The interlock's critical role is NOT to protect your generator (although it does) it is to ensure that your generator is not back feeding on the grid while linemen are working through the snowmageddon/zombie apocalypse to get the power back on to your grid.
Especially so, given that the linesmen will usually be working on the other side of a transformer. Your little 240 V gennie can deliver ten times or higher voltage thanks to the magic of transformer action.
Reeeeealy! Any lineman who doesn't concider all lines live isn't gonna last long. Rule #1 all lines are live. Suicide cords all day. Dont touch bare wires you could die, don't put a gun to your head and pull the trigger, you could die. It's a shame you have to save people from themselves, common sense just isn't commen anymore
Great video. But I would add a point to the maintenance section: NEVER leave untreated ethanol fuel in your generator. (Or any other small engine you have) EVER!! Ethanol is a small engine KILLER. Even a small engine mechanic (like me) would take a couple hours to remove the carb, clean it, reinstall it, and get the generator running again after ethanol fuel has sat inside the carb for longer than 90 days. If you filled up your generator with untreated ethanol gas "last year" just to be ready for a power outage, you will be screwed when you need it. My tips: *BEST: Use non-ethanol gas if you can. (Not every area even offers it.) *2nd: Store generator with an engineered fuel, and keep treated ethanol fuel on hand. (Treated with fuel stabilizer). But, every 90 days dump that treated ethanol into your vehicle, and get a fresh batch. Sound complicated? Not half as complicated as having your generator not start in an emergency..........
This has NEVER been an issue for me. Why not? Every time I run my generator, I don't just hit the kill switch when I'm done. Instead, I cut off the fuel supply to the carb. Most generators have a switch or a dial to cut off the gas going to the carb. I (once the power comes back) 1. kill the gas going to my carb by turning the dial 2. walk and unplug the generator (I have a 60 foot long cord and the generator is plugged in far from its actual location) and start rolling it up for storage By the time I finish rolling up the cord, the generator sputters to a stop, since it has no more gas. There will be NO GAS in the carb at this point. I've done this method for 15 years and never once had an issue starting my generator and we've lost power numerous times, twice for 5 days. I will say this much, however: running your generator on gas, in general, is too much work, and I'd advise anyone to run it on propane instead. Get yourself a nice 500 gallon tank and have a plumber run a line to where you're going to run your generator. Otherwise, you'll be doing a lot of (especially for extended outages) 1. Going to the gas station 2. Carting smelly gas in your car (your car WILL smell like gas after) 3. Setting a periodic alarm to fill up the generator Yeah, it sucks having $2K worth of propane just sitting there (especially if you don't use it for your stove, etc). But think of it as insurance. If you were in Buffalo a few weeks ago, it could have saved your life.
I do one better. I have a fuel injected generator. I only use treated fuel in my genny. My genny has a fuel pump. It even has an after market auxiliary fuel tank that can be connected to it. I have enough fuel in my generator to run at 1/2 load for 18 hours. After I come home from work it’s nearly empty. I hook up my already full auxiliary fuel tank & refill my main tank. That buys me 48 hours of run time at 1/2 load. Mine stays in a locked enclosure on a trickle charger. I periodically will start it & run without load, sometimes with load. I have had it for five years & it always starts on the first attempt. It’s peace of mind. I think of it as an insurance policy I hope I never need? But if I do? It’s always ready.
@@paulmysliborski4832 I have an interlock for my generator. Your right. The interlock protects not only lineman but the general public at large. As soon as we exit our trucks in an area without power we have a tailboard to discuss the dangers & ofcourse the issue of “backfeed”. In all my years of doing what I do I can only think of two times where a generator was hooked up illegally through a “killer cord”. One was a state police officers house. We pulled his meter for his house. The second we placed a ground on our primary because the homeowner was hostile. That ground tripped his main on his generator. We cut off his service & called the building building dept. They came out & pulled his certificate of occupancy. They padlocked his door after everyone was out. We got everyone else on but him.
I actually ordered a spare carburetor for my predator generator a couple days after I bought generator! Cost was less than $30! Well worth the money just in case!
