HeyBub wrote:
Mark wrote:
Kind of hard to describe what I'm looking for here. I think on RVs
and 5th wheels, and I know on the 'beer wagon' get from the
distributor for our church festival, there is a 'reverse' receptacle
where you connect an extension cord to power the lights and such. This
device looks similar to a single receptacle with a flip-up
cover, but under the cover is actually a plug (male) rather than a
receptacle (female) connector. You plug the female 'outlet' end of
an extension cord into this, and the other end into a power source. Anyone
know what I'm talking about?
What I want to do, if I can find such a thing that would fit on a
standard exterior electric box, is mount one on the back of my house
with the wiring running to a standard outlet mounted in my basement. I'd
then be able to plug a cord from my generator into this, and then
supply my freezer, refrig, lights, etc. from the outlet in the
basement. This would keep me from having to run the extension cord
from the generator thru an open window in cold weather. Also when it
wasn't in use it wouldn't be too obtrusive such as a plain old wire
running thru the side of the house.
Any thoughts on this? Or other ideas for something along these lines?


Once you find the outlet, wire it to a new breaker in the box. This breaker
will normally be left in the OFF position.

When the power fails:
1. Flip the main switch to OFF
2. Flip this new breaker to ON
3. Start the generator

You now have power to half your house (or all your house if your generator
puts out 220 and you used a dual breaker).

You can modulate the load on your generator by keeping things in your house
(lights, microwave, etc.) powered off so as to not exceed the capacity of
your generator.

When the power returns:
1. Power down the generator
2. Unplug the cable
3. Turn OFF the new circuit breaker(s)
4. Turn the mains back ON

That is completely illegal and very unsafe. Use this rule of thumb when
hooking up generators... If you can accidentally send power from the
generator to the mains coming into the house, (forget to turn off the
main off) it is dangerous, illegal, and can kill someone. Why not just
do it safe and legally? It's really not that difficult.