My sister and brother-in-law would probably fair well since they consider themselves pioneers in that they are very self reliant.
My only child daughter is a Marine.
My girlfriend on the other hand, would probably expire without her hair dryer.
No need to worry about your daughter.
I have a Generator that cornets to my electric panel
I'm not sure that is a legal set up? I'm not an electrician but I believe that you need a utility cut over switch that physically disconnects your home from the utility so that you avoid the possibility of backfeeding the system through the neutral wire.I put a 220 female electric outlet on the side of my house that is tied into my well pump line to plug my generator into. My extension cord that I run from the generator has a male 220 plug on both ends. You have to make sure you plug it in both ends before you fire up the generator. Then I throw the main breaker on the panel. . .
That is one reason why I have a TRI-Fuel generator. They cost only a very small premium more than a regular gas generator but allow you to run off Natural Gas, Propane or Gasoline. I have mine connected to my natural gas line. If I somehow lose N.G. all I have to do is disconnect it from the line and connect it to a propane tank or pour gasoline into the tank.Okay ... generator is good. But what about when you run out of fuel? Do you have a manually operated pump for your well?
Do you have a manually operated pump for your well as a back-up?
I'm not sure that is a legal set up? I'm not an electrician but I believe that you need a utility cut over switch that physically disconnects your home from the utility so that you avoid the possibility of backfeeding the system through the neutral wire.
I would like to hear from a licensed electrician who knows what is the legal set up for generator connections.
That is one reason why I have a TRI-Fuel generator. They cost only a very small premium more than a regular gas generator but allow you to run off Natural Gas, Propane or Gasoline. I have mine connected to my natural gas line. If I somehow lose N.G. all I have to do is disconnect it from the line and connect it to a propane tank or pour gasoline into the tank.
Typically I keep stabilized premium grade gasoline in the tank and start it up on gasoline because it starts easier on gasoline. After its warmed up I simply turn off the gasoline and switch over to natural gas by turning 2 cut-offs dials. It takes seconds. While it is on natural gas I have, for all practical purposes, an unlimited run time. We've had electrical power failures for up to 8 days, but I've never had a gas outage. So in my case a couple of propane tanks for the BBQ are just bonus fuel. If a major snow storm is heading for the area I make sure I have my 5 gallon gas cans filled. I keep 2 of those for the lawn tractor and small yard equipment so I fill them with premium fuel in the fall and put stabilizer in the fuel. If I did not have a Tri-Fuel set up then I would want 20 to 30 gallons of gasoline + a full generator tank of gas on hand before any major storm rolled through . . . and I'm not sure I'd actually want to keep that much gasoline in the garage in plastic containers . . . might want to seriously consider fuel storage issues at that point. Most generators of any reasonable size will burn about 5 gallons every 6 to 10 hours. So if you figure 8 hours is your average, 30 gallons of gas is only a couple days of fuel assuming you turn off your generator periodically for several hours at a time during the power outage.
If you think ahead just a little bit you can get through most outages and storm events with minimal inconvenience.
BTW, many engine companies make/sell propane/n.g. conversion kits for their small engines. So if you have a generator you may be able to convert it into a tri-fuel unit for a couple hundred bucks, or less.
ALSO, don't forget that generators get stolen. If yours is not mounted to the ground, then make sure to chain it in place so thieves don't toss it in the back of a pick up truck and drive away with it!
It will take me about 30 minutes to remove this setup if and when I sell my house if it is an issue come inspection time. I always trip the main when I run it. I don't want to use my gas to power the neighbors house
445.3 Other Articles. Generators and their associated wiring
and equipment shall also comply with the applicable
provisions of Articles 695, 700, 701, 702, and 705.
445.18 Disconnecting Means Required for Generators.
Generators shall be equipped with a disconnect by means
of which the generator and all protective devices and control
apparatus are able to be disconnected entirely from the
circuits supplied by the generator except where:
(1) The driving means for the generator can be readily shut
down; and
(2) The generator is not arranged to operate in parallel with
another generator or other source of voltage.
705.20 Disconnecting Means, Sources. Means shall be
provided to disconnect all ungrounded conductors of an
electric power production source(s) from all other conductors.
705.21 Disconnecting Means, Equipment. Means shall
be provided to disconnect equipment, such as inverters or
transformers associated with a power production source
from all ungrounded conductors of all sources of supply.
Equipment intended to be operated and maintained as an
integral part of a power production source exceeding 1000
volts shall not be required to have a disconnecting means.
705.22 Disconnect Device. The disconnecting means for
ungrounded conductors shall consist of a manually or
power operable switch(es) or circuit breaker(s) with the
following features:
(1) Located where accessible
(2) Externally operable without exposing the operator to
contact with live parts and, if power operable, of a type
that can be opened by hand in the event of a power
supply failure
(3) Plainly indicating whether in the open or closed position
(4) Having ratings not less than the load to be carried and
the fault current to be interrupted
For disconnect equipment energized from both sides, a
marking shall be provided to indicate that all contacts of the
disconnect equipment may be energized.
FPN No. 1: In parallel generation systems, some equipment,
including knife blade switches and fuses, is likely to
be energized from both directions. See 240.40.
FPN No. 2: Interconnection to an off-premises primary
source could require a visibly verifiable disconnecting
device.
My code book is a little old it is the NEC 2004 edition.
There is several articles that are used for generators. I quote the most important Articles that I found.
OK but for those of us who speak simple English, can you explain (slowly and with simple small words) what that really means as it relates to some of the discussions in this thread?