Late to the party, great advice. Couple of things I want to mention. When I installed our generator built a generator shed so we could store it and protect it from weather when it was running. It is an electric start generator so purchased a battery maintainer and wired a door interlock switch to a 12V LED light. That way as soon as I open the door the light comes on so you are not working in the dark. Not really a hack but a topic you didn't mention assuming your generator runs on gas figure out worst case usage and keep enough stabilized gas on hand. Here in NH winter snow/ice storms can result in week long outage. I maintain five 5-gallon gas cans with stabilizer. Using the genie a few hours in the morning and evening the gas should last for a week. One can is used for yard machines. The cans are numbers and rotated in order. If gas gets too old I dump it into one of our cars. Since the cans are sealed I have not had a problem with gas a year old. I keep a log book and update it each time I run the genie and track gas purchase. Probably overkill but as you posted you want to make sure your emergency generator will actually work during a power outage. Test the generator every 3-months or so for half hour or so. I use a 1500 W space heater as a dummy load. I run the tank out of gas and then switch the fuel shutoff to off. There is always some gas in the tank and you don't want it sitting/evaporating in the carb fuel bowl.
If you can, find a gas station in your area that sells non-ethanol gas and keep a couple of 5 gal containers treated with a gas stabilizer on hand. Ethanol gas will eat up your carb in no time.
I have run the same portable generator for 22 years with only one carb failure. I use only non-ethanol fuel treated with Stabil. I keep 60 gallons on hand. After 6-8 months I use the fuel in my car and refill the containers. I average 1 minimal outage a month (< 2 hours) and 2 major outages a year (over 18 hours). I learned my lesson in 1999 during an ice storm without power for 4 days and have had a generator ever since. I interlock my main and back feed from a shop. Recently I added a soft start to my heat pump and can now run my cooling during an outage. I rely on kerosene heat in the winter since the HP draws too much power for the heat strips.
@@KhoiNguyen-ic5pi I use a Micro-Air EasyStart. It is on my Goodman 2-ton. Had it almost 1 year and zero issues. Ran my heat pump once late last year and already twice this summer (about 1 hour then about 4 hours).
We recently bought a generator. I also bought and installed a transfer switch. Beginning of each month I 'exercise' the 4wd (hi & low). I have also added hooking up and running the gen.
LOL. My wife made me write a manual with pictures of the entire process so she can deal with the emergency when I'm not around. The plan should include how to protect the generator from rain, snow, sleet while it's running. And guess what... There will be two feet of snow exactly at the spot I need to get my power cord into the house.
Thank you for this informative no-nonsense presentation. Based on your recommendation I decided to get the 25 ft generator cord. You are a straight-shooter and I like that.
Just did all this myself to my house . The test run was critical, I discovered that my interlock plate was just a hair too big and wouldn't allow generator breaker to turn on .(just had to barely grind a side down) Glad I got that worked out while having grid power .
Try lining up the plug with the inlet at night. Take some white-out an make a line on the plug & socket to line up the two before you twist it. Keep battery charged. Install emergency lights that come on when power goes out. Install them where you set up the generator and at the panel. Maintenance is easier when using natural gas to power the generator.
dont you people have flashlights around the home for emergencies? how bout your cell phone everyone always has it in their hand or in pocket right? It has a flashlight as well, jesus....
With the last hurricane that was approaching the Gulf Coast, I decided to get ready around the house. I pulled out my champion 4500 W generator that’s been sitting in the garage for 4 1/2 years untouched. I turned on the gas tap turned on the ignition switch one pull and it fired right up. Why? I never use gas gasoline and small engines that has ethanol in it. I have stored gasoline for multiple years up to five with no problems.
Good advice. I do all of the above. I only use non-ethanol gas in my generator. I add STA-BIL Storage Fuel Stabilizer in all my stored gasoline. Ethanol attracts moisture. Moisture is a small engine/carb enemy.
Non-ethanol gas is the only fuel I use for all my small engines, including my generator. Thanks for pointing that out for others. The last thing you want in a snow storm without power is to have to clean the carburetor to get the generator running because you used ethanol based fuel.
All excellent ideas. Dry run for sure! Helped a friend set up a generator and found out one of the circuits he thought was on the generator subpanel was not. So the second freezer in the garage was not protected.
