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, Tue, 3 Sep 2013 10:53:19
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I would recommend that you get a generator big enough to power everything you NEED and then add on everything you WANT. For me that turned out to be basically an 8K generator. We don't need to run our electric clothes dryer in a power outage.
My wife put up with me building fires for warmth, and melting snow to flush the toilets, etc for a few days but then finally said "Dude, we are not 'camping' every time there is a power outage anymore" (or words to that effect)
I did not want to play in the main panel so I had my electrician install a 30A inlet on the side of the house and wire it to the top right hand set of breaker slots and install a main interlock switch.
The interlock kit is a device that makes it so you CANNOT energize the generator infeed breaker until you have physically switched the main OFF. Once you turn the main off (so you don't backfeed the public lines and kill a worker) the switch has a part that slides out of the way and allows you to turn on the generator breaker.
This is actually similar to backfeeding through the dryer circuit but it is a safe and legal way to do it.
You then, if you so desire or need to, choose which circuits to energize from the panel. In my case, the gen is big enough to handle everything we use so I just leave all circuits energized. But if your family might decide to run the A/C and microwave, dryer and hair dryer while making coffee in the coffee maker, etc, you might need to choose which to energize and when.
Originally, I just wanted a small genny to do a few circuits, but kept getting the idea it would be a pain, and I needed a decent size to run the well pump anyway (240v) so I went with a 'whole house' size and have never been happier. It takes me about 15 minutes from the time I realize there is a power outage until I have hauled the genny out of the garage, up the hill to the inlet, fire it up (electric start, definitely get it!) and energize the house.
Oh, BTW, there are different interlock kits for different makes and styles of main panels, so make sure if you go that route, that you get the correct one. Also, the genny breakers need to be in the upper right slots for the kit to work, so you will probably need to rearrange the breakers in the box, a good time to do load management for each leg of your power to keep the genny from overworking on one leg and coasting i=on the other.
I hope this info helps in your decision making process. Fell free to ask any questions about anything I forgot to mention.
posted by 72.224.12...
, Tue, 3 Sep 2013 10:53:19, Wed, 4 Sep 2013 06:54:08, Wed, 4 Sep 2013 18:15:01, Thu, 5 Sep 2013 05:30:11
, Tue, 3 Sep 2013 13:56:03, Tue, 3 Sep 2013 11:25:42, Wed, 4 Sep 2013 03:15:11
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