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generator extension cord
I need to make a short extension cord that goes from my portable
generator 240V 4-wire receptacle to a 3-wire receptacle that powers 2 120V house circuits. The 3-wires are red and black and white. How do I make this? The 3 wires go into a junction box where the white wire is attached to some kind of common connection and the red and black are each attached to its own toggle switch that flips the power between the power company and the generator. TIA |
generator extension cord
On Jun 13, 4:58*pm, "
wrote: I need to make a short extension cord that goes from my portable generator 240V 4-wire receptacle to a 3-wire receptacle that powers 2 120V house circuits. The 3-wires are red and black and white. How do I make this? The 3 wires go into a junction box where the white wire is attached to some kind of common connection and the red and black are each attached to its own toggle switch that flips the power between the power company and the generator. TIA You get Transfer panel so its all a safe no brainer, no overload, no death, no refusal to reconnect, its balanced. maybe 200$ at Lowes prewired and labeled and 2 - 5 hrs work |
generator extension cord
wrote in message ... I need to make a short extension cord that goes from my portable generator 240V 4-wire receptacle to a 3-wire receptacle that powers 2 120V house circuits. The 3-wires are red and black and white. How do I make this? The 3 wires go into a junction box where the white wire is attached to some kind of common connection and the red and black are each attached to its own toggle switch that flips the power between the power company and the generator. Your little circuit doesn't have a ground? That is pretty idiotic; I would recommend against using it. Who knows what else is done improperly. |
generator extension cord
"jack" wrote: I need to make a short extension cord that goes from my portable generator 240V 4-wire receptacle to a 3-wire receptacle that powers 2 120V house circuits. The 3-wires are red and black and white. How do I make this? The 3 wires go into a junction box where the white wire is attached to some kind of common connection and the red and black are each attached to its own toggle switch that flips the power between the power company and the generator. Your little circuit doesn't have a ground? That is pretty idiotic; I would recommend against using it. Who knows what else is done improperly. Furthermore, backfeeding a house circuit through an outlet is about the stupidest thing you can do. If it only affected your house, I'd say go for it and what what happens when your insurance company refuses to pay out any claims. Seeing the legal prosecution for endangering emergency workers would also be fun if it wasn't for the potential threat to their life. |
generator extension cord
On Jun 13, 3:58*pm, "jack" wrote:
wrote in message ... I need to make a short extension cord that goes from my portable generator 240V 4-wire receptacle to a 3-wire receptacle that powers 2 120V house circuits. The 3-wires are red and black and white. How do I make this? The 3 wires go into a junction box where the white wire is attached to some kind of common connection and the red and black are each attached to its own toggle switch that flips the power between the power company and the generator. Your little circuit doesn't have a ground? *That is pretty idiotic; I would recommend against using it. *Who knows what else is done improperly. Isn't the transfer the box that has the 2 toggle switches to switch between power company and generator? Everything was already in place and working when I bought the house. The only thing missing was how the generator hooked up to the 3-wires going to the sub-panel. What ever contraption the previous owner used to connect his generator to the end of the 3 wires is missing and a mystery to me. I am pretty certain that whatever he did was correct. I just don't know what he used to go from 4 wires to 3 wires. |
generator extension cord
wrote in message ... On Jun 13, 3:58 pm, "jack" wrote: wrote in message ... I need to make a short extension cord that goes from my portable generator 240V 4-wire receptacle to a 3-wire receptacle that powers 2 120V house circuits. The 3-wires are red and black and white. How do I make this? The 3 wires go into a junction box where the white wire is attached to some kind of common connection and the red and black are each attached to its own toggle switch that flips the power between the power company and the generator. Your little circuit doesn't have a ground? That is pretty idiotic; I would recommend against using it. Who knows what else is done improperly. Isn't the transfer the box that has the 2 toggle switches to switch between power company and generator? Everything was already in place and working when I bought the house. The only thing missing was how the generator hooked up to the 3-wires going to the sub-panel. What ever contraption the previous owner used to connect his generator to the end of the 3 wires is missing and a mystery to me. I am pretty certain that whatever he did was correct. I just don't know what he used to go from 4 wires to 3 wires. The previous owner probably used a suicide cord and was smart not to leave it behind for you. The two independent toggle switches could be three way switches that toggle between generator power and street power. However the two poles must be switched together, not independently which makes your set up wrong and potentially unsafe. You need to re-do this whole connection. You need a flanged inlet to connect your cord to. You need a real transfer switch or an interlock kit to make the transfer. And you will need to fabricate or purchase an appropriate cord. |