@@abrelectric Nothing yet... There are other adjacent outlets in the garage that are on the generator subpanel. So he will either move the freezer about 20 feet to the desired outlets or use a good extension cord... This was all wired up 14 years ago when the house was built new. Just lacked the plug in for the generator on an exterior wall... It's in Texas so he was without power for a while like many through the big freeze in Feb 2021. That was the wake up call!... He'll likely wait another 14 years to actually hook up the generator and see if it works 😅
I have 2 transfer switches. I have a sub panel with loads like lights, fridge, freezer oil furnace and TV/ internet. I can run this on a Honda 2000 for over 10 hours on a gallon of gas. We have a 7000 k with a remote start on a whole house transfer switch when we need the pump and other high loads. It’s October and I just changed the oil and drained the old gas and put in fresh gas and ran them both with a load. These transfer switches are separate from the break box. Transfer switches like the one shown here aren’t allowed where I live and if you get caught your power will be shut off. They do not want two different energy sources in the same breaker box.
@@abrelectric I use this on my Honda 2000. Reliance Controls CSR202 Easy/Tran Transfer Switch The sub panel is only wired for 120 and has a 30amp breaker in the main panel. I don’t know the brand name of the whole house one off hand but it is 3 pole 225 amp break before make type. It’s manual and it’s pretty big. It’s got a big flat bar type handle with an interlock that only lets me open it when it is in the break position.
Great idea to run your generator periodically. But you should apply a load to it, preferably at least 50% of capacity. Depending on your generator, if you have a 240V you made need to buy a splitter that adapts the 30 amp twist lock (shown in the video) to two standard 120 plugs. My favorite loads to use are space heaters.
Great basic info! Makes the important distinction between *maintenance* and *repairs,* which more often than not result from lack of maintenance, and are most undesirable with emergency systems. I just had to run my generator, and intend to drain the gas tank, so I'll have fresh gas in it next time it's needed, especially since there are no sources of ethanol-free gas very nearby.
1 run your generator at least quarterly 1 time a month preferred. 2 mark the outside of your cord and inlet box with a sharpie or colored duct tape so you can easily line up the connection in the dark. 3 stage a good headlighted flashlight somewhere to help you in total darkness get all connected correctly. 4 if your generator has a battery to start it put a battery tender on it to keep it charged and maintained. 5 get a tent, shed, some sort of protective covering homemade or bought to keep the elements off of your generator when it is outside. 6 keep an ample supply of fuel ready to go that will last you a day at least to give you time to get more fuel in a multiple day emergency. If you run gasoline try to run non ethanol only and rotate your supply into your vehicles when it gets old then replace with fresh gasoline. This is a great video and all my suggestions may have already been mentioned here.
Got a generator inlet , interlock and generator. Works great! Been using it for years, runs most of the house except oven and dryer. The only issue that I had was during a really bad rainstorm ( 12 inches ) in a 10 hour period. The power wen5bout at night and my basement flooded before I was able to hook up generator. I solution for that is I just brought a UPS for my sump pump. Will allow me 6 hours to 2 1/2 days of power to sump pump. I should be able to get my generator up and running by then. The best solution would probably be a whole house generator on a gas line with a by pass panel. Maybe the next house.
Like clock work, 1st of every month I do the maintenance start and run, I even go so far as put a load on the generator just to make sure it’s actually producing power. At least once a year I give the generator a tune up. And if I do need it for an extended period of time, I change the oil and filters. So it’s ready for the next time. I’ve also learned to run the carburetor dry an drain the gas tank to prevent damage do to water or gummy fuel.
I use my generator to run stuff when I don’t really need it. I switched service vans and hadn’t moved it over or started it in a couple of month. Had a lot of pulls to get it running. It’s now in my new van and I make sure to start it regularly after that no start reminder!
Adding to point #1... place the hookup in a place that is good for the generator, not you necessarily. A generator is not meant to stand out in the rain/snow, so plan for a location ahead of time. An external storage shed with a door that can be left open is typically a good idea. Something that can cover the generator in that rain/snow, yet allow access and airflow to keep it cool. You may need to get an extra long cord. Never leave it running in an attached garage and especially one that is closed or even just partially closed. My hookup is in the garage, but I run a cord outside to a free-standing shed that I can run the generator in with its door open facing away from the prevailing wind. In Buffalo NY, everyone has them for winter "fun.".
Hey neighbor! Can I ask how much it cost to have the interlock installed? Also who did you use? I was just talking about this last night with the wife. After last years blizzard i want to be prepared.
@@SVW1976 Unfortunately, I can't. I was lucky... Mine came with the house when I bought it. The previous owner was a construction manager for Ferguson Electric and he did it.
