Generator Placement
A generator is the difference between rotting loot and a stocked freezer that lasts the whole run. But it is also one of the few base objects that can wreck your health, attract zombies, and quietly drain a fuel supply you spent days siphoning. Get the placement right once and it pays off for the rest of the save. The decision breaks down into a handful of constraints, roughly in priority order.
1. Never in a building you use — the exhaust rule
Generator exhaust is the one base hazard that goes straight for your health. Run a generator inside a building you are in and your health drops very quickly, down to almost nothing. Leaving the building stops the damage, but it isn't safe to go back in until the generator is switched off. So put it outdoors — in a fenced yard or behind the house — or in a separate shed you never sleep or work in. You also have to switch it off to refuel, since the tank only fills while the generator is off.
2. The ~20-tile coverage radius
A connected generator powers appliances within roughly a 20-tile radius of itself, a cylinder that also reaches three floors above and below it. Center that circle on whatever matters most. For a hoarder that is the fridge and freezer bank, because powered refrigeration multiplies how long meat, dairy, and perishables stay edible. For a crafter it is the room with the oven, microwave, and any powered crafting. You do not need line of sight or wiring runs — proximity is all that matters — so put the generator on the side of the building closest to your most power-hungry cluster, then verify the fridges hum after you hit "turn on".
3. Fuel logistics and consumption
Fuel burn depends on what the generator powers. With nothing plugged in it barely sips (about 0.002 L an hour); every powered device adds load, and fridges and freezers are the big draws while lights hardly register. A fridge, a TV and six lamps run for roughly 18 in-game days on one full 10 L tank. Gas does not regenerate, so the smart move early is to siphon every abandoned car and pump gas station fuel into jerry cans before the grid shuts off. Keep the generator close enough to your fuel stash that a top-up is a short walk, not a 200-tile round trip. A common trick is to turn the generator off whenever you are away on a long looting run: fridges hold their cold for a while, and you save fuel you would otherwise burn powering an empty base.
Condition, repair, and hooking it up
Generators lose condition as they run, and the four models wear at different rates — the ValuTech degrades fastest. At 20% condition or below a generator can catch fire or explode, so don't run one that low. You repair it with Scrap Electronics: each one restores 4% plus 0.5% per level of Electrical. To connect a generator at all you need Electrical 3, the Electrician or Engineer occupation, or a read copy of How to Use Generators, so grab that magazine early if you have none of those. If you find a second generator in good shape, keep it as a cold spare so a sudden breakdown does not cost you a freezer full of food.
Noise and zombie attraction
A running generator is loud, and some models are louder than others. It emits sound continuously, and that noise can pull wandering zombies toward your base over time, especially in or near towns. This is the main argument against placing it right on your front step facing a street. Tuck it behind a wall or fence, on the quiet side of the building away from the road, so the noise radius overlaps as little populated ground as possible. In a remote rural base the noise barely matters; in a dense urban hideout it is worth building a small walled enclosure around the generator to keep curious zombies off it.
Multiple generators and winter
One generator cannot cover a sprawling multi-building compound. Each unit only services its own ~20-tile bubble, so a large base may want a second generator dedicated to a far storage wing or a separate farming shed. Run each only when that area is in use to conserve fuel. In winter, keep the generator and your fuel cans somewhere you can reach without a long exposed trek in a blizzard.