Well I guess im in the right section for talking about anything.
I need to know if there is any certified electricians or someone that knows everything about home electrical wiring but is not certified...
Please let me know, email me off the list at [email protected]or just reply back to this post
OFF TOPIC: Need a home electrcian for Q's
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rn240sx
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Well, we just got hit by a hurricane friday night and we have been out of power since...I went out and purchased a 6000watt generator. Now instead of running extension cords from outside of the house thru windows, and doors, I wana be able to wire in the generator to feed power to the entire house, BUT, only use what is needed up to 6000 watts worth.I had a theory on how to do it, but i wana ask an electrician 1st b4 i do it. I just wana make sure it can and will work b4 i burn up this generator and or my house..Plenty of my neighbors are running extension cords thru windows and doors and i dont wana do that...There has to be another way of doing it that dosent look so ghetto that your average joe shmo doesnt know.I work for the telephone company so i know enough about electrical wiring, ( i have installed ceiling fans, ran extra outlets out to the patio and to the garage, etc ) so i know what im, doing, BUT i wana be sure that my theory can and will work safetly...
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szh
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Whoa! I hope you are very knowledgeable about electrical circuits!
Please be darn careful about connecting the generator up to existing circuits inside your house! You normally need a transfer box (manual or automatic) that can safely disconnect the power from the utility lines, etc., when you are running the generator.
Otherwise, when the power comes back, and your generator is still running, you will have a mess on your hands.
And, if you are within physical range of the generator, you will kill yourself when it hops around like crazy bumping into things (electrical phases will probably be all off!) till it dies.
Z
Please be darn careful about connecting the generator up to existing circuits inside your house! You normally need a transfer box (manual or automatic) that can safely disconnect the power from the utility lines, etc., when you are running the generator.
Otherwise, when the power comes back, and your generator is still running, you will have a mess on your hands.
And, if you are within physical range of the generator, you will kill yourself when it hops around like crazy bumping into things (electrical phases will probably be all off!) till it dies.Z
Big congradulations if all you're missing is power. My knowledge is slim, but I can google.http://www.nspower.ca/ManageOu...shtmlh ... s/...4.pdf
Z's got it.
Z's got it.
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rn240sx
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Here is my theory for those who wana know:
Outside you have the power meter which measures the amount of wattage used. After that meter, the power line goes to the panel next to it which contains the main breakers. After those main breakers, the power feed runs to a 2nd panel which is inside the garage (for a house). From the garage panel, all the power is distributed to each room/outlet or however they do it..
If I were to shut off the MAIN breakers off outside, then should kill power to the panel inside the garage AND throughout the house...
Now the main breaker panel in my garage has about 20 or so breakers. Each breaker controls one or more rooms or one or more outlets...( ex: if breaker #4 controls bdrm 1 and 2, and there are 10 total outlets, then once breaker #4 goes on, then that will activate those 10 outlets). Now since the OUTSIDE main breakers are all OFF, there is NO possible way of back feeding generator power back to the neighborhood.... then i go into the garage and crank the gen up, run me an extension cord FROM the gen TO any one of those 10 outlets that are controlled by breaker #4, then that SHOULD THEORETICALLY turn on all 10 outlets and giving me up to 6000 watts of power and 10 outlets to choose from...
Keeping in mind that the MAIN breakers OUTSIDE have all been turned OFF so that none of the generator power can back feed to the neighboorhood...
That above was my 1st theory.....I have a 2nd theory which is a little more complex but i wana keep this nice and simple for u guys...
Do you think this can work and work safetly or have i gone totally crazy...Dont say im crazy if you dont know **** about electrical wiring, be honest..
Outside you have the power meter which measures the amount of wattage used. After that meter, the power line goes to the panel next to it which contains the main breakers. After those main breakers, the power feed runs to a 2nd panel which is inside the garage (for a house). From the garage panel, all the power is distributed to each room/outlet or however they do it..
If I were to shut off the MAIN breakers off outside, then should kill power to the panel inside the garage AND throughout the house...
Now the main breaker panel in my garage has about 20 or so breakers. Each breaker controls one or more rooms or one or more outlets...( ex: if breaker #4 controls bdrm 1 and 2, and there are 10 total outlets, then once breaker #4 goes on, then that will activate those 10 outlets). Now since the OUTSIDE main breakers are all OFF, there is NO possible way of back feeding generator power back to the neighborhood.... then i go into the garage and crank the gen up, run me an extension cord FROM the gen TO any one of those 10 outlets that are controlled by breaker #4, then that SHOULD THEORETICALLY turn on all 10 outlets and giving me up to 6000 watts of power and 10 outlets to choose from...
Keeping in mind that the MAIN breakers OUTSIDE have all been turned OFF so that none of the generator power can back feed to the neighboorhood...
That above was my 1st theory.....I have a 2nd theory which is a little more complex but i wana keep this nice and simple for u guys...
