Hooking Up Generator To house for Emergency Power

[DavidInWilmNC]

Square D makes a transfer switch that has two 2-pole breakers adjacent to each other.  One is sized for the panel (60-100 amps) and the other is sized to the generator (usually 20-30 amps).  There is a piece of metal that ties the two together with a rocking 'arm' .  It allows for only one of the breakers to be on at a time.  It's possible that this could be retrofitted to a larger existing panel.  I have an old house with most of the normal loads on an inside panel and the larger loads outside in the 'main' box.  This would work great for me, but there's one problem: I have a GE panel and I can't find a similar setup for it (GE, ITE, Siemens, etc would work).  I'm sure I can make something that would work for me, but for now, I turn off the main outside and lock that box.  I have a section of 10/3 cord with a male plug on one end and a 20 amp breaker on the other.  I pull the cover off the inside panel and snap the breaker into place.  It works really well, but is somewhat of a pain.  The good thing is that the three times I've had to do this (we live in Hurricane Alley), the power comes back on within an hour!   

David

[Chaz]

Fred wrote: And he uses a double male plug also.

Fred, 

I dont use the double male plug.  I use a female cam lock on the end that connects to my home electric.

They are a little pricey, but work great.  Also, order them color coded and you cannot put the wrong one in the wrong cam.(someone got smart)  This eliminates the live end with prongs on the double male.

Is this so wrong?? Except for the danger of having the exposed male plug??
  I was figuring on doing the same thing. I would throw the main and any other circuit breaker I didn't want to power. Plug the cord in the house receptacle and then in the generator.
  Then when I learned the power was back, reverse the whole scenerio.
  I agree that a double male can be dangerous and I wouldn't have that sort of set up if I wasn't the only one doing it, but I am. I was just curious if there was any other reason to not do it besides the exposed male end.
  By the way, I have a small Honda Gen. for the house so I can't power allot of stuff in the house. Fridge and maybe the TV and one light would be plenty.

  Thanx for the insight!
    Chaz

[FloridaCliff]

Chaz wrote: Is this so wrong?? Except for the danger of having the exposed male plug??

Chaz

Functionally they are the same, safety wise a big difference.

But if you are the only one dealing with it, you know whats going on, no problem.

I tend to be a little on the overkill side, plus I like a little Oops factor built in.  LOL 

Cliff

[Chaz]

I totally understand, Cliff. I just felt this would be an easy, down and dirty way to do it. I'll be careful as I understand electricity somewhat. (FT in the Navy, and a welder for 26 years)
  Thanx!!!!!!!!! I appreciate your time!!!
    Chaz

[Lee Bradley]

As Cliff said, the safest and most foolproof is a disconnect between the meter and the panel. The power company people are much happier with a system that is either connected to the meter or to the generator; no breaker to remember to flip, no hot plugs with exposed tangs, etc. That is the system I had installed so I favor it. The only problem I have encountered is power management if I don't switch off the forced-air electric frunace before switching to the generator is the sudden stop of the 10 KW generator.

[brojcol]

I'll be careful as I understand electricity somewhat.
    Chaz

Famous last words for somebody somewhere.

The thing is Chaz, I would never be comfortable with this setup as I have a very inquisitive 5 year old.  He knows not to play with electrical cords and such, but he also knows not to smear pancake syrup on the chairs (but occasionally he does things he knows he shouldn't do).

There is ALWAYS the potential for electrocution using the double male plug.  That's enough for me to say, JUST SAY NO!

I once took a survivor claim for a young widow whose husband was an electrician.  He was crawling around in an attic and he set his knee down in on an exposed wire.  Dead instantly and he knew exactly what he was doing.

It would be a shame to think of a world without your art in it!

[Dallas]

Chaz....
When I was about 15-16 years old I built my first camper.

I first built a trailer out of a pickup bed and a 3/4 ton pickup axle, then built a box in the bed. I know, not elegant, but it kept the rain and snow off of me.
There was no insulation and no refrigeration, just a box with a bed across one end.
I decided I wanted some light other than a kerosene lamp and wanted some refrigeration besides a cooler so I proceeded to "wire" it up for electricity 
I got everything put together using extension cords plugged into a 4 receptacle box, then it dawned on my young brain, I needed a way to plug it in.
I'd never heard of an RV receptacle, so I just wired the end of an extension cord to my box and left the end hanging out through a hole in the side.
My next job was to hook it to a cord. Hmmmmm, I'd used the wrong end of the extension cord! No problem! just wire two male plugs onto a long cord!
It worked pretty good, except for when the ground was wet and I forgot to unplug from the pole or generator first, then it would bite the peewaddin' out of me. But I lived with it until one night It was snowing and I had my little heater going and the cord pulled out of the side of the camper, disconnecting my power.
I quickly jumped out onto the tailgate of the trailer, in my bare feet, and jumped to the ground.

