Posted: 10/28/2008 12:54:48 PM EDT
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Will this work and is it safe?
I'd like to be able to use one of the Honda EU series generators for emergency home back up. I'm under the impression that there are two ways to do this. 1. Use an extension cord through out your house to power what you need or 2. Have an electrician wire the house with a transfer switch and sub panel. But I have a question, why couldn't you flip the main breaker on your box (to prevent sending electricity to the street) and then with a cord that has 2 male ends (not sure where I'd find this) plug your generator right into a regular wall outlet and use your circuit board to determine where the power goes? I would think this would prevent hurting anyone working on the power lines and would still let me choose where the power goes other then the line leading from the generator to the box. The only thing that I can come up with that would be somewhat unsafe would be a cord with 2 male ends but as long as you plug into the generator last, it shouldn't be a problem, correct? I'm not against hiring an electrician to do the work and that's probably what I"ll do but why wouldn't this work and be acceptable? Please explain but if I'm retarded and asking a stupid question, feel free to flame away. Thank you |
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Yes, it will work, but............your wall outlet is rated for 15 or 20 amps (probably 15), and has #12 or #14 wire going to it. If your gen. is capable of putting out more than this wire and receptacle is rated for, and you start turning a bunch of stuff on in the house, you will overload the circuit and trip the breaker or create a fire hazard if the breaker doesn't trip.
I wire my gen. straight into the panel, via a two-pole 40amp breaker, and turn off the main as you stated. This is not recomended if you don't know what you're doing. I'm a trained professional  .
a-bare |
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Please don't. Houses are sometimes wired up weird or wrong and you could potentially send voltage to the street if you do something like sending the HOT down the NEUTRAL line. Also, a normal socket would only light up HALF of the breaker panel and HALF of the circuits in your house.
There is plenty wrong with doing this. Resist the urge and prevent a dangerous situation. Use extension cords and run the genny outside in a clear area so you don't get CO poisoning. -Foxxz |
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If you only have a small gen that would work, but it dangerous IMO.
I have 2 EU2000's, one with the 30 amp outlet. I will put in a transfer switch for this when running both kinda like a camper since thats whats its designed for. Until then 2x50' cords works just fine-one to the kitchen and one to the upstairs. |
I just had this done a couple of weeks ago. And no I didnt do it myself cause I would have probably fried myself. I had the new panel put on with the switch and new weather head.... Stuff that I had was old as the house... I figure if you can afford a generator you can afford to do ith the right way. We had an ice storm last year that took our power out for about 2 weeks. You don't want to be outside in the middle of the night trying to wire it up when its rainy/icy and dark...
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IF you decide to wire it up this way, please paint the main breaker Red and the side feed breaker Blue. Put a laminated instruction sheet inside the panel to indicate: turn OFF the RED breaker before connecting and starting the generator, then turn on the Blue breaker. I would also put a locking cover on the outside feeder receptacle to prevent any unauthorized person from "dicking around". I would not try to feed through a normal 120 volt receptacle since most of the outside receptacles should be ground fault protected and will could you headaches galore. Run a dedicated line for it.
