With any generator:
  • They emit carbon monoxide and other gasses that can kill you. Always run them outside and away from air intakes and windows.
  • They run hot. Don't fuel them when hot. Don't let the exhaust hurt someone or cause a fire. Use a spark arrestor on the exhaust.
  • Ideally you'll have a flat, paved spot out of the rain to operate it. I'd be comfortable operating mine on a flat spot that's unpaved but away from anything flammable. Mine is not designed to run in rain or snowy conditions.
  • Remove all electrical loads before starting, and if you possibly can let it run for at least a few minutes before adding electrical loads. Remove all electrical loads before stopping, and let it run for a minute or so without a load before stopping.
  • Don't let the fuel gum up. Either run it completely dry, or stabilize the fuel and log when you fill it up so that you don't let it gum up after the stabilizer expires. I like to run mine on a 50/50 mix of stabilizer and gasoline for at least a few minutes until it runs dry, then restart it until it won't run any more at all. After that I change the oil (while it's warm or hot) and squirt some oil into the cylinder, as per the long-term storage procedure for my unit.
  • I use expensive full synthetic motor oil for the four small engines I own (lawnmower, snowthrower, generator and gas chainsaw). A local small engine mechanic gave me a thorough butt-chewing over how I maintained the lawnmower that he had just fixed for me a couple decades ago. I've seen him only very rarely since and (when I had him fix a cable on my lawnmower) joked with him again about that incident.