Installed 30 AMP connection but today reversed

[Firstfiver]

We live in a flood zone with high water table. When we get a lot of rain my sump pump runs ALOT. We've lost power maybe 4 times in 15 yrsn but we travel a good bit. Previous owners lost furnace, hot water heater, well pump,and softener.
The water actually filled the basement to half way up the main power panel.
So I have two sump pumps and a 9K watt natural gas generator. Beyond that I'll just count on insurance.

[Firstfiver]

Plus it powers the fridge and 2 chest freezers

[JaimesBeam]

It is possible to backfeed up the neutral.
You’d have to work hard to do that, but it is possible.
I had it happen when my weather head was pulled down
By a tree in a storm.

It’s also possible to feed both sides of your circuit breaker box.
Of course tge 220 equipment will not work, and might be damaged if their
Breakers are not turned off.

[Hangfive]

Originally Posted by Bat Dude

A few weeks back I installed a 30 AMP line from the main breaker panel in the house to a new 30 AMP RV connection mounted ~ 18" up off the ground outside of our garage. Works well and will keep the coach charged and ready during the pre-season time before Michigan's seasonal Ice Age arrives. So I can run electrical things in the coach, like small cube heater to avoid any freezing.


WOW never thought about a need to reverse the flow of electrical power back to the house.


Major storm blew through the state last night (>50 mph winds and up to 70 in some areas) and knocked out power for some 2,800 places. Power company indicate it could take up to 3 days to restore power to some areas.


So with an on-board generator in our Invicta I ran our long heavy duty extension cord from the coach to the house kitchen and plugged in our fridge.


Also wife has her phone charger on that line. So with the generator running in the coach we are good to go in the house.


Cooking will be in the coach on propane and water in our fresh water tank will keep us going for the duration. Boon docking in our front yard.



Cheers,


Bat Dude

Don't forget to turn off the house main breaker when powering the house with any generator, keeps linemen from getting electrocuted.

[70ChevelleSS]

We've had a whole house gen, natural gas, for about 5 years now. Why spend all that money on a generator? Storm came through a week ago, power out for 4 days. We've lost power 5 or 6 times in the last 2 months. We don't have to throw out the stuff in our fridge or deep freeze. We don't sweat to death in this weather, we run the ac. Don't freeze in the winter either. We're on a well so we can have running water. It's a lot of money for one but I don't have to make sure I have gas for a portable gen, had one for years. Don't have to go outside in the winter to hook it up or refill the portable gen. It's a personal choice to spend the money on one. We chose to, sure wish we didn't need it.

[tropical36]

Originally Posted by Bat Dude

A few weeks back I installed a 30 AMP line from the main breaker panel in the house to a new 30 AMP RV connection mounted ~ 18" up off the ground outside of our garage. Works well and will keep the coach charged and ready during the pre-season time before Michigan's seasonal Ice Age arrives. So I can run electrical things in the coach, like small cube heater to avoid any freezing.


WOW never thought about a need to reverse the flow of electrical power back to the house.


Major storm blew through the state last night (>50 mph winds and up to 70 in some areas) and knocked out power for some 2,800 places. Power company indicate it could take up to 3 days to restore power to some areas.


So with an on-board generator in our Invicta I ran our long heavy duty extension cord from the coach to the house kitchen and plugged in our fridge.


Also wife has her phone charger on that line. So with the generator running in the coach we are good to go in the house.


Cooking will be in the coach on propane and water in our fresh water tank will keep us going for the duration. Boon docking in our front yard.



Cheers,


Bat Dude

Feeding a fridge is always a good idea, but in the situations, we've found it a lot easier to just stay in the coach, until the power comes back on.

[jaearhart]

Yes sir. I do the same here on Louisiana when them hurricanes blow down our power lines. I don't connect to my house . I use extension cords to the house refrigerator, freezer and a table lamp. No power goes to the linemen pole.

[70ChevelleSS]

Originally Posted by Mudfrog

We had no power for almost a month when Rita came through in 2005. I knew the energy company frowned upon it but I went ahead and pulled the meter so that I could get some power into the house. This was to run the frig, washing machine, and some of the lights. I was lucky that both were on the same leg.

Pulling the meter insured that my generator could not back feed and hurt a utility worker working on the lines. The power company's guy that reinstalled the meter actually thanked me for doing this.

Turning off your main breaker would do the same. Not sure where you live but here if the meter is pulled the power company may think your power is out. They fix the problem but your meter shows no power so they may think there is still a problem at your home.

[Igeaux]

Originally Posted by Funengineer

[BruceDeville]

Originally Posted by paul65k

So first of all we do have a whole house backup generator installed (20Kw) with the appropriate automatic transfer switch........ That being said, and I'm not advocating this; but how is there a "Backfeed" potential if the main incoming breaker from the PUC is manually put in the off position prior to any power being fed through a panel input to power circuits in the house????

That is the problem most don't pull the main breaker.

[Bullitt6283]

Originally Posted by 70ChevelleSS

......Not sure where you live but here if the meter is pulled the power company may think your power is out. They fix the problem but your meter shows no power so they may think there is still a problem at your home.

This would happen in my house, since the meter includes reporting circuits that are read remotely by the utility. That's how they know how much power I use each month.
.

[Allen K]

We lost power during the derecho August 10, 2020. We were invited by a neighbor to plug in our freezer to his generator, and after a couple of days we were able to finally get thru the debris and bring the RV into the driveway. Ran the genny to power the RV AC, and an extension cord to the freezer. We were without power for about 10 days.

[chuck1215]

scary advice folks are giving. your wires have to be able to handle back feeding you get 120 volts per leg for 12000 watts total. propane doesnt provide as many watts and extended running at high loads and you will go broke. just a few thoughts. oh and 60 hertzs means 60 tines per second waves cross. best bet is to leave alone until you understand electricity

[glenthompson]

Originally Posted by Bigd9

Where do you get the thought "As the power grid continues to deteriorate "?

Curious why you feel the need to spend $5,000+ for a whole home generator.
I don't know where you are, but the last time we lost power for more than 2 hours was in 2009, when a ice storm hit killing power for our area for 3 days. And we live out in a rural part of the county. For something that only happens once maybe a decade or more, I don't feel the need to spend that kind of cash, especially when I have home insurance.

As I type this my natural gas powered generator is running. Power has been out for 3 hours. Only been in the house since last Nov and this is the 3rd power outage. One for 15 minutes, one for 3 hours, and this one pushing 5 hours. We’re in. Neighborhood with underground power in a suburban setting. Talking to others most outages are storm related.

House came with the generator, installed by previous owner. I think it’s worth having.