Stay Warm During A Winter Power Outage With This. 

I am an HVAC and a refrigeration tech. During the Y2K scare I converted furnaces very simply so that a homeowner could unplug his furnace from the grid and plug it into an extension cord that went to a standby generator. It is very easy to do.

Good tip about finishing the cycle to let the exhanger cool! 👍🏻👍🏻

I like the full isolation switching for both feeds that saves people by protecting from confused hot/neutral wiring in some DIYer homes.

I installed the EZ Generator Switch a couple of months ago on my boiler as I did not want to risk having the pipes and radiators freeze. Used it for the first time last week when the power was out for a day. Some areas around us had been out for weeks. The EZ Generator Switch is well made in the USA.

Hi Dave I installed your home designed switch and it works great. My question is on your generator. I saw the one you have at Costco and almost bought it, but was worried about damaging the circuit board controller in the furnace with the output not being a sine wave. So I bought a 2500 watt inverter generator that has pure sine wave output. This works perfect and is very quiet. I had to replace the circuit board once after mice did some chewing on the wires for the AC. That was a $400 repair. I understand some generators have a cleaner output voltage than others. Even my fridge and dishwasher have electronic control circuit boards. Thanks again for the great videos you do. You are such a honest person. Like you said so many trades people try to rip you off in to days world. I have learned so much from you. Take care and keep your videos coming. PS I was to Salt Lake city a few years ago and loved it, even the 3.2 beer.

Very nice presentation. Great voice. Liked your caution about letting the furnace cool down before switching generator power OFF, although IF line power has been restored, it would seem using the switch on the EZ unit would sufficiently protect the furnace. Still, this was a very excellent safety note. Perhaps including the device electrical diagram would also also provide clarity for many of us. Thank you!

Thank you for that. I ordered the ECO-FLOW Gen and going to do the same thing. Not cheap, but clean energy and stays in the basement. Will use it to run the sump pump too. This transfer switch is the key.

I bought those wago lever nuts a few months back and I couldn't be more impressed. I used them on a kitchen light install and was thoroughly impressed because I was dealing with solid core strand wire mix to connect. The wago's are agnostic to that and saved me a bunch of time. Ordering the Klein Tools bit driver next.

Local inspector might like that better than my pigtail. Glad you mentioned not a hard power change. Only happens to me when power goes out.

I removed the switch added a power cord to my furnace and a single outlet in a 2 x 4 box where the switch was. Plug my furnace in during normal times to the single dedicated circuit outlet same as it was before. Then during a outage I can just unplug it from that outlet and plug it into my generator drop cord. No special boxes or parts needed and serves the same purpose. Works great. I converted mine to this when I lost power for several hours I’m a winter storm years ago.

I recently installed a similar Generator Transfer Switch. I installed it inline with the electric utility line before it gets to the furnace. I attached two small switch size boxes. One on both sides using conduit to the generator box. One was to make the connections black & white for power coming from normal position - power from utility company. One was to make connections black & white going to the load (furnace). All boxes were grounded. I mounted on wood & attached to a beam in my basement. I did not have to mess with wires on.or in the furnace at all. I think my method is less intimidating to a DIY person.

. I really like that you mentioned the transition time when changing away from the generator

On some of the newer furnaces, with a floating neutral generator, these things need a bonded neutral plug.

Nice! I recommended this in your first video. This is correct way to go about it.

It is an elegant solution to get emergency power to your furnace. If I didn't already got the parts for your previous D.I.Y. I would be tempted.

I had an electrician install two of these exact switches! One for my furnace, and one for my freezer.

I basically wired in a heavy duty appliance extension cord to the junction box for my boiler. I simply isolated that connection back to my main panel by shutting off that circuit breaker.

If one is fortunate enough to own a Hyundai Ioniq 5 or Kia EV6, both have 120volt 1800 watt inverters that will run that heater many days!

When I wired my garage, I ran all the wiring underground, in plastic conduit. I ran an unconnected romex from my house to the garage. I then wired a box, in the garage, so I can run an extension cord to the garage box. In the house, the end of the romex is wired into a mounted box. This way I don't have extension cords running through a door and down stairs. I was going disconnect the furnace (from the panel) to temporarily (in the event of power loss) wire a plug on the furnace. This is a better, safer way to power it.

