re: Portable generator safety?

Depending on what she needs to power, there are better options. For less than $1000 (and possibly less than $500) you can get a solar generator that will power your fridge etc. You can use the gas generator to charge it during the day in less than 2 hours, and the solar generator can run things overnight. The solar generator will allow power draws as needed, vs a gas generator that will run constantly.

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Why not just put it outside?

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Because people had their generators stolen (even from balconies on the third floor) in Kenner after Katrina.

And this is the problem with combustion. Can't have them inside, afraid to leave them outside. (We had friends almost die from CD on their boat; two of the four ended up in bariatric chamber in Chattanooga. the other two survived possibly because their smoking habit accustomed them to lower oxygen levels.)

What we have done is put a pad for the big generator outside, where it's not visible from the street a tenth of a mile away, and we only wheel the generator out when the power co can't tell us when we'll get power restored.

That she will be hardwired into the gas line makes our solution impossible. CO will accumulate in her garage and not be disbursed if there is no wind.

Would she know what to do if CO alarms went off?

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elderly neighbor

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should have a 220 outlet near where the generator is going to be and a transfer switch OR be able to shut the power off coming from the pwr company so as not to backfeed onto de-energized line and hurt someone...

basically what Skeeterzx190 said...

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Link to this “solar generator” that costs less than $500 and can power a house for 22hrs a day.

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Here you go sport less than$1k LINK
C1000 is $449 and can easily run a fridge all night

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C1000 is $449 and can easily run a fridge all night

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A single fridge, no other power draw, and literally just the night. Not even a day and a night. I get where you are coming from with letting it load shift your generator usage….but most won’t do so much effort to such a limited application.

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My elderly neighbor is planning on setting up her portable home generator using natural gas in her detached garage in the event of a hurricane. The garage is about 50 feet from her house and she will leave the door partially open for ventilation. She’s having someone come out to set up a flexible gas hose to run from her house,and extra long extension cords to her panel box. I’m concerned that this is not a good idea, can someone assure me that this is safe?

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A flexible hose may reduce the flow of exhaust and drop the HP rating and current output of the generator. I have a "pipe" I use with our RV to get the exhaust away from the camper at night and at times it drops the output of the 4500 watt generator to a point where the AC will not cycle. It has never not cycled without the pipe.

More concerning is the distance. If it is 50 feet from the house even if the load is exactly 50 feet from the generator the voltage drop with a 1500 watt load at 120 volts (coffee pot for example) and 14 gauge copper wire (typical drop cord) would be about 3%. That is the minimum allowable VD on a branch circuit. If she is considering tying the generator into the main breaker and back feeding loads as needed the voltage drop from the generator to say a condensing unit is probably not going to be enough voltage to start the compressor...the distance will be the 50 feet from the garage plus whatever distance the conductors in the house run from the panel to the unit. It'd be fine for lights but anything like a freezer or an AC unit the VD may be such that the compressors can't start or cycle...

I back fed our house with a 8000 watt contractor generator last year after Helene with a parrallel run of 14/2 with a ground romex about 3 feet long...tied it into the hot tub circuit and back fed the panel and switched loads as needed with circuit breakers. Not ideal but I had the romex and it was hotter than hell LOL. Could run one AC unit at a time and could turn things off to use the burners on the stove...did not try the oven. Gas water heater. At times that romex would be warm to the touch. We have 3 AC units - 2 5 ton and 1 3 ton. When the big ones cycled the generator would grunt and the lights would flicker but it never tripped a breaker. If I had had some #10 or #8 copper I doubt if the lights would have flickered. VD is a concern. It will also damage high current loads over time.

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Explain how flex pipe flows gas differently than plastic pipe.

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Smoother. The coil of wire that makes hoses flexible, if its like a drier vent hose, cause an eddy effect like a stump in a river....