Hi Frank. Is your generator hard wired into the house circuit, or do you use an extension cord? I am planning on getting a generator this spring, but am not sure how best to wire it. I would like a portable, and don't need to run the entire house, any ideas on what's best?

Quote: "I would like a portable, and don't need to run the entire house, any ideas on what's best?"

I installed a small, 6 circuit Gentran transfer box on my house to manage power from the generator to my house. I picked the 6 most important circuits in the house and run them through the transfer box. Each circuit in the Gentran has its own circuit breaker and transfer switch (allowing me to select any/all in any combination). The circuits are internally wired in two banks of three (six total). The switches are “break before make” so that there is no risk of generator power flowing to the outside power grid.

The generator sends in two legs of 110v, total 220v. It is best to balance the loads on each leg, and there are two gauges on the generator to monitor this. The transfer box corresponds with two banks of three circuits (six total). I selected the circuits I wanted in the house and roughly balanced them on each side of the transfer box. Example: a lighting circuit on each side, the freezer circuit on one side and the refrigerator circuit on the other side, etc. If the two sides get too far out of balance I can shut down a circuit on one side to bring things back in spec. Sorry, but this sounds more complex than it really is. One bonus of this, I leave lights turned “ON” on circuits not powered by the generator as an “alert” system. When these lights “light up” I immediately know the outside power is back on and I can power down the generator.

The main reason for at least installing a small transfer box is the complete peace of mind that I will not make a mistake and kill a lineman working on the power lines down the street. Initially, I planned on just fabricating a male to male 220v power cord to go from the generator to the 220v dryer outlet. If you open the primary circuit to the house from the outside power lines, you can then drive your whole house (with no ability to balance loads) from this single connection. It is simple, inexpensive, and foolish. Just one small mistake on your part can allow power to flow to the outside world with potentially fatal results. During an outage the power repair guys listen for generators. If they hear yours running they may ask for a “look-see”. If you are running your house without a transfer switch you could be in some legal troubles. In another newsgroup I frequented at the time it was unanimous that the "reverse circuit" is a bad, bad idea. Don’t do it.

My advice if you don’t want to go whole hog on the house, either get a small transfer box, or run extension cords directly to critical appliances (completely bypassing the house wiring).

Good luck, TR

Thanks for the advice. I think I'll start out with extension cords to what ever devices I want power and later add the transfer switch. What kind of cost can one expect for a setup like yours...excluding the generator.

Quote: "Thanks for the advice. I think I'll start out with extension cords to what ever devices I want power and later add the transfer switch. What kind of cost can one expect for a setup like yours...excluding the generator".

Paul,

I bought my transfer switch from a store that rented generators. It was a display model mounted on the wall. I got a good deal on it, but don't recall what I paid. If I had to stab in the dark, probably somewhere around $150 about 6 yrs ago. In the big scheme of things, it was not costly. My advice is to pay the few extra bucks for a model with gauges to keep the loads balanced.

Here is the model I purchased:
http://www.indiacatalog.com/tools3/B0000225D1.html

It appears to be discontinued.

Looking around at the web a bit I would expect to pay $250-$350 for a basic transfer switch. The more circuits, the more $$$. You should be able to pick up something decent online or at a Home Depot, Lowe’s, etc.

I did see some single circuit switches for under $150. You could always pick one priority circuit in your house, then use extension cords from there to reach critical appliances/tools. Not as clean a set up, but safe (if you use quality extension cords and don’t trip over them) and functional enough during a short duration outage.

I think the biggest cost would be the labor to install the transfer switch. I did the installation myself and it was not that hard or technical. I mounted mine directly below the existing power distribution box. I used a short length of flexible metal conduit with appropriate end hardware to connect the two boxes. Just set aside a couple of hours and be patient. You will be rewarded with a nice install. Honestly, my work was better than the professionals that did the original installation of the breaker box.

Good luck, TR

TR, the cost appears to be cheaper than I orignally thought. I will definitely look at it as part of my initial generator setup. I've done a ton of electrical work over the years...always to code and passed inspections...so I'd be pretty comfortable doing the connection myself.

Where we live, our power is rock steady, we're only a few miles from a major hydro-electric plant, and uphill from it fortunately. Hurricanes are pretty much non-existent (last one was 1962) so my concern is more with earthquakes. If a big ones hits, there may be so much damage to the house that some if its internal wiring fails. So, when I do the install, I'll go with a transfer switch, but I'll also plan for other alternatives. As always when considering survival issues, Plan A should be backed up, at the very least, by Plan B and Plan C. Thanks for the great advice, it's truly appreciated.

I have a simple cut off switch pannel. It has a big arm on the side and three settings. Hydro, powers off, genrator. I then plus in the generator with a 220 cable similar to what you have behind an electric stove or dryer.It was all done by an electrician according to code.

Safer that way :-)

While we're on the topic of generators, for those of you who missed them, there was an excellent thread on generators recently here and some more useful info mixed into this Katrina thread. I found them to be excellent reads. And even if you have read them when they first started, it never hurts to review good stuff again.

Searching back further will reveal other interesting threads on generators.

Thanks, it actually took about 30 minutes to write, as I had to organize my thoughts.

After reading it again, I thought about suggesting looking at frontier life and seeing how they lived. For example, how many middle class kids would consider drying their clothes on a clothesline?

Do you get your water from a well? Consider a hand pump. It would also be a good idea to have a test kit to test it for satety. I believe the rule of thumb is to never drink from a well after an area floods, especially if it goes over the top of the well head. Something like that. I don't own a well, and never have, so I'm clueless with them.

If you do have frozen foods, inventory what you have before the storm, and take a picture and put it on the freezer. That way you won't be letting all the cold air out. Keep the door open as little as possible.

Consider freeze dried fruit, and organic snacks. The non-freeze dried snacks will probably be good for at least a week or 2 if unopened, and buy the standard "preservative" loaded snacks for the weeks after. The freeze dried should last for much longer than you would ever be without power. Plus, that Neopolitan ice cream that Space Foods (?) sells is a plus. There is also trail mix too.

Sterno brand canned fuel should be stored in a cool dry place with a temperature between 40 - 120 degrees F (4 - 49 degrees C for the rest of the world). More than enough for the temperature range in Florida. Don't know what the humidity would do, if anything, seems like it would eventually ruin the product.
Sterno Material Safety Data Sheet

I heat up a can of raviolli in like 5 minutes on Sterno. MRE's could be heated this way too, except OUT OF THE PLASTIC PACKET!

Oatmeal for breakfast only requires oatmeal, hot water and a bowl. A small cup of water can be boiled over Sterno in a few minutes. If you don't like it, give yourself a few days. It'll probably taste better. In fact, there are even flavored oatmeal.

Note: Sterno used only because that's the only name I can think of it and "gelled fuel sources used for chaffing dishes" is a little too long. Search the internet for competitors to Sterno.

I have something called "Magic Heat" and "Magic Stove". It's like Sterno, gelled fuel with a wick, but with a different name. The stove is a round piece of metal that you simply put on top of the gel can. It also comes with two stripes of metal that make a pot support. I actually have a can of Chef Boyardee's ravioli at home, I might try heating it up with my stove tonight. Simply open with can opener and heat? Stir once in a while? (Easier said than done with a full can of Chef B <g>)

I never really used it, so I don't know how well it performs. I'm pretty sure it's very sensitive to the wind. <img src="/images/graemlins/crazy.gif" alt="" />