I worked many years in a telephone central office. We ran our generators monthly. I do my portable every other month, and long enough to get it nice and warm. 15-20 minutes should be good. Also, run your portable under load. A couple of hair dryers are great. Just watch your wattage.
I recommend putting up some instructions at the panel for switching sequence and anything else. When you're under stress, you may not think straight. Also it helps for the quarterly practice runs what to do.
Dude from Europe here. Our grid is pretty stable. Last outage I experienced was pre-Covid. I am still gonna get a small inverter generator this year. Maintenance is super important, I couldn’t agree more. I am involved with the local VFD. We are absolutely religious about this. Our trucks have generators on board (Endress ESE607) that we use to run tools and provide lighting. We also can feed electricity to a building. Electrical checks are at least weekly, as are checks on fuel and oil. Each generator is run for at least 10 minutes. Fuel is topped up from jerry cans. There are two of those on a truck just for the generator. The one with the „oldest“ fuel is up front so it gets used first. So far, each generator has always started on the first try. A little fun fact: Our regulations for cabling say that we can only have continuous cable runs of 100 meters max to a consumer. If you have a 100 meter run to a junction box, you cannot have more than 10 meters from the junction box to the final consumer. Yes, the cabling theoretically supports way more. But there is a safety margin. And not every firefighter is also a certified electrician who can do the right calculations. Even if you are a licensed electrician, you still need to follow fire dept regulations. Because if there IS some sort of freak accident, even though it might not have been caused by or even related to some little rule bending: guess whose door officials will knock on first when they smell a safety violation. The cable drums are all IP67. Also, even when not used fully or to capacity, a cable drum must always be unrolled completely to avoid it heating up.
I know you’re an electrician but I know a very good small engine mechanic who would say your maintenance is incomplete because an emergency household generator also needs a load test on a regular schedule. It doesn’t need to be a long test or a high load but the field in the generator needs to be excited quarterly or it can lose it’s ability to produce electricity.
Nice presentation. I would add that you should run your generator once a month to make sure it operates and perform a simulated power failure on your house once or twice a year. Your generator is known as a STABD-BY GENERATOR, not an emergency generator. Emergency generators are designated as hospital generators or other locations where life saving equipment is used.
If your home [health, from heat, humidity, supplemental oxygen, loss of food, etc] is going to suffer adverse consequences from lack of electricity, then, yeah ... your genset is and emergency one.
I noticed you didn’t discuss voltage loss over distance. I think that’s something to take into consideration when selecting a cord for your generator. You don’t want to be back feeding your house with a long cord resulting in too low of voltage to your appliances. Especially if the gauge wire in the cord is on the smaller side.
I was actually going to make this point, so I first checked and realized it shouldn't be an issue. Most people using a portable generator are going to use your typical 5.5KW - 12KW unit, paired to a 30amp (10 gauge) - 50amp (6 gauge) wire. A 10 gauge wire can run 128 feet without seeing more than a 3% voltage drop. And it's even better with a 6 gauge wire, as you can go 188 feet. I built a generator shed for my generator away from my house and made a 60 foot cord to plug it in and the voltage is perfectly fine and I've been using this cord for 15 years without issue.
I bought a small generator with two goals: 1) it can run the fridge and 2) it was easy to move. I went for a 2kW Chinese made generator and the cord cost more than the genset!
My Electrician put in a generator plug that faces downward. Try figuring out how to plug that in while it is snowing and it is dark out after you loose service. I came up with a great idea , mind you I live in a rural area and my house is 120 feet from the street. I took a 5 gallon bucket and cut a notch in the top rim and then connected cable to the box. I then curled the rest to the cable in the 5 gallon bucket and pit the cover on the bucket. So now when we loose power all I got to do is start the generator then go to the bucket and retrieve the cable to plug into it. As for the switching at the panel, I did a dry run with my electrician but the time I used it a year later I sort of forgot the sequence. Once I figured it out I then wrote all the instructions on how to do it on the inside of the main panel door, so no more forgetting ;-) When the Winter is over I store my cable with the generator and since ours has an electric start it also has a battery. So I also have it on a trickle charger 24/7 all year long.
I wired my backup generator to charge my backup Solar batteries. At 3 bucks a gallon for gas a kilowatt hour of gen power cost 75 cents. If our power goes off , my spouse can press a button in our utility room and our power comes back on. Without starting the generator.
