Generator help needed PLEEEEEAAAAASE

Dani

Dani

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Okie dokie y'all. I survived the hurricane. My mom and aunt came to stay with me and it was an adventure of epic proportions. Overall, I am very fortunate. The tree that came down on my house did no structural damage and very little cosmetic damage. My front porch roof got in the way so it couldn't bring down my power lines to the house, though the top of the tree was resting on them. I haven't had power since Monday morning I guess and I was actually happy to come to work today because I was able to get a shower. I have a well and with no power, I have no water. My mom's house survived beautifully from what we've heard. They left this morning to head back to Jacksonville. She has power back already.

I need help from the electrical experts here. I have a 5500 watt generator. Briggs and Stratton. Anyway, Irma has taken my power away for the foreseeable future it seems like and I would like to run my whole house fan. It's not terribly hot here but some air movement through the house would be nice. I was told that as long as I turn the main breaker off so I don't kill someone who is trying to restore power, I can power things in my house through the dryer outlet. I am sure there is a way to add an outlet to the house somewhere that makes it safe for the power people but I have no clue what that is or what I would have to do to do that. So for now I need to make an extension cord of some kind to be able to power some things in my house. I've included pictures....I have the normal dryer outlet and then the outlets that are on my generator. The guy at Tractor Supply said I can't take any of the outlets I have to make an extension cord for 30 amp. I kinda think that is BS because I have run a 30 amp camper off of this particular generator without burning down the camper, exploding the generator or setting the woods on fire. I have a thick 30 amp RV girl part that goes to the normal 120 V boy part that we've plugged into one of the outlets....it's a thick heavy duty cord....

so my question is can I make an extension cord that would plug into the 30 amp rv extension that can then plug into the 120 V outlet on the generator and the other end plug into the dryer outlet on the house? is that safe...I know I can make it, but would it be okay? Or, can I make an extension cord that would fit the 4 prong round thing and go to the 3 prong dryer vent? and how would I do that?

I get that with a 5500 level generator I have to manage the load on the generator and be careful how I use it.

Also, how can I determine if my generator is big enough to make my well pump work? My neighbor "thinks" it's too small, but I don't know how to check to see if it is or what to look for or how to figure if it is too small or not...

Any thoughts and help on this is very greatly appreciated.....


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No clue on hooking up to the house but in regards to the pump, you will need to know how many HP it is & how many amps it draws.
As long as the start up watts are below 5500watts and your total load is below the amp output of your generator, the generator should be able to power it.
Start up (surge) watts is the tricky part:


How many watts does it take to run a water pump?
Example:
How Much Electricity Do You Need to Produce?Survival Appliances:
(HP Rated )Running Watts/Surge (startup)Watts:
Pump (1 HP)1900/5700
Water Pump (2 HP)2500/7500
 
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As stated, you need to know the draw on your well pump to know if you have the right sized generator.

If you are going to plug into you entire house, you need a transfer switch wired (best to do before you need it). This will prevent any back feeding. Otherwise, you will have to rewire to have specific outlets getting power. I would recommend a transfer switch. I have a 7KW LP generator that has a manual transfer switch, as I didn't want it kicking in, every time the power went out.

As these things happen in Florida somewhat frequently, I would see if you could get an electrician out, and install a manual transfer switch and port to feed the power. I think you might get taken to the cleaners, or not be able to get them to do it quickly, but do it before the next one.

They will be something list this...

http://www.steadypower.com/categories.php?category=Transfer-Switches/Manual&utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Transfer%20Switches&utm_term=manual%20transfer%20switches&utm_content=Manual%20Transfer%20Switches
 
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give me a quick call if you want between now and 1 or after 5.
 
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Glad you are OK Dani.

Sorry I can't help with this issue, don't know enough about them to give you advice.

Good Luck,
 
Dani,

Been thinking about you. Glad you and your family are ok.

As has been mentioned. You really need to know what your well pump is. Some are 115volt, single phase but most deep well pumps are 230volt, 3phase. I'm not an electric guy but my guess is your generator won't handle a deep well pump. If it's a sand point well that's another story. Most of them run on standard house current. My father-in-law has a 7kw Hobart house generator and he tells me it won't run the entire house. Good luck with getting every back to normal.

Amazon has a number of reasonably priced propane tankless camping showers for a hot shower. I'd probably go that way until your power is restored and use your generator for lights and other essential needs.

https://www.amazon.com/Camplux-Outdoor-Portable-Propane-Tankless/dp/B01CJPU6JI/ref=sr_1_1/134-3158408-1081203?ie=UTF8&qid=1505325467&sr=8-1&keywords=outdoor+propane+shower
 
I just talked to my coworker who has quite a bit of experience with this sort of stuff. He said that if its a 1hp above ground pump your 55K watt generator will power it.
HOWEVER, he did not recommend trying to tie the generator into the house without the proper connections & isolation switches in place nor trying to hook the pump directly to the generator. Too many things can go wrong and you end up frying a lot of electrical equipment, the pump or worse, yourself.
 
