For those considering a generator - or Not!

My dad just brought me his 300W Honda generator that he never uses anymore. Should be enough to keep the water circulating and a small heater on! This thing is ultra quiet!
 
Not correct.As I stated before you are still bonded or grounded to the power grid. If you are out of phase or polarity you could still backfeed onto the power grid.
It is illegal in all the utilities I know of to backfeed your home with out properly installed and inspected transfer switch.
 
My setup is like JimR described. I have a twist lock box that takes the power into a subpanel. This sub panel has six switches with three settings-Main, Off, and Gen. When the power is on, these six switches are in the Main setting receiving power from the main power source. When the power is off and using the generator, I need to switch them to the Gen setting. This directly feeds each circuit. No back feeding here. When the power comes back on, those circuits I have set to Gen get no main power until I switch them back.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6531355#post6531355 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by avansickle
Our generator, LIFE SAVING as it is, is deafening loud...do any of you ever get neighbors in the middle of the night who complain by chance? My neighbors are awesome, but sometimes I feel so guilty keeping it on due to the noise. Just curious about others..
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No qualms here about running 24/7, but my generator isn't what I would call deafening (it's Honda-powered). Also, if you can help other people out, there's going to be a lot less resentment. I ran a cord to 2 of my neighbors so they could keep their fridge and a light on. Since the generator was running overnight, a few other neighbors would come by in the morning with a coffee maker and brew a pot using the spare outlet. I charged electric razors, cell phones, batteries, etc. We did this for 6 days, and no one ever complained.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6537494#post6537494 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by davidgottlieb
Ok. So even if you have a transfer switch you still have to tell that transfer switch to transfer right?
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Well, yes and no. With a manual transfer switch it's as you described. There are also some fancy automatic transfer switches out there. When combined with an electric start generator these can crank the generator and then switch over to backup power on their own.
 
Yeah. See that's like $7,000 right there. I don't see any reason in buying a manual transfer switch when it's going to take the same effort in flipping off the main.
 
I think jeffbrig explained the transfer switch pretty well but there still seems to be some confusion. Basically, with a transfer switch (manual or automatic) your house can be connected to the utility OR the generator but never to both at the same time. It's a function of how the switch operates rather than being a function of whether or not you remember to flip the switch. If you don't flip the switch you don't get any power from your generator.
While backfeeding may not be illegal in all places, it is most certainly against code to backfeed without an approved transfer switch. Which means, besides the danger of killing someone, if your house burns down the insurance company will wish you good luck instead of writing you a check.
 
Just like I explained before. Even when your breaker is open you are still connected to the utility. You have 3 or 4 wires which include the grounding, a common and two seperate 120V corcuits which make up the 240V side. The breakers only disconnect to hot or load side but not the common or ground side so you still have a physical connection to the utility. If your polarity is not the same as the utilities you run the risk of blowing something up or electrocuting someone. By the same token when they heat their system back up they can send out of phase juice to your generator possibly blowing it up. A transfer switch either auto or manual is the only way to safely hook up to your entire house, otherwise just use extension cords to run certain things.
 
With an automatic transfer switch and an electric start generator, you can have power back on in a matter of seconds. We have such a set up in my office, and it powers up in 10 seconds. That combined with a big UPS means that we are never without power. We have gone through power outages and my computer did not even blink.
 
I have been told by more than one electrical engineer... not electrician... but still...
that as long as you turn off the main your gtg... possibly not to code... but really nothing could happen... and in an emergency...
 
I have a Square D Generator Interlock Kit. It is not possible unless you rip this thing off of the wall, which is also next to impossible, to turn on the generator switch and your main at the same time. I will get a picture and post it soon so you can see what I mean. It's friggin genius. The cool part about it is that it is so simple. People go out and spend thousands on these transfer switches when you can put something in like this and be fine. Plus, it meets all applicable NEC requirements.
 
I'm interested too. How easy was it to install? Did you do it or did you have an electrician install it for you?
 
I had an electrician install it. He said this is what they are installing these days. I don't know what it costs but with the looks of it, it can't be any more than like $10 or $11. It's just a piece of metal that slides up and down. Google it. You should find a good bit of info. To me, this is the best way to go. It's cheap and fool proof. You literally can't mess up.
 
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