how to connect a generator

[philip5malin]

My house has no electricity in the storm. How do I use a generator? I put gas in there , and start it up. It should generate electricity. Do I pluck it into any socket into the house?

[Chub]

should be some outlets on the generator. plug lamp etc into them.

>

[philip5malin]

My house has no electricity in the storm. How do I use agenerator? I put gas in there , and start it up. It shuld generate electricity. Do I pluck it into any socket into the house?

[Percival P. Cassidy]

That's a no-no. If a maintenance person works on the high-voltage line, it will be live when it is expected that it is dead.

You need a transfer switch that ensures that your house circuits (more likely a subset of them) are connected EITHER to the incoming utility supply OR to the generator and that there is no connection between the generator and the utility supply.

Perce

[m Ransley]

Get a transfer panel and read yer manual first before you pfluck everything up.

[zxcvbob]

Plug an outlet strip into the generator. Run orange extention cords to the fridge, a couple of lamps, and a TV. Once or twice a day, unplug the fridge and plug in the deep freezer for a hour.

Bob

[Toller]

Don't feed the trolls!

[Joseph Meehan]

If you have no electricity how are you sending the message?

If your question is for real and not a toll, you need to learn a lot about how to chose and use that generator. You need to know what its capabilities are and what you load requirements are. You need to learn about transfer switches and most of all you need to know that you never run it inside your home.

[Michael Keefe]

Rule #1: Generator outside Rule #2: Good extension cord and power strip

Run suitably sized cord (12 guage is best) from generator to power strip, then run cords from the strip to your equipment..

[hallerb]

!!!!!!!!!!NEVER DO THIS!!!!!!!!!!

I always find it interesting that so much is said about backfeeding the utility company creating a hazard to linemen.

I do admit it might happen, but consider the average load on a line with even a dozen homes. the load would be so great it would stall the generator, or trip the generators breaker.

theres no way a 5 or 10K generator is going to power even a small neighborhood espically with the high starting current load of motors.

Like I said DO EVER DO THIS but would appreciate others opinions on the subject

[hallerb]

Obviously I meant NEVER DO THIS!!

[zxcvbob]

You don't know where the break is in the distribution line. Your generator could be backfeeding a transformer with no load on it because that's where the break is.

It's a remote possibility, and even so it should only affect a stupid or momentarily careless lineman -- but I don't feel that I have a right to take chances with his life because I want to do a half-assed installation. (I also don't want to burn up my generator in the more likely scenario that the backfed line looks like a dead short)

Bob

[Tom Horne, Electrician]

The gage that is best is the gage that will carry the ampacity of the generator. A portable power tap with breakers for each outlet that are sized to the outlets configuration is better than an ordinary "power strip."

[Tom Horne, Electrician]

"FACE: 90PR05

SUBJECT: Lineman Dies When He Contacts Energized Power Line in Puerto Rico CAUSE: Electrocution

SUMMARY: On September 29, 1989, a 42-year-old male lineman with 19 years of experience was electrocuted while attaching a 2,400-volt power line to a pole-mounted insulator. The power line had been de-energized two days earlier and the supervisor assured the lineman that the power line was still de-energized.

A construction crew consisting of a supervisor, three class A linemen (including the victim), a first-class lineman, a groundman, and two truck drivers were assigned the task of correcting a malfunction in a de-energized three-phase power line. When the crew arrived at the work site, they found that one of the three phases had broken and fallen to the ground. The supervisor instructed the victim to relocate the damaged phase on the cross-arm of the pole to better balance the load on the cross-arm. As the victim began to climb the pole he was assured by the supervisor that the power lines had been de-energized. When he attempted to relocate the damaged line he contacted another phase, was shocked, and slumped backwards, prevented from falling by his safety belt. The power lines at the work site had been energized by backfeed electrical energy from a portable gas generator being used on the circuit. "

[Tom Horne, Electrician]

