How to generator power pass through to inside the house.

[Rebeldad1]

You guys always come up with amazing ideas and comments so I thought I would ask first for the best.

When we have power outages they usually last less than 1 day. but... We had a sub station go out that lasted over a week.
During the outages we run a power cord under a open window with a towel over it to keep cold air out.
Mostly we run a Honda EU1000I. This runs the emergency 1 light, Directv and LED big screen.

For longer outages we run aEU2000I and a second power cord to the kitchen alternating it between the refer and freezer.

For our well the well house is 10 feet from the house and needs 220v. I have a 9000W Champion dual fuel electric start Generator I keep on a steel pallet with a cage around it. (330 gallon tote frame). I keep a 10 gallon propane tank, 220V extension cord the EU2000I generator and a couple 110v extension cords on it. When we need it I put the forks on the tractor and put it in front of the well house. Usually it only needs to be run to just repressure the water system. The 9000w generator would consume enough fuel in 1 hour to fuel the little Hondas for a day or so.

Anyway.... Looking for your great Ideas on powering up a wall plug from the outside.
I know its simple and they sell kits for this but I would kick myself if I didnt ask and someone had something AMAZING I could have done.

I even thought of running the 110V power from the well house into the house.

Any great Ideas?
Thanks in advance!!

 

[Diggin It]

I'm really not sure what you're looking for, but if you just want a cord pass through port, try 2" PVC with screw caps on each end.

 

[TheMan419]

They make off the shelf parts for this. We had an electrician do it. Just plug generator in to the outlet outside the house. Flip a few breakers and we are in business. We can power the well, pump on the boiler, sump pump, fridge and some lights. We have natural gas so that takes care of the heat and hot water.

Don稚 have lengthy power outages here. If we did I would get a smaller inverter type genset to run the heat over night on way less fuel than on the big generator.

 

[widefat]

I dont know your setup, so forgive my assumptions. Lot's of articles on "Generator backfeed" out there. Google and read a few - may save a lineman's life.

 

[downsizingnow48]

I run a 2200w Honda during the night. The outside wall connection is a standard generator input plug. Inside on the other side of the wall is two duplex outlets. I run extension cords to the fridge, a couple lights, electronics, etc. Not very elegant but it works and the little generator will go 10 hours on a gallon.

 

[RNeumann]

I run a 2200w Honda during the night. The outside wall connection is a standard generator input plug. Inside on the other side of the wall is two duplex outlets. I run extension cords to the fridge, a couple lights, electronics, etc. Not very elegant but it works and the little generator will go 10 hours on a gallon.

This the the way to do it. Unfortunately the suggestions above this post are either illegal, dangerous and or won’t work properly.

The next step above this involves some panel work and an interlock or transfer switch. All this sounds like more than you want to do.

 

[Tractor Seabee]

I dont know your setup, so forgive my assumptions. Lot's of articles on "Generator backfeed" out there. Google and read a few - may save a lineman's life.

Some readers may not fully understand how transformers work. Thing is; if you feed voltage backward to the utility lines, when it goes through the distribution transformer the voltage gets boosted up to the utility voltage. 240v becomes 12,470v for instance. Transformers work both ways. Any thing other than an approved transfer device therefore is illegal and creates severe potential liability on the part of the perpetrator.

Ron

 

[lennyzx11]

This is my normal way of an outage.

I get the Honda 2200 out and start it and run an extension cord to her highnesses coffee pot. It (the generator and her majesty) is quieter than the bigger genset.

Then I go get one of
of the 5500 watt rolling generators out and plug in to the house with a short cable.
I shut the transfer panel switches off and as a fail safe I turn the master breaker off at the main panel coming into the house.

Start the generator and then power up the circuits.
1. Oil boiler furnace
2. Well pump
3. Kitchen outlets.(refrigerator)
4. Lights in kitchen and bathroom
5. Basement sump pump
6. Sewer pump (I have a mound system that requires pumping.)

My setup is similar to this.

Reliance Controls Corporation 31406CRK 30 Amp 6-circuit Pro/Tran Transfer Switch Kit for Generators (7500 Watts). https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000BQN4T2/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_XPL0DbEM6HEAF

It cuts 6 circuits and the switches are manually switched from generator-off-line.

At my old place, I had this on my garage panel. Mine was a homemade copy.

Manual Transfer Switch Kits | Generator Interlock Kit

I must jump on the bandwagon here. Please dont make anything that can power your house without an automatic or manual disconnect. You very well can kill the lineman by backfeeding a power line.

What NOT to do. This in my opinion is one of the most dangerous things I have ever seen on a job site.

I’ve seen the cords made with a male plug on each end that just plug one end into the wall and the other to the generator.

Dual Male Plug 12-Gauge Connection Extension Cord - Connect Generator Output https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0035Z13FI/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_RhM0DbNAZ9VS1

Power then flows into the outlet powering the circuit that outlet is on. It will also power any other circuits that share that hot line in the main panels, and subsequently the transmission line leaving the house.
And the fact if the wall end gets disconnected you now have a hot “plug” for someone to touch.

The main reason to put in place a fail safe is though YOU know what to do.
What if you’re not home and wife, friend, or dumb *** brother-in-law do it like they’ve seen you do a hundred times and plug up and start the generator without the crucial step of isolating the circuits?

 

[Diggin It]

Posts 2 and 5 accomplish the same thing if you only want to power a few devices without trying to energize the whole house. No transfer switch required, but a lot of jostling of extension cords.

 

[pmsmechanic]

We end up without power for several days at a time sometimes. I turn off my yards main disconnect and put a lock on it so that it cannot be turned back on. Then I go into my breaker box in the shop and disconnect the wires to the welder at the breaker. I have a patch cord made up that converts everything to 110 that gets installed in the welding breaker. This is because my 2200 watt inverter style generator does not generate 220. All the 220 circuits then get turned off (except for the welder) and also all the 110 ones that we don't need. My whole yard then gets fed electricity through the existing wiring with no danger to any linemen.

You can also get a generator feed that installs in between the meter and the main box. It's designed so that you cannot feed power back into the main lines.

GenerLink, Backup Generator | Global Power Products