Generator

[Dusty]

Around these parts, if the electric company sees lights on at your house during a power outage, they will stop and ask to see your transfer switch. If you refuse, or don't have one, they climb the pole and cut the power lines to the house, and it will be a long time before it will be restored. They have to drive the roads looking for the downed wire or blown fuse, and they get mighty upset if your generator isn't hooked up properly. If by some fluke, the power is fed back through the transformer into the lines, they wind up working with hot wires and they run the risk of electrocution. They know that they have disconnected the feed, but they don't know that you are back-feeding the lines. Both the fines and penalty are substantial.
Dusty

 

[thingy]

Well,around these parts,,they don't,they are trying to get the electicty back on,not driving around.
Point I was making is,you don't need a transfer switch thing,,all you need is a 220 outside plug in,make your generator cord plug ins match,,now on mine,that circuit,has nothing else on it,its for an outside welder,,,,,turn your main breaker off,[no outside power],,than turn all your breakers off,,,,,plug your cord into gen and outside 220,,,,start your gen,,,,,go back to breaker box and start slow,,,turn on your water pump,,a few lights,,furnace,,,BUT,,remember,,start up power for motors is a lot,,triple what they use when running,,refridgerators and freezers take a lot,,,,now if you got a 15,000 watt gen,,maybe you be alright,,but a 6,000 watt gen will run a water pump,furnace,,tv,,lights,,you might have to not use water while you use something,,just got to keep the old green acres show in mind,,,,and,,you don't need a transfer switch,,,,,thingy,,forgot to add,,you will burn up motors if they are under supplyed,,,thats why its important to not go over your gen power..

 

[MrJimi]

Thingy, what happens if we use more power than our generator will put out? will it shut off or make the lights go yellow or what?
Jim

 

[thingy]

Well you need to know that I just stayed in a holliday inn express last night,,,thats all.... No,,,not even close to being an electriction,,,just saying what I know,,,,,what happens if you use more than your gen puts out,,,well,,don't know,,,,,for sure,,amps up,,volts down,,,heat,,probably,,thats what probably burns out motors???
BUT IF YOU ARE CAREFULL,,,and you gotta clue as to what things needs,,you can get by,,and have water/heat/lights/tv/phone,,with a 6500 watt generator,,thats what I'm saying,,and no transfer switch,,things in your freezer might spoil,,you might not have no hot water,,you might have to fry your eggs outside with a propane stove,,,etc,,but,as long as you got gas and oil,,you can surive pretty nice for a few days on a 6-8,000 watt generator,,,if you want to power your whole house and have the generator kick on as soon as power goes off,,than you know you got to spend a whole lotta money,,,,,thingy

 

[MrJimi]

Well, I can understand that, here is my generator

its a 13 HP Honda and works nice, I can run my whole small home with it but how do I know if its overloaded?
Jim

 

[thingy]

I don't know,,lights would dim,,,,,lights dim for 1/2 second in my house when water pump kicks in,,,and we ain't ussing more than 1,000 watts with a 6500 gen,,so,,motors use a lot when kicking on,,,that welder gen I got has circuit breakers on the plug ins,,but,,wouldn't think you would want to depend on that????
So,,I would like to know the answer to your question explained a little better myself,,,,like I said,,don't ask me electrical questions,,I ain't one,,I'm a welder type guy,,,just know a few things that work,,,thingy

 

[MrJimi]

OK, thank you very much for your wisdom
Can a MIG /wire feed welder be run with my generator? it puts out 30 amps at 220 volts and the welder draws 18 amps at 220 volts. I think it would but the experts say no it wont.
Jim

 

[thingy]

I don't know,,it seems so,,but who knows,,,best thing to do if they will let you,is get it and try it and your gen out together,,,you'll need to set machine up like you normally would for welding,,,120 amps 19 volts,,[or so] for .035 wire,,,and have at it,,,if it don't work right,,you can bring it back,[if you get that understood before buying],,power supplies for welding can be tricky,,,that gen is constant current with a rectifyer to make a.c. current,,,,that mig is constantvoltage,,but,,runs off a.c current,,,you got varables there,,over just plugging it into a 220/230 line plugin,,its probably got the power to run it,,,,but it might not run it right,,only way to tell,,is try it out,,thingy

 

[Dusty]

Thingy....... around here, they have to drive the roads to find where the downed wires are. You can go for miles and not see a house on some roads. All they know is that they get a telephone call that the power went out. When they get into the area, they start looking for the problem. No magical way to know what tree fell across what line on what road until they come across the problem. While they are looking, they look for houses with lights. They use that to figure out where the downed wires are. If you are in a black out area with lights, they want to know where the electric is coming from. There is a guy who's posts I have read in the past that is an electrical inspector. Possibly if he reads this post, he can better explain it to you. All that I know is that your method isn't considered safe or legal. One other thing to think about. You are using a extension that has two male ends on it. If you plug the wire into the running generator, the other male end of the cord is now live, posing an electrocution hazard to yourself. When you turn off the main breaker, you are only cutting one half of the circuit. The neutral is still connected to the grid. If one of your electrical outlets is not wired properly, then it can back feed through the neutral into the grid and kill an electrical worker.
Dusty

 

[thingy]

I'm sure you are correct and there probably is a law against it,,,there are laws against every thing,,,but,,if I turn my main breaker off,no line power can get in,thus it would seem to me,none of my generator juice can get out,maybe I'm wrong.
Yes,you are right about the two male ends,,,you gotta plug in cord before starting generator,and leave it plugged in untill you turn gen off and before you open main breaker,,alotta gotta do's I know,and dangourous.
But,all that aside,you don't need some transfer switch to get your generator power to your house,,just plug it in a 220 outlet,,use your main breaker on/off switch,,and don't overload your generator,,like I said,that 1/2 horsepower water pump I got takes over 3,000 watts to start,and light bulbs dim even though I'm not up to the rated output of generator,,and if you ain't carefull you will burn up motors,,,,[and or kill yourself,,,hows that]? thingy