As long as you have the mains off, nothing. When your source power, just turn off generator, unplug from dryer recp, turn off all breakers, turn in main, then turn on all breakers one at a time, slowly. Prevents power surges.
Ya know, it must be nice living in Neverneverland. Remind me to come visit you, when I need a break from reality.
Agree with stumpknocker, most generators are 3500-5000 watts, supplying 30-40 amps. Run refrigerator and a few lights. Depending on what size you have, if you use a microwave, might have to unplug refrigerator to use. A microwave draws alot of amps starting.
Ya know, it must be nice living in Neverneverland. Remind me to come visit you, when I need a break from reality.
Dang I didn’t realize how many electricians were on this site! These guys can take it from here.
23’ seacraft
All your breakers turning on at once doesn’t cause powers surges by the way.
23’ seacraft
quote:
Originally posted by interceptor4All your breakers turning on at once doesn’t cause powers surges by the way.
23’ seacraft
LOL, it sure doesn’t!!
NN
quote:
Originally posted by DoubleNquote:
Originally posted by interceptor4All your breakers turning on at once doesn’t cause powers surges by the way.
23’ seacraft
LOL, it sure doesn’t!!
BTW, cheap generators put out cheap voltage. They don’t regulate it well. You want between 114 and 126 on your 120 circuit. Had one I bought and hooked up as test. Loaded it up and 129…Sold it to construction guy to run saws that don’t care.
Just sayin,
NN
This is interesting to me – I don’t think I’ll need this knowledge this week, but would love to know for future reference. So I’ve got a cheap(ish) generator that puts out about 6000 running watts. If I run power to a 220V outlet in my house and trip the main breaker, the generator is effectively wired to the rest of my house? It makes sense to me in a similar DC scenario, but I know very little about house wiring.
I understand the power limitations about what I’ll be able to run, but it’s nice to not have to snake tons of extension cords throughout the house to power various appliances.
1994 Hewes Redfisher 18, 2004 Yamaha 150 VMAX
Malibu X-Factor Kayak
yes that will work as long as the outlet you plug in to can carry the load, you need to know the amp output of the generator and the type outlet or wire size where you plug in
I have an outdoor subpanel with a main disconnect, the generator is connected to a breaker that feeds the main panel in the house
it’s important to have a written checklist detailing the steps on starting and connecting the generator, and opening and closing the breakers, if that gets goofed up it will be bad
Pioneer 197SF
This is great info for future reference. Thanks!!
“Apathy is the Glove into Which Evil Slips It’s Hand”, but really, who cares?
Our Generac is in place, unfortunately because of the storm, not fully hooked up yet. I like the safety, warranty and knowing that it will come on within 15 seconds of an outage. I don’t even have to be home.
Not cheap, but well worth it.
We bought this generator during Matthew last year from Costco:
It’s a dual fuel (propane or gas) and has a 7000 watt running with a 9000 watt peak rating. So far, we haven’t even connected the sealed battery to the leads. It has 110 and 220 volt outputs. I’ve installed a 220 plug in my garage to connect to the generator.
Hoping this can power the lights, 2 refrigerators and at least 1 tv. The plan is to shut off everything and energize the hot water heater just long enough to get hot water showers. From what I’m seeing…might need to find a window AC to hord to cool a room (I’ve not seen were a portable generator can run a central AC…haven’t seen if a 7000 watt can do it.)
Does anyone know how long a generator can run on a tank of propane? I haven’t seen a guestimate. Some of the gas ones say they can run 6-7 hours on 7 gallons of gas.
“I am constantly amazed at the stupidity of the general public.”
~my dad
Equipment:
2007 Grady White 222 Fisherman / 250 Yamaha
Simrad NSS evo2 and G4
1- 23 boy that won’t move out)
1 - 19 year old (fishing maniac)
1 - wife (The Warden)
ECFC
I have a smaller generator that I unboxed just before the storm. Cranked it up after filling the tank with gas + stabilizer. Had a heavy extension cord with a power strip . In the test run I ran the TV, freezer & refrigerator and 3 lights. Today I cranked it up, cut off the fuel valve and let it run out of fuel in the carb. Back in the box until next time.
I looked into this a little deeper, and here are a few big things to note for anyone thinking about backfeeding a 220 outlet like your dryer:
I’m pretty sure it’s illegal. I think at the very least you have to have something that physically prevents the main breaker and gen power from being on at the same time. This prevents you from feeding power back to the line and potentially injuring someone outside your home.
When running, you’ll have 220V power coming out of a MALE plug… if that plug is out of the socket for any reason while running, you have hot leads exposed. Obviously this is very dangerous, and I think it might be illegal too? I don’t know, but either way it’s nothing to play with.
The wiring for whatever plug you use may not be sufficient for the total output of your generator. Also, any circuit protection is way back at the other end of the wire. I’m almost positive that insurance won’t cover the damage if you start a fire this way. Once again, this is just a guess, but either way it’s a risk to note.
Basically, now that we’ve got some time, I think I’d rather cough up a few hundred bucks and add a transfer switch, or just keep running extension cords.
If you’re in an emergency situation you may decide it’s worth it to rig up a cord and backfeed that way, but I assume you would at least want to be educated about what the risks are.
1994 Hewes Redfisher 18, 2004 Yamaha 150 VMAX
Malibu X-Factor Kayak
quote:
Originally posted by claimWe bought this generator during Matthew last year from Costco:
It’s a dual fuel (propane or gas) and has a 7000 watt running with a 9000 watt peak rating. So far, we haven’t even connected the sealed battery to the leads. It has 110 and 220 volt outputs. I’ve installed a 220 plug in my garage to connect to the generator.
Hoping this can power the lights, 2 refrigerators and at least 1 tv. The plan is to shut off everything and energize the hot water heater just long enough to get hot water showers. From what I’m seeing…might need to find a window AC to hord to cool a room (I’ve not seen were a portable generator can run a central AC…haven’t seen if a 7000 watt can do it.)
Does anyone know how long a generator can run on a tank of propane? I haven’t seen a guestimate. Some of the gas ones say they can run 6-7 hours on 7 gallons of gas.
“I am constantly amazed at the stupidity of the general public.”
~my dadEquipment:
2007 Grady White 222 Fisherman / 250 Yamaha
Simrad NSS evo2 and G4
1- 23 boy that won’t move out)
1 - 19 year old (fishing maniac)
1 - wife (The Warden)ECFC
That generator should run everything you listed and then some. It should have no problem powering your water heater as long as you are not trying to run other major appliances at the same time. It will also have zero problems running a 5-7000 BTU window unit along with lights, TV and a fridge at the same time. Keep in mind that it will lose efficiency and output when using propane instead of gasoline.
One Simple Thank
Cool. I’ll have to find a small AC…maybe one of those portable ones.
“I am constantly amazed at the stupidity of the general public.”
~my dad
Equipment:
2007 Grady White 222 Fisherman / 250 Yamaha
Simrad NSS evo2 and G4
1- 23 boy that won’t move out)
1 - 19 year old (fishing maniac)
1 - wife (The Warden)
ECFC