How To Prevent Generator Theft | Step-by-Step
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How to prevent generator theft? How can I prevent someone from stealing my generator? What is the best generator deterrent. These are questions that you are probably going to be asking yourself not long after you purchase your new portable generator. Most folks that buy a portable generator for emergency electrical power in the event of a storm are concerned that some low life is going to steal it. This article should answer your most of your questions about generator theft deterrent.
The Dedicated Thief
The fact is that a dedicated thief is going to take your portable generator no matter what you do. And of course this will leave you without emergency power in a storm. The best that you can hope to do is to make it inconvenient for him or her and caused them to believe that they may be caught if they steal your portable generator.
Security Cable And Lock
The easiest way to secure your new portable generator is to use a security cable with a anti-theft lock. An anti-theft lock is one made of hardened steel and extra large hook that makes it difficult for the casual thief to steal it. And by the way, most generators are stolen when someone seizes the opportunity. That means they're driving down the road when the power is out and they hear a generator running. Then they sneak into your yard and steel your portable generator.
The cable should be as large as possible with respect to diameter, made of hardened steel coated in plastic to prevent it from corroding. A hardened steel coated cable will be difficult to cut unless the thief brings along some power tools. The cable should be wrapped around an immovable large object such as a big tree or a power pole. You can also mix together a 5 gallon bucket of concrete, insert a U-shaped long piece of rebar, and bury it deep in the ground. If that is your only option.
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Lighting
After you secure your portable generator to something non movable like a tree or a concrete post in the ground, the next thing you want to do is put light on the generator. Now obviously that's more difficult than you think because if you are using the electricity provided by the emergency generator, all the thief has to do is turn the generator off which is going to do when he steals it, and then the light will go out. I recommend that you use a solar powered light that you can firmly secure to the side of your home. The solar powered light that I use has a big battery capable of keeping the light on all night if it were necessary. The light is securely attached to the side of my home. In my case my home is made of block, I attached it using tapcons.
My solar powered light comes with a remote control so that I change the light settings. It has a setting for brightness, and a dusk till dawn setting. This means that the light will come just before the sun goes down and stay on all night. But the option that I use on it is the motion sensor. The motion detector or sensor is very sensitive. And it only stays on as long as there is motion in its field of view. If I send my dog out to do his business, the light will come on and only stay on while the dog is outside. Once the dog comes back inside, the light quickly goes out saving energy in the battery. This is important if the only place to mount the light that is convenient for the generator doesn't get a lot of sun exposure during the day.
How To Identify Your Generator
It's a good idea to use an etcher that's capable of writing into metal so that you can permanently etch your name and your phone number somewhere hidden on the generator. Later if you find your generator you can notify law enforcement that it is yours because your name is etched in the metal underneath. Furthermore, if a police officer comes across your generator and suspects that it is stolen, he can call you and ask you if your generator was in fact stolen.
Anti-Theft Alarm
The next level of Security is to use some sort of generator anti-theft alarm. There are lots of anti-theft alarms that are very expensive, however I use one that is very inexpensive. It is a little light with a backup battery that plugs into the receptacle or extension cord that comes from your generator. When the electricity goes off, the alarm goes off. The manufacturer says alarm sound is equal to a typical alarm clock. What's even better is that when the power does go off, this little handy unit switches over instantly to a flashlight so you can find it and find your way to your generator to see if it has been stolen, or if it just ran out of fuel. Works like a champ!
How To Find Your Generator
Now obviously it would be nice to locate your generator if in fact it is stolen. And although this next item does not qualify as a anti-theft generator deterrent device, it does make it amazingly easy to locate your generator after a thief has stolen it. After your generator is stolen, you can use a GPS transmitter to locate it. The GPS transmitter must be hidden somewhere underneath so that it will be difficult to find. The one that I recommend comes with very strong magnets so it can be easily removed and recharged every couple of days. GPS locators use the cellular network to transmit the location of the generator by sending you a text message with the GPS coordinates of wherever it is. And since you have already filed a police report when your generator was stolen, now you can call law enforcement and go get your generator. And because you used the etcher to etch your name and phone number underneath the generator somewhere, you can demonstrate to law enforcement at that time, without any ambiguity that this in fact is your generator and it was stolen from your home. Should be fun to watch the handcuffs go on the bad guy! All of the information provided in this article is available in our YouTube video, How To Stop Someone From Stealing My Generator.
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