You don't need us fancy gizmo I simply put an extension cord on the internal power of the furnace and then took my switch and made it into a wall plug I plugged the furnace into the wall plug when I'm normal power and then when I loose power I unplug that and plug it in to an extension cord going into my generator is all the power It works great

The beauty of a forced air gas furnace is that the electric load is pretty small because it only powers the fan. All the heating energy comes from the gas supply, which is not cut during a power outage . because the electricity requirement is low only a small generator is needed to run the blower and keep your house warm. A few months ago during a heavy snowstorm My neighbor and I lost power for about a day and I ended up rewiring both our furnace blower power so that the leads to the blower had a male extension cord plug and the house supply ended with a female plug. Now , under normal conditions my furnace blower is plugged into the house plug but if we lose power then I pull the plug and use an extension cord from my 4500 watt inverter generator to run the blower. The disconnect rig as shown in this video runs about 90 bucks but is really the best way to go if you want to spend the money. I was in a hurry to get the furnace running so I went the cheap route. Someday I'll do it right but in the meantime it works fine even if its not code. We rarely lose power so its not like Im constantly having to repatch power to the furnace all the time.

Install a ventless Gas Fireplace insert instead. Heats my whole house when power goes out.. no messing with generators .. and it's nice to have a working fireplace.

Finally got whole home interlock installed and installed soft start on one of the central AC units. I can run the whole house on predator 8750 inverter along with AC on one floor of the house.

Just a pigtail and a duplex outlet, isiot proof, easy, cheap and guarentees one power source with no backfeed. KISS

Nice video. I would use an auto inverter for this application. If a generator is used, might as well connect it to your main panel.

I find this box expensive but your other video's show cheaper options :) This stuff is fun & great to do because it gives confidents in being prepared,... At my old house & simply changed a Junction Box where the Boiler was wired to an outlet with plug to run the Hot Water Heat with an inverter,... This house I wire an outdoor Generator Inlet Box directly to a 20 amp double outlet inside the house to make a dedicated Generator outlet to run Fridge, Freezer, TV, Internet & Pellet Stove & this cost me maybe $60 to do :)

Much simpler than the way I did it, but I don't think these were around 12 years ago. I also paid 1/10th as much for parts.

I like the idea of having the EZ Generator switch in the boiler closet ready to go in case we lose power. In our case, if we lose power, we not only lose heat, but we also lose hot water (on demand). I would use my Bluetti AC200P to power the boiler. I'm going to order one of these, and feel that peace of mind is worth the the price of $96.00 .

Did you see sir the idea of using tea candles and Cl;ay plant pots?

Ideally, you would want the circuits for the furnace, the refrigerator and whatever else you want on emergency power such as your water heater and a few lights on a sub panel with a "transfer switch" with a run out to an external socket for the generator outside your home so that you can avoid the carbon monoxide risks of running a generator. Now, with the possibility of running emergency power from an inverter plugged into the DC fast charge ports of an EV, you may want the generator port in your garage with an extension to the outside so you have the option of installing the backup power equipment of whatever EV you might buy in the future. You can find kits if the sub panel, transfer switch and external socket from hardware stores such as Home Depot for about $800 but running the wires could vary depending on the location of your main circuit panel. If you have solar panels, you may want to see what could be done there and have the run pass through an area where you would have space for a battery bank, solar charger and inverter.

My generator has a floating neutral, people with a floating neutral have to do a minor reconfig, basically remove the two long whites and replace the short white with one of the long whites.

Good instructional video , thanks for sharing , God bless !

I just put an outlet on the wall, have a cord with a plug on the end coming out of the furnace

Same as I suggested in a comment on an earlier video and most building suply big box stores carry the junction box and cover as well as the female plug and double pole double throw switch so it's easy DIY unit depending on the price of the factory built one if it's under 30$ it's easier to just buy the unit anything more it's how comfortable you are with DIY

Recc’d you put your transfer switch to “off” prior to plugging up the x tension cord then turn switch to “generator”.

The EZ Generator Switch is a much better solution than the home brew in your earlier video. They are well made, come with documentation and you could assemble your own but you would spend more time finding all of the parts etc.

Stock the EZ Generator Switch come set up for a bonded neutral generator. The Firman generator is a bonded neutral so that part is correct. It means it will switch not only the hot but the neutral leads. You will need to have a proper ground rod installed for the generator in the case of a ground fault. I don't see that you did that. If you modified the switch to be set up for a floating neutral generator then you can use the existing grounding rod for your panel as the earth ground for the generator. One more note, if you have not run that Firman generator at all, it is highly recommended that you run it on gasoline for a minimum of 5 to 6 hours before running it on any gaseous fuel and change the oil. This gives the engine a chance to establish its wear patterns on the piston rings and cylinder walls. Changing the engine oil within the first 5-6 hrs makes sure you do not leave those metal contaminants from the wear in process to cause premature damage and failure to that engine. Most people forget this step and they wonder why the generator doesn't last very long. Great video and information, I thought about getting this switch just for the furnace but wound up going with a 10 circuit transfer switch for small appliances and an interlock breaker to handle the heavier loads like the electric hot water heater.