Do you think this can work and work safetly or have i gone totally crazy...Dont say im crazy if you dont know **** about electrical wiring, be honest..
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szh
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I am not an expert, so I will not say you are crazy! 
But, please do take my words in context, so if I say something you are obviously aware of, please feel free to ignore me.
1. Keep in mind that the MAINS breakers may not be sufficient isolation from the "neighborhood" circuits. The purpose of the transfer switch is to provide true isolation (both live and neutral) so that there is no safety hazard.
2. Consider the legal issue. Imagine what might happen if you fried some local power utility guy who touches the wires outside that he/she thinks are not live.
3. Inside wiring usually has a live and neutral side - some applicances have polarity plugs to ensure that the outside of the cases are connected to the correct side of the electrical feed. If you stick the output of the generator to internal wiring, you need to make sure to maintain the correct polarity to avoid dangerous conditions on your appliances.
4. Do you not have multiple phases of power coming into your house? If yes, what is your plan to handle that? Often, the circuit breakers are connected to different phases (dropping down the 220 to the 110 inside the house by connecting to the correct pairs!)
5. What about 220 to 110 transformers you may have in your house at the meter (for example, dryer and oven feeds) on the 2nd panel? These often have windings that are optimized (primary on the inner core and secondary on the outer) for going "one way", with appropriate cooling, etc. If you feed 110 in to the "output" side, what will these transformers do?
Frankly, with all the possible problems of doing this, I think I would not mind the "extension cord through the windows" problem you want to avoid! I'd rather be safe than sorry!
Please be safe, whatever you do.
Z
But, please do take my words in context, so if I say something you are obviously aware of, please feel free to ignore me.1. Keep in mind that the MAINS breakers may not be sufficient isolation from the "neighborhood" circuits. The purpose of the transfer switch is to provide true isolation (both live and neutral) so that there is no safety hazard.
2. Consider the legal issue. Imagine what might happen if you fried some local power utility guy who touches the wires outside that he/she thinks are not live.
3. Inside wiring usually has a live and neutral side - some applicances have polarity plugs to ensure that the outside of the cases are connected to the correct side of the electrical feed. If you stick the output of the generator to internal wiring, you need to make sure to maintain the correct polarity to avoid dangerous conditions on your appliances.
4. Do you not have multiple phases of power coming into your house? If yes, what is your plan to handle that? Often, the circuit breakers are connected to different phases (dropping down the 220 to the 110 inside the house by connecting to the correct pairs!)
5. What about 220 to 110 transformers you may have in your house at the meter (for example, dryer and oven feeds) on the 2nd panel? These often have windings that are optimized (primary on the inner core and secondary on the outer) for going "one way", with appropriate cooling, etc. If you feed 110 in to the "output" side, what will these transformers do?
Frankly, with all the possible problems of doing this, I think I would not mind the "extension cord through the windows" problem you want to avoid! I'd rather be safe than sorry!
Please be safe, whatever you do.
Z
NO, see, if i understand right, you will be using one of those outlets to run power back through the breaker
while you are correct that power will be shut off to the rest of the neighborhood, you must understand that household wiring from the breaker is not designed nor is capable of handling that kind of power
also, from that circut, there will be no overload protection, with that in mind, it is an EXTREME fire hazard, combine the small 10A or less wires with no overload protection, and you can be in it deep real quick
now if i missunderstood, then correct me by all means, but if i understood right, then DONT DO IT
EDIT: the only way that i see it possible for you to hook that generator up to the household wiring would be to reroute the cables underground, and i doubt you want to do that
while you are correct that power will be shut off to the rest of the neighborhood, you must understand that household wiring from the breaker is not designed nor is capable of handling that kind of power
also, from that circut, there will be no overload protection, with that in mind, it is an EXTREME fire hazard, combine the small 10A or less wires with no overload protection, and you can be in it deep real quick
now if i missunderstood, then correct me by all means, but if i understood right, then DONT DO IT
EDIT: the only way that i see it possible for you to hook that generator up to the household wiring would be to reroute the cables underground, and i doubt you want to do that
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szh
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- Joined: Tue Jul 23, 2002 12:54 pm
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240kid wrote: you must understand that household wiring from the breaker is not designed nor is capable of handling that kind of power
also, from that circut, there will be no overload protection, with that in mind, it is an EXTREME fire hazard, combine the small 10A or less wires with no overload protection, and you can be in it deep real quick
A very good point that I forgot about!!! The wiring in a typical dual-socket is not usually designed to handle more than 20 Amps or so ... could overheat or melt.
Z
alot of older houses also had aluminum wiring instead of copper, and alluminum heats up quicker and with less power (higher resistance). if your house has aluminum wiring, it would be much worse, and because its in the walls, you couldnt feel it like you could an extention cord to know when your putting too much power through it
the extention cord is starting to sound better and better to me imo
the extention cord is starting to sound better and better to me imo