RS |
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I just had this done a couple of weeks ago. And no I didnt do it myself cause I would have probably fried myself. I had the new panel put on with the switch and new weather head.... Stuff that I had was old as the house... I figure if you can afford a generator you can afford to do ith the right way. We had an ice storm last year that took our power out for about 2 weeks. You don't want to be outside in the middle of the night trying to wire it up when its rainy/icy and dark... http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q90/blacksuit99/1.jpg http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q90/blacksuit99/3.jpg http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q90/blacksuit99/5.jpg http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q90/blacksuit99/4.jpg 
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I just had this done a couple of weeks ago. And no I didnt do it myself cause I would have probably fried myself. I had the new panel put on with the switch and new weather head.... Stuff that I had was old as the house... I figure if you can afford a generator you can afford to do ith the right way. We had an ice storm last year that took our power out for about 2 weeks. You don't want to be outside in the middle of the night trying to wire it up when its rainy/icy and dark... http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q90/blacksuit99/1.jpg http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q90/blacksuit99/3.jpg http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q90/blacksuit99/5.jpg http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q90/blacksuit99/4.jpg
Make that a double. If you dont want to fight extension cords than run a transfer switch. Anything else may hurt or kill somebody or burn your house down
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I just had this done a couple of weeks ago. And no I didnt do it myself cause I would have probably fried myself. I had the new panel put on with the switch and new weather head.... Stuff that I had was old as the house... I figure if you can afford a generator you can afford to do ith the right way. We had an ice storm last year that took our power out for about 2 weeks. You don't want to be outside in the middle of the night trying to wire it up when its rainy/icy and dark... http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q90/blacksuit99/1.jpg http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q90/blacksuit99/3.jpg http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q90/blacksuit99/5.jpg http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q90/blacksuit99/4.jpg
Make that a double. If you dont want to fight extension cords than run a transfer switch. Anything else may hurt or kill somebody or burn your house down
And if the power went out now that we are half in the bag we would be able to start the generator and get power back up and running without any chance of an "oh shit" moment. Other halves or teenagers could do it safely also! Blacksuit.... can ya give people an idea how much that install cost ya? Thanks |
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I just had this done a couple of weeks ago. And no I didnt do it myself cause I would have probably fried myself. I had the new panel put on with the switch and new weather head.... Stuff that I had was old as the house... I figure if you can afford a generator you can afford to do ith the right way. We had an ice storm last year that took our power out for about 2 weeks. You don't want to be outside in the middle of the night trying to wire it up when its rainy/icy and dark... http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q90/blacksuit99/1.jpg http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q90/blacksuit99/3.jpg http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q90/blacksuit99/5.jpg http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q90/blacksuit99/4.jpg Finally somebody else knows what an interlock kit is!!!!! I have been preaching (and installing) about these for years |
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 Not gonna say anything..... nope.... take a deep breath and walk away from the keyboard!How unlike you.... Let me fill in for you. [blackhawkhunter mode on]You're an idiot Coz_45 I mean OP you're going to die in a horribly bloody, burnt up manner, probably kill the entire electircal crew for your local Light company, the world will end as you know it. You're too stupid to remember to throw the breaker, no one can remember to throw breakers ever![/blackhawkhunter mode off] 
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Not gonna say anything..... nope.... take a deep breath and walk away from the keyboard!How unlike you.... Let me fill in for you. [blackhawkhunter mode on]You're an idiot Coz_45 I mean OP you're going to die in a horribly bloody, burnt up manner, probably kill the entire electircal crew for your local Light company, the world will end as you know it. You're too stupid to remember to throw the breaker, no one can remember to throw breakers ever![/blackhawkhunter mode off]
Coz, my second sig line is dedicated to you!
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What I had put on was a new panel, transfer switch/plug in deal, New weather head ran up through the roof, ( old one was bent and anchored on the soffit ) and also the female end for my cord. It cost me $1000.
Like I said earlier, our ice storm opened my eyes big time. My family and I were cold as hell for about a day and a half. Power was out and hell we didn't even have a generator. I had saw the devistation first hand and knew that we were going to be without power for several weeks. The wife and I went to home depot and saw a line of people waiting in the generator line. We got in the line even though we didnt know if we were going to buy one...we did and it was a life saver. The one we bought is big enough to run everything in the house... If I was to do it over again I would have gotten a smaller one that does better on fuel, but then again the older you get the more crap you buy that runs on electrity. I just dont want to be caught off guard again. By the way, like I said I am in no way an expert and I did have to call an electrian to wire the generator up for me and it took him a day and a half to come and do it because there were so many people needing it done...which is why I went with this set up. |
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I just had this done a couple of weeks ago. And no I didnt do it myself cause I would have probably fried myself. I had the new panel put on with the switch and new weather head.... Stuff that I had was old as the house... I figure if you can afford a generator you can afford to do ith the right way. We had an ice storm last year that took our power out for about 2 weeks. You don't want to be outside in the middle of the night trying to wire it up when its rainy/icy and dark... http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q90/blacksuit99/1.jpg http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q90/blacksuit99/3.jpg http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q90/blacksuit99/5.jpg http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q90/blacksuit99/4.jpg Thats the cheap way, get a transfer switch period. None of this BS like this one above with flipping the main off. You can find cheap 6 cir transfer switches for under $200 with included receptacle for the gen. The second pic is the transfer switch in a weatherproof box and the receptacle box underneath it for the gen to plug into. 