generator extension cord
On Fri, 13 Jun 2008 17:23:25 -0600, Robert Neville
wrote: "jack" wrote: I need to make a short extension cord that goes from my portable generator 240V 4-wire receptacle to a 3-wire receptacle that powers 2 120V house circuits. The 3-wires are red and black and white. How do I make this? The 3 wires go into a junction box where the white wire is attached to some kind of common connection and the red and black are each attached to its own toggle switch that flips the power between the power company and the generator. Your little circuit doesn't have a ground? That is pretty idiotic; I would recommend against using it. Who knows what else is done improperly. Furthermore, backfeeding a house circuit through an outlet is about the stupidest thing you can do. If it only affected your house, I'd say go for it and what what happens when your insurance company refuses to pay out any claims. Seeing the legal prosecution for endangering emergency workers would also be fun if it wasn't for the potential threat to their life. Backfeeding your house with a generator is a wise thing to do if you have a transfer switch. It is dangerous, without one, for many reasons. |
generator extension cord
"John Grabowski" wrote in
: wrote in message . .. On Jun 13, 3:58 pm, "jack" wrote: wrote in message ... I need to make a short extension cord that goes from my portable generator 240V 4-wire receptacle to a 3-wire receptacle that powers 2 120V house circuits. The 3-wires are red and black and white. How do I make this? The 3 wires go into a junction box where the white wire is attached to some kind of common connection and the red and black are each attached to its own toggle switch that flips the power between the power company and the generator. Your little circuit doesn't have a ground? That is pretty idiotic; I would recommend against using it. Who knows what else is done improperly. Isn't the transfer the box that has the 2 toggle switches to switch between power company and generator? Everything was already in place and working when I bought the house. The only thing missing was how the generator hooked up to the 3-wires going to the sub-panel. What ever contraption the previous owner used to connect his generator to the end of the 3 wires is missing and a mystery to me. I am pretty certain that whatever he did was correct. I just don't know what he used to go from 4 wires to 3 wires. The previous owner probably used a suicide cord and was smart not to leave it behind for you. The two independent toggle switches could be three way switches that toggle between generator power and street power. However the two poles must be switched together, not independently which makes your set up wrong and potentially unsafe. You need to re-do this whole connection. You need a flanged inlet to connect your cord to. You need a real transfer switch or an interlock kit to make the transfer. And you will need to fabricate or purchase an appropriate cord. I'd say that he needs to have a licensed electrician inspect that "setup" and make CERTAIN it's safe,or get rid of it completely and put in a trustworthy system. Better to be safe than sorry. It could be HIS own life that gets taken,or someone very dear to him. and don't forget about carbon monoxide. -- Jim Yanik jyanik at kua.net |
generator extension cord
On Fri, 13 Jun 2008 16:26:09 -0700 (PDT), "
wrote: On Jun 13, 3:58*pm, "jack" wrote: wrote in message ... I need to make a short extension cord that goes from my portable generator 240V 4-wire receptacle to a 3-wire receptacle that powers 2 120V house circuits. The 3-wires are red and black and white. How do I make this? The 3 wires go into a junction box where the white wire is attached to some kind of common connection and the red and black are each attached to its own toggle switch that flips the power between the power company and the generator. Your little circuit doesn't have a ground? *That is pretty idiotic; I would recommend against using it. *Who knows what else is done improperly. Isn't the transfer the box that has the 2 toggle switches to switch between power company and generator? Everything was already in place and working when I bought the house. The only thing missing was how the generator hooked up to the 3-wires going to the sub-panel. What ever contraption the previous owner used to connect his generator to the end of the 3 wires is missing and a mystery to me. I am pretty certain that whatever he did was correct. I just don't know what he used to go from 4 wires to 3 wires. This is the proper cord. http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/...ctId=100428047 You can safely make one for a lot less. |
generator extension cord
On Jun 13, 5:58�pm, "
wrote: I need to make a short extension cord that goes from my portable generator 240V 4-wire receptacle to a 3-wire receptacle that powers 2 120V house circuits. The 3-wires are red and black and white. How do I make this? The 3 wires go into a junction box where the white wire is attached to some kind of common connection and the red and black are each attached to its own toggle switch that flips the power between the power company and the generator. TIA did you know some main service breaker boxes support a either normal or emergency mode lock out, which safely backfeeds your home and prevents accidently powering the power companies lines |
generator extension cord
On Jun 13, 8:36 pm, " wrote:
