calhoun wrote:
"HeatMan" wrote in message
. ..

"HorneTD" wrote in message
ink.net...

wrote:

I am 70 years old and have a bad heart condition, last year I
had over 11 days of no power and had to live in my home with
nothing but a fireplace and a sleeping bag. Now I have
purchased a 2.5kw diesel powered generator but I can't get
anyone to tell how best to connect it to the furnace. I want to
disconnect the furnace at the circuit breaker and put a romex
cable of 14/2 at the output of the breaker and connect it to a
cable from the generator. But no one wants to let me know if
this will work and if there would be any possible problems. Can
some one let me know if they have tried this and had any
adverse problems. Thanks for any answers, you can answer me by
E-Mail.



At the furnace you will have a cut off switch that a service
technician would use to cut power to the unit when working on it.
Replace that switch with a single receptacle and replace the
cable between the switch and the furnace mechanism with a cord
and plug. The cord and plug stay plugged into the single
receptacle until you need to service the unit or supply it from
the generator. To service the unit you unplug it. To supply it
from the generator you unplug it from the single receptacle on
the houses wiring system and plug it into the extension cord from
the generator. This is the simplest and most cost effective
solution for powering the furnace from a generator. The same
procedure will work for well pump controllers. All of the other
things you need, like a refrigerator, are already supplied
through cord and plug so they can easily be plugged into an
extension cord from a generator.


The above solution uses a suicide plug and relies on the user to
remember to shut off breakers. A better (safer) way is to disconnect
the hard wire from the furnace. Connect a female socket to the
breaker side and a male socket to the furnace side. Now you can just
unplug your furnace and connect it to an extension cord. This is good
for 110v gensets when you don't have enough power or "poles" for a
whole house, or enough money for a transfer panel. It is also safe
since there is no way to backfeed and no suicide cord. Many homes
here wire the furnace and 110 well pumps this way. I am not an
electrician so I don't know if it is against code but it is as safe
as plugging anything into a socket.


Would you mind telling me were you got the idea that I was suggesting
any kind of double male cord or device. What I said was
At the furnace you will have a cut off switch that a service
technician would use to cut power to the unit when working on it.
Replace that switch with a single receptacle and replace the cable
between the switch and the furnace mechanism with a cord and plug.
This is exactly the way that dish washers and food waste disposers are
connected all the time. I have a suggestion for you. Read first and
then reply to what was written.
--
Tom H