>AC> Place engine outdoors, on leeward side. NOT in basement or garage.
 > 
 > What I ended up doing was turning off the mains breakers and
 > disconnecting the electric water heater. The generator was set up in the
 > doorway of the garden shed well away from the house since the garage was
 > apt to be a fumes problem. Note that a separate ground wire went from
 > the generator frame to an earthing stake.
Mike,
 You did things pretty much 'right'. It's a real bad idea to have a generator 
near or in a building that you care about. A fella I've corresponded with 
went to start his generator and apparently had a bad connection to the 
starting battery. Saw a big spark when trying to start it, investigated, and 
found a loose connection. And gasoline leaking from the carburator; he nearly 
lost his barn!
My generator is in a metal shed all by itself. If you have Internet access, 
yoi can have a look at www.oldengine.org/members/jdunmyer, under 'other 
stuff'.
--- FLAME v1.1
---------------