On Jun 13, 5:58�pm, " wrote: I need to make a short extension cord that goes from my portable generator 240V 4-wire receptacle to a 3-wire receptacle that powers 2 120V house circuits. The 3-wires are red and black and white. How do I make this? The 3 wires go into a junction box where the white wire is attached to some kind of common connection and the red and black are each attached to its own toggle switch that flips the power between the power company and the generator. TIA did you know some main service breaker boxes support a either normal or emergency mode lock out, which safely backfeeds your home and prevents accidently powering the power companies lines I think that the best thing to do at this point is to provide a link to pictures of the configuration. I will work on this today. I believe the installation was done professionally and the solution is simple but I just do not have the resources beyond asking for help here. Thanks for everyones input. |
generator extension cord
metspitzer wrote: Furthermore, backfeeding a house circuit through an outlet is about the stupidest thing you can do. If it only affected your house, I'd say go for it and what what happens when your insurance company refuses to pay out any claims. Seeing the legal prosecution for endangering emergency workers would also be fun if it wasn't for the potential threat to their life. Backfeeding your house with a generator is a wise thing to do if you have a transfer switch. It is dangerous, without one, for many reasons. You need to read a bit closer. I said that backfeeding a house _through an outlet_ is about the stupidest thing you can do. There is no way to wire a transfer switch into an outlet. |
generator extension cord
On Jun 13, 7:58*pm, "
wrote: I need to make a short extension cord that goes from my portable generator 240V 4-wire receptacle to a 3-wire receptacle that powers 2 120V house circuits. The 3-wires are red and black and white. How do I make this? The 3 wires go into a junction box where the white wire is attached to some kind of common connection and the red and black are each attached to its own toggle switch that flips the power between the power company and the generator. TIA Don't think the OP has a very good appreciation of the issues, technical and legal liabilities involved; even if the arrangement (of a previous owner) previously seemed to work OK! It does 'sound' as though the generator output has; live (red), live (black, neutral (white), and should have a green ground wire. Any of those missing, then potentially unsafe and/or could cause damage to house appliances!!! Utility workers working on 'downed' lines during/after an emergency can and understand , HAVE, received fatal electric shocks from line which they understood were disconnected; by 'back feeds' from negligent homeowners using improperly connected generators! |
generator extension cord
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generator extension cord
terry wrote:
Don't think the OP has a very good appreciation of the issues, technical and legal liabilities involved; even if the arrangement (of a previous owner) previously seemed to work OK! It does 'sound' as though the generator output has; live (red), live (black, neutral (white), and should have a green ground wire. Any of those missing, then potentially unsafe and/or could cause damage to house appliances!!! Utility workers working on 'downed' lines during/after an emergency can and understand , HAVE, received fatal electric shocks from line which they understood were disconnected; by 'back feeds' from negligent homeowners using improperly connected generators! That's a possibility, yet I wonder who's making the bigger mistake: the homeowner who doesn't know any better or the professional lineman who should. I'd think any lineman who treats a downed power line as "dead" will end up that way himself. |
generator extension cord
HeyBub wrote:
terry wrote: Don't think the OP has a very good appreciation of the issues, technical and legal liabilities involved; even if the arrangement (of a previous owner) previously seemed to work OK! It does 'sound' as though the generator output has; live (red), live (black, neutral (white), and should have a green ground wire. Any of those missing, then potentially unsafe and/or could cause damage to house appliances!!! Utility workers working on 'downed' lines during/after an emergency can and understand , HAVE, received fatal electric shocks from line which they understood were disconnected; by 'back feeds' from negligent homeowners using improperly connected generators! That's a possibility, yet I wonder who's making the bigger mistake: the homeowner who doesn't know any better or the professional lineman who should. Neither mistake is any less than the other--ignorance is no excuse, particularly in a case where the person (OP in this case) can no longer even claim ignorance. I'd think any lineman who treats a downed power line as "dead" will end up that way himself. It has indeed happened, not always from downed lines but supposedly isolated lines. Our local REC had a lineman burned severely and very lucky he wasn't killed by such an incident where the generator was put onto the line _during_ the time they were working on a feeder that was physically disconnected from the line source but a secondary transformer was on the other side. -- |
generator extension cord
On Jun 14, 2:57 pm, metspitzer wrote:
