Twin Cities Generator Safety Guide: Powering Through Winter Storms Without Risks

Winter storms in Minneapolis, St. Paul, and the surrounding areas can be brutal, with temperatures dipping below freezing and heavy snowfall. These storms lead to a high risk of power outages, so having a reliable generator becomes essential for maintaining safety and comfort. In this blog, our generator experts at Dean’s Home Services will cover why it is so important to have a generator installed and how to ensure you run your generator safely. With our team on your side, you can make sure your home stays reliably powered and responsibly operated all season long.

Understanding Winter Storm Preparedness

Power outages can be dangerous, especially during winter conditions with temperatures that threaten the comfort and safety of your home. Generators play a crucial part in your winter storm preparedness plan, delivering backup power to essential appliances and devices and offering a lifeline during prolonged winter storms and outages.

Selecting & Properly Installing the Right Generator

Ensuring your generator is ready for the challenge of winter begins with selecting and installing the system that best fits the power supply needs of your home. By having your system sized correctly, you can meet the requirements needed to adequately power medical devices, refrigerators, and other critical systems — ensuring that it can effectively provide backup power without overloading or underperforming. With professional installation, you can rest easy knowing that your system is not only properly sized but is also installed in a suitable location and adequately ventilated to prevent the buildup of harmful gases.

Fuel Storage & Management

Having the right fuel at hand for your generator is a key part of being storm-ready. Whether it operates using gasoline, propane, or diesel, ensuring your fuel supply is sufficient and properly stored is essential to preventing fuel contamination and protecting your system’s reliability. Always be sure to store your fuel in appropriate containers, away from heat sources, and regularly rotate to maintain freshness. Having a plan for refueling during prolonged outages ensures your home, health, and safety are secured — so be sure to prioritize fuel management as part of your storm preparedness strategy.

Cold Weather Starting Procedures

In cold temperatures, starting a generator can pose unique challenges, especially in the Twin Cities, where winter weather can be severe. To ensure your generator starts in sub-zero temperatures, be sure to consider the following:

• Fuel tank size: Colder temperatures limit the amount of fuel vaporized in your system, potentially causing vapor lock, and preventing the engine from starting. By having the correct size fuel tank, you can ensure an ample supply of fuel even in colder temperatures.
• Create a cold weather kit: A cold weather kit may comprise a battery warmer and an oil heater aimed at keeping your battery at an ideal temperature to ensure it generates sufficient voltage for starting the generator.
• Battery size: Batteries don’t produce as much power when the temperature dips low, so having your batter properly sized is a crucial part of ensuring your generator starts.
• Install a block heater: Block heaters help to warm parts of your generator to make start-up easier and alleviate pressure on the engine during cold weather conditions.

Regular Generator Maintenance in Winter

With most major appliances and machines, maintenance is essential for system longevity and reliability, and that goes for your generator, too. By having your generator regularly maintained, not only can you help to extend its life span, but you can also ensure it operates efficiently and reliably during the harsh winter months.

Choose Dean’s Home Services as Your Generator Installer in the Twin Cities

With over 100 years of combined experience in the electrical industry, Dean’s Home Services is your trusted source for generator installations in Minneapolis and St. Paul. With licensed and insured electricians, upfront pricing, and free estimates on installations and replacements, we prioritize transparency, professionalism, and customer satisfaction to ensure your peace of mind and the smooth operation of your generator system.

Request a FREE estimate for a generator installation today by calling Dean’s at 763-515-4852!