Exercising generator

Combine tasks. Defrost a roast in the microwave. Bake some potatoes or cook a butternut squash. Plug something into the outside receptacle, leaf blower, garage heater, run some power tools you need to work a project. Good luck.

I use a 1500 watt electric heater to put a load on the generator.
Or, use two heaters depending on the size of your generator.

gbopp wrote:
I use a 1500 watt electric heater to put a load on the generator.

Me too.

1/2 load for 30 minutes would be fine.

I too use the portable electric heaters for load test for generators...

Roy Ken

I like the space heater suggestions. Dampness can set in so it is good to dry out the interior anyway.

I use an electric heater as a load too, but if your DW has something she wants to cook in the microwave, that makes a good load too. Unfortunately, most things don't require enough cooking time to make a good load.

The fan only is probably no more than an amp or two at most. I would not consider that a load for properly running the generator.
I have my house set up with a transfer switch so I can power it from my RV during a power outage. I sometimes just let the RV gen. run the house for an hour or two so I'm really not wasting any power at all.

It's unnecessary for me to pile on with yet another space heater suggestion, but I will. I give my portable generator a few minutes to warm up without a load, then add the space heater on low (900w, I think), step up to 1500w for a bit, then back down to 900, no load for a cool down, then off.

I have a better idea.

Figure out how to stop the fuel flow if it gas.
**If it is diesel don't bother.
Fog the engine if it is gas.
**If it is diesel, this is tricky as it will start and run on the fogging oil.
Then, leave it alone. Engines only survive just so many thermal cycles before things start breaking. This is why the old lady that drives a short ways to the market and church has so much car trouble.

As a ship's engineer that came ashore so he could have a family, one thing I learned was that the lacquer that was hydroscopic (so you had to warm up windings) when out at the end of WWII. So, that is no excuse (I don't care what the people that sell parts are telling you.)

Matt