Electric connection

What is an "outside 220 volt dryer outlet" ? I would expect that most people keep their electric dryers inside, no?

Reply to
RBM
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Thanks folks for all these suggestions. I may apply some of them once I get the wiring for connecting the generator installed (procrastinated as usual, but want to do it before the weather turns cold!)

I had even looked into something like you're suggesting H-B. In fact I'm really lucky that when I had a new panel put in a few years ago the electrician actually put the circuits in in such a way that my furnace, Refrig, and a lighting circuit in the family room / kitchen, Master Bedroom, and bath all fall on the same side of the panel! (Purely blind luck I'm sure since he didn't bother to label any of these and I had to go thru the house figuring them all out!)

Reply to
Mark

Check the web site of your breaker box manufacturer. Some have a gizmo that functions as an emergency disconnect. Here's how it works.

The circuit breaker(s) that connect to your generator plug is mounted in the top-right slot of your box. The gizmo is a flat piece of metal that touches both the mains switch and this circuit breaker and the gizmo slides back and forth. The geometry is such that both the mains switch and the circuit breaker cannot both be on at the same time.

The mains switch cannot be turned ON unless the circuit breaker is OFF. Likewise the circuit breaker cannot be turned ON unless the mains switch is OFF. The purpose is to prevent the service line from being energized by your generator.

Reply to
HeyBub

Get one from yiour local RV dealer.

Reply to
clare

Officially illegal and dangerous, but often done. I would not recommend it.

Reply to
clare

From what he said he's only making a "feed through extention cord" to get power INTO the hose. Sounds like a couple of extention cords to connect selected important loads as required.

Reply to
clare

Connecting to a DEDICATED duplex receptacle that is not connected to anything else can in no POSSIBLE way result in cross-connections, backfeeds, or ANY other illegal or dangerous eventuality. It is NO gamble.

Reply to
clare

Still ILLEGAL and potentially dangerous.

Reply to
clare

Connect the furnace with a plug into a receptacle to start with and it becomes as simple as "pull the plug, plug it in".

Reply to
clare

Absolutely legal.

Breaker-box manufacturers even make interconnect lock-outs to facilitate this sequence.

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These kits mechanically tie the main power switch to the circuit breaker fed by the generator.

Reply to
HeyBub

Such is true. The NEC specifies hard wired, not sure why.

Reply to
Stormin Mormon

ONLY legal if the manufacturer of the box provides a UL type approved breaker interlock for that panel, and it is installed.

The OP did not mention an interlock, and no, making your own is NOT legal (although it would make it safer)

Reply to
clare

You just get a dryer outlet and put it in an outside box. Put an L14-30P instead if you like.

Reply to
Van Chocstraw

Truthfully, I find either, just as dangerous

Reply to
RBM

Anything that heats main breaker box without a proper transfer switch is stupid, and should be illegal. (probably is in some places.) This has been discussed multiple times on here before. Sure, YOU know what is going on. But what if you are gone, sick, injured, or dead, and some helpful neighbor comes over to help your wife and kids? And then, around

0200, the borrowed out-of-state lineman truck finally makes it through to your neighborhood, and reconnects that dropped line down the street that feeds your can? Hopefully he checks the dropped line and follows all the safety procedures, but when the calls are stacked up and he has been on duty for 18-20 hours, well, sometimes things happen. It just ain't worth the risk.

If you aren't willing/able to spend the money for a proper setup, put the critical devices (furnace, well, etc) on pigtails, and have a completely separate set of wires out to the genset. OP is doing it the right low-buck way.

-- aem sends....

Reply to
aemeijers

That is completely illegal and very unsafe. Use this rule of thumb when hooking up generators... If you can accidentally send power from the generator to the mains coming into the house, (forget to turn off the main off) it is dangerous, illegal, and can kill someone. Why not just do it safe and legally? It's really not that difficult.

Reply to
Tony

From your other post "My generator isn't big enough to use a transfer switch and try and power the entire house."

Why not do it safe and legal? A transfer switch isn't as complex as you think. You can run the above mentioned circuits through the transfer switch easily and safely. Only a very large generator would use a transfer switch to power the entire house. You can get a transfer switch that powers only 4, 6, or 8 or more circuits. Sounds like you only need 4 or 6.

Reply to
Tony

It isn't very difficult to do the job safely and legally. Why risk killing a linesman?

Reply to
Tony

Hopefully the linesman is careful, sees the danger, but hooks it up anyway... instantly destroying the generator. :-) (The grid power will hardly flicker as the generator is destroyed) If I were the linesman I'd do it purposely just to f*ck with the cheap ass idiots who don't give a f*ck about the law or the life of the linesman.

Reply to
Tony

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