I do small engine repair. Number ONE issue; bad gas. People stick that generator in a corner, pull it out 2 years later, when needed, and wonder why it won't start.
Most people purchase portable generators and install generator inlets/interlock switches in case they have power outages. People like me, apparently, do so to keep power outages from occurring. I used to have a power outage around once a month due to a tree falling, vehicle crash, squirrel having relations with the transformer, etc. Ever since buying a generator and installing an inlet and interlock switch about a year ago, I haven't had a power outage since. Still run the generator under load for an hour once a quarter, but still.
Another point, know how to open your electric garage door opener when there is no power, otherwise one cannot get their portable generator out of the garage to connect it to the house.
The comments are mostly about what will happen plugging in a suicide plug into a house outlet. The mention that it's illegal to back feed a generator onto a incoming line drop to your home. This is a DEADLY practice as a lineman for the Electric company who is up on a pole is working on a dead branch circuit to your neighborhood. He's checked the line & knows it is a dead feeder circuit because a tree has fallen & broken the line from the pole. For safety, He pulls the neighborhood fuse that has the line dead until he's completed his repairs & then he'll go to that fuse switch & re energize that feeder again. In the meantime, Joe has gotten out his generator & suicide plug, Filled it with gas & plugs it into his garage outlet to power up a few things in the home. That 120 or 240 volts he puts on the meter box goes back out to the pole transformer. A transformer does the job of taking approx. 13, 000 volts on the branch circuit (that wire on the top of the poles that goes into the top of a transformer hanging on it) when its operating properly, And steps it down to a relatively residential safe 240/120 volt house feed. BUT A transformer works either direction. That generator voltage goes out the breaker panel in the basement, through the electric meter, out to the pole transformer, WHERE It's stepped up to 13,000 volts AC & travels down that suddenly now live line to a block away where that lineman is restringing it through the insulator eyelet on a pole. Yes, Your right, That generator will not power that block of homes for more than a couple of seconds & pop a breaker or something else. BUT That won't save the poor lineman who knows he's working on a safely dead feeder line. He's now laying at the bottom of the pole. Just a little more info about how a grid works.
I live here in south east Alabama I go out once every month start up my generator with two coffee cups full of gas and let it run out of gas I change the oil once every year we had to use it for 9 hours this past Saturday
Yes, buy a longer cable to your inlet box. My cable is 50 feet and that is so that the generator can be 50 feet away on the porch of our outbuilding (under a roof). The generator can not be in the rain, so build a porch on your outbuilding. It is an easy thing to do and will help you the other 364 days of the year when if you have to go to your outbuilding in the rain. Buy a larger waterproof cable because when you need power, you want it to be able to be in the rain. Put your inlet box in a sheltered place so it wont be rained on, as well as your generator. While it is raining during the disaster, plug your cable into the house inlet box and put your generator side plug in the door to your outbuilding. Start your generator, then plug in the generator with the dry plug(wear your gloves). Better yet, put your house inlet plug in your outbuilding and run a permanent cable under ground to your house. Then you dont have to worry about running around in the rain.
Guy's make sure everything is covered 3 layers of foil for the magnetic pulse bomb building a box covering the unit is a smart move . Also one for your unit in house phones etc.
The interlock is neat and all, but I'm way more concerned about backfeeding, so the linemen will be fine when I just shut off power in before the generator gets connected.
I try to run my portable generator at least once a month. Also I shut of the fuel and let it run out the gasoline in the carburetor. And check the oil and change as needed. Air filter too.
Before connecting anything to your generator, check the output voltage. My generator had a defective voltage regulator and was putting out 160/320 volts instead of 120/240.
That was actually a very good video. thank you! I’m thinking about adding one of those interlocks, right now I use my 50 amp R.V breaker and plug my inverter in to it and back feed in to the house panel . FYI I do shut the main off before I plug in the inverter and starting it. I’ve always felt like it was safe but not really sure….. I want hold your opinion reliably but would love your thoughts on my setup.
Question for ya, I have a 12kw generator. I have a 400 amp service split into 2 200 amp panels. Can I run one 50 amp to one panel and one 30 amp to the other panel ?
Simple application: Assuming each panel has a main breaker, install an interlock switch with a 50 amp breaker.l in each panel. Both breakers feed to single generator inlet. Mind your phasing!
