Interlock vs. throwing the main circuit breaker for generator powering a house

[Industrial Toys]

I think the little HF screamer would need the addition of a flux capacitor to power up the whole neighborhood. I think you would realize pretty quickly that something was not right. Probably just trip the generators circuit breakers, unless maybe they were made in China but what's the chance of that?.

 

[grsthegreat]

Sorry, but it truly amazes me that people put so much defence out there that they know they can backfeed their house thru a dryer plug and sc**w a lockout device. Come on, there $60-80 bucks online. The worse shock i ever had after 30+ years as an electrician was from a hot wire horse fence. That same charger killed a horse that touched it. These are high voltage but micro amp machines. This is just what is happening with a back feed situation thru a transformer.

 

[Industrial Toys]

With many people, 60 or 80 bucks can be spent a hundred other ways. Worst shock I ever got was 347. Pushing wires back into a junction box in a ceiling, and someone had stripped too much insulation off the conductor for a marretted connection. I can feel that shock to this day. I played around with high tension coils and got plenty of shocks, 20,000 volts or so, but you could really feel the turbines of Niagara on that 347?

 

[MossRoad]

from Pensacola News Journal

07-16-2005, 07:31 PM
from Pensacola News Journal

Published - July, 14, 2005
Probable electrocution 3rd storm-related death
Sean Smith
@PensacolaNewsJournal.com ADVERTISEMENT


Generator safety precautions
Customers using generators during an outage should never use a generator in an enclosed or partially enclosed space. Generators can produce high levels of carbon monoxide very quickly, which can lead to illness or death.

Do not connect portable generators to household electrical wiring. This could cause serious injury to you and power employees working on the lines.

Connect only essential appliances -- such as freezers and refrigerators -- directly to the generator.


In the wake of Hurricane Dennis, a Georgia lineman working to restore power in Flomaton, Ala., near Century likely died of electrocution, officials said Wednesday.

Ronnie Allen Adams Jr., 41, of Winterville, Ga., an employee of Pike Electric Inc. of Mount Airy, N.C., was found by co-workers slumped over in his bucket truck as he worked on Jackson Street about 4:55 p.m. Tuesday, the Flomaton Police Department reported.

Co-workers attempted cardiopulmonary resuscitation until firefighters and emergency medical crews arrived minutes later. A Baptist Lifeflight helicopter arrived at 5:21 p.m. and flew Adams to Jay Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, Flomaton police said.

Dr. Andi Minyard, medical examiner for Northwest Florida District 1, said the preliminary cause of death was high-voltage electricity.

The lineman's death is being investigated by Flomaton police, Pike Electric and Alabama Power, which was contracting work to Pike to help with storm relief.

"We are deeply saddened by this death, and our sincere condolences go to the families," said Michael Sznajderman, spokesman for Alabama Power.

It was the third storm-related death in the area since Hurricane Dennis struck Sunday. Two people were suspected of being killed in the Pensacola Bay Area by carbon monoxide poisoning stemming from improper use of portable generators.

The cause of Tuesday's incident is under investigation, but the improper use of a generator has not been ruled out, police said. Improperly installed generators can become dangerous for linemen working to restore electricity, Alabama Power and Gulf Power officials said.

Some homeowners have been plugging the generators through their meter boxes or into the house to provide electricity to appliances. That can send electricity back outside and energize lines that are supposed to be dead, Sznajderman said.

That's the one from 2005, and it has not been proven that a generator caused it. It hasn't been ruled out, but it hasn't been determined to be the cause. And the company he was working for was one that many lineman bloggers were saying some bad things about safety.

So, a generator backfeeding still hasn't been documented as that cause of death. It's just speculation so far.

 

[LouNY]

I keep reading about the dangers of backfeeding the lines,
if you think that your little 10hp 5 kw machine has enough guts to back feed a normal transformer you must have an amazing reserve of power in that generator.
The loading on a generator to back feed one transformer will instantly kill most small generators and if it is connected to a grid with several transformers,
every time you try to power up you will instantly trip your 20 or 30 amp generator breaker or just instantly stall your unit.
Those with larger and pto powered units do have the capabilities to occasionally backfeed of courseif the lines are down and shorted no portable generator will have the power to backfeed.

 

[Industrial Toys]

I don't think the transformers have much loss, but you have the consumer loads on the other secondary sides that would certainly load your generator down. I was actually quite amazed to learn that those big filled cans, really only have a little square transformer in them.

 

[buickanddeere]

If someone with a redneck connection doesn't flip the main and powers their house from their generator connected into a branch circuit, unless their little Honda can reverse-power the whole neighborhood, town, utility grid, etc.. it's unlikely a lineman is going to get injured.

Although that depends on how isolated the utility line being worked on is. If line just feeds one home on the end of a road, and only that line is being worked on (isolated), a genny at that home might be able to energize the line and not stall/trip out.

Ask dealers who sell generators about the completely smoked and burned generators that show up for 努arranty after utility outages .

 

[buickanddeere]

If you have it as "standalone" generator, (or a switched neutral; i.e. a separately derived system) somewhere the neutral needs to be grounded (set to 0 volts, earth) that way 240V is divided evenly into 120V (L1 to neutral) and 120V (L2 to neutral). If Neutral wasn't grounded to zero someplace, (a "floating neutral") the 240V would get split based on what loads are turned on/off. So you may end up with 150V on one leg, and 90V on the other.

Neutral referenced to ground or not . It will still be 120V line to neutral and 240V line to line . An open neutral part way between the loads and the utility neutral is where the 150V and 90V occurs .

 

[buickanddeere]

With many people, 60 or 80 bucks can be spent a hundred other ways. Worst shock I ever got was 347. Pushing wires back into a junction box in a ceiling, and someone had stripped too much insulation off the conductor for a marretted connection. I can feel that shock to this day. I played around with high tension coils and got plenty of shocks, 20,000 volts or so, but you could really feel the turbines of Niagara on that 347?

. Feel like 25HZ from Beck I or 60Hz from Beck II.

 

[Industrial Toys]

I think the issue is more that there is a difference between constant output and peak starting loads. So, you have a breaker that has to handle the start up loads. So what do people do? They put more and more and more stuff on that generator, because after all it has a circuit breaker. Then, fry it! Plus, circuit breakers only come in certain sizes, so they always go to the next highest rating.