"FACE 90-02

Tree Trimmer Crew Leader Dies When He Contacts Energized Powerline in Puerto Rico

SUMMARY

A tree trimming crew was en route to a jobsite when they noticed that trees had fallen over a 4,000-volt powerline in front of a radio tower. The damage had been caused by Hurricane Hugo. Since all the powerlines in the area had been de-energized, the crew leader decided to clear the area in front of the radio tower. The crew cut and pruned the trees to clear the area, and upon finishing, returned to the truck while the crew leader made a final inspection of the work area. Crew members heard their leader cry out and ran to the worksite, where they found him lying on his back. No vital signs could be detected. Investigation revealed that although the powerlines had been de-energized, a gas station was using a portable gas-powered electric generator to supply electrical power to the gas pumps. Since the main circuit breaker at the gas station had not been opened, electrical current from the generator flowed back through the transformer and energized the powerline at the work area. When the victim contacted the powerline, his body provided a path to ground and he was electrocuted. "

[Goedjn]

Well, you can theorize and do all the math you want, but observing the real world shows us that linemen do get killed that way.

Practice, in theory, is more important than theory, in practice.

[Tom Horne, Electrician]

"Lineman Killed By Generator Back Feed - Victim Helping Restore Power in Alabama

Alabama, July 14, 2005 - Sumter Electric Cooperative (SECO) officials report that a South Carolina lineman helping to restore power in Alabama after the damage caused by Hurricane Dennis was killed late Tuesday, reportedly by an improperly installed customer generator.

According to SECO Director of Public Affairs Barry Bowman, the lineman was helping to restore power lost during Hurricane Dennis to customers in Alabama. The report Bowman received indicated the lineman was working on a power line that was supposed to be dead. It was not.

?Tragically, the line this technician was working on was not dead,? said Bowman, ?The line he was trying to repair had been re-energized by a customer who had improperly hooked up a generator and created a back feed of electricity from the generator into the supposedly dead line. The death of a lineman who was there to help the victims of Hurricane Dennis was the horrible result.?

Bowman noted that the lineman?s name was not immediately released, but he was from South Carolina and worked for Pike Electric, Inc. in North Carolina.

Alabama authorities are looking for the person responsible and indicate that charges are pending.

?This could happen to any lineman, anywhere, if generators are improperly used or hooked up during a power outage. That?s why we caution homeowners and businesses about the proper use of generators. And, why we continually stress generator safety awareness with our SECO employees.I don?t think anybody wants to be responsible for the death of another human being,? said Bowman.

SECO?s Director of Public Affairs noted that SECO also has 32 workers helping to restore power in the Panhandle and offered the following generator safety advice:

- Do not hook up (hard wire) a generator directly to your home or business electric panel. If you want to hard wire a generator to home or shop have a licensed electrician install a double-pole, double-throw transfer switch. This will assure that no back feed of electricity will travel out over a supposedly de-energized power line. The installation should meet the requirements of the National Electrical Code and local ordinances. Improper installation can result in serious injuries or deaths."

[HeyBub]

But isn't that one of the hazards of being a lineman?

[hallerb]

Very sad someone died, BUT linemen are always SUPPOSED to assume all lines are hot, since a energized line might drop across a denergized line at any time.,

locally when a big outage occurs duquesne light installs intentional shorts across lines to prevent accidents. ' I found out about this when a friend had a firecall, for traffic control. someone threw the wrong switch and the short exploded pushing a lineman off a tower

[Tom Horne]

And homeowners are supposed to get a permit before performing electrical work. During storm recovery outside wiremen work twelve hour shifts. They're human and they make mistakes. So cut them some slack and don't try to jury rig back fed supply to any buildings wiring. Install listed load transfer equipment or use extension cords directly from the generators receptacles to supply the loads.

-- Tom of the sparks and arcs

"This alternating current thing is just a fad. It is much too dangerous for general use." Thomas Alva Edison