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What I had put on was a new panel, transfer switch/plug in deal, New weather head ran up through the roof, ( old one was bent and anchored on the soffit ) and also the female end for my cord. It cost me $1000. Like I said earlier, our ice storm opened my eyes big time. My family and I were cold as hell for about a day and a half. Power was out and hell we didn't even have a generator. I had saw the devistation first hand and knew that we were going to be without power for several weeks. The wife and I went to home depot and saw a line of people waiting in the generator line. We got in the line even though we didnt know if we were going to buy one...we did and it was a life saver. The one we bought is big enough to run everything in the house... If I was to do it over again I would have gotten a smaller one that does better on fuel, but then again the older you get the more crap you buy that runs on electrity. I just dont want to be caught off guard again. By the way, like I said I am in no way an expert and I did have to call an electrian to wire the generator up for me and it took him a day and a half to come and do it because there were so many people needing it done...which is why I went with this set up. A $1000 in material and labor? And that included upgrading some existing damaged equipment? So if you had been coached enough to do pretty much the whole thing yourself it would have been pretty cheap! Hmmmm, interesting! As it is the peace of mind knowing it is done correctly is worth a lot! Well done! |
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Chunky_Lover
I got estimates from 3 different electrians. Talked to all three of them and told them what I wanted. I then asked them what would be my best choice for what I needed. They all showed me the same thing.... The guy who put it one said his house is done the same way. I think i'll go with these guys. |
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I just had this done a couple of weeks ago. And no I didnt do it myself cause I would have probably fried myself. I had the new panel put on with the switch and new weather head.... Stuff that I had was old as the house... I figure if you can afford a generator you can afford to do ith the right way. We had an ice storm last year that took our power out for about 2 weeks. You don't want to be outside in the middle of the night trying to wire it up when its rainy/icy and dark... http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q90/blacksuit99/1.jpg http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q90/blacksuit99/3.jpg http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q90/blacksuit99/5.jpg http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q90/blacksuit99/4.jpg Thats the cheap way, get a transfer switch period. None of this BS like this one above with flipping the main off. You can find cheap 6 cir transfer switches for under $200 with included receptacle for the gen. The second pic is the transfer switch in a weatherproof box and the receptacle box underneath it for the gen to plug into. http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o56/mikegigabyte/Generator/IMG_0002-1.jpg http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o56/mikegigabyte/Generator/IMG_0001-1.jpg Thats a good setup also. What Blacksuits system has lost in ease of operation he makes up for in flexibility. If its winter he can have heat..... or maybe in the summer he could shut everything off and have AC. He is not stuck with just 6 circuits of power. After the fridges and boilers and well pumps are satisfied he can turn on the TV or some other fluff item. The Gentran systems are good, simple, critical care systems. |
I got a shit load of extention cords 
I'm looking at buying the same genny for our home here in town. I figured extention cords will work just fine. Now for some odd reason this wasn't going to work with the generators for the Ranch. So we had an electrican install some switches. 
