Posted by ScottyHOMEy on January 30, 2009 at 14:30:03 from (64.222.201.63):
In Reply to: Generator Hook Up O/T posted by kmcampbe on January 30, 2009 at 11:26:44:
I'm LOL a little at John T's intoroduction. Couldn't blame him for bein' tired. He posted his heiney off on this subject a month or two ago when that storm came through and knocked out a lot of the upper midwest and northeast.
That said, his advice and Pete Black's are good.
My own generator (15/22.5kW) has a four-prong connector for a house connection, and I run a cord to a four-prong connection hard-wired to a 50A double breaker, with one of the slider-type lockouts to prevent backfeeding. All to code.
The issue of the neutral being bonded to the frame is on spot.
Most of the generators out there are of two, overlapping general types. There's the one better suited for contractors looking for power at remote sites. That one will have the neutral bonded to the frame. You likely will not find a four-prong outlet on one of those.
The other (and typically larger) type can power tools or a house and will have at least one outlet with four prongs.
Trick is that the size you're looking at kind of falls in the high load range of the former, the smaller end of the range for the latter, and could be either. 8/13.5kw is certainly enough to keep a house running if you manage your loads. The owner's manual with it may (OR MAY NOT!) provide some guidance.
And even if your new generator should have a four-prong outlet, dollars to donuts you don't have something with four prongs on the house end yet to plug it into.
In this case, until you're wired correctly to your panel, you'd be better off running extension cords of sufficient capacity off your generator outlets to your critical needs (furnace, freezer, water pump . . . and enboug lights to find your way around), even if that means putting a plug and receptacle in the hard wiring to the furnace (i.e., most of the time it will be plugged into the hard wiring from the box, but to the generator during outages, meaning you have to buy two female plugs for the power side to every male plug for the appliance side) or the water pump, if that's an issue.
Stay warm and let us know how you're making out. And, whatever you do, make SURE your main breakers are off (or main fuses removed) before you hook the generator to the house.
We sell tractor parts! We have the parts you need to repair your tractor - the right parts. Our low prices and years of research make us your best choice when you need parts. Shop Online Today. [ About Us ]
Today's Featured Article - The Day Mom Drove the 8N - by Brian Browning. My Dad was wanting to put in a garden but couldn't operate the 8N and handle the old horse drawn plow he had found and rigged up to use with the tractor. Well, he decided to go get Mom out of the house and have her drive the tractor while he walked behind the plow. You got to understand that while my Mom is a hard worker who will always help whenever she can... she had never operated farm machinery before that day. Dad got her out there, explained how the clutch was the same as in our o
... [Read Article]
Latest Ad:
Oliver 550 Diesel runs like a watch three point hitch pto engine gone threw about two hundred hours ago nice clean tractor
[More Ads]
All Rights Reserved. Reproduction of any part of this website, including design and content, without written permission is strictly prohibited. Trade Marks and Trade Names contained and used in this Website are those of others, and are used in this Website in a descriptive sense to refer to the products of others. Use of this Web site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement and Privacy Policy
TRADEMARK DISCLAIMER: Tradenames and Trademarks referred to within Yesterday's Tractor Co. products and within the Yesterday's Tractor Co. websites are the property of their respective trademark holders. None of these trademark holders are affiliated with Yesterday's Tractor Co., our products, or our website nor are we sponsored by them. John Deere and its logos are the registered trademarks of the John Deere Corporation. Agco, Agco Allis, White, Massey Ferguson and their logos are the registered trademarks of AGCO Corporation. Case, Case-IH, Farmall, International Harvester, New Holland and their logos are registered trademarks of CNH Global N.V.