# Generator hookup help



## BIGISLANDHIKERS (Mar 23, 2011)

I just bought a etq propane genrator. It is only rated for 120v.

I already have a plug for a generator outside my home with a slide switch on the breaker box. This female plug is 125/250 30amp with 4 conductors. I also already have a 10 foot cord that matches up with this plug. Both ends have 4 conductors. 

The issue I have is the generator 120v/30amp connection ony has 3 conductors. Will I be able to (with some kind of adapter) hook this generator using this cord into this plug outside my home?

Thanks
BIH


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## benjamin (Mar 24, 2011)

I doubt that there's an adapter for what you want, but you could jerry rig it with both of the hots of your existing line going to the one hot terminal of a new three prong plug that fits your generator.  Of course you won't have the power to run everything at once and 220 circuits will effectively get 0 volts.  The dryer may tumble and the clock or light may work on the stove, but I don't see how anything would get damaged? aside from the underpowered generator or low voltage from running too much at once.


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## BIGISLANDHIKERS (Mar 24, 2011)

This might be what I am looking for. I think they may have the diagram labeled backwards.  Not for sure?


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## Don2222 (Mar 24, 2011)

BIGISLANDHIKERS said:
			
		

> This might be what I am looking for. I think they may have the diagram labeled backwards.  Not for sure?



After closely looking at the RV adapter in your diagram it looks like it is made to plug in a 120 Volt appliance into a 220 Volt outlet. So you can run a 120 volt device

Usually the difference between the older 3 wire and the new 4 wire 220 volt appliances is the new electrical code for 220 volt appliances. Originally our old Gold Kitchen Stove was 220 volt 3 wire, where the metal case of the stove and the neutral line were tied together. In our case the knobs on the front panel to turn the oven on were grounded to the metal panel which was screwed into the metal case of the stove!! So when the stove got old and the two small screws holding the panel to the stove rusted, the panel would be HOT. When my wife wiped down the counter with a wet sponge in one hand and turned the oven control with the other hand at the same time she got  a nice shock! The ground went thru her instead of the case!

So the new 4 wire code to solve that issue is to have another prong for the ground which is connected to the stove metal case, the neutral is separate prong and the two hots are separate prongs Making 4 prongs.

Therefore I believe the adapter is just to connect the neutral and ground wires together.

So it may not be what you are looking for that is my experience!

BTW. When I installed our new stove I ran a new 4 conductor copper wire to a new stove outlet. Got a new 4 prong cord and connected it to the stove. So the case and neutral are separate until they get to the electrical box where they both get connected to the same ground buss So now there is no way my wife can be a ground for the stove and no longer get a shock !!

So in your pic of the 3 prong adapter you have on the 3 prong female end is W for the Neutral G for ground and the 1 hot. So the one hot is only connected to one of the 2 hots in the 4 prong male end to power the 120 volt device.

Since your generator is suppling 120 volts then none of your 220 volt appliances will work if it does plug in!
*Does this make sense??*


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## fbelec (Mar 24, 2011)

hi bih

what your attempting to do you would need to do yourself. there isn't to my knowledge a adapter to do it. what you can do is to hook it up to your outdoor generator access and what will happen is every other circuit breaker will become live. anything 240 volt will not work, so since every other breaker in you circuit panel will come on you should rearrange the panel so that all your important circuits become live when the generator comes online. if you hook up the two hots from your generator access to the one circuit that the generator supplies then everything that is 120 volt in your service panel will work, and the 240 volt stuff will not. the only wrench in the whole thing is if you have two separate 120 volt circuits sharing the neutral wire depending on the max output of your generator you could overload the neutral and cause a fire. if you wood like me to explain further i'd be happy.

frank


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## benjamin (Mar 24, 2011)

good point Frank, I hadn't thought of a common neutral. that would certainly risk overloading the neutral and causing a fire. In an emergency I'd take the risk, especially with a 30 amp generator, just make sure you're not running heaters anywhere, and hopefully any of your bigger amp circuits are "home runs".

