-plumbed to
NG, bolted to the concrete slab, and the generator cover doors are
tied into the alarm system, but that's overkill (except that running
the generator with the covers removed makes it overheat)...

 

[GeekBoy]

Per Tom:

Another issue that I heard in interviews with people who experienced
Katrina's
aftermath: theft based on the sound of a generator.

Apparently some people were drawn to the sound of generators to rob the
occupants of houses connected to same.

The reputed silence of the Honda units takes on new meaning in that
context...

Sand bags in a 'C' formation around a generator and a piece of plywood on
top will kill most of the sound. You can be standing next to it and hardly
hear it.

 

[William P.N. Smith]

How does NG [fare] during huricanes?

I'm always leery of anything not already on site.
What happen in past emergencies?

Well, here in the NorthEast, our problems are more typically winter
storms, blizzards, ice storms, and that kind of thing. NG pipelines
are all underground, pretty robust, and not subject to the kinds of
shortages that gasoline and propane can have in the aftermath of a Big
Storm (TM). We've never had a natural gas supply problem (knock
wood).

Not that something couldn't happen to the NG storage tanks in our
area, resulting in a fuel supply interruption, but that happening in
conjunction with an electrical grid failure is probably less likely.

Also, our generator is dual-fuel, and I've got a gasoline port on it,
and a marine gas tank, and 30(?) gallons of metal jerry cans for
storage. Belt and suspenders, or overkill? 8*)

You can drive yourself {nuts, to the poorhouse} playing what-if games
and having backups for your backups, multiple fuel sources, etc.

 

[Derek Broughton]

That's probably as good as you need, the target of opportunity is
someone else's unsecured generator.

Yes, though there's different kinds of "unsecured". Apparently after our
local hurricane a few years back, the cable company lost a large number of
generators that were chained to power poles powering amplifiers. If you're
not going to be nearby, a chain and lock doesn't help much. If the thieves
expect you to notice and be on-hand immediately when the power goes out,
then a lock is probably sufficient (use aircraft cable, not chain - bolt
cutters will take out a chain in no time).

 

[Derek Broughton]

I think you are giving them too much credit--you are assuming they can
read
;-) Where I live "No Trespassing" seems to mean "Dirt Bike Riding and Hot
Air Balloon Landing Area."

Are the "No trespassing" signs visible from the air? We used to get them
coming over us all the time, and a couple of times they landed in adjacent
fields. Aiui, they generally phoned and asked permission before landing.

Where I live now, we don't have balloons (something to do with being right
on the lee shore of Nova Scotia, with nothing but water until Ireland!) but
the dirt bikers & ATVers completely disregard (with some legal support) "No
trespassing" signs.

 

[Derek Broughton]

With some legal support? Like what?

Fishing and hunting is allowed on _any_ undeveloped land (even if signed!) -
that includes the grounds of a private home if part of it is left in its
wild state (while hunting is allowed, discharge of a firearm generally
_isn't_ because you can't do that near a home). Strictly, that probably
doesn't give them the right to drive over the land - but try to get the
local police to give them anything worse than a warning!

otoh, a timber-tract is considered "developed", even if nobody is logging on
it at the time...

Here they all seem to be very well-educated on trespassing laws.

Same here - but the trespassing laws are generally on the side of the
trespasser.

 

[Vaughn Simon]

How does NG fair during huricanes?

I'm always leery of anything not already on site.
What happen in past emergencies?

I have never heard of a NG failure following a hurricane, but $hit happens
so think ahead. I use NG for my Onan, but have three full 100# propane tanks
"just in case". If that doesn't work, then I drag out my "real" backup unit,
the EU2000i. I keep about 30 gallons of gas for the car, the EU, and for my
less-prepared friends.

Vaughn

 

[Tom]

then a lock is probably sufficient (use aircraft cable, not chain - bolt
cutters will take out a chain in no time).

aircraft cable - not at our local home depot? where?

 

[(PeteCresswell)]

then a lock is probably sufficient (use aircraft cable, not chain - bolt

aircraft cable - not at our local home depot? where?