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I just had this done a couple of weeks ago. And no I didnt do it myself cause I would have probably fried myself. I had the new panel put on with the switch and new weather head.... Stuff that I had was old as the house... I figure if you can afford a generator you can afford to do ith the right way. We had an ice storm last year that took our power out for about 2 weeks. You don't want to be outside in the middle of the night trying to wire it up when its rainy/icy and dark... http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q90/blacksuit99/1.jpg http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q90/blacksuit99/3.jpg http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q90/blacksuit99/5.jpg http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q90/blacksuit99/4.jpg Thats the cheap way, get a transfer switch period. None of this BS like this one above with flipping the main off. You can find cheap 6 cir transfer switches for under $200 with included receptacle for the gen. The second pic is the transfer switch in a weatherproof box and the receptacle box underneath it for the gen to plug into. http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o56/mikegigabyte/Generator/IMG_0002-1.jpg http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o56/mikegigabyte/Generator/IMG_0001-1.jpg Thats a good setup also. What Blacksuits system has lost in ease of operation he makes up for in flexibility. If its winter he can have heat..... or maybe in the summer he could shut everything off and have AC. He is not stuck with just 6 circuits of power. After the fridges and boilers and well pumps are satisfied he can turn on the TV or some other fluff item. The Gentran systems are good, simple, critical care systems. Well my house only has about 8 circuits anyways, so it can be run off of 6 with ease. Remember you also need a gen to handle a whole panel worth of circuits. I have a 7500 watt and thats plenty for here. You know with his setup the kids will have everything going and every light tv etc on taxing the gen. My setup you can select what is on the gen without overloading it. I have it for emergency power anyways not whole house party mode. Almost every circuit is on this system and all of the important ones. Just make sure the gen is powerful enough to power what you setup or you will burn it out and be without power. I just dont like seeing that hokey metal slider bracket that electrician put in, looks like a handyman type of install. Also should of did something nicer for the pipes going under the house instead of those sweep bends. |
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I got a shit load of extention cords
I'm looking at buying the same genny for our home here in town. I figured extention cords will work just fine. Now for some odd reason this wasn't going to work with the generators for the Ranch. So we had an electrican install some switches. http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a212/SVORay/Ranch/DSC00134.jpg This is something similar to what I am looking at... but it will be suppling TWO houses that are aprox. 45 yds apart. ( gotta take care of the MIL also.) |
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Originally Posted By
Well my house only has about 8 circuits anyways, so it can be run off of 6 with ease. Remember you also need a gen to handle a whole panel worth of circuits. I have a 7500 watt and thats plenty for here. You know with his setup the kids will have everything going and every light tv etc on taxing the gen. My setup you can select what is on the gen without overloading it. I have it for emergency power anyways not whole house party mode. Almost every circuit is on this system and all of the important ones. Just make sure the gen is powerful enough to power what you setup or you will burn it out and be without power. I just dont like seeing that hokey metal slider bracket that electrician put in, looks like a handyman type of install. Also should of did something nicer for the pipes going under the house instead of those sweep bends. I agree those plates look hokey, but they are safe and UL listed. I also agree that some people get carried away with wanting life to go on unchanged with no utility power. THe important stuff is heat, refer and freezer, and water.... however, when the power went out in the middle of a Stanley Cup game it was well worth it to be able to turn on the TV also.... but yeah, you do need to keep your prioritys on track. Both setups are good... youa re just getting there a different way. |
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I just had this done a couple of weeks ago. And no I didnt do it myself cause I would have probably fried myself. I had the new panel put on with the switch and new weather head.... Stuff that I had was old as the house... I figure if you can afford a generator you can afford to do ith the right way. We had an ice storm last year that took our power out for about 2 weeks. You don't want to be outside in the middle of the night trying to wire it up when its rainy/icy and dark... http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q90/blacksuit99/1.jpg http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q90/blacksuit99/3.jpg http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q90/blacksuit99/5.jpg http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q90/blacksuit99/4.jpg Thats the cheap way, get a transfer switch period. None of this BS like this one above with flipping the main off. You can find cheap 6 cir transfer switches for under $200 with included receptacle for the gen. The second pic is the transfer switch in a weatherproof box and the receptacle box underneath it for the gen to plug into. http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o56/mikegigabyte/Generator/IMG_0002-1.jpg http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o56/mikegigabyte/Generator/IMG_0001-1.jpg Thats a good setup also. What Blacksuits system has lost in ease of operation he makes up for in flexibility. If its winter he can have heat..... or maybe in the summer he could shut everything off and have AC. He is not stuck with just 6 circuits of power. After the fridges and boilers and well pumps are satisfied he can turn on the TV or some other fluff item. The Gentran systems are good, simple, critical care systems. Well my house only has about 8 circuits anyways, so it can be run off of 6 with ease. Remember you also need a gen to handle a whole panel worth of circuits. I have a 7500 watt and thats plenty for here. You know with his setup the kids will have everything going and every light tv etc on taxing the gen. My setup you can select what is on the gen without overloading it. I have it for emergency power anyways not whole house party mode. Almost every circuit is on this system and all of the important ones. Just make sure the gen is powerful enough to power what you setup or you will burn it out and be without power. I just dont like seeing that hokey metal slider bracket that electrician put in, looks like a handyman type of install. Also should of did something nicer for the pipes going under the house instead of those sweep bends. Well like I said before I think ill go with what the electrians said....lol And in case it might help someone I throw in a pic of the generator and cord. 