As stated if it's and above ground shallow well your generator will run it. Deep we'll submersed, probably not.
After hurricane sandy I took all my essential appliance and converted the hard wiring to a plug and box. That way when the power is out I can run the refrigerator, well pump and water heater straight from the breaker protected generator outlets with out having to back feed the whole house. Not fun, but it's simple and effective
 
I have a big transfer switch, came with the generater used. They now make a small one that replaces the first breaker and blocks the main switch.
Hook up your generater and kill the main and all breakers. Try your well and see what it does. Alternate well and appliances as needed. Eat all the freezer stuff, at least cook it, won't spoil as easy. Fill up sinks, tubs and water jugs for water. Tub water is for flushing toilets. Been there and done it here on Long Island.

Good Luck
 
My power guys are AWESOME!!!!!! Igot power back today! I was told probably friday so my power guys are my heros.

Thank you all for the responses. I will be looking into having a switch and plug put in so that I can run my generator to at least run a few things in the house. I will check my well pump to see what kind of pump i have. I know it is above ground but size? Not sure. My neighbor said that our wells are about 40 feet deep I think. I remember being shocked at how shallow they are.

Im sooooooo happy to have ceiling fans again....and AC......and lights....and.....and.....so other than putting the house and garage back together from running electric cords to things, i think am pretty much done with Ms. Irma's nonsense.

Thank yall again for your responses. I really appreciate it.
 
Rich, same basic thing I did except I didnt think to fill up the tub for our convenience. I filled up one of my canoes with water....

So I learned a few things with this hurricane. If youre going to stay and you have a separate shed with an electric garage door opener, make sure the door can be opened manually if the power goes out.

If you are going to evacuate and you think power will go out, turn off the ice maker and empty the ice out of it so that if your freezer does thaw, the ice doesnt turn to water that leaks out of your ice maker door.

Even a boat filled with water in a seemingly protected location can disappear.

And powdered donuts and ice cream sammiches are pretty good together for breakfast.
 
Once things settle back down and the emergency is over. Have someone install a generator connector inlet. It will basically be a male plug in housed in a recess all housed in a box with a lock tab. Then you just connect the generator to the home with a standard extension cord. If you ever have kids visit put a lock on it. If you never have kids around you can just put a zip tie on it, and cut it when you need to.

They should also install a 3 position disconnect between the power company supply and your breaker box. This will have one position for normal supply from the power company, one for off no power, and one for power from the generator. You can get away without this but it is the correct way of doing it.

My generator (8000w) will run my well pump which is 400 feet deep. I can manage to run what I need to heat my house, and keep my freezer and refrigerator running but not the well pump at the same time. I have to pick and choose what I run. I suspect you will as well.

By the way you should exercise generator regularly. To do this you need to start the generator and put a load on it. I do not do this enough. Generally, I plug in a shop vac and clean my truck. Again something I do not do often enough.
 
David Allen said:
Once things settle back down and the emergency is over. Have someone install a generator connector inlet. It will basically be a male plug in housed in a recess all housed in a box with a lock tab. Then you just connect the generator to the home with a standard extension cord. If you ever have kids visit put a lock on it. If you never have kids around you can just put a zip tie on it, and cut it when you need to.

They should also install a 3 position disconnect between the power company supply and your breaker box. This will have one position for normal supply from the power company, one for off no power, and one for power from the generator. You can get away without this but it is the correct way of doing it.

My generator (8000w) will run my well pump which is 400 feet deep. I can manage to run what I need to heat my house, and keep my freezer and refrigerator running but not the well pump at the same time. I have to pick and choose what I run. I suspect you will as well.

By the way you should exercise generator regularly. To do this you need to start the generator and put a load on it. I do not do this enough. Generally, I plug in a shop vac and clean my truck. Again something I do not do often enough.
Click to expand...

You could also consider a GenerLink that fits on your meter box. Automatic disconnect from main line. Flip off all your circuit breakers.Just plug your generator in to the unit. The start switching back on the circuits you need.
 
The extension cord you want to make to power your house via a dryer outlet would need to have male prongs on both ends. There is a reason this is sometimes called a "suicide cord". I would not suggest trying this if you don't know what you are doing and since you are asking how to do this on the internet i assume you don't know what you are doing. Please be safe and ask yourself if the risk is worth the "reward"
 
Dani, Been thinking of you and yours all through this storm and am so happy you made it through OK. JUJU back at you. Had some power losses at my house over the years but was able to get by just plugging in the refer and freezer. I have 3 gens in the shed so I was a hero in 2 of the neighbors houses. Well I'm off now to start another adventure.
 
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