Where to buy 4 conductor 8 AWG outdoor cable

[Ignoramus24153]

I finally brought my generator (old military surplus civilian version Onan DJE generator) to a pretty tip top shape. See

Now I need to wire it to my house. I am aware of the need to have a transfer switch, blah blah. The question I want to ask now is where can I buy a length (like 30 feet) of 8 AWG stranded 4 conductor wire.

I suppose that I need 4 conductor because I need 2 hots, 1 neutral, and one ground conductor. I suppose that 8 AWG would be fine because the genset is rated for 6 kW, 7 kVA.

Where could I buy such a cable, outdoor rated, cheaply? I think that I will want to hard wire it into the generator and transfer switch, although I am still debating this issue. A good reason to have such a disconnect is that the genset should be started with no load, with load applied when it warms up and is up to speed. That would mean running inside the house to switch the transfer switch, in case of a restart (like for refueling), a real PITA.

So, any tips on where to buy such a cable will be appreciated.

i

[Greg]

They should have 8/3wg UF at the home store. The other choice would be PVC conduit and single conductors. You said earlier that the ground is frozen so you may have to wait until spring to bury it. That makes the UF a more attractive option for now, but it should be 24" down when you bury it. The PVC only needs to be 18" down. I suppose you could put the UF in PVC when you bury it. Of course if you can protect it from physical damage (like strapping it along a wall) it doesn't have to be buried.

[Ignoramus24153]

Hm, I think that I need 8/4 cable:

- one hot

- another hot

- one neutral

- one ground

that is, I think that I need to have four conductors not 3.

My generator will be like 5 meters away from the house, tops (in reality probably even closer). I would prefer not to bury the cable.

i

[Greg]

If you are buying "cord" like SJT or SO it will say 8/4 but "cable" like UF or NM (romex) it is labelled 8/3 wg* (*with ground). That will be 3 insulated wires and one bare.

[Greg]

I would have to know the situation to understand. If you are going to put the generator next to a wall that is contiguous all the way to the point where you go in the house you can strap the wiring method to the wall with a ~1 meter "whip" to the generator. PVC might actually be a better choice for this with a liquidtight flexible conduit (AKA sealtite) to the generator. Then you would just pull 4 #8s or 3 #8s and a #10 ground. You can put a disconnect in the box where you transition to the sealtite if you wanted that way of unloading the generator while you are starting it.

[Ignoramus24153]

Ah, that's beautiful. Thanks. Yes, 8/3wg is precisely what I need. I will check out home depot or Menards again. Last time I was there, there was no stranded cable. I bought a small length solid cable (from generator to the electrical panel that I will mount on it eventually, see

I regret doing that.

i

[Ignoramus24153]

| porch House !................ ========.--------=========== A/C Genset |Shed/Coop| ~~~~~~~~~~~

That's my situation. Genset will be next to the corner of the house,

2-3 meters away. Behind it, there will be my porch. To the right, my shed/chicken coop. The wire will go "in" the house to the right of the A/C box that sits next to the house.

I do not understand this, sorry.

i

[Chris Lewis]

Before buying cord - is this intended to be a temporary cable, only installed when the unit is in use? Or permanent.

A permanent one should be done with UF or conduit, or whatever, and buried (properly). Perhaps you can run it along a wall in plastic conduit and use individual conductors.

A temporary one is where you can use "cord". Make sure you get the HEAVY duty stuff (ie: SO or SOW). The medium duty stuff, like SJ, deteriorates too fast.

You're likely to have to go to a "real" electrical supplier for SO/SOW in this size.

[zxcvbob]

Is this permanent wiring or temporary?

In either case, check out type SER "service entrance cable." (#8 usually has solid wires, all others are stranded)

Bob

[newsgroups01REMOVEME]

8/3 with ground.

The ground isn't typical counted as a 'conductor' since it only carries fault current, which should be for only long enough for the breaker to trip.

hth,

tom @

[Ignoramus24153]

It is up to me.

I would rather not bury it because the area is full of other buried things (electric, gas, cable entrance all in the same place).

Thanks! Maybe I will buy a real generator cable and inlet instead of dicking around with this stuff.

i

[Duane Bozarth]

Ignoramus24153 wrote: ....

You understand you have a transfer switch that everything the generator is powering from the grid while it is operating, don't you?

[Duane Bozarth]

Ignoramus24153 wrote: ...

Don't know why I didn't think to suggest this previously except I didn't see the post mentioning a shed/coop until this am so didn't think about it being a likelihood...

But, if you're on a REC (rural electric co-op), check w/ them, they may well do the hook up for/with you for nothing more than a nominal charge plus parts. Our co-op does this in order to ensure we protect our linemen from potential mistakes...unfortunately, we instituted the policy/service too late to avoid one nasty incident. :(

And, actually, you may want to check w/ your provider anyway as their policy may require notification of any generator when installed...

[Greg]

He said in an earlier note that he has a transfer switch. I was just suggesting that if he wanted a disconnect next to the generator so he could remove the load while he was starting it the junction between the flexible whip from the wall to the gen and a rigid conduit would be a logical place to do it.