All of a sudden I saw lots of stars and lightning bolts, and heard popping and cracking, and felt the most awful sensations from my hand, (still on the tailgate), and my feet, (planted firmly on the wet ground.

When the cords had come apart, the power cord with it's male end had fallen onto the bed of the trailer, and I became the path of least resistance.

Let me tell you! I don't like being the resistor in a Circuit! It ain't no fun.
It didn't take me long to find a way to make the corrections to that setup!

Now, I'm not saying this will happen to you, but, it does show that anything can happen and usually at the most inopportune times.

By the way, I've never heard my mom and stepdad laugh as hard as they did that night! I was certain they were totally EVIL!
My step dad still laughs about it 40 years later.

Dallas

[Chaz]

Fortunately, I don't have any kids........... I ate 'em all!!! LOLOLOLOL I also live alone. (either I run too fast or they do )
 
 Accidents happen. You can do your best and they still do. I just figure in the 15 years I have lived in my house, I have yet to use a generator. If I was more prone, that might be different.
 I've been welding for 26 years and been bit (HARD) once. I was careful but I guess I could have been more so otherwise I wouldn't have been bit. But then, I could wear a Michelin Man suit in the shower too. (I think I'd be a little stinky if I did  )
 I *truly* appreciate your concern, but I guess I live one lane closer to the edge. I am a careful person and would NEVER risk someone else, but I will weight the risks and sometimes take them. Plus, if I follow my own directions, it will work fine. (Just like flipping a breaker before working on a circuit) But if somewhere I come across a connection of which we speak, I would probably pick it up. It just doesn't take a high priority right now.
 As far as my art - I really thank you for the compliment!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I think people like it, but it would be worth more when I'm gone!   Figures!!  
 
 Occasionally looking over the edge,
       Chaz
 

[niles500]

Wouldn't it be easier to just stay in your bus?

[Don4107]

Just a few of the things that can go wrong with a less that correct/legal system.

A simple brain fart. Zap

Hooking it up with the stress of a natural disaster. Zap

We are all getting older and sometimes more forgetful. Zap

Someone else trying to hook it up because they know you do. Zap

Generator dies when you are away and someone tries the main beaker unbeknown to you.  You restart the genny.  Zap.

God forbid you become incapacitated or die and someone tries to hook it up.  Zap

I rely on the power company to tell me when it's safe for me or my firemen to move lines.  Don't want to get ZAPPED or have to live with getting one of my men KILLED.

Someone gets zapped.  When they go looking for generators running they find yours with a less than legal hookup.  You could be charged, innocent or not.  Really Zapped.

We are not just talking a minor oops here. 

[Fred Mc]

First of all Cliff, I didn't mean to suggest that YOU use a double male plug. sorry my grammar was bad.

And to DavidinwilmaNC, you might be interested in the generator interlock device that you can get here

http://www.interlockkit.com/faq04.htm.

It is a sliding device which only lets you select EITHER the main breaker or a second breaker for energizing the system from the generator. I am thinking of building one for my panel. It doesn't look too difficult.

[Fred Mc]

Cliff, I have one more question. Are you using 2 wires plus a ground for your "extension"?

Thanks

Fred Mc.

[wvanative]

Hey cliff, let see pictures of what you did, you know a picture is worth a thousand words.

WvaNative

[Ross]

Might have been asking for trouble, but I just back fed the house panel through a spare 50A breaker.  When on grid power that 50A was shut off.  If the power went out, shut off the house main, turn on the 50A going to the genset and start the genset.  When grid power came back on, reverse the process.  Genset off, 50A breaker off, house main back on.  I only had to do this a couple times, but it worked fine.

Ross

[DrivingMissLazy]

Ross, that is exactly how I did mine and it worked great.
Power was off here for several days after an ice storm and I was really glad I had the backup with three refrigerators and one large freezer. Also had plenty of power for lights, TV and the forced air gas furnace.
Richard

Might have been asking for trouble, but I just back fed the house panel through a spare 50A breaker.  When on grid power that 50A was shut off.  If the power went out, shut off the house main, turn on the 50A going to the genset and start the genset.  When grid power came back on, reverse the process.  Genset off, 50A breaker off, house main back on.  I only had to do this a couple times, but it worked fine.

Ross