I think that adapter will do what you want, it looks like the male end is three prong and the diagrams are switched. You could do the same thing cheaper with a male plug to fit your generator, remove one end of the existing cord, and hook the two hots to the one hot.


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## BIGISLANDHIKERS (Mar 24, 2011)

looks like I will be running extension cords.


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## Highbeam (Mar 24, 2011)

You bought the wrong genset. You should have bought a 220 volt model since your house is a 220 volt model. I feed my panel with the same interlock device you describe via a 4 wire "generator" circuit properly hooked up to the 4 wires on my genset. I bought the smallest 220 volt genset I could find so that I would save fuel and so that all devices would work properly without risk of damage. 

Who knows what might happen when you only energize one leg of the 220 circuit feeding an electronic device such as a dryer or oven. These things have circuit boards that expect to be fed only 220 volts. 

Extension cords indeed. This will keep the fridge cold and the tv running.


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## BIGISLANDHIKERS (Mar 24, 2011)

Off topic just a tad but where does everyone have their gen when it is being used?  Seems like when we are out of power it is either raining or snowing.  I think I need to get a storage shed close enough to the house so I can run it and keep from getting wet.

Thanks
BIH


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## oldspark (Mar 24, 2011)

I've got some lexan that I am going to make a cover for it to keep the rain and snow off.


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## BIGISLANDHIKERS (Mar 24, 2011)

oldspark said:
			
		

> I've got some lexan that I am going to make a cover for it to keep the rain and snow off.



What if it is raining when you need to use the generator.  Can they get wet?

BIH


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## fbelec (Mar 25, 2011)

guys on the constuction sites use a piece of plywood on top. and if it's windy they put a heavy rock on top of that.


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## Highbeam (Mar 25, 2011)

I have a carport that I run it under mostly when home. I don't want rainwater getting into a device that is spitting out 220 volts electrons and I also don't want the CO gas getting into my home and killing people. This happens every year to folks that run gensets in their attached garages. Other than the carport, I used to have a canopy on my truck and I would run the genset in the back of the truck with the canopy back door open to let heat out. I've even run the genset on the ground under the opened tailgate allowing the tailgate to be the roof. I also try and place the genset so that people on the street can't see it and maybe want to steal it at night.


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## BIGISLANDHIKERS (Mar 26, 2011)

Highbeam said:
			
		

> You bought the wrong genset. You should have bought a 220 volt model since your house is a 220 volt model. I feed my panel with the same interlock device you describe via a 4 wire "generator" circuit properly hooked up to the 4 wires on my genset. I bought the smallest 220 volt genset I could find so that I would save fuel and so that all devices would work properly without risk of damage.
> 
> Who knows what might happen when you only energize one leg of the 220 circuit feeding an electronic device such as a dryer or oven. These things have circuit boards that expect to be fed only 220 volts.
> 
> Extension cords indeed. This will keep the fridge cold and the tv running.




I agree, I did buy the wrong one.   Home Depot said they will take online purchases back at the store.  No restocking fee.  Thats service!

Thanks
BIH


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## heat seeker (Mar 26, 2011)

I run mine in a shed that's close to the house. What I would really like is a quieter generator. I have seen a muffler made out of a barrel buried in the ground, with a pipe in for the exhaust, and a pipe out to vent the exhaust. It was so quiet it was eerie. You could hear the mechanical noises of the motor that you never get to hear ordinarily. I'd like to make one, but our ground is so rocky I doubt I could get a hole dug large enough. Then I'd have to find a safe way to pipe the exhaust through the shed wall. Somedayâ€¦.


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## oldspark (Mar 26, 2011)

BIGISLANDHIKERS said:
			
		

> oldspark said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


 Wont get wet with the cover.


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## moosetrek (Mar 26, 2011)

Are you lookiing for permanent storage where you can run it?  A simple lean-to should keep it dry, and you could add some sound deadening material to the shed.  Of course, you could also bury a permanent line to the house and never have to mess with hooking up cords to the generator, but that may be more than you want to do.


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## fbelec (Mar 26, 2011)

most of the problems that happen when running a gen in the rain is bad extension cords. they may look ok but if your