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Every few years a utility lineman is killed because of back fed power.
I will tell you the same thing i tell everyone that suggests this incredibly dangerous idea. If someone's life is worth less to you than a few hundred dollars for a proper transfer switch, than by all means feel free. Incidentally, another option is a few heavy duty extension cords. |
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Quoted: +100! a-bare is correct! We do this for a living, take shortcuts and you can burn down your house or worse yet kill someone.Yes, it will work, but............your wall outlet is rated for 15 or 20 amps (probably 15), and has #12 or #14 wire going to it. If your gen. is capable of putting out more than this wire and receptacle is rated for, and you start turning a bunch of stuff on in the house, you will overload the circuit and trip the breaker or create a fire hazard if the breaker doesn't trip. I wire my gen. straight into the panel, via a two-pole 40amp breaker, and turn off the main as you stated. This is not recomended if you don't know what you're doing. I'm a trained professional .a-bare Don't be a smartass know it all! Hire a pro. |
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I got a shit load of extention cords
I'm looking at buying the same genny for our home here in town. I figured extention cords will work just fine. Now for some odd reason this wasn't going to work with the generators for the Ranch. So we had an electrican install some switches. http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a212/SVORay/Ranch/DSC00134.jpg This is something similar to what I am looking at... but it will be suppling TWO houses that are aprox. 45 yds apart. ( gotta take care of the MIL also.) Ya, we have a couple of houses that is about 50yrs a part as well. This is our original one that runs off diesel. The NG genny was installed on the other house a few years later. 
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I just had this done a couple of weeks ago. And no I didnt do it myself cause I would have probably fried myself. I had the new panel put on with the switch and new weather head.... Stuff that I had was old as the house... I figure if you can afford a generator you can afford to do ith the right way. We had an ice storm last year that took our power out for about 2 weeks. You don't want to be outside in the middle of the night trying to wire it up when its rainy/icy and dark... http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q90/blacksuit99/1.jpg http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q90/blacksuit99/3.jpg http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q90/blacksuit99/5.jpg http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q90/blacksuit99/4.jpg Thats the cheap way, get a transfer switch period. None of this BS like this one above with flipping the main off. You can find cheap 6 cir transfer switches for under $200 with included receptacle for the gen. The second pic is the transfer switch in a weatherproof box and the receptacle box underneath it for the gen to plug into. http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o56/mikegigabyte/Generator/IMG_0002-1.jpg http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o56/mikegigabyte/Generator/IMG_0001-1.jpg Thats a good setup also. What Blacksuits system has lost in ease of operation he makes up for in flexibility. If its winter he can have heat..... or maybe in the summer he could shut everything off and have AC. He is not stuck with just 6 circuits of power. After the fridges and boilers and well pumps are satisfied he can turn on the TV or some other fluff item. The Gentran systems are good, simple, critical care systems. Well my house only has about 8 circuits anyways, so it can be run off of 6 with ease. Remember you also need a gen to handle a whole panel worth of circuits. I have a 7500 watt and thats plenty for here. You know with his setup the kids will have everything going and every light tv etc on taxing the gen. My setup you can select what is on the gen without overloading it. I have it for emergency power anyways not whole house party mode. Almost every circuit is on this system and all of the important ones. Just make sure