Running my house from a Generator, can I do this?....

[hallerb]

Besides the code and practical conditions of electrically connecting it theres the BIGGIE!

Where are you going to store your fuel supply so its safe secure and sufficent to run the generator?

check the manufacturers specs its probably over 5 gallons per hour at low load....

a small generator just big enoufg to run a fridge OR gas furnace ORwell pump OR a small window AC unit plus a few lights and perhaps a tiny tv is all most need for camping out.

Big operators need a natural gas or propane generator.

i have a couple generators and have wrestled with these issues myself plus the noise of a generator running.

the best option is likely a car inverter 12 volts to 120 the cars fuel tank is the portable container.

remember in a widespread outage gas stations depend on electric to dispense pump gas...

sadly its not ust plug in the big hugger generator sit back and relax....

[Tom Horne, Electrician]

sparty wrote: > Ok, thank you all for your response, I will not do it this way then. > I agree, there is a chance over the years, that somehow accidently, a > person may forget to turn of the main switch. >

I would need to know the make and model number of your main panel in order to give you your best options.

[sparty]

I have a 150 amp HOM Square D Breaker Panel.

One of the options I'm considering now is a 50 amp Transfer Switch Panel, that goes next to your main panel. This has a Wire Bundle that you run into your main panel. Then you pull the hot wires out of the breakers that you want to bypass, connect them to these wires, then run more wires from that bundle into those breakers.

By doing this, I would be slightly rewiring about 8 breakers that I would want to run in the case of an outage, and all the rest would be left alone. If the Transfer Switch Panel is set to normal power, then it will allow the power coming into your house to power those 8 breakers in your main panel. If you switch it to Generator, then the 8 breakers are disconnected from the main power, and are then able to receive power from a generator. By doing this, there is no way to reverse power back to the main panel from a generator and vise versa.

This is a very slick and easy to install option. The only thing I don't like, is the price tag. It's somewhere around $300 - $400.

[Member, Takoma Park Volunteer]

sparty wrote:

sparty Because you have a Square-D Homeline panel you can obtain an interlock kit that will allow you to use a double pole breaker installed in position 2&4 as the generator breaker. The interlock kit prevents the

2-4 breaker from being closed until you have opened the main breaker. That kit runs about fifty dollars at an electrical supply house. The size of the breaker that you install in position 2-4 will limit the amount of current you can supply to your home through the connection. Your generator must be equipped with a 120/240 volt outlet for it's power to be safe to connect to the home in this way. No matter what size your generator is you may want to consider installing a fifty ampere breaker so that any generator that you would ever want to use, up to 12000 watts, could be connected through that connection. You then run a four wire cable from the panel back to were the inlet connector for the generator will be installed. The cable is sized for the size of the position 2-4 breaker. Fifty amperes is the largest size of inlet that is commonly available. The actual limit on the amount of current the line will carry is the sizing of the breakers on the generator. The simplest arrangement is to match the inlet to the outlet on the generator so that you will not need an adapter to connect the generator cable to the inlet. It is perfectly OK to use a twenty ampere inlet on the fifty ampere cable but if the generator isn't at least 5000 watts it is probably not worth connecting it to your home in this way. The power inlet you use should be weatherproof while in use. The total materials cost of this installation is approximately $200.

Once this installation is in place you can use any load in your home up to the ability of the generator to carry the total load. You are not limited to the particular loads that are connected to a special panel.

[m Ransley]

That multi color gen you brought up may have poor power- not for circuits and last only 250-300hrs, you get what you pay for.

[sparty]

So to be able to do that, it sounds like I would have to move breakers

2 & 4 to the bottom to make room for this? If the hot wire isn't long enough to do that, is it ok to use a wire nut and lengthen it?

Also, yes I plan on buying a 12000W Generator and a 50amp breaker to run it. I will then run 6 guage wire from my basement to my garage and install a plug outside with a weatherproof case around it and a lock.

So I need to call an electrical supply house and tell them I need a interlock kit for a Square-D Homeline panel? Is that the exact name? If I can get one of these, then this would probably be the best and cheapest option then, thanks.

[sparty]

Yep, it may be junk. Just wondering if I can get it for $700 - $800, if I should give it a shot. I'm guessing the Named Brand 12000W Generators are in the $2K - $3K range.

m Ransley wrote:

[m Ransley]

Is that 12000w surge or continous, or 6-7000w continous load, does it supply 120v 60hz at no load and full load, or does it sag so 90v 50hz? How good is the govenor and output. There is alot more to generators then a frame, motor and gen head. It may be a deal, or it may be a dump, you should find out first.

[Member, Takoma Park Volunteer]

sparty wrote: > So to be able to do that, it sounds like I would have to move breakers > 2 & 4 to the bottom to make room for this? If the hot wire isn't long > enough to do that, is it ok to use a wire nut and lengthen it? >

Sparty The custom on Usenet is to post replies at the bottom of any quoted material. It makes the conversation easier for others to follow.

Yes it is OK to splice in the panels wiring trough.

When you say that you will "install a plug outside" what do you mean? You can install a cord that is spliced right on to the cable or you can install a flanged inlet which is the same pins as a plug end of a cord rigidly fastened to a mount to receive a receptacle cord cap. Do not install a receptacle at the supply end of the cable.

[sparty]

I would like to run 6 guage wire from my basement to my garage like I mentioned. I want to make this nice and clean looking. Then on the outside of my 3rd stall garage, I would like to have something that a generator can plug into, using an extension cord.

I would like to make about a 10 foot or so 6 guage extension cord. One side would plug into the generator and the other side to the plug, or whatever I need to install outside.

[Thomas D. Horne, FF EMT]

Since the generator will be 12000 watts or fifty amperes your least expensive solution will be to Install a hard wired flexible cord from a suitably sized junction box at the garage end. That cord will have a male cord cap that matches the receptacle on your generator. Flanged inlets in the 240/120 volt fifty ampere pattern are expensive and hard to find.

[sparty]

I'm also thinking, since I'm considering a 12K Watt Generator, I should do 6 guage wire and a 60amp breaker/interlock kit, to handle the surge that could happen. Just in case, it surges to 13K or 14K Watts. I'll think about the junction box, and also look into the price of a flanged inlet to run the cord to.

Thanks, James