What to do... Bought a generator, now what?

We just bought this:

Briggs & Stratton 6250 W Troy Bilt 6250-Running Watts Portable Generator Item #: 470237 | Model #: 30594 6,250 running watts; 8,500 starting watts 8.5-gallon fuel tank for run times up to 11 hours at 50% load Four 120-volt household type outlets and one 120/240-volt 30-amp locking type outlet with rubber outlet covers and circuit breaker protection Briggs & Stratton OHV engine

Now besides just plugging in cords and powering things, what have you guys done (what could be done) to more conveniently power household items.

I'm going to build a nice weatherproof noise box but like I said, aside from running extension cords into my fridge etc. what can I do to make better use of this?

Instead of using multiple extension cords to various appliances you can just use one cord with a male outlet on both sides.

If power goes out turn off the main breaker(so no surge when power comes back on). Plug the cord from the generator in to an outlet and turn off all the breakers to all non-essential circuits. This way the generator will back feed in to only the needed circuits.

My neighbor does this with a little Honda generator he keeps in his toy hauler. Pretty simple and effective back-up power source.

It costs a few bucks but for convenience sake it's nice to have a household disconnect so that you separate the house from the grid (important thing here, backfeeding the lines is bad m'kay). Then you plug in your genny and run your house just like normal inside.

Mark big power hogs like water heater and heat pump/AC with obvious take in the panel and throw those breakers. Everything else should be fine.

Some sort of enclosure (with venting) is nice as those aren't exactly quiet generators. Noise fatigue is real.

How much fuel do you plan to keep on hand?

In reply to The Hoff:

I'm pretty handy around the house but somehow I didn't know it was as easy as all that!

No need to have an electrician (I was an apprentice many years ago) come up with something fancy?

Do I make a male-male cord myself or are these sold? And I can plug it into any outlet in the house and it'll feed every circuit not manually switched off at the panel?

In reply to KyAllroad:

I'll have several 5 gal cans. We have rider mowers and snow blowers that we have fuel for already. Probably 20 gal at any given time.

In reply to KyAllroad:

Can you elaborate any about the household cutoff? How does one then get power to the panel if not back feeding?

For the noise box, don't forget getting fresh cool air in and exhaust out. Along with hot air out. That's the heat going to the air that would've went to the radiator. Air in and out probably should have an elbow in both to attenuate sound (As long as you can't see light through them it should help). I've considered adding a bigger muffler to ours and even an intake silencer. Rubber mounting should help with the noise too.

Bought a 10kw genny last fall. Then got this: http://www.lowes.com/pd_688520-48019-306LRK___?productId=50436688&pl=1&Ntt=generator+parts+and+accessories

Wired in the important stuff (fridge, internet, stove, well, TV) and tested it all to make sure the gen could support it (plenty of juice). For heat we have the 36k BTU fireplace.

Looks like I'll be investing in a transfer panel. I read about the dangers of backfeeding so that's not in the plans.

Our house has a cellar, I always thought the brilliant move would be to install an outlet in the middle of the house inside thats sole purpose was to be the feed for power from an outdoor generator (just run the wiring from generator thru cellar and up thru wall to the outlet(s)). Then just run the necessary extension cords inside the house when needed to certain appliances etc..

I guess it would have to be a pretty small generator to do something like that though. Or some robust outlets.

In reply to failboat:

Backfeeding seemed initially like one of those "E36 M3, why didn't I think of that?" things but power being able to run backwards FROM the house seems like a bad idea.

ebonyandivory wrote: Looks like I'll be investing in a transfer panel. I read about the dangers of backfeeding so that's not in the plans.

Yep. I thought about backfeeding through a dryer plug, but, careful as I am, the risk of injuring a worker is too much for me. The other nice thing about the transfer panel is that it's simple enough for my wife and kids to use if I'm not home. But the bottom line is that it's much, much safer.

In reply to Tom_Spangler:

I definitely wasn't planning on another $300 though

The Hoff wrote: Instead of using multiple extension cords to various appliances you can just use one cord with a male outlet on both sides. If power goes out turn off the main breaker(so no surge when power comes back on). Plug the cord from the generator in to an outlet and turn off all the breakers to all non-essential circuits. This way the generator will back feed in to only the needed circuits. My neighbor does this with a little Honda generator he keeps in his toy hauler. Pretty simple and effective back-up power source.

No no no no. There's a reason this is called the suicide cord method.

There are multiple ways of connecting a generator, but they all need to have a failsafe way of isolating the generator power from utility power, and they all need to use a power cord that doesn't have exposed male ends that are energized.