I’m in south Florida. I drain the fuel and run it dry so I don’t have to worry about fuel going bad. I have a few gas cans that I can fill up ahead of time when I know a hurricane is coming. If I don’t end up using the generator then I’ll just use the gas in my truck.
My 2mw generators at work are kept in the loading dock with the exaust pumped outside and a big loovers for fresh air intake and cooling. Is it possible to do something simmilar for residential generators?
My gas generator only runs 3 to 4 hours a day then I power the entire rv with my powerful solar generator which powers up everything I need for more than 20 hours a day, very cool!
No need to connect at 1am unless you need a health saving machine. Also don’t need to get set up 1 min after power goes out. I don’t run my portable at night, shut off 11pm, restart at 6am. Food still stays cool in fridge and house still cool
Loll. That happened to me. I did my annual maintenance on my Kohler 20kw standby system. Forgot to turn the breaker that is wired to the internal battery charger. When the power went out a week later the transfer switch did its thing and the auto start did not work because the battery was dead. 🤦♂️
So this might already be in the comments somewhere, but the manual for the pro trans say they need to be used with a floating neutral generator. My understanding is that most generators have the ground and the neutral bonded at the generator. Is this a problem?
When the main breaker on the generator is GFCI protected - yes. Several brands have a 2 pole 50 amp GFCI breaker for it's MB. Trips instantly unless that jumper is removed
What is the maximum length when installing inlet box to the circuit panel? Iam looking for a solution on how to minimize the length of a 50 amps generator cord cause the distance is about 75 ft from where I want to put the generator to the circuit box. Thank you.
@@rjakeyno9065 There isn't a maximum for the hardwired cabling to the inlet. You just need to upside the wire gauge (assuming your load is 80% of capacity), from #6 to #4.
I have a question, does the breaker for the transfer switch need to be located just under the main breaker? Or can it be installed anywhere on the panel? Thanks
I wouldn’t call these “hacks” but GOOD, SIMPLE safety tips!!! Add a 5, keep a note card with the connect and startup STEPS written on it WITH the power cord!!!
Bonding at the generator will trip the generator main breaker if it's a GFCI style breaker. Otherwise, for a home back-up application, bonding neutral to ground on the generator is unnecessary because the house main panel should have that bonding connection
Thank you for this video. The Square D load center cover I have is dated (1986) and I've not found an appropriate interlock but believe the one shown in this video will work; however, I cannot see a brand nor a part number. Would appreciate it greatly if you could provide same. Again, thanks.
Also, when turning on or off any breaker: place non-dominant hand on breaker switch, turn face away from breaker, turn breaker switch on or off. Why use your non-dominant hand? Because, if the breaker fails and explodes, as they can, you will still be able to do most things with the hand you have remaining. Turn face away so that, if the breaker fails and explodes: your eyes, face, mouth and lungs will not be cooked by the explosion. SAFETY FIRST!!!! Stay alive. KNOW what, how and why a specific way of doing things is necessary, especially electrically, because you may only have one chance to get it wrong and die. I say “may”, because you “may” live through it and need extensive rehabilitation for getting it wrong. Just FYI.
Good tips. As someone who's gotten through numerous hurricane and power outages, here's a few more huge tips: 1. Get a generator with a total harmonic distortion (THD) of 5% or less. Almost always, an inverter generator has a THD of 3% or less. You can get "regular" portable generators with a THD of 5% or less, but you've got to look for them. You're taking a chance if you use a conventional portable generator to run your house. The last thing you want is to fry the motherboard in your refrigerator. 2. RUN YOUR GENERATOR OFF OF PROPANE! Specifically, get yourself a nice, 500 gallon tank and get a plumber to run a line to where you're going to run the generator. If your generator only runs off of gas, there are almost always conversion kits to make it run off of propane. It is PAINFUL to 1. actually find a gas station that's pumping gas during a power outage, 2. cart that smelly gas in your car (your car WILL smell like gas after) and 3. set a periodic alarm to fill up the gas tank. Trust me, those three activities will take up a huge amount of your time, to the point that it's the dominant thing you're doing and you're not actually sitting down, relaxing. Regarding #2, yes, if you don't use the propane for anything else, you could have $2K worth of propane just sitting there. But if you lived in Buffalo a few weeks ago when they got 6+ feet of snow, having that propane ready to go was literally the difference between life and death. If you have a nice inverter generator, a 500 lb tank will run it (especially if you're conservative with power use) for 3 weeks or more. If you still don't have power by then (it must have truly been a terrible event), the roads should be passible at that point and you can call for another delivery.
