Really you have to ask a few basic questions. First is are you interested in having an alternative 12v system? You can have multiple 12 volt dc alternatives if you wish to use the engine.
Forget the engine biz and get a small quiet solar backup(no fuel required)I bought a small generator after the Deraccho wind storm ruined things around here(havent needed it since) an acquaintence has a small solar setup on his party cabin,been flawless for 3 years.I wondered if the cost of a line was prohibitive,He is the kind of a know it all guy ,He pointed to the 3 phase line running almost over the cabin,kind of smugly(,of course I noticed that)I didnt think the co-op would hook you directly to a three phase system for a small recreational setup.
He has plenty of money,the Solar setup cost Him about 5K(starting to be perturbed by Folks like Him)
The voltage on 3-phase and single phase power lines is exactly the same and the same transformers are used. Thereâs no problem using only one of the lines for single phase service, unless what you mean is that it is a transmission line and not a distribution line.
The voltage on 3-phase distribution lines is usually 11,600 volts from line to line and 7,200 volts from each line to neutral.
Now if itâs a transmission line, then the voltage is 100,000 or more.
I donât see why an automotive engine canât be used. A man I work occasionally work for has a 300 cid Ford 6cyl hooked to a Detroit Allison generator for his house. Works just fine.
110 v male on both ends, romex and high amp plugs. I bought it after a night in a motel 20 years ago because of a power outage, and have not used it once. Tested it and it performed well. @Rod_Knox
With a 110v conection only half the service gets power @Barkydog. But I have backfed a generator into houses and feel as though I should sit next to the generator while itâs operating and put the double male extension in a bank safety deposit box when not in use.
And can anyone explain why a microwave oven would toast itself when powered with a portable generator?
That acquaintance of yours . . . with guys like that, you donât even need an enemy
He sounds like the kind of jerk I would absolutely love to hate
I assume heâs the kind of guy who has nothing better to do than brag about all of his new toys, and then heâll pat himself on the back?
:grimace:
Barky, those are called suicide cords. Get your fingers on those prongs and bye bye Barky. No electrician would approve the use of that kind of a connection.
You donât need three phase unless youâve got some super woodworking equipment or such in your garage.
No three phase circuits are involved in residential service @Bing. But a 220v jumper will feed both sides of a service panel and provide the neutral. And certainly it is not condoned by any professional electricians. But it does make it possible to make power available anywhere in the house without running drop cords. Ceiling fans, GFI outlets in bathrooms, etc can be run safely IF the proper precautions are taken. Failing to disconnect the service MAIN when operating a generator can result in buring the house down when service is restored and the out of phase currents cross paths.
Well I was talking about the jumper with two male ends as not being safe or condoned. Outside of burning the house down, if a lineman is working on the line when a generator is in operation, the lineman can be electrocuted, not knowing there is current on the line. Iâm not totally sure whether disconnecting the main breaker, totally breaks the path for current to flow backwards. Maybe Rick is still around and can clarify. At any rate, a disconnect switch needs to be used with a generator. They really arenât that expensive.
I have set up my gas furnace so that the blower motor and controls can quickly be disconnected from the utility company power and connected to my generator. On âThis Old Houseâ several years ago, they showed the installation of a system whereby several circuits can be connected through a panel and the input to the panel is connected to a generator through UL approved connectors and cable. If the power goes out the circuits through this panel can be powered by the generator and isolated from the utility company power by flipping the switches. These,circuits are then isolated from the utility company lines. The remaining circuits are still connected to the utility company lines. When the power is restored, these remaining circuits are activated letting one know the power has been restored. The circuits fed through the panel can then be switched back to the utility company and the generator shut down. I can purchase the kit which includes the panel and the cable to the generator from the outside connector. A line must be run from the outside connector to the auxiliary panel that powered by the generator. I am thinking about installing the system this summer. The generator will be located in a shed near the house and be connected and disconnected quickly. The generator remains portable for other uses. The kit is available at my local farm store for about $300. I will put the furnace, freezer and a couple of lights on the auxiliary panel. My generator doesnât have the capacity for the whole house.
Our power failures that have lasted any time have only affected only 6 houses. We are all powered by a transformer that is fed by an underground line that occasionally faults to ground. This fault blows a fuse on a pole and we lose power. Sometimes it takes a couple days to get us back on line. The power company can switch us in a,minute to another loop at the transformer, until the feeder line is repaired. The last time it happened and we couldnât get results for a couple days, I called the electric company and said,"I know you are busy, so I will help you out by opening.the access,panel on the transformer and putting us on the other loop(the transformer is,on the ground)âŠYou.then can fix the feeder line at your leisure ". I was,told not to do thiis because they had a lineman on the way. He showed up 10 minutes later and we had power in less than a minute.
