CPSC Proposes New Safety Standard for Portable Generators

The Consumer Product Safety Commission is proposing a new safety standard for portable generators. CPSC’s proposed rule (here) would set carbon monoxide emissions requirements and test procedures for portable generators. Compliance with the new safety standard would be required within one year of the publication date of the final rule for larger portable generators, and three years after the final rule is published for smaller portable generators. Comments on the proposal are due Feb. 6.

Under the proposed rule, portable generators would be defined as follows: “For purposes of this rule, portable generators include single phase; 300 V or lower; 60 hertz; portable generators driven by small handheld and non-handheld (as defined by the Environmental Protection Agency) spark-ignited utility engines intended for multiple use which are provided only with receptacle outlets for the AC output circuits and intended to be moved, though not necessarily with wheels. For purposes of this rule, portable generators do not include: permanently installed generators; 50 hertz generators; marine generators; trailer mounted generators; generators installed in recreational vehicles; generators intended to be pulled by vehicles; generators that are part of welding machines; and generators powered by compression-ignition engines fueled by diesel.

The proposed rule would set dates for compliance with the new safety standard depending on the compressor’s engine size. For “handheld generators,” defined as having a spark-ignited engine with a displacement of 80 cc or less, and “class 1 generators” with a spark-ignited engine between 80 cc and 225 cc, compliance would be required for generators manufactured or imported three years after publication of the final rule. For “class 2” single cylinder and two cylinder generators, defined as having spark-ignited engines with a displacement of 225 cc or greater, compliance would be required beginning with generators manufactured or imported one year after publication of the final rule.

The proposal includes a prohibition on “stockpiling” portable generators before the final rule is issued. In the year after any final rule setting a safety standard is published, manufacturers and importers would be prohibited from manufacturing and importing portable generators at a rate greater than 125 percent of the rate they manufactured or imported during a “base period.” The “base period” would be any one-year period occurring in the five years preceding publication of the final rule as selected by the manufacturer or importer.

(Federal Register 11/21/16)