Here's an article from Popular Mechanics that does a good job on explaining the installation process: https://books.google.com/books?id=UGYEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA82&lpg=PA82&dq=popular+mechanics+generator+installation&source=bl&ots=92H_o4d8D3&sig=sR47BpL56gnnLNuxLg8Q6xXSh_4&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0CFcQ6AEwCWoVChMIoKW92KikyAIViHA-Ch1enQFm#v=onepage&q=popular%20mechanics%20generator%20installation&f=false It is from 1998, so there may be some changes in electrical codes since then but it's a good place to start.

My setup isn't as fancy as a transfer panel but it's safer than plugging into an outlet. There is a sliding plate on the main electrical panel which interlocks between the main breaker and the top right breaker. The main breaker has to be turned off before the plate can be slid out of the way so the top right breaker can be turned on. The top right breaker is wired on the outlet side to a male, 5 pin (I think) 220V twist-lock connector on the outside of the house. The generator gets plugged in there.

The panel is SquareD, and the interlock plate was designed for this purpose. I assume it's a SquareD part, but I've never looked for it. My electrician suggested the whole arrangement and provided all the materials.

Doing some quick math for air flow for a noise box. I'm getting 2,600 cfm for the 50% load (ll hours and 8.5 gal, 25% eff for the engine, and 85% for the generator) at an outside temp of 95°F and a 30°F rise in temp.

I'd consider doing two fence partitions that are 'C' shape in plan, with one flipped backwards and offset so you can walk between them. That way you don't have a door to deal with and it'll still attenuate sound.

Sort of like this: but with no door and the same fence shape flipped and offset to allow a walk path at both ends. It's that zigzag that attenuates the sound. It should really have a roof too.

My noise box just got way involved and complicated. By the looks of the picture, the generac box doesn't do much for sound in close quarters like that.

ebonyandivory wrote: In reply to failboat: Backfeeding seemed initially like one of those "E36 M3, why didn't I think of that?" things but power being able to run backwards FROM the house seems like a bad idea.

Well the way I was thinking was that this standalone outlet would not be tied into the house at all other than being mounted in the wall. And to plug in appliances to it would mean I am unplugging them from the house circuitry completely. It would pretty much be a direct connection to the generator.

I am not sure if this is a great idea or a really stupid one.

I suggest a whole house transfer switch. I have one on each house. Generator is wired into that. You don't want to just plug it into the wall and risk killing someone. That is as smart as donating blood to get a free HIV test. Someone can die from either of those.

In reply to failboat:

Sounds like you're just trying to cut down on the member of chords running through windows from the outside...

ebonyandivory wrote: I'm going to build a nice weatherproof noise box

An air cooled generator is going to be plenty noisy, but I'd be careful about putting it in a box - they need a lot of ventilation. The owner's manual describes a cold weather enclosure: http://www.troybilt.com/equipment/troybilt/6250-watt-portable-generator-030594 but says it is for use only below 40 degrees F.

The easiest cheap way to install a generator to power only some of the loads in your house is with a subpanel and an extra plug and outlet. Loads get moved to sub panel, original panel gets a new 220 breaker to feed the panel. In between the panels is an outlet and plug so the entire sub panel can be unplugged from the main. Insert extension cord from generator to subpanel plug and done.

If a lineman catches someone using one of those double male plugs the utility provider is legally allowed to turn off service and deny it in the future. More likely it will be confiscated or destroyed in a public and thorough fashion by every burley lineman within driving distance.

In reply to stuart in mn:

Any box I make will surely allow for plenty of air and exhaust. There's enough plans on the 'net and the research into size etc has been done for me.

As an Apprentice electrician years ago, wiring a condo complex, we were told all power was off. It wasn't. While doing plugs and switches it didn't take me long to not trust anyone and want to kick the E36 M3 out of the maintainance guy.

I won't put any linemen at risk. Neither Offensive nor Defensive!

OOG, does that involve the group of linemen wrapping the double-male cord around the neck of the person using it and hanging them from the dead utility pole?

I don't have much to add other than there's two types of people at the track on any given weekend: Those that run their generator all damn night, and decent folk.

RossD wrote: *My* noise box just got way involved and complicated. By the looks of the picture, the generac box doesn't do much for sound in close quarters like that.

In the picture there is some sort of batting installed on the inside of the walls and door for absorbing sound. The generator in the picture is a natural gas/propane model and is already in a sound attenuated (and weatherproof) enclosure, so what's in the picture is as much for hiding it as it is for sound damping. If you have a more common open generator, it'll be tough to really make an enclosure that keeps it quiet. The best you can hope for is to make it less annoying for your neighbors.

Personally, I'm a fan of installing a sub-feed breaker into a transfer switch into a sub-panel for generator loads. Especially in the likely case your generator cannot power your whole house.