Generators

[gone_fishing]

I don't know how many times in the past I have thought about buying a generator for backup power for my house or business.

I have very little expertise in this subject and I seem to always get bogged down in how big of a generator do I need. I would want to run the hot water heater which is electric along with the furnace, refrigerator and at least a few lights. Either the computer or tv wouldnt be a bad idea as well.

Any help in this subject would be appreciated.

[woodduck]

Get at least 8 kw. That will handle the surge of the water heater kicking in.

[Shellback]

I've got a 6000 watt generator, and a transfer switch for it. The transfer switch ties into your main box and prevents backfeed to your electric supplier. It also isolates circuits so you can select which one you want to power. For instance if you want to run your water heater, you can shut the other circuits off till your water is hot. Then shut the W/H off, and turn others back on. You really don't need to run everything at the same time. So you don't have to buy something big enough to run the whole house unless you have deep pockets! My breaker box and transfer switch is in my basement, and I ran a heavy 220v wire to my garage, then I have a box there with the cord to my generator. If I have a power failure, I wheel the generator outside, start it up and plug the power cord in. I then the head to the basement and select what circuits I want to run.

[Don G]

I think our water heater has 2 -4500 W elements..Wouldn't you need at least a 9kw generator just to run the water heater and nothing else..?

[woodduck]

This is the theory as I understand it....
How do electric water heaters work?

[jiggshooter]

very good topic everyone needs a generator it could save your food from going bad in power outage

[fishinRod]

i have a question.........if you took two heavy duty drop cords and cut them in half and then spliced the two male ends together.....if you plug one end into the generator and the other into an electrical socket in your house (cut off the main breaker to the house first in case the power came back on), would all of the sockets in the house work? seems to me it would...iv thought about his before as a way to eleminate drop cords and power strips. My generator is small so i dont try to run everything, just fridge, freezer, tv, fan or space heater

[Don G]

This is the theory as I understand it....
How do electric water heaters work?

Thanks John, a real good read...I never knew how the water heaters worked..

[woodduck]

You're welcome, Don. With my oldtimers disease, I have to look it up everytime I have to work on mine.

[Shellback]

i have a question.........if you took two heavy duty drop cords and cut them in half and then spliced the two male ends together.....if you plug one end into the generator and the other into an electrical socket in your house (cut off the main breaker to the house first in case the power came back on), would all of the sockets in the house work? seems to me it would...iv thought about his before as a way to eleminate drop cords and power strips. My generator is small so i dont try to run everything, just fridge, freezer, tv, fan or space heater

Yes, it will work, but it's probably illegal. If by chance you forget to shut off your main breaker, you risk electrocuting a lineman working to restore your power. That's why they have a transfer switch for using a generator. To power your circuits off a transfer switch, it mechanically disconnects you from the grid.