On Sat, 14 Jun 2008 09:10:34 -0600, Robert Neville wrote: metspitzer wrote: Furthermore, backfeeding a house circuit through an outlet is about the stupidest thing you can do. If it only affected your house, I'd say go for it and what what happens when your insurance company refuses to pay out any claims. Seeing the legal prosecution for endangering emergency workers would also be fun if it wasn't for the potential threat to their life. Backfeeding your house with a generator is a wise thing to do if you have a transfer switch. It is dangerous, without one, for many reasons. You need to read a bit closer. I said that backfeeding a house _through an outlet_ is about the stupidest thing you can do. There is no way to wire a transfer switch into an outlet. It is common to use an outlet made especially for this purpose. It has a special male plug that has a dead front. This assures there are no live pins on any of the cords while you are using the generator. It is not the famous "suicide cord" http://www.tampabay.com/features/hom...icle622473.ece That is a link to a column in today's St. Pete Times which is titled Standby generator keeps the power going".... and has some good information. Two of my neighbors have the portable generators with "kits" which are connected to the main circuit breaker box. I believe they had to buy a special cord (like one a poster mentioned in the Home Depot link). My portable generator came with an extension cord to be used if I don't install one of the special kits. Anyway, the original poster would do well to get a licensed electrician to inspect his setup. It is likely the home seller took the generator with him along with the cord that connects the kit to the main circuit breaker. One of my neighbors is a licensed electrician and his setup is very plain and simple. The other is a widow who frequently is sold lots of expensive stuff when something simple would work as well ... and her setup is very fancy and has a cord like the one shown in the Home Depot picture. There were no visible cords showing on the man's but I think he probably just unplugged it and put it in the cabinet. He did say that he was also able to run an extension cord from his box to the house across the street in addition to having certain designated outlets inside his house run off the generator. |
generator extension cord
Dottie wrote:
.... neighbors is a licensed electrician and his setup is very plain and simple. ... But in all likelihood, correctly done. Plus, the dude will know what he's doing; OP obviously doesn't (nothing wrong about that other than trying to get by w/o getting proper input) and his description makes it sound like he's got a questionable arrangement at best... -- |
generator extension cord
On Sat, 14 Jun 2008 08:07:30 -0700 (PDT), "
wrote: On Jun 13, 8:36 pm, " wrote: On Jun 13, 5:58?pm, " wrote: I need to make a short extension cord that goes from my portable generator 240V 4-wire receptacle to a 3-wire receptacle that powers 2 120V house circuits. The 3-wires are red and black and white. How do I make this? The 3 wires go into a junction box where the white wire is attached to some kind of common connection and the red and black are each attached to its own toggle switch that flips the power between the power company and the generator. TIA did you know some main service breaker boxes support a either normal or emergency mode lock out, which safely backfeeds your home and prevents accidently powering the power companies lines I think that the best thing to do at this point is to provide a link to pictures of the configuration. I will work on this today. I believe the installation was done professionally and the solution is simple but I just do not have the resources beyond asking for help here. Thanks for everyones input. Take pictures of what you have. And/or the voltage and current ratings of the plugs Post them to tinypic.com, then post the links here. |
generator extension cord
On Sat, 14 Jun 2008 09:10:34 -0600, Robert Neville
wrote: metspitzer wrote: Furthermore, backfeeding a house circuit through an outlet is about the stupidest thing you can do. If it only affected your house, I'd say go for it and what what happens when your insurance company refuses to pay out any claims. Seeing the legal prosecution for endangering emergency workers would also be fun if it wasn't for the potential threat to their life. Backfeeding your house with a generator is a wise thing to do if you have a transfer switch. It is dangerous, without one, for many reasons. You need to read a bit closer. I said that backfeeding a house _through an outlet_ is about the stupidest thing you can do. There is no way to wire a transfer switch into an outlet. It is common to use an outlet made especially for this purpose. It has a special male plug that has a dead front. This assures there are no live pins on any of the cords while you are using the generator. It is not the famous "suicide cord" |
generator extension cord
On Jun 14, 11:32*am, dpb wrote:
Dottie wrote: ... neighbors is a licensed electrician and his setup is very plain and simple. *... But in all likelihood, correctly done. Plus, the dude will know what he's doing; OP obviously doesn't (nothing wrong about that other than trying to get by w/o getting proper input) and his description makes it sound like he's got a questionable arrangement at best... -- Here is a link to some pictures of the configuration: http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/...ome-and-garden It is as simple as getting the proper 120/240 plug and wire and using the ground screw in the connection box to connect the ground wire coming from the plug? The red and black will be hoy and the white will be neutral. |
generator extension cord