the gen is powerful enough to power what you setup or you will burn it out and be without power. I just dont like seeing that hokey metal slider bracket that electrician put in, looks like a handyman type of install. Also should of did something nicer for the pipes going under the house instead of those sweep bends. Well like I said before I think ill go with what the electrians said....lol And in case it might help someone I throw in a pic of the generator and cord. http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q90/blacksuit99/000_1392.jpg Im also an electrician for 13 years now, state certified. IMO I just like the transfers switches. As far as I know every real backup generator system uses them so it should be good enough for my generator at home. |
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[ IMO I just like the transfers switches. As far as I know every real backup generator system uses them so it should be good enough for my generator at home. I agree with you.... its my preference also. But dont totaly rule out the sliding plate... they are UL listed and that covers everyones butt. |
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[ IMO I just like the transfers switches. As far as I know every real backup generator system uses them so it should be good enough for my generator at home. I agree with you.... its my preference also. But dont totaly rule out the sliding plate... they are UL listed and that covers everyones butt. Well no matter what if you also pull the meter while running the generator that guarantees a lineman wont get zapped. |
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[ IMO I just like the transfers switches. As far as I know every real backup generator system uses them so it should be good enough for my generator at home. I agree with you.... its my preference also. But dont totaly rule out the sliding plate... they are UL listed and that covers everyones butt. Well no matter what if you also pull the meter while running the generator that guarantees a lineman wont get zapped. Around here that might get you a big padlock on your meter so that would be a one time method.... and that is not an UL approved method for backfeeding a panel. |
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I just went though this.
Double male end cord is called a dead man's cord. Say it comes out of the socket but still in the generator. Now you have metal prongs sticking out with power to them. Not good. If you're going to do this yourself, get the following: Generator inlet (This is a male wall socket.) Transfer switch and breaker panel or transfer switch with built-in breaker panel or install a interlock on your current panel & buy a subpanel. This will prevent linemen from getting killed accidentally and is current National Electric Code. Anything else and you're looking at minimum, personal liability law suit, and maybe even manslaughter if someone gets hurt or killed. I hope this helps. Hardwarz |
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[ IMO I just like the transfers switches. As far as I know every real backup generator system uses them so it should be good enough for my generator at home. I agree with you.... its my preference also. But dont totaly rule out the sliding plate... they are UL listed and that covers everyones butt. Well no matter what if you also pull the meter while running the generator that guarantees a lineman wont get zapped. Not if you have one of the new meters. You can remove my meter and it will still send power into the house and would also send power back down the line if I was feeding it. The meter is labeled with something like "Removing this meter will NOT disconnect the power" |
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Not gonna say anything..... nope.... take a deep breath and walk away from the keyboard!How unlike you.... Let me fill in for you. [blackhawkhunter mode on]You're an idiot Coz_45 I mean OP you're going to die in a horribly bloody, burnt up manner, probably kill the entire electircal crew for your local Light company, the world will end as you know it. You're too stupid to remember to throw the breaker, no one can remember to throw breakers ever![/blackhawkhunter mode off]
Coz, my second sig line is dedicated to you!
