Generator use at home

[wolf146]

I have a 2000i watt Honda and a 2800 Watt Yamaha 2800I that we have used for situations as you mentioned several times. I cut a round hole big enough for the plug of the extension cord to go through the wall between the garage and the basement. I feed the extension cord through that hole and then fill in the any gap with some cloth, fiberglass wool or the like. I place the generator just outside of the garage. If it rains I place the generator just inside the garage with the exhaust facing outside and close the garage door just enough to vent the exhaust.

I used both generators for about 6 days after Hurricane Sandy last year and was able to keep the refrigerator, TV, computer freezer etc. running. I don't leave the generators going during the night.

When I get my electricity back I plug the hole with a 35 mm film canister that closes the hole perfectly.

[crisen]

Originally Posted by Dan S

Time out.

I'm not connecting this to my house wiring. I simply want to pass it the extension cord through the exterior wall of the house when I am powering a lamp and small dorm refridge and or tv when we lose power.

I'm not looking to install a sub panel etc, I'm just looking for a little door or plug as this would probably be used just once or twice a year.

For what your talking about doing you can get a a weatherproof box with a male plug in it. You can get one at an electrical supply and it is called an inlet box. Run Romex thru the wall to a duplex outlet on the inside wall. Of course if you live somewhere where you have to deal with building codes you may need to hire this done,

[Skater]

We just had a transfer switch installed to do this. The inlet is outside, not far from the new RV outlet he also installed, and the transfer switch is on the wall near the breaker box. That's the best solution.

[Protagonist]

Originally Posted by Skater

We just had a transfer switch installed to do this. The inlet is outside, not far from the new RV outlet he also installed, and the transfer switch is on the wall near the breaker box. That's the best solution.

For the sake of safety, one reminder, if you'll forgive me…

Before connecting a generator to house circuits, make sure you remove the utility company's main breaker at your meter. That ensures there's no way you could back-feed current into the municipal lines and shock a worker who thought the line he was working on was inert.

If you have a proper transfer switch this may be belt-and-suspenders precautions, but still…

[Skater]

Originally Posted by Protagonist

If you have a proper transfer switch this may be belt-and-suspenders precautions, but still…

I believe I mentioned the transfer switch twice.

What you describe is unnecessary as long as the transfer switch is wired correctly. It's electricity, not magic. It's not going to flow through an open switch. Also, if I switched off the master, how would I know when power has returned?

And, in fact, if I did try to backfeed, the generators would shut down immediately - my two Hondas aren't enough to even power my own house, let alone anything upstream. That would be an immediate clue to me there's something wrong.

Finally, and I know several die each year this way, but those guys working on the lines ought to be taking the proper precautions too. Or perhaps the power companies should start doing something to reduce the frequency of power outages in the first place so that we all don't feel like having a generator at home is a necessity.

I can't believe you chose MY post to pick on, one of the posts with an actual per-code solution, installed by a licensed electrician and inspected by the county, while ignoring some of the rather dubious **** that has been posted in this thread.

[wayneskid]

Originally Posted by Protagonist

For the sake of safety, one reminder, if you'll forgive me…

Before connecting a generator to house circuits, make sure you remove the utility company's main breaker at your meter. That ensures there's no way you could back-feed current into the municipal lines and shock a worker who thought the line he was working on was inert.

If you have a proper transfer switch this may be belt-and-suspenders precautions, but still…

"Remove the utility company's breaker"? Do you mean turn it off? Either way, a transfer switch makes this step completely unnecessary. A transfer switch will feed power from ONE SOURCE ONLY; either utility power or the generator in this case. If the transfer switch is correctly wired it would be impossible to "back-feed" generator power to the utility line.

[Protagonist]

Originally Posted by wayneskid

"Remove the utility company's breaker"? Do you mean turn it off? Either way, a transfer switch makes this step completely unnecessary. A transfer switch will feed power from ONE SOURCE ONLY; either utility power or the generator in this case. If the transfer switch is correctly wired it would be impossible to "back-feed" generator power to the utility line.

Here in New Orleans, there is a removable breaker built into the base of the meter. You pull it out, and reinsert it backwards, so the connectors are facing outward, before firing up the generator. If you fail to pay your bill and Entergy shuts you off, they pull the breaker and take it with them, and you don't get it back until you pay in full. I guess that's why they go with a removable breaker. In other municipalities it may be a cutoff switch at the meter, but they probably have fewer deadbeats.

You're right about the transfer switch; if you have a properly-wired manual or automatic transfer switch, you're good. No way to backfeed. But not everyone who runs a generator at home installs a transfer switch first, so it was meant as general advice.

[jdalrymple]

Off topic a bit here, but for those thinking a small generator set can't power anything on the utility's side, it can.

The transformer that steps down power from the distribution grid to the 220 volts supplied to a residential meter will step up any voltage supplied by a genset to the grid.

Meaning, a lineman expecting a dead primary wire will get 7200 volts or more if the genset is backfeedlng the line.

At that voltage, not much current is required to kill someone.


Regards,

JD

[Wazbro]

Originally Posted by Protagonist

Here in New Orleans, there is a removable breaker built into the base of the meter. You pull it out, and reinsert it backwards, so the connectors are facing outward, before firing up the generator. If you fail to pay your bill and Entergy shuts you off, they pull the breaker and take it with them, and you don't get it back until you pay in full. I guess that's why they go with a removable breaker. In other municipalities it may be a cutoff switch at the meter, but they probably have fewer deadbeats.

You're right about the transfer switch; if you have a properly-wired manual or automatic transfer switch, you're good. No way to backfeed. But not everyone who runs a generator at home installs a transfer switch first, so it was meant as general advice.

Around here (for houses anyway) they don't have a breaker or cutoff switch anywhere near the meter, maybe up on the pole.