First Power Outage with new Generator Setup

[RCW]

693 of 710 customers out of power in our town.

New setup is working great.

Genny is powering entire house, minus water heater, dryer and double ovens.

Could probably do the water heater if need be.

But would likely would challenge the 50A circuit unless I exchange some load to the 120v outlets on the generator (e.g., freezers in garage).

Generator is floating neutral, so there shouldn’t be an issue with ground loop. The house has a new service with proper ground.

 

[85Hokie]

Always nice when you are 100% prepared and the stuff works flawlessly!

 

[RCW]

We were only out about 2.5 hours. All worked fine and was a good test run.

It was also 91 degrees, so good to keep our two A/C units, 2 freezers and 2 refrigerators cold.

 

[Bearcatrp]

Nice big ass generator. Plenty of power for your home. I have a 6500 that I back feed through a 220 outlet. Works great. Just have to watch what I turn on. Used to run 3 120 extension cords through the window before learning about the back feed. Also have a Honda 3200i for my camper that can also be used.

 

[BAP]

RCW, did your area get torn up by the storms yesterday? Was the tornado north of you? We got hammered somewhat by them, but by the time they crossed over the Adirondacks and Green Mountains they were starting to lose some of their punch. Ran my generator for about 3 hours after waiting 2 hours to hook it up. Glad your new setup worked out as good as you hoped it would.

 

[RCW]

RCW, did your area get torn up by the storms yesterday? Was the tornado north of you? We got hammered somewhat by them, but by the time they crossed over the Adirondacks and Green Mountains they were starting to lose some of their punch. Ran my generator for about 3 hours after waiting 2 hours to hook it up. Glad your new setup worked out as good as you hoped it would.

BAP - -

My immediate area wasn't bad at all.

However there were some bad spots all around us. Rome, New York is about an hour north, and they got hit pretty hard from what I've seen.

Co-worker just said they have been out of power 36 hours and had quite a bit of tree damage.

 

[D2Cat]

Something is definitely wrong! When new generator backups are installed no electrical outages should occur for several months at the least.

 

[Seane1987]

Definitely been wild here. We were supposed to go to a restaurant in Rome last night for my wife's birthday that is 300 yards from ground zero . Ef2 tornado confirmed 135mph winds. It even made the B52 at the old griffiss air force base fly again, moved it off its display platform...

 

[Flintknapper]

693 of 710 customers out of power in our town.

New setup is working great.

Genny is powering entire house, minus water heater, dryer and double ovens.

Could probably do the water heater if need be.

But would likely would challenge the 50A circuit unless I exchange some load to the 120v outlets on the generator (e.g., freezers in garage).

Generator is floating neutral, so there shouldn’t be an issue with ground loop. The house has a new service with proper ground.

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You could likely leave your water heater on. Though it has two heating elements (probably 4500 watts each) only one will be running at a time. If the heater is well insulated (heater blanket or insulation) is shouldn't run very often anyway.

Also, I believe you can utilize the L5-30 amp twistlock outlet to run a splitter cord into your home to directly power a few items. That would allow for more items to be used from the back-fed panel if needed.

And you are correct about the floating neutral. That is the type generator you needed for your application though some gen-sets with bonded neutrals can be un-bonded.

 

[Poohbear]

We finally after being in our new house for not quite a year lost power for about 20 hrs when the hurricane/tropical storm Beryle came thru east Tx. Why I love my Generac standby system. Rain coming down strong and the auto start kicked in and we stayed comfy til power restored.

 

[RCW]

You could likely leave your water heater on. Though it has two heating elements (probably 4500 watts each) only one will be running at a time. If the heater is well insulated (heater blanket or insulation) is shouldn't run very often anyway.

Also, I believe you can utilize the L5-30 amp twistlock outlet to run a splitter cord into your home to directly power a few items. That would allow for more items to be used from the back-fed panel if needed.

And you are correct about the floating neutral. That is the type generator you needed for your application though some gen-sets with bonded neutrals can be un-bonded.

Many thanks!

Wondered about the load on the water heater elements. Probably would be fine. I did switch the breaker on for 15 minutes or so and noticed no difference in genny operation.

I have 2 freezers and a refrigerator in the garage. Not far from where the generator was pictured. Using a much smaller generator, for years I ran cords to directly power the stuff I needed. Could easily do so to those appliances in the garage, and reduce load on the 50A circuit.

I learned about floating neutral here on OTT while back. I had a couple threads seeking advice on portable generators and interconnects. Was very helpful.

 

[sagor]

Congratulations on doing it "right". Just to clarify, your 50A outlet is indeed floating neutral, but the 30A outlet is not, it is bonded (based on schematic in manual). I suspect that 30A outlet is more for portable use with things like travel trailers or portable/remote workshop, not for house tie-ins. The 50A outlet seems designed specifically for house connection via 2 pole breaker/interlock. The GFCI 120V outlets are also floating neutral, else the GFCI would not work properly.
And, a proper interlock at the panel just makes it all safe for everyone.... You did your research....