wrote in message ... On Jun 14, 11:32 am, dpb wrote: Dottie wrote: ... neighbors is a licensed electrician and his setup is very plain and simple. ... But in all likelihood, correctly done. Plus, the dude will know what he's doing; OP obviously doesn't (nothing wrong about that other than trying to get by w/o getting proper input) and his description makes it sound like he's got a questionable arrangement at best... -- Here is a link to some pictures of the configuration: http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/...ome-and-garden It is as simple as getting the proper 120/240 plug and wire and using the ground screw in the connection box to connect the ground wire coming from the plug? The red and black will be hoy and the white will be neutral. Mike, you have some very nice pictures, but I am unable to tell how everything is wired to each other. However from what I did observe, this is not a code compliant installation. There is non-metallic (Smurf tube) being used outdoors and in the ground and also without the proper fittings. There are exposed conductors without conduit going from the circuit breaker panel to the homemade transfer switch box. I am guessing that the grey fused switch (Junction box) is protecting the generator load, but the wires inside seem to be several different sizes. This entire installation seems more complicated then it needs to be. I strongly suggest that you have an electrician go over this and bring it up to code. |
generator extension cord
linemen working on dead lines are SUPPOSED to install short jumpers,
in case someone accidently throws the wrong switch somewhere. Like everything people arent perfect, linemen make mistakes |
generator extension cord
On Jun 14, 2:23*pm, dpb wrote:
I'd think any lineman who treats a downed power line as "dead" will end up that way himself. It has indeed happened, not always from downed lines but supposedly isolated lines. * Our local REC had a lineman burned severely and very lucky he wasn't killed by such an incident where the generator was put onto the line _during_ the time they were working on a feeder that was physically disconnected from the line source but a secondary transformer was on the other side. . The 'downed' line was used more as figure of speech! And, while some truth in that, hard working lines people working extra long hours under storm or other conditions, dealing with broken off wires etc.; maybe staff brought in from other assisting power companies, to restore power, deserve better consideration. Ever since the 1950s while I worked for a telecomm. company that shared poles with power lines there have been some accidents and FATALITIES. Usually involving power company linemen! Since the availaibility of emergency generators at prices affordable to many home owners the risk of back feeding tfrom a house service by an improperly connected generator through distribution transformer back to primary 13 or 22 kilovolts has existed. It behoves us to 'do it right'! |
generator extension cord
On Sat, 14 Jun 2008 12:37:24 -0700 (PDT), "
wrote: On Jun 14, 11:32*am, dpb wrote: Dottie wrote: ... neighbors is a licensed electrician and his setup is very plain and simple. *... But in all likelihood, correctly done. Plus, the dude will know what he's doing; OP obviously doesn't (nothing wrong about that other than trying to get by w/o getting proper input) and his description makes it sound like he's got a questionable arrangement at best... -- Here is a link to some pictures of the configuration: http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/...ome-and-garden It is as simple as getting the proper 120/240 plug and wire and using the ground screw in the connection box to connect the ground wire coming from the plug? The red and black will be hoy and the white will be neutral. It looks like the original owner had the generator cord "hard wired" into the box. He also failed to use a weatherproof connector. It should be one of these. http://tinyurl.com/4k23rs You could also hard wire a cord, or you could mount an inlet box. http://tinyurl.com/3uky6o You can't use the existing box for an inlet box because the plug is too big to fit in a single gang box. The cord you need is 10/3 SO cord. Because of the possibility of fire, you should not put the generator too close to the house, but you also don't want the cord any longer than necessary. I would go with 10 feet. It needs a NEMA 10-30R on the generator end and either hard wire it into the box or use a NEMA 10-30P for the inlet end. You have to ground the frame of the generator to either the house ground rod or a separate ground rod. |
generator extension cord
On Sat, 14 Jun 2008 09:10:34 -0600, Robert Neville
wrote: metspitzer wrote: Furthermore, backfeeding a house circuit through an outlet is about the stupidest thing you can do. If it only affected your house, I'd say go for it and what what happens when your insurance company refuses to pay out any claims. Seeing the legal prosecution for endangering emergency workers would also be fun if it wasn't for the potential threat to their life. Backfeeding your house with a generator is a wise thing to do if you have a transfer switch. It is dangerous, without one, for many reasons. You need to read a bit closer. I said that backfeeding a house _through an outlet_ is about the stupidest thing you can do. There is no way to wire a transfer switch into an outlet. Actually you are correct. You have to use an "inlet" |
generator extension cord
