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Posted by Eric on March 30, 2008, 2:24 pm
Blattus Slafaly 0/00 ? ? ? wrote:
> Rich wrote:
>> I'm in the market for a portable generator and just need it to run the
>> fridge the furnace and just small things after that. I went on a few web
>> sites and they seem to be geared to running your whole house instead of
>> just a few things to get past the storm or what ever. I live SW of Chicago
>> and the longest I've been without power was 3 days when a tornado came
>> through. I would like to buy one that would get me by for a day or two at
>> the most and only run the basics. What I'm having trouble with is sizing
>> the unit to my needs. Sump pump, furnace, fridge and some lighting but I
>> have all compact fluorescents.
>>
>> Thanks for any advice, especially from someone that has this basic setup,
>> Rich
>>
>>
> How do you expect to connect into the circuits of these few things?
> The easiest way is to plug into your dryer outlet and back feed to your
> electrical box (with the mains off of course). That way everything will
> run normally as always. A 5000 watt generator should do you. None of
> them will run for 2 or 3 days without refueling. You'll have to gas it
> up every day if you don't run it all night. Now you can get a small
> diesel generator and hook it up to your oil tank and it would run until
> the tank is empty. That will cost you much more. 5kw will give you
> about 30 amps, the rating of your dryer cable and breaker. In the US anyway.
>
Backfeeding is stupid and dangerous and leaves you wide open to criminal
liability. EVEN if its not you, how are you going to prove that it wasnt you
who sent a backfed charge out onto the powerline that killed the lineworker?
I can hear it now... "Oh i wont forget to shut off the main" Sure, sure.
Dont be so stinking cheap, go buy a transfer switch.
Eric
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