Could one of you fine folks please help me with a question about Gensets that I have not seen posted anywhere. I have a Generac 4000XL and I am wondering if it needs to be protected from EMP, and if so, how best to provide protection. Thank you all for your dedication to others.

-- shawn sullivan (shawn_sullivan@hotmail.com), December 13, 1999

Answers

I don't mean to sound like a jerk, but if we're hit by EMP(nukes), a generator will be the last of your concernes.

Lead shielding should work, although I don't know how thick.

-- CygnusXI (noburnt@toast.net), December 13, 1999.

Gnnnn. Rrrrrr.

TIN FOIL!

-- Servant (public_service@yahoo.com), December 13, 1999.

Sealed Metal box, grounded. Be sure to locate away from all antennae, existing wire runs, etc.

You can store the genset as above and it would be shielded from EMP, but it would be unprotected as soon as you remove it to use it, plus the supply line to your elect system would act as a conduit for EMP once you plug your generator into your transfer switch.

Likely if we experience EMP event, not a one shot deal. The military (main target of EMP attack) also has equipment stored/shielded, and will deploy after initial attack. So the bad guys send another over every now and again just to keep the lights off.

-- Protection (kaboom@nuke.com), December 13, 1999.

There was a recent discussion on misc.survivalism about Faraday Cages. Do a Deja News search, that should provide some good information. One poster recommended a metal garbage can for larger items. Sheet metal might work, also. You may also want to post your question to alt.war.nuclear. There are some very knowledgeable folks there.

For smaller electronics, wrap them in cloth and store them in a military surplus steel ammo can.

Hope this helps.

-- Stars and Stripes (stars_n_stripes@my-deja.com), December 13, 1999.

ummm lead does NOT work.

Tinfoil is the RIGHT ANSWER!!

Chuck

-- Chuck, a night driver (rienzoo@en.com), December 13, 1999.

Window screen material can be used to build larger Faraday cages. Build a frame out of wood and cover with the screening. Just be certain to overlap the seams and solder the sections together about every foot or so. Use a screen door and be certain to run a wire from the "walls" to the door. For extra security you might want to use two doors in an "airlock" doorway type arrangement to prevent leakage when entering and exiting. Then run a ground cable from the structure to a good earth ground, either your home's incoming water line (only if it's metal) or a ground rod.

We had a Faraday room for a military test program I was involved with. With just everyday materials we had a structure which testing showed no electromagnetic signal could get into or more importantly for us, out of.

WW

-- Wildweasel (vtmldm@epix.net), December 13, 1999.

Shield and ground the cables too - penetrations through into the building....

But think about it: if civil defense is still available, we should get 20-30 minutes warning. Shut the gen set off, take it and go inside for a little while (depends on blast location and wind direction) - then restart.

If it's a suitcase bomb "hand held" - then the EMP is much reduced, blast area is reduced, and impact is reduced....warning is likely to be eliminated completely though if from a real terrorist. If from overseas - the threat will be enough for Clinton to cave.....but realistically - I don't think either Russia or China wants nuclear war right now - they don't need it since the Clintons are giving them everything they need, everything they want, and shipping back greenbacks that are not contaminated.

Why risk war with us?

With Korea, with Taiwan, with India, possibly with Pakistan - yes .... but not with us.

-- Robert A. Cook, PE (Marietta, GA) (cook.r@csaatl.com), December 13, 1999.

Ok, when I first clicked on this one, I was gonna write TIN FOIL too, but - wouldn't one of the 'emergency blankets' be a good idea ?

-- Dan G (earth_changes@hotmail.com), December 13, 1999.

Dan- the point of all these methods is to direct the path of the EMP AROUND the object being protected. I think a survival blanket might be too thin to safely conduct (even if they ARE conductive?) this pulse. Also, even if it was conductive it has to be insulated from the generator by space, or some other physical insulator, not just draped over it.

-- (cavscout@fix.net), December 13, 1999.

Hi Shawn,

EMP and nearby lightning strikes can cause a voltage spike in the long wires running from your generator to whatever you're powering. There are surge protectors that can take care of most of this (look at: http://www.deltala.com/). It is also a very useful addition to incoming house wiring to prevent damage from lightning.

The ignition setup of your generator may or may not be vulnerable -- ignition systems are designed to operate with nearby high voltage pulses -- and there's not too much you could do to protect them (unless you want to dig into MOV devices and stuff like that).

-- Dean -- from (almost) Duh Moines (dtmiller@midiowa.net), December 14, 1999.