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

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

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.

"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.

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.

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.

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.

"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

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.

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

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.

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.

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!

wrote:
....

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.

It would undoubtedly help, but I have a pretty good idea what you'll
show will be a jury-rigged setup that isn't proper.

If you don't have the resources to get an electrician to inspect as
someone else suggested, I think you should simply not attempt to use the
generator until you can do so.

Unless it is approved (and I seriously doubt the arrangement you have
described is or has been), you cannot legally hook it up anyway in any
jurisdiction. The danger of "backfeeding" thru your service transformer
to a utility worker the high voltage on the other side of the
transformer is simply unacceptable w/o a a _PROPER_ transfer switch
arrangement (and two toggle switches ain't proper).

The fact the former owner apparently didn't even connect the ground is a
problem and shouldn't use w/o it, but it pales in comparison to the
other as severity of risk.

--

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.

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.
--

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.

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...

--

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.

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"

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.

wrote:
....

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.

OK, neater than I expected but still a problem possibly.

Problem diagnosing from afar is can't tell what's in the box the two
toggle switches are switching.

The box itself appears to simply be a junction box, not a commercial
transfer switch so can't assume anything about what is actually inside.

The labels say "ATS" which one would infer stands for "automatic
transfer switch" but don't know if that's what's behind them or not, nor
what they're actually switching.

If they are the two hot legs, they're not supposed to be independently
switchable. If there is some control logic inside for an auto-transfer
mode, it's remotely possible it is compliant.

I still think if you are unable to tell for sure what you're looking at
if you open it up (which I presume is the case or you wouldn't be asking
the kinds of questions you are), you should have a licensed electrician
or the power-co look at it before it is used.

Note this doesn't mean it doesn't "work" -- it simply isn't clear what
the installation actually does and whether it is compliant w/ the Code
and rules for ensuring disconnecting from the grid are being followed.

--

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.

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

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'!

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.

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"

"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

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.

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.