Stowing Portable Gasoline Generator

[Coquillage]

I am considering a Honda EU2000i portable gasoline generator for my Catalina 350. However, I have not decided how to safely stow the generator when not in use. I do plan to store gasoline containers on deck. I would appreciate feedback from those who stow portable gasoline generators on their boats. Do you stow it in a cockpit locker? If so, is that locker isolated from the rest of your boat, at least regarding fumes and vapors? If you stow the generator in a cockpit locker, do you drain the fuel tank or carburetor and/or run the carburetor dry before stowing? Thanks in advance.

[k1vsk]

Most of us already stow gas for the dinghy outboard so this isn't really a safety issue, as some might suggest, as long as you follow the same common sense rules. Drain the tank (not easy on a Honda 2000), run the carb dry, ventilate the tank (easier than it sounds and takes only a minute as verified by my combustion meter) and store it in a locker similar to that designed for propane to ventilate externally. Your cataline 35 might not have a proper locker and need to be modified.
I and many of our cruising friends do as described above without concern - it's more the folks who don't or haven't tried who will tell you how dangerous this is.

[erps]

You can't go wrong preaching "best practices" on the internet, but there's "good enough" too. I stow our Honda 2k in a cockpit locker on our current boat and know folks who store it in their saloon on their Catalina 34's. I put a couple quarts of gas in it to charge the batteries and when the motor quits, I let it cool down and then it goes back in the locker.

[flatracker]

I store my little generator under the B beth. Never with fuel in it. It is always run totally dry, and allowed to cool before it goes inside. Running the carb dry is just the smart thing to do, particularly if you don't use the gen set a lot.

[Coquillage]

Thanks guys for the feedback. I now plan to enclose a cockpit locker and install a drain overboard so in principal it will work like my propane lockers. That way the heavier than air gasoline vapors will drain from the bottom to the outside. With this system it seems I should be able to store the gasoline generator in the locker along with several containers of gasoline and several small propane cylinders for my grill. Thanks again.