back up power- generators

[DshRipRock]

OJ it's not as scarey as it sounds. Very safe. Everything is fused. You can't run high load appliances. Electricity scares most people. People should use what they feel comfortable with.

Proper backup generators generally run off of Propane or Natural gas. Using a gasoline generator for more than a couple days means having large amounts of fuel on hand.

 

[good to go]

The generator doesn't really need a fancy hook up. If you have a plug in the garage you can get a male-male plug and just plug in the generator startup and it will power up the side of the fuse panel the plug is on.

You have to turn off the main breaker or you will energize the lines and kill an unsuspecting hydro worker. This way you get to run your generator in the safety of your garage. There are of course load issues to take into consideration. You will be maxed out at 15-20 amps. But enough to run a furnace and some lights.

You cannot just do that or you will have problems where you have 2 pole breakers , it is best to leave it to the pro's. If you were to screw something up and hurt someone or start a fire you will not be covered by the insurance company. Is your largest purchase in your lifetime worth taking a risk on, come on now really.

 

[good to go]

The best way to do this for the cheapest way is to run a 2 way feed switch before the furnace. You leave the furnace connection from the panel to the one side of the switch and wire the generator into the other side. Now there is no way that you can energise the panel from the generator and your furnace will still work fine.

 

[Anynym]

I wonder how many of the people who keep saying that they're "ok" to not kill some unsuspecting lineman because they'll never forget to flip a breaker might ever have guests over while they themselves are away. Or a spouse, or kids, who might forget to flip that breaker when they start the generator - and bankrupt the fool because a fire or death was the result? Or how they plan to ever be able to sell the house.

 

[good to go]

It is a two way switch with power from the panel on one side of the switch and power from the generator on the other side. I am a lineman and a electrical tech and now a electrician.The switching part is the feed to the furnace , you cannot screw up because it will either be getting power from one side or the other.

The two feeds cannot be tied together they are on opposite sides of the switch.The blades swing from one side of the switch to the other.They cannot be tied together.

It is a two source feed to one load,the blades are either one way or the other. Sorry i am having difficulty explaining this.

 

[Anynym]

G2G, I think you're explaining it well. At least, my own previous comment was directed at what appear to be some persistent ideas that other approaches which rely on "knowing" to disconnect the outside feed while energizing the house are somehow okay.

Your approach, to feed the furnace from either the house or the generator, based on the flip of a single switch, prevents power from inadvertantly straying.

(As an aside, a further complication for folks who fail to disconnect the external power when they energize their house from their generator would be that they are challenged to know when the outside power has been restored.)

 

[emerging44]

Lets just drop the BS cautionary tales about getting or not getting a licensed electrician to do the work. I've had experiences where licensed electricians have screwed things up (and licensed mechanics and licensed contractors, etc.) Just because somebody has a license doesn't mean anything.

People who are capable of doing it should go ahead and do the job themselves, people who are not should not attempt it. There, simple isn't it?

 

[oldjones]

OJ it's not as scarey as it sounds. Very safe. Everything is fused. You can't run high load appliances. Electricity scares most people. People should use what they feel comfortable with.

…edit…

Au contraire: That male-male connection of yours could easily be plugged into the genny while it's running and that would make the bare prongs at the othjer end live. Bare conductors should never be live, the possibility shouldn't even occur, especially if they look just like the harmless male plugs we all handle daily. That would be people using what they felt comfortable with and being shocked to find it boobytrapped. Literally.

Same goes for when power's restored: Someone could turn off the genny and turn the main breakers back on which would make the the end that had been plugged into the genny live. And you mentioned the fried hydro worker scenario yourself.

You may be confident that you'd never do such a thing to your own hookup, but, your wife and kids, never mind the helpful neighbour or —God forbid—an EMS tech trying to revive them, wouldn't have a clue what you'd done. Running power out thru a male plug is as dangerous as hanging a cement life-ring by the pool. And never mind what the kidlets might do with that fun toy between hydro outages.

And unless you're intent on powering the house from the genny, it's way easier—and less dangerous—just to run conventional extensions to whatever as needed. But as long as you're willing to handcuff yourself to the genny, I'm with you. For such a connection, that's the only way nothing can go wrong,…go wrong,…go…

KISS*. And best wishes to those in the outed area of TO. Hope you're not among them.

*For an ordinary less than 15 amp furnace feed, that would be to replace the existing switch with an single plug outlet (commonly called a clock or picture outlet) and male plug to feed the furnace from it. The wiring exists, the functionality of the switch is available by pulling the plug, and it's now available to plug into your genny extension.

And has been said before: If you don't know what you're doing with this stuff, get someone who does. Which is why I'm not going any further about black wires and brass terminals and such; if you don't already know, get your misinformation somewhere else.