Nice to be known for something.... That slide lock deal on the breakers is cool. Wish my Genny breaker was close to the main on my panel so I could do the same thing. I have lots of labels etc., but not a "lockdown" like that. My only concern is power backfeeding to neutral, but doesn't neutral go to ground? |
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That slide lock deal on the breakers is cool. Wish my Genny breaker was close to the main on my panel so I could do the same thing. I have lots of labels etc., but not a "lockdown" like that. My only concern is power backfeeding to neutral, but doesn't neutral go to ground? You can always move breakers around in a panel. Neutrals and grounds are tied together at the first means of disconnect. Usually the only time the neutral is switched in a transfer switch is because it is a sub panel where the grounds and neutrals are already seperated or to provide a smoother source of power for delicate electronics. In most residential applications the neutral does not need to be switched. |
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I just had this done a couple of weeks ago. And no I didnt do it myself cause I would have probably fried myself. I had the new panel put on with the switch and new weather head.... Stuff that I had was old as the house... I figure if you can afford a generator you can afford to do ith the right way. We had an ice storm last year that took our power out for about 2 weeks. You don't want to be outside in the middle of the night trying to wire it up when its rainy/icy and dark... http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q90/blacksuit99/1.jpg http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q90/blacksuit99/3.jpg http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q90/blacksuit99/5.jpg http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q90/blacksuit99/4.jpg I really like that mechanical interlock in the 3rd picture. Been wanting to do something like that all along. wasn't sure how to go about it. Can you buy something like that separately; if not, I think I could make one with a little effort. a-bare |
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Well my house only has about 8 circuits anyways, so it can be run off of 6 with ease. Remember you also need a gen to handle a whole panel worth of circuits. I have a 7500 watt and thats plenty for here. You know with his setup the kids will have everything going and every light tv etc on taxing the gen. My setup you can select what is on the gen without overloading it. I have it for emergency power anyways not whole house party mode. Almost every circuit is on this system and all of the important ones. Just make sure the gen is powerful enough to power what you setup or you will burn it out and be without power. I just dont like seeing that hokey metal slider bracket that electrician put in, looks like a handyman type of install. Also should of did something nicer for the pipes going under the house instead of those sweep bends. I agree those plates look hokey, but they are safe and UL listed. I also agree that some people get carried away with wanting life to go on unchanged with no utility power. THe important stuff is heat, refer and freezer, and water.... however, when the power went out in the middle of a Stanley Cup game it was well worth it to be able to turn on the TV also.... but yeah, you do need to keep your prioritys on track. Both setups are good... youa re just getting there a different way. As far as the hole house party, if I didn't want certain circuits to be used I can always just flip a breaker. Or better yet, just tell my wife and son not to use certain things... |
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I just had this done a couple of weeks ago. And no I didnt do it myself cause I would have probably fried myself. I had the new panel put on with the switch and new weather head.... Stuff that I had was old as the house... I figure if you can afford a generator you can afford to do ith the right way. We had an ice storm last year that took our power out for about 2 weeks. You don't want to be outside in the middle of the night trying to wire it up when its rainy/icy and dark... http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q90/blacksuit99/1.jpg http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q90/blacksuit99/3.jpg http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q90/blacksuit99/5.jpg http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q90/blacksuit99/4.jpg Finally somebody else knows what an interlock kit is!!!!! I have been preaching (and installing) about these for years I also have and interlock kit, works very well. |
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[ IMO I just like the transfers switches. As far as I know every real backup generator system uses them so it should be good enough for my generator at home. I agree with you.... its my preference also. But dont totaly rule out the sliding plate... they are UL listed and that covers everyones butt. Well no matter what if you also pull the meter while running the generator that guarantees a lineman wont get zapped. Not if you have one of the new meters. You can remove my meter and it will still send power into the house and would also send power back down the line if I was feeding it. The meter is labeled with something like "Removing this meter will NOT disconnect the power" Yeah ive only seen those in commercial applications, every house ive ever worked on here is the regular type of meter. |
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[ IMO I just like the transfers switches. As far as I know every real backup generator system uses them so it should be good enough for my generator at home. I agree with you.... its my preference also. But dont totaly rule out the sliding plate... they are UL listed and that covers everyones butt. Well no matter what if you also pull the meter while running the generator that guarantees a lineman wont get zapped. Not if you have one of the new meters. You can remove my meter and it will still send power into the house and would also send power back down the line if I was feeding it. The meter is labeled with something like "Removing this meter will NOT disconnect the power" Yeah ive only seen those in commercial applications, every house ive ever worked on here is the regular type of meter. I built my house this year. All they are installing around here is this type. There are still lots of the older types. Local dirtbags were removing the meters to turn off power to businesses and then breaking in to circumvent the alarms. Of course, there is also a 200 amp breaker right below the meter so if a dirtbag wants to disconnect power he/she just has to flip the breaker[>:/] |