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I have also considered a portable gen for many years. Seems to me the only emergency power needed is for the furnace in the winter, and the fridge in the summer. And maybe a couple lights.
I have also considered a portable gen for many years. Seems to me the only emergency power needed is for the furnace in the winter, and the fridge in the summer. And maybe a couple lights."experts" say do not backfeed the breaker box (from the garage for ex). I have 12 gauge wire to the garage and would be backfeeding about 30 ft. I would only power the fridge or furnace. I don't think i would need 220v for emergency power .Why is a knife switch needed to block the source in(com ed) ? ---- can't you just throw the main breaker switch at the breaker box ? Or pull the main meter ?Yes, you can just run electric power supply cords for the fridge, lights etc, but there is no plug for the furnace.any comments or help ?thanx zeke
Don´t know what you mean by solar generator? do you mean solar panels? I been living off the grid for 20 yrs and designing and installing systems for 18 yrs and I would strongly disagree with wgscott on Real Goods they would be the last company I would deal with ,highly over price and the owner is just a hustler trying to make a buck IMHO.Mike
hi Wayner --- thanx for your commentsI understand the two sources must never mix, and that it can be dangerous to electric company workers if the port gen backfeeds into the electric company lines. But my question still, is why is a special throw switch needed if you can simply trip the main breaker in the breaker box, or for that matter pull the electric meter outside, before you start backfeeding your breaker box from the port gen.zeke
One system must be disconnected, while the other is connected. The knife switch (not recommended) will accomplish this, but contactors are much better (you won't loose an arm).Wayner
Here in New Hampshire it is not unheard of to be without power for several days, or weeks, at a time. We are self-contained, well, septic, satellite tv so a generator makes good sense. As long as we can get the gas to run it, and heating oil, we hardly notice power losses. We had a transfer switch wired into our main panel and an outside plug-in when we built this house. I went with a Generac this year when the old Home Depot special gave out after 12 years. (Not bad for $400.) The new generator is 8kWatts with a 10K peak, and electric start. The well barely loads it when it starts. I think we have about $3K (10 years ago) in the system. Considering the price of motel rooms when you're competing with every one else, it pays for itself quickly in our situation. Not to mention the extra rest we get by not having to deal with all of that upheaval. We had an ice storm a few years back that shut everything down for a week to 10 days. Out of 15 homes in our neck of the woods, only one other neighbor had a generator. As luck would have it, he lived exactly on the opposite side of the neighborhood. So folks were going to his house or ours depending on which was closer. It was fun for us, kind of like winter camp, with lines to the showers and kitchen. Our neighbors were starting to cook food before it went bad. Ended up being one heck of a party one night when Charlie, with the other generator, ran out of gas. So everyone ended up at our house. One year later and almost every house had their own generator. I was listening to my system a couple of nights on the generator during that ice storm. I have never heard the background that quiet! edit: Warning. If you run your electronics off of a generator be sure to use a UPS or something to protect your gear.
Costco sells a bunch of Solar generators for the home. I don't think they're good for emergencies but they mat pay for themselves over time and they can help in an emergency.Joe
What we have is called a Double throw safety switch which, perhaps, I am wrong to call a knife switch, but that is what it looks like to me. The one pictured in the link is very similar, but ours has a longer handle.I'm not sure how to decode the rhetoric, so just a straight up "it is ok" or "it is a hazard, get someone competent to replace it" would be really helpful.This, along with the wired-in generator, came with our house. The house has been inspected both during the sale and subsequently by the electrical utility when we had solar panels installed. Neither objected to this switch.
The generator for home use can be very simple. First , you need to know what you plan to run in your home AND how much amperage these items draw for start up and run mode. The start up of a AC unit might be 40-50 amps on 220/240. A well unit may be either 110 or 220, so if these are necessary items that you want to power, you need the amperage to start the units. My electrician installed a cable and plug on the back of m house to my main breaker panel. I shut off the main and all breakers for circuits in my house. I plug in the generator and kick on the breaker to back feed my panel. I then turn on the breakers one at a time that I want to use, like the kitchen, water pump or heat. I keep the amperage draw as low as possible since my concern is water, keeping food cold and in winter, not freezing the pipes or myself. I have found a 10,000 watt generator will take care of most homes for emergency use. If you want to run everything, then you will need more. Disclaimer: This is for information only. Please check with a qualified electrician before attempting to hook up a generator to your home!