Your generator won’t start. Now what?

By Mike Allen, The Saturday Mechanic

You put your generator away after Irene, carefully stored in your shed under a tarp, in fact. With the emergency, it’s time to haul it out and keep the lights on. Cool, still more than half a tank full. Fuel tap on, choke on, switch on. And yank.

And yank. Yank until you’re blue in the face. No go. Okay, how about a little ether sprayed into the intake? That makes it cough and run for a few seconds, but never longer. You’re too tired to pull the rope anymore, it’s getting dark, the news is saying that the power is going off pretty much at random. And it’s raining harder every minute. You’re screwed. And in the dark until further notice.

What’s wrong? More importantly, what can you do now, instead of hauling the thing off for repair next week after the emergency is over?

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Next time, deep fry your turkey

Be it for Christmas or not until next Thanksgiving, consider deep frying the turkey for your next feast.

My friend Mike Allen, the Saturday Mechanic, tells you how to do it without burning your house down.

Lori and I have been enjoying Mike’s deep fried turkey for years.  It’s always moist and delicious. 

There’s only one downside; no leftovers for soup and sandwiches the rest of the weekend.

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