@BLE,I,m not really sure how the three phase setup is around here,sometimes they run it long distance(usually terminating at a sawmill or large consumer,the must tap off for laterals to residential apparently(there was some talk of increasing voltage one time and I think maybe they started buying dual tap transformers.This co-op does some pretty weird things from time to time,must be anticipating future demand(maybe electric cars?)I think something else is going on
No poor little wealthy people get rather tiresome quickly.This sort of the type of people that are moving in around here,they have their own cliques and,networks@db,the poor people that have choose to spend their lives here,dont have parity.
parity . . . whatâs that?
While I certainly have no credentials as an electrician I am quite certain that if the MAIN is off/disconnected there will be no flow in or out of a service panel to the utility companyâs line. And most definitely an extension with male connection on each end is a great worry but thatâs what is necessary to make things happen. Anyone unfamiliar with the danger of that extension could seriously injure themselves if they plugged it into a live wall socket or into a running generator.
I do have a good grasp on the workings of household electric service. I have replaced fuse boxes with circuit breaker boxes and installed sub panels in out buildings. The city is never happy with me but they have never found any cause to cite me. Of course those double male extensions are never left out for the code inspector to see.
Triedaq, Iâd assume that your furnace blower would be on one circuit but then there should be a 24 V circuit also to run the controls, so I spose youâd have to include both circuits. We had to replace our furnace in December once and it was two days by the time they got the furnace and got it installed. Only toward the end did it get uncomfortable so I just cranked up the kerosene heater for a little bit. I guess that would be my second to last resort plan before draining the water lines and heading for a hotel as my last resort.
Its never come to that for me but Iâd just run an extension cord from the generator to whatever was needed for temporary relief. When there was a problem out east though, guys were getting their generators swiped left and right. Canât have them inside or close to the house but have to be chained up I guess.
@Bing I used a 20 ampere power cord and connected it to the system where the original line from the circuit breaker panel was connected. The line from the circuit breaker panel I connected to a 20 ampere 120 volt outlet which I mounted on the furnace. If there is a prolonged power outage, I just pull the plug to the furnace and connect it to the generator. It works the same on the generator as it does from the utility company. I set this,up because my wife really suffers in the cold.
Iâll throw in this advice to any who might decide to get a portable generator, find or install a good ground and be certain that the generator is adequately grounded before putting an electric load on it. Older homes often have wiring that is not up to current codes and often the houses water supply pipe is the ground even though copper and galvanized pipes have been replaced with PVC, etc, interrupting the path to ground. Redundant grounds is much preferable to uncertain grounds⊠Have a good sledge hammer if you want to drive a ground rod.
I ran a suicide cord when I first got my portable generator. It was the quickest way to get going by back feeding an existing socket (dryer). When time permitted, I installed a generator box on the back of the house with a male plug. The cord is then M-F. No free lunch, then you need to lock the box in case someone leaves the breaker on and is now powering the inlet. Still better than potentially live male prongs on the end of a cable however.
I also installed a fused, switched neon indicator on the mains. That way, when power goes out, I flip the switch and when the lamp comes on, power is back on. The switch saves the lamp from burning out over time. Helpful when you donât have close neighbors or street lightsâŠ
I have an 8550W peak, 5500W continuous little unit that can basically power all lighting, furnaces, fridges, freezers, TVs etc. One thing that severely taxes it is the microwave. Check out the wattage of your uW⊠use of the uW is verboten when weâre on generator power. Use the range, itâs propane poweredâŠ
Portable generators have a significant lag from demand to recovery. Turn on that high wattage uW and youâve got nasty, cycling, brown out conditions on the supply. Not good for those electronicsâŠ
You want to be very careful if you power only one leg. I helped a neighbor get his fridge back on using a really dinky little generator he had. He was backfeeding a 120V outlet and didnât turn off the rest of the double breakers on that side. Not good. Better to directly plug the fridge into the generator if youâre not sure what youâre doingâŠ
Plus 1 to Rodknox. I got a 10â copper rod for about $10 at Menards. Cheap insurance. I put one at the ole cemetery and one at home since these are the only places I would possibly use the generator. Then I put about a 50â green ground wire on the generator so its easy to connect and re-position the generator where I might want it.