connecting generator to electric panel


  #1  
Old 08-03-06, 11:37 AM
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connecting generator to electric panel

My electric is completely disconnected (no wires running from the pole to my electric panel) And, no, it is not run underground. So, I have no concern with "backfeeding" from hooking my generator up.

The meter has been removed, leaving the three wires from my weather head completely accessible where the meter used to be. I want to test some electrical in the house, and need to know what I have to do to connect my generator to these three wires in order gain power. I'd rather not use a transfer switch if I don't have to as this is only temporary until I have the electrical turned back on. Thanks in advance for any help.

BTW, my generator is a portable Coleman from Home Depot (5,650 watt - I believe).
 
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Old 08-03-06, 01:10 PM
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These wires are on the panel-side of the meter?

I would safe these wires, and backfeed the panel through another breaker.
 
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Old 08-03-06, 02:25 PM
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To answer your question, the wires come down from the weather head and then are visible behind where the meter usually is. Then they pass through the wall of the garage and into the main panel. I would assume I can hook up to the 220 volt plug on the generator with a (2) Hot (1) Neutral & (1) Ground wire. Then I assume I could hook the (2) hots up to the two hots in the meter (or in my service panel), hook the (1) Neutral up to the (1) neutral in the meter (or in my service panel). I just am not sure what to do with the ground??

how would I backfeed through another breaker?
 
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Old 08-03-06, 02:30 PM
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If you don't have lugs on your panel, a breaker is the best way to connect your hots to the busses. Just connect the hots to the breaker and attach breaker as normal. This requires a 2-pole breaker that spans the two busses, of course, just like a dryer or range breaker would. It's AC current and the breaker doesn't care which side has the potential.

Being as this is the "service entrance" (and assuming I'm not spacing out on something (always possible)) I would connect the ground and the neutral to the neutral/ground bus in this main panel.
 
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Old 08-03-06, 02:47 PM
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Thanks for the reply.

Actually, I do have lugs inside the panel where the lines come in. So, I can attach my two hots to the lugs (one on each), the neutral to the neutral bus, and the ground to the ground bus? Is that correct? Technically, there is not an isolated ground bus. There is a ground wire that is attached to the neutral bus, goes out the bottom of the panel, and down into the ground. So, I would attach both the neutral and the ground wires to the one neutral bus?

Thanks.
 
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Old 08-04-06, 07:31 AM
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Thanks for the replies and assistance. Here is what I ended up doing and seemed to work fine. I wired a plug with a wire containing Black-Red-White-Bare that would plug directly into the 240 volt plug on my generator. I then attached the black to one of the hots, the red to one of the hots, the white and bare to the neutral. I made these connections right behind where the meter used to be (although I'm sure I could have used the lugs and the neutral bus inside the panel as well).
 
 

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