"terry" wrote in message ... On Jun 14, 2:23 pm, dpb wrote: I'd think any lineman who treats a downed power line as "dead" will end up that way himself. It has indeed happened, not always from downed lines but supposedly isolated lines. Our local REC had a lineman burned severely and very lucky he wasn't killed by such an incident where the generator was put onto the line _during_ the time they were working on a feeder that was physically disconnected from the line source but a secondary transformer was on the other side. .. The 'downed' line was used more as figure of speech! And, while some truth in that, hard working lines people working extra long hours under storm or other conditions, dealing with broken off wires etc.; maybe staff brought in from other assisting power companies, to restore power, deserve better consideration. Ever since the 1950s while I worked for a telecomm. company that shared poles with power lines there have been some accidents and FATALITIES. Usually involving power company linemen! Since the availaibility of emergency generators at prices affordable to many home owners the risk of back feeding tfrom a house service by an improperly connected generator through distribution transformer back to primary 13 or 22 kilovolts has existed. It behoves us to 'do it right'! Every time this discussion comes up, it seems the discussion is only of possible hazards to trained and well equipped linemen working on a distribution system. Linemen are not the only persons who may accidently or otherwise come in contact with a broken or otherwise downed power line. It is possible for a service drop line to break loose during a storm and then be backfed from the house it is still connected to. I would not want the possibility of being responsible for any power being present on presumably dead lines, whether on poles or on the ground. Don Young |
generator extension cord
dpb wrote: HeyBub wrote: terry wrote: Don't think the OP has a very good appreciation of the issues, technical and legal liabilities involved; even if the arrangement (of a previous owner) previously seemed to work OK! It does 'sound' as though the generator output has; live (red), live (black, neutral (white), and should have a green ground wire. Any of those missing, then potentially unsafe and/or could cause damage to house appliances!!! Utility workers working on 'downed' lines during/after an emergency can and understand , HAVE, received fatal electric shocks from line which they understood were disconnected; by 'back feeds' from negligent homeowners using improperly connected generators! That's a possibility, yet I wonder who's making the bigger mistake: the homeowner who doesn't know any better or the professional lineman who should. Neither mistake is any less than the other--ignorance is no excuse, particularly in a case where the person (OP in this case) can no longer even claim ignorance. I'd think any lineman who treats a downed power line as "dead" will end up that way himself. It has indeed happened, not always from downed lines but supposedly isolated lines. Our local REC had a lineman burned severely and very lucky he wasn't killed by such an incident where the generator was put onto the line _during_ the time they were working on a feeder that was physically disconnected from the line source but a secondary transformer was on the other side. -- Unfortunate, but they failed to follow procedures and ground any conductor they were going to work on without using appropriate gear for live conductors. |
generator extension cord
The first thing that tells me the installation was NOT professional is the
collection of individual wires that leave the bottom of the "transfer switch", the center bunch have a short length of flexible plastic conduit that doesn't go all the way to the breaker box and it is attached to the box with the wrong type of connector. They ALL should be enclosed in conduit or other approved sheath. The second thing, is that all the Romex cables are strung loose and not attached to the studs as they are required. The third thing, is the homemade "transfer box" with the Dymo type labels that is made out of an electrical junction box. Toggle switches do not usually have the capacity for a 5kw generator, provide no separation between generator and utility power and don't provide forced disconnect of one source before connecting to another power source. Plus each hot leg of the circuit is switched separately instead of being tied together. In some areas the neutral needs to be switched as well. Install a proper legal transfer switch according to the NEC code and be safe. wrote in message ... On Jun 13, 8:36 pm, " wrote: On Jun 13, 5:58�pm, " wrote: I need to make a short extension cord that goes from my portable generator 240V 4-wire receptacle to a 3-wire receptacle that powers 2 120V house circuits. The 3-wires are red and black and white. How do I make this? The 3 wires go into a junction box where the white wire is attached to some kind of common connection and the red and black are each attached to its own toggle switch that flips the power between the power company and the generator. TIA did you know some main service breaker boxes support a either normal or emergency mode lock out, which safely backfeeds your home and prevents accidently powering the power companies lines I think that the best thing to do at this point is to provide a link to pictures of the configuration. I will work on this today. I believe the installation was done professionally and the solution is simple but I just do not have the resources beyond asking for help here. Thanks for everyones input. |
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