I like that propane and gas generator that’s pretty cool I only use propane for my heat that be awesome to have the hook up that way I can still use the gas from the propane that is pretty awesome I like it that was pretty good I like it because I’m trying to get off grid right now because we keep losing power because of storms people hit polls knocking powerline down this time again this year we had us severe thunderstorms not trees down broker power pole now we had no power for five days and I’m sick of it

Okay followed your link and find it quite costly up here in Canada first they say add over 20 $ for shipping and another charge neither is the GST or over 25 %added for our lower dollar parts at my local building suply store is around 30.$50 at most I'm going to price it out next time I'm in town may have to wait until I'm in the city as our farm suply store has limited products and I doubt either Wal-Mart or Canadian Tire carrys the switch or male plug

Always thanks you more learning from you keeps it up. 😊

Oink to go the time and expense of installing this why not install generator connection? I recently installed a 30 amp receptacle for my generator and an Interlock ,safety switch at the main service panel. I can run all essentials and a few additional circuits with our 9000/7250 generator. Including the 10/3 wire (50' as I installed receptacle in attached garage and panel is in basement) I spent less than $200.

Do they recommend plugging the generator while the switch is in "Generator" position? I would have set it to off, plug it in, then switch it to generator, so that I decrease any chance for arc'ing while plugging in the extension cord.

So I have done this. My “generator” is a battery with a 2700 W inverter, plenty of power to run the 15 amp circuit. For some reason the oil burner won’t start up. It’s not that it tries and fails, but rather never even tries. Is there some sort of grounding issue that is preventing some circuitry from seeing the “generator?”

So with that warning... I should tell my electric company to wait until I'm out of heat cycle before they can have a power outage?😂

Can you plug that EZ Generator Switch to a Solar "generator" like the Bluetti AC200 Max? My house already has a transfer switch for our gas generator. But during the January 2024 arctic blast or whatever snow dump, we found out that we could not use the gas generator because there was like 2 feet of snow in our yard.

Test eco flow delta pro 3,600 KWH

Is there a reason why someone would go with this over just a regular 30 or 50 amp generator plug?

Hmm, both my furnaces are run to switches across the attic. I'll have to think about how to do this correctly.

Some say this will fry your board….

All you need is 30 amps to run a normal house get a twistlock plug that matches the generator or back feed through your dryer outlet if possible just make a long cord and only turn off your main and only turn on what’s necessary like furnace- refrigerator and some general lights/outlets

Any chance you could do a video showing the install/explaining wiring for a floating neutral generator setup?

Your videos are great. Will you ever do videos on best ways to power deep well 220v water pumps?

Nice video!

Most Excellent !!!

After watching this video I purchased an EZ Generator switch. There are instructions with it that show modifying it for use with a generator that has a floating neutral. I see that you did not do this. Is there a reason for not using the modification that the manufacturer suggests? Does a floating neutral on the generator affect the installation and operation? Thanks.

Does using a Dual Pole Dual Throw (DPDT) switch accomplish the same thing to isolate the two power sources (house power and generator power) as the device shown? In other words, if I use a DPDT switch with house power coming in, generator extension cord coming in, and the output goes to the gas-fueled heater do I still have the same benefit and safety?

How would I install one of these if my HVAC switch is in the wall like a normal light switch?

Oh another question should you have one of those on your panels power panels when the power is off are you going to make sure you shut all the power off to the furnace as Aiko a block that you can’t turn it on because the powers off to run just you I’m talking about what you column you to put on your panel outside because you’re getting a power do you wanna make sure the power somebody don’t come by and turn it on it stops on turn it on by accident

With regards to the ominous sounding warning of a cracked heat exchanger: should I contact my electric utility to let them know not to have power outages when my furnace is mid-cycle?

I have a larger, dual-fuel Firman. When connecting to my "whole house" generator panel, it only yields a "click click" noise from my newer gas-furnace. I'm wondering if adding a capacitor to the branch circuit might help, or if only hope = pure sine wave inverter.

Where is the 220v version?

Create a double male extension cord and plug it into an outside circuit, as long as you turn off the grid power you can feed the entire house including the furnace, you can turn off other circuits to not overload the generator

So I guess if the generator runs out of gas and shuts off in the middle of a heat cycle you could crack the heat exchanger ? Something to think about if power is off for a long period of time.

