How do you exercise a Genny when your MH is covered

[Kliwks]

Your supposed to run your genny every 30 days while in storage, with a load. If your MH is covered you can't run your A/C. Not sure how you get them to come on anyway when its 30 degrees out. How can you put a load on when your covered?

Any ideas?

[bdickson]

A couple of electric heaters would provide a load. But if the RV is covered, where are the exhaust fumes from the generator going to go?

[KennyGolub]

We have an electric fireplace. I run that and watch a little TV (crummy picture with it's covered)

I figure it isn't much but at least I'm running it.

[bdickson]

Electric water heater? Make some coffee and toast while you're watching TV. Anything with a resistive load will help.

[twinboat]

If you can't run your GAS generator every month, your next best action is to un-hook the gas line, coming from the tank and stick a plug in it. Start the generator and let it run until it stops. That gets the gas out of the carb. Once it shuts down, you can hook the gas line back up for the next time you use it.

Remember when you go to restart it, it may crank for a longer time to fill the carb., before it starts back up.

[donhoward49]

I do it, maybe not as often as they recommend. Just unhook a couple of the straps, pull the cover away from the exhaust, As stated, electric heaters. It also recharges the batteries. BTW I use a creeper/roller to hook/unhook the straps, just glide around under the rig.

[jswalls110]

I unhook the gas and let it run till it stops. I hook the gas up again when I dewinterize.

[NLOVNIT]

Contrary to what everyone else does, for the past 9 seasons we put the coach to bed from late Oct to early May & we don't start or run anything for those 6 months. The last day of cleaning, I'm running the genny under full load for those couple hours it takes me to finish everything. Then that's it. For 4 of those seasons we had an RV cover on it. It would've been too much effort to uncover once every month.

Lori-

[Scarab0088]

We have a cover with a doorway zipper...easy to enter the RV.



I like to visit about every 2 weeks when in storage. Our cover has no contact with the engine or gennie exhaust, and the engine radiator is well behind the grill (8.1L gas) that is open from underneath, so we start the engine, start the gennie, then turn on a TV or 2 and run a DVD, run the electric fireplace, and can run the circulation fans of the aircon (fans only). We have even exersized the leveling jacks.

There is no risk of exhaust entering the coach because the windows and door are shut...plus the exhaust pipes extend beyond the cover.

Safe travels

[Pepper2]

Originally Posted by NLOVNIT

Contrary to what everyone else does, for the past 9 seasons we put the coach to bed from late Oct to early May & we don't start or run anything for those 6 months. The last day of cleaning, I'm running the genny under full load for those couple hours it takes me to finish everything. Then that's it. For 4 of those seasons we had an RV cover on it. It would've been too much effort to uncover once every month.

Lori-

Same here and we have never had a problem come spring.

[Kliwks]

Well thanks for all the replies. Yes, My gen exhaust is easily exposed by lifting the cover. I will probably use the 2 ceramic heater option to put a load on it. I haven't done this the past 2 years of winter storage, but I will this year. To those that run the Genny dry until spring, I am told the reason for running the Genny is to dry any moisture out the windings. Can't swear to it, but heard it somewhere.

[twinboat]

I understand the reason to run the generator every month, but I store my motorhome in central Florida and take my Trawler down to the Keys for the winter. I don't want to take the chance of the gas going bad and gumming up the carb.