Overview of project to wire portable generator to my electrical distribution panel.
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The best I’ve seen. Thanks cuz!!!
I am in the process of doing the same thing
My panel is in a finished area. I have to open up the ceiling to run to feed. Also need to locate interlock for my seimens panel. Lowes sells a main/ interlock for the seimens. Have you heard about them at all?
Thanks again
Awesome video, thanks for taking the time to make it.
The Excel spreadsheet is genius, on day 2 of a 4 day power outage , I installed a 6 circuit manual transfer switch off of a 6000W generator, the hardest part was figuring out how to balance load across the two phases. I used a Killawatt device plugged in for each appliance so I could figure out peak W and A, and then planned accordingly(you way much better! The interlock is great, but manual. To avoid floding & food going bad when not home, going with auto xfer and NG gen, every case is diff.
@reigninginlife If you have any open positions in your panel, you can simply move the existing breaker to one of those positions. (paying mind to double pole vs. single pole). You will obviously need to move/re-route the wires to the new position. You may not have enough wire to reach. May need an electrician to do this for you. Also, if you are out of slots, you can buy the slimline (or tandem) breakers that are two-in-one. good luck.
Thanks u for this video. I had almost purchased a transfer switch. My question is, since the backfeed breaker takes up #2 and 4 slots on the panel, what do I do with the existing circuits in those slots? Thanks!
I found mine on e-bay for $85 bucks. The part number is QOCGK2. If you google it you will find several suppliers.
One more question? Where did you get your kit and model # I found a interlocking kit but It’s not a square d. I would like to buy the factory kit not an aftermarket one.
@PMedeiros1976 It is a ‘normal’ breaker (double-pole, 30 amp), but just referred to as the ‘backfeed’ breaker due to the purpose it’s being used for. The position in the panel is important due to proximity to the mains.
PMedeiros1976
Yes and no! The breaker being backfed is the one that is feeding the panel from the generator. You can turn off or on only the breakers needed.
Are all breakers back feed breakers?
@craigwh1000 – Google “Reliance Controls THP108″. This is a nice and inexpensive device that will tell you when your power has been restored. I have one and it works great!
If you’re using the interlock and turn off the main CB to use the generator then how do you know when power is restored to the house so you can switch back (without talking to neighbors, etc.)?
CWH
good video tu.
This is a great video. You can buy an Interlock Kit on line (google it) to fit about any panel and do just like he says. All the circuits will be powered but if your generator is not big enough, just turn off the breaker to say the AC or Water Heater but with the Interlock Kit, you will have power to your fridg, oil furnace,
Nice video. Thanks…
@panchohughes Yep. Send power through the panel to everything and listen to the generator as you turn things on and off. It’s amazing how quickly you learn!
Be ready to turn something off quickly if the generator begins to stall.
@md101488 I think a lineman has far greater dangers presented to him than an unbroken neutral which is bonded to earth ground anyway. (like falling out of a cherry picker) I have a neighbor down the road that is a lineman for DelMarVa power. I think i will ask him his opinion on this. I have another neighbor who is a full time electrician for a Fortune500 company. I reviewed my setup with him and he found nothing wrong with it.
@yakyakyak69 Bingo! This is the exact advantage of the interlock that I liked- (the flexibility). A circuit that you may not feel important at the time you install a transfer switch…. may end up being a circuit that you need during an outage. (like for example your garage outlets, or say an typically unused upstairs bedroom. what if you have family staying with you). Thanks for the post yakyak.
@md101488 I am not an electrician, but I don’t follow this comment. How can the neutral not being disconnected have any effect on the lines. Considering that inside the main panel, the neutral, and ground are bonded together. That would in theory keep the neutral that is leaving the house to the line at ground potential. I don’t see the danger of not having the neutral disconnected in the circuit. But perhaps I am wrong.
I used my interlock and a 5K generator for 5 days during Irene. Not enough for central air, electric oven or clothers dryer, but could power 2 refrigerators, lighting, oil fired baseboard water heater, one of my electric stove tops etc.
On generator, you have to manage your power use but almost ALL could be used.
@belfast479 5 Years for me!
@Vilmo003 The interlock may be legal with the electrical inspectors, but what about the power company? The interlock does not break the neutral. The power company I work for requires thr neutral to be isolated from the generator so that it does not back feed and kill a lineman.
@belfast479 Your statement is not true. I give no such impression. The use of an interlock meets code requirements. Nothing unsafe about it.
WRONG…you are giving everyone the false impression that they can run their entire house on any size generator
we go to school for 4 years and have codes to follow so that someone doesn’t get hurt or killed
nice job, I knew what the Transfer switch was but never heard of the Interlock so it’s good to know I have a choice… In my case the Interlock may be the best bet. Thanks again for the post!