Gen Xfer Plug problem

[ollie76]

Bought a cable to connect a generator to my home. As soon as I went to hook the cable up to ensure everything would fit, I see this (see pics, yellow highlighhts).

I would never think this would happen....but of course somethings always screwy. Anyways, anyone have a suggestion?

 

[ollie76]

Whoops, forgot to take a pic of the female end of the cable......I think you get the idea though.

 

[rlitman]

Look closely at the inlet. It says 20A on it (it is an L14-20). Your cord is 30A (L14-30).

 

[ollie76]

Nice catch....I should have known.

What do I gotta do to hook up a generator to this house? Every gen I look at, even in the lower 3500w range, have 30a 240v outlets.

All the cables I can find around town are 30amp ones as well.

 

[wyliesdiesels]

Nice catch....I should have known.

What do I gotta do to hook up a generator to this house? Every gen I look at, even in the lower 3500w range, have 30a 240v outlets.

All the cables I can find around town are 30amp ones as well.

What is the size of the generator breaker in the electrical panel? Im guessing its also gonna be 20a since u have a 20a inlet.

If u want to hookup a 30a rated generator that means u would need to change to 30a rated breaker wire and inlet.

However, i doubt a 3500w 240v rated gen will have a 30a outlet because 3500w = about 15a. If u put a 30a load on it, the breaker should trip.

For 30a outlet, u would need a generator rated over 20a, such as 5100w.

What is the rating on your generator?

 

[ollie76]

Just checked,

30amp breaker on the main Gen.

I haven't bought one yet, luckily. We bought this home last year and all this was already in place. I'm only now getting around to getting everything set up.

 

[rlitman]

So you have an interlock on the panel, and a 30A breaker on the inlet?
If so, you need to confirm that you have 10 gauge wire going to the inlet, and you can swap out that inlet for a 30A one.

 

[ollie76]

Yep, 30am breakers all around. Will check the wiring..... Is 10 written right on it?

 

[simpler=better]

Yup, 10 will be right on it somewhere.

 

[ollie76]

Changed out the inlet, everything works great. Hooked up generator and tested the house on generator power only and all the essentials are powered. Pretty cool! Thanks for the help.

 

[LS6 Tommy]

My transfer panel kit had the same L14-30 connections, but it came with a short L14-30 to L14-20 adapter cable...

Tommy

 

[wyliesdiesels]

Changed out the inlet, everything works great. Hooked up generator and tested the house on generator power only and all the essentials are powered. Pretty cool! Thanks for the help.

Does the panel have an interlock?

 

[ollie76]

Yep, pretty slick