Generator hookup question

[Burl]

I'd like to use my portable 3500watt generator by backfeeding my breaker box, and the outlet I have selected is from my old compressor and is on a double-pole breaker. I am figuring this will power the breaker's side of my box, mostly lights and recepticles. Will this work correctly, or should I replace the double-pole with a single pole?

 

[larry_g]

Are you aware that you will also be backfeeding all the neighbors also. If you want to do this get a proper switch.

lg
no neat sig line

 

[fflintstone]

About a hundred code Nazi’s here will tell you to get a transfer switch. If you turn your main breaker OFF and NEVER turn it on with you generator hooked up, you will never send voltage out to lineman or your neighbors.
To answer your question, does your generator produce 240V? If so can(I am not saying you should) feed thru your compressor plug. If not, then you cant use the DP breaker and you are only going to light up one side of your box. And you need to make sure the appliances you want to run are on that leg.

 

[larry_g]

Burl
The more I think about this the more I think you need to get help with this process. If you have to ask the single vs double pole question then I believe you have just enough information to be dangerous and not enough to be safe..

As a reply to flintstone do you know for a fact the OP has a main disconnect? My old house does not have one an if the OP did backfeed he would light up the neighborhood if he lived in my old house.

lg
no neat sig line

 

[fflintstone]

Burl
The more I think about this the more I think you need to get help with this process. If you have to ask the single vs double pole question then I believe you have just enough information to be dangerous and not enough to be safe..

As a reply to flintstone do you know for a fact the OP has a main disconnect? My old house does not have one an if the OP did backfeed he would light up the neighborhood if he lived in my old house.

lg
no neat sig line

I could not agree with you more, with the questions he asked he should not be doing this himself (Dangerous but not safe). However he did ask the question in order to gain knowledge.
I do not know if (but assumed) he has a main breaker. If not, then yes you CANNOT back feed safely with out adding a main disconnect. You are indeed right again.

 

[avc8130]

Get the switch. The lineman will appreciate it when the wife hooks up the generator, forgets to throw the main and he ISN'T dead because you used the proper transfer switch.
ac

 

[Burl]

Yes, I have a main disconnect and will shut it off when running the generator, I do know this much. No, my generator does not have 240v, just 110v. This is why I am asking this question. I know enough about electricity to have wired my house and new garage but some areas are new, such as this. Thanks for giving me the benefit of asking the question for knowledge, it is knowledge that I require, not scolding.

 

[scelectrician]

check out this website, www.interlockkit.com will show you how to wire it up, and also will show you a device to make your panel safe without having a transfer switch. But just remember this with 3500 watts your not going to get that much power. it's less than 30 amp at 120v. So your not going to be able to power up much with that generator.

 

[hillbilly1]

About a hundred code Nazi’s here will tell you to get a transfer switch. If you turn your main breaker OFF and NEVER turn it on with you generator hooked up, you will never send voltage out to lineman or your neighbors.
To answer your question, does your generator produce 240V? If so can(I am not saying you should) feed thru your compressor plug. If not, then you cant use the DP breaker and you are only going to light up one side of your box. And you need to make sure the appliances you want to run are on that leg.

Don't always bet on it, I do a lot of generator hookups during natural disasters, and more than once I have found old main breakers that failed to open one or more poles, which would have lead to disasterous results! Be extremely careful when doing this. The lawyer that is handling the plantiff's (or plantiff's family) case will love you if not.

 

[Norcal]

About a hundred code Nazi’s here will tell you to get a transfer switch. If you turn your main breaker OFF and NEVER turn it on with you generator hooked up, you will never send voltage out to lineman or your neighbors.
To answer your question, does your generator produce 240V? If so can(I am not saying you should) feed thru your compressor plug. If not, then you cant use the DP breaker and you are only going to light up one side of your box. And you need to make sure the appliances you want to run are on that leg.

The method the OP is proposing uses what is called a "Suicide Cord" and it is a safety issue not some "code Nazi" making up something to make life hard on anyone who wants power, a transfer switch is not a option it is a necessity, the problem is some people know just enough to be dangerous.......

 

[Burl]

Thanks for all the replies. I'm all about safety and doing things the correct way. I realize this generator is small, I only want to power a blower on a gas furnace and a few necessary lights during blackouts. My home was without power for 10 days last winter during a storm and I only want to assure my family doesn't go through what it did then.

 

[BillK]

Burl,
If you truly know enough to have wired your entire house, then installing a transfer switch for the generator will be a piece of cake. Forget about "code" nazi's, think about possibly saving a life and do it the correct way. Simple and cheap.

 

[nate379]

If a lineman is treating a line like it is dead that is his own damn fault if he gets zapped. That would be like treating a gun like it's unloaded... whether it is or isn't.

I have a suicide cord and it works just fine for me.

 

[gatchel]

Suicide cords are the lazy way out.

Wanna risk manslauter or negligent homicide charges? Then go right ahead an use one.

 

[Falcon67]

If a lineman is treating a line like it is dead that is his own damn fault if he gets zapped. That would be like treating a gun like it's unloaded... whether it is or isn't.

I have a suicide cord and it works just fine for me.

Suppose he checks the line, calls it dead and then you fire up the gen set. That's a total 100% BS statement that'll get someone killed.

 

[VHF]

I only want to power a blower on a gas furnace and a few necessary lights during blackouts.

If your gas furnace is currently hardwired you could change it to use a cord & plug. Then you could plug it into an extension cord to run it off the generator. Not quite as convienient as a transfer switch, but avoids the cost and installation.

Otherwise, this company has some reasonably priced transfer switches for use with a smaller generator:

http://www.gen-tran.com

 

[nate379]

Oh well.. like or it don't... that is what I do. Main is shut off so it's a none issue. Treat a line as it's live all the time, whether is it or is not... pretty simple. It's lineman training 101.

Suppose he checks the line, calls it dead and then you fire up the gen set. That's a total 100% BS statement that'll get someone killed.

 

[Joe92GT]

Besides killing someone working on the lines you run the risk of significant damage to the generator or appliances if the main breaker is not opened. In all likely hood your generator will stall out if connected to the load of your whole neighborhood, but if it didn't and power was turned back on while the generator was running very bad things would happen.

I would use the interlock recommended above at the very least. I would also recommend a bigger generator.

A 3500 watt generator will probably stall if you look at it wrong while turning on an electric motor. (refrigerator, fan, ect. Forget about well pump). We got away with running a 5KW to run oil heat and the refrigerator with some select lights, but it would not do the well pump unless everything else was off.

 

[nate379]

3500 watt should be able to power bare min in a house.. fridge, furnace and a few lights, but that is about it.

I'm not sure what a well pump uses for juice, but a 5k, figure ~40 amps...

Now I am talking 3500 or 5 K constant, not peak. A 5k gen set might have a 6.5k peak.

 

[6768rogues]

I have been known for taking a few chances, and I would not do it and have not done it. Our code requires the furnace to be hardwired, so in an extended outage I turn off the breaker to the furnace, open the junction box, and tie in a cord to my generator. I we might have had one or two extended outages during the winter in the last 30 years, so it is not like it happens all the time in our neck of the woods.

 

[2LTim]

I am a firm believer in transfer switches. That said, with considerable experience using small generator sets, if at any time you did forget to disconnect from the grid prior to starting the generator, you will immediately trip the generator's breaker/s. Everyone who is harping about potential hazards for the linemen, you are absolutely right! Do not take a chance, install a proper transfer switch!

 

[bdkruger1]

6768Rogues- Where in WNY are you?