I havent watched all the way thru yet, but wasnt the problem with connecting a stand-alone battery or generator to the furnace an issue with the furnace ground for the electronics not recognizing a ground connecting to a battery or generator and the furnace doesnt work? If I remember from another video, the furnace had to be grounded to the main panel's ground

What do you do if you have a condensate pump in the mix where would those wires go ?

I’m not saying you aren’t correct for doing this. But for like $4 and with a piece of old extension cord I just converted it to a plug and installed a free outlet my father gave me. Now I can just throw an extension cord down the stairs. Same concept less effort and money.

Question I just found out which outer I could probably could can’t remember that is that a 15 amp extension cord did they make bigger or shorter you need a 15 amp number eight wire right

Amazon has a generic version of the transfer switch for $69.99 with $10 off coupon. The only difference is that there is no "EZ" on the front. It has all the marked wires (no red wire) just like your video shows.

So should I do this instead of the other video you did or is it just as good?

Hat if you generator has a floating ground, will the furnace still energize?

I have a small Champion 2500W floating neutral inverter generator. Can I just leave the EZ Generator Switch (as it comes as for bonded) and just plug it a Generator neutral- grounding Plug to make the generator bonded to work? Or do I need change the switch around? Thanks

8:30 "Pretty hard to mess up". yeah, wait to you see my work! You'll never say that again... :)

Great video. I will do this exactly as described. Also can I do this for the AC?

Get yourself a drip leg on the gas line. Just a FYI.

What's your preferred emergency furnace power solution, this one or the other switch and outlet you've shown?

Can you install a whole house to protect your computer and such? If so how about AA video about it? Thanks.

In the event of a power outage, how will your thermostat have power to control your furnace?

Is there something like this to run you ac in a power outage?

switch not available here

We can't get our own furnace guys to install this! Any suggestions? I'm going to try a certified electrician to see if he'll install! Our furnace said they don't want to install switch because they act like we don't know what we're doing! Uuuuugggh!

Whomever did that black iron work has no idea what they're doing. 😂

Why not just install that adjacent to your breaker box? I think most breaker boxes are in garages or basements now. Seems logical that one would not want to run an extension cord in from the front door, snaking through a hallway, down the basement steps and to the furnace when you want to switch power. Easy peasy if you install that switching contraption in a box next to your panel. At least if you have to use a generator outside, you can safely run the extension cord (a much shorter one too) under the garage door to the panel.

Cool idea, but $100 for a plate..... $50 would be about tops, Did mine for under $20-25, 5-10 years ago.

Does the generator produce clean power

I'm pretty handy at home electricity, for over 30 years now! And I always remember what Grand Pa told me 'Lick Your Fingers' before you touch that wire 🤣😂😀

I searched the generator you use and went to the firman web sight. I don't fined any information about them having pure sine wave inverters. Deos yours have pure sine wave?

Is this also do-able with a gas-fired boiler such as a Burnham Alpine (heats hot water for forced hot water baseboard heat and domestic hot water)?

Will this work with a 20 amp generator outlet port?? anyone please!

excellent video. Unfortunately I found your videos too late and had already purchased a "high efficiency" furnace. I've learned a lot from your information though and I very much appreciate your channel. Thanks! from Canada

So the thermostat draws power from. The furnace then. Otherwise there would be no call for heat.

nice! Can you plug your solar generator (Jackery, etc) in the same way instead of the outdoor generator?

Solar, VTH and batteries with heatpump: none of this is needed. Great option for old schoolers though.

Question: Does the generator need to be grounded separately or does the ground within the extension cord sufficient?

what if you dont have ground wire coming from your panel....

OK, I have watched a couple of your videos for doing this different ways, the last time you used a plug with a switch on it, Is what you have done in this video , the best way to do this conversion? Thanks in advance for your reply.

Where did you get that extension cord from? 3-prong, round with light? Thanks

I was told the square wave from those generators would ruin my DC variable speed blower motor. Is that true?

Is this even feasible if you don't have a large enough generator to accommodate the inrush amps from the HVAC unit? For example; my unit is a 3 phase 240 running @ 15 amps or 3,600 watts. At start up my inrush amps are 79.3 drawing almost 20k watts. Yes the condenser has a capacitor and a hard start kit. But this is the lowest I can get the draw down to. How does a 6,500 max watt generator deal with that inrush amps?

For my understanding, is the thermostat powered by the furnace wire (if the thermostat is not battery powered)?

Are you running a gasoline generator in your basement?