I hate to say this but, if by "aircraft cable" somebody means something like
1/2" twisted SS rope, I used to use something I fabricated out of that to lock
my bike.

Lost the key one day and thought "Hmmmmm.... how am I gonna get home?". Then
it dawned on me that I could break it strand-by-strand. An old screwdriver did
the trick. Slip it under one thread, rotate until the thread breaks, go on to
the next thread.... Took me less than 30 minutes. Would've been more like
five minutes if I had a set of diagonal cutting pliers.

 

[Harry Chickpea]

I have never heard of a NG failure following a hurricane,

There were pictures after Katrina of NG bubbling out of the water that
had been ignited. I'm sure that line was valved off once the valve
could be reached. In the devastated areas of NO the NG, water, and
power were disconnected shortly after the storm for safety reasons.

NG might work fine after ice storms, but in the hurricane belt it is
an iffy backup source of energy.

 

[Vaughn Simon]

There were pictures after Katrina of NG bubbling out of the water that
had been ignited.

I remember those pictures, they were taken days after the hurricane. In
the meantime, the gas was ON and no other source of power/fuel was available.

I'm sure that line was valved off once the valve
could be reached.

No doubt, true.

In the devastated areas of NO the NG, water, and
power were disconnected shortly after the storm for safety reasons.

I am sure that is true, that is why I have my supply of propane. If the NG
goes out, I am no worse off than anybody else, but if the NG keeps running (most
likely scenario) then I have no fuel supply issues. Why would anybody not want
to do that?

I would be interested (if anybody knows) how well South Miami's NG system did
after Andrew. I have little doubt that they turned off the gas to the worst
neighborhoods for at least a few days until individual taps could be secured.

NG might work fine after ice storms, but in the hurricane belt it is
an iffy backup source of energy.

In the hurricane belt, everything is iffy. Like I said, $hit happens,
particularly when hurricanes are involved. Still, when windstorms are at issue,
I would rather depend on underground pipes than overhead anything.

Vaughn

 

[Derek Broughton]

I hate to say this but, if by "aircraft cable" somebody means something
like 1/2" twisted SS rope, I used to use something I fabricated out of
that to lock my bike.

Lost the key one day and thought "Hmmmmm.... how am I gonna get home?".
Then
it dawned on me that I could break it strand-by-strand. An old
screwdriver did
the trick. Slip it under one thread, rotate until the thread breaks, go
on to
the next thread.... Took me less than 30 minutes. Would've been more
like five minutes if I had a set of diagonal cutting pliers.

Sure, but I can break a chain with good bolt cutters in a couple of
_seconds_. If a thief needs to spend 5 minutes to get my generator, he
must have already killed or drugged my dogs! There's no doubt that
aircraft cable isn't impossible to break, but none of the solutions offered
(other than the lethal ones) are going to actually _stop_ theft, they just
need to make it difficult enough to encourage the thieves to go somewhere
else.

 

[You]

I have never heard of a NG failure following a hurricane, but $hit
happens
so think ahead. I use NG for my Onan, but have three full 100# propane tanks
"just in case". If that doesn't work, then I drag out my "real" backup unit,
the EU2000i. I keep about 30 gallons of gas for the car, the EU, and for my
less-prepared friends.

Vaughn

But Vaughn, some folks live in earthquakle country, and they are
absolutly deadly, to Propane and NG powered sites. Natural disasters
come in all shapes and sizes, and just cause you live in a zone
that only get "Canes" doesn't mean that those are the only disasters
the rest of the Internet Newsgroup folks have to deal with. A good
flood will wipe out a pile of NG operations if the local pumphouse goes
underwater. Same if the power to your local Pumphouse goes out after a
"Cane".....

 

[sylvan butler]

the rest of the Internet Newsgroup folks have to deal with. A good
flood will wipe out a pile of NG operations if the local pumphouse goes
underwater. Same if the power to your local Pumphouse goes out after a

I've seen a few NG pumphouses, and all of them have been powered by NG.
I didn't think they did any other kind.

sdb