Have a small sub panel installed fed from the main panel with the interlock on the sub panel. Square D makes such a panel. This way you can't overload the generator and you can see when power is restored to the house. Having operationing instructionns at the sub panel and train other members of the house to operate the generator. Not only should you check voltage but frequency (how fast the engine runs) when doing scheduled maintance. maintenance maintenance
After running a gasoline generator, don't shut it off using the on-off switch, turn the gasoline shut off valve to run all of the gas out of the carburetor instead. Don't leave gasoline in the carb to get gummed up.
I got my house wired up for my generator last night with a 30amp breaker. My house is all electric and I have a 9000 watt Predator with 7250 constant watt generator. We powered up all the rooms and left the water heater off, range off, and dryer off. We went to power up the heat and waited for it to cycle on. When the thermostat kicked on, the generator bogged down hard and never allowed the heater to come on. My heater has a 60 amp breaker. My house is 1800 soft. What can I do to get the heater to work? I live out in Texas too.
Good program. Some advise. Don't use the microphone on the camera. Get a shotgun mic to mount on the camera or a label mic that you ware or a wireless that you ware. You will get a lot better sound.
@davidbruce5377 Sorry, I meant the amperage of the generator? Or KW rating? You can use a double pole breaker and only wire to one pole. You'll need a double for the size to connect mechanically to the interlock switch.
How does this panel mod entrance work? I thought your panel tried to share the load between the two phases of 220VAC coming from the street. Do all the breakers need to be rearranged, like all generator stuff on one side non-gen on the other? Or does the generator put out 220V two phase on the RV style jack? I have that exact model generator, and I never thought about it being 220V. (All I’ve ever used so far is the 110V outlet)
Great video if I have a 30 amp, 9,000 peak watt generator and a 30 amp but 7500 watt receptacle, would that be a problem? given that the generator has more wattage than the inlet box ?
Can you wire in two generator power adapter plugs and run two generators at the same time into your house panel if power goes down and you switch to an off grid mode?
You can, but you have to keep the generator output separated so they don't backfeed into each other. There is a process to synchronize them, seems like a lot of work. Easier to split the total loads between the 2 generators with individual transfer switches
Yes but you'll need inverter generators and a combiner box then both generators will work together and even run at the same speed but you'll only have one output with double the power
I have to put my connect box at about 40 feeth from the electric box is it ok or I have to limit the distance until I use no 10 cable for a 50 amp generator no possibility to install the generator near the electric box ? what the maximum distance for the connec box
There is a risk, but it varies. If a whole neighborhood loses power, and your generator is trying to drive the grid, it will certainly fail right away -- just nowhere near enough power to supply all those homes. So *in that scenario*, the utility worker won't get shocked. But there is another scenario, like my brother experienced. That is, his power line runs along the edge of a field of a farm and that whole line powers exactly one house, his. A big storm dropped a tree branch on that line and cut power. If my brother had connected his generator to the grid (he knows not to) AND a line worker touched that line without checking, then the generator would continue running and the worker would surely get shocked and quite possibly electrocuted.
That's why you turn your main off. The generator inlet box is wired to a new breaker you install usually very top right spot in a panel. The metal plate basically blocks you from turning on your generator breaker when the main breaker is on and vice versa for tue ing on a main breaker when the generator breaker is on.. it physically blocks one or the other so there is no accidental leaving them both on and back feeding the utility lines.
My emergency generator doesn't have any transfer gear. Too expensive and just more stuff to possibly break and fail. Instead, I ran 4 emergency outlets in their own dedicated conduits -- a completely separate system. I can actually test my emergency backup system without having to cut off the electricity, simulating a power outtage.
Just installed the same hookup. Power went off Christmas Day and still had dinner underway. This hookup saved the day! Yes! Maintenance is important. Make sure and start your generator once every quarter and let it warm up to operating temperature and then, turn the fuel valve OFF and let it run dry. Don’t just turn it off and leave gas sitting in the bowl. Also…USE FUEL STABILIZER (for gasoline generators) if you are going to store it full. The fuel will last two years if you make sure that the fuel cap it tight. Refer to your generator’s manual and make sure and change the oil at the end of the recommended use cycle (usually measured in time). This has been a public service announcement.
