toller wrote:
Additionally double male plugs are known as suicide cords
for a reason. One mistake means that you or a loved one could die.


You can hurt yourself on anything, and suicide cords are easier than many;
but are they really that dangerous?

If you opened your main breaker first, wouldn't it be perfectly safe to plug
into the backfeed outlet first and then into the generator? (yes, I know
that if you forget to open the main breaker it is potentially live...)

And if you foolishly plugged into the generator first it still wouldn't be
all that dangerous. Touching the hot alone would do nothing since the
generator is not grounded (and hopefully the genny has a GFCI anyhow). To
be hurt it would be necessary to touch both hot and neutral. While that
would hurt, unless it was on the chest (a difficult thing to achieve) it
wouldn't be particularly dangerous.

I know 10 people will jump on this and tell me that everyone know they are
really dangerous and I am fool to be questioning it; but HOW are they really
dangerous?



You are assuming that you are the only one that will try to use it and
that you will never be drunk, over tired, stressed out, or otherwise
impaired when you need it. Can you guarantee that it will never be
hooked up by some helpful neighbor or no it all teenager while you are
at work or out of town?

I have worked in fire and rescue since 1981. In those thirty years I
have attended about five serious electrical injuries. Of the two
electrocutions I can recall one was a cheater cord to bypass the safety
on an appliance during trouble shooting and one was a suicide cord that
was used to re energize wiring rendered dead by an open in the wiring.
As you might have guessed the decedent was a child of five years of age.

The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers is committed to
seeking manslaughter charges against anyone who causes the death of an
outside wireman by back feeding. Feeling Lucky?
--
Tom Horne, Inside Wireman, IBEW#D841733
--
Tom Horne


Well we aren't no thin blue heroes and yet we aren't no blackguards to.
We're just working men and woman most remarkable like you.