Most power companies require "visible disconnect" switches so the
lineman can visually check that the home with the generator is
disconnected before he start working on restoring the power to the
line. Seems like at least one lineman has died in every major storm
related outage in my region while repairing lines. Don't think all of
these were generator related. Linemen are working 16 hour days, 7 day
weeks during major events, and like most of us, make mistakes. Your
switches may cost a life. A lesser problem is the generator may cause
the power to trip a breaker or blow a fuse somewhere else on the line
if your disconnect switches aren't working properly.

Without this disconnect, your power may not be restored during an
outage. I've been told they will not work on the line until the
switches are upgraded to meet the current standard. Since you have a
generator, you might be willing to live with this. But your neighbors
may decide to go to court if they suffer damages due to your safety
compliance.

Interlocks are typically used in a plant for maintenance purposes.
You need to know if they work, and when they need replaced.

On May 7, 6:05 pm, Ignoramus23720 ignoramus23...@NOSPAM.
23720.invalid wrote:
I have this generator:

http://igor.chudov.com/tmp/onan/Diesel/

I bought these interlocks on eBay:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...m=300106024488

They are actually quite large, the photo does not do them justice.

My plan is to place interlocks so that either the generator's
disconnect is closed, or the main panel breaker is closed, but never
both.

That's what they were designed for, if it is unclear to anyone, I can
explain it in more detail, or see:http://www.kirkkey.com/index.html

I would lock up another key (they are keyed alike) in my safe so
that its use cannot defeat this system.

I believe that this arrangement fully satisfies the rule that a
mechanical interlock device should prevent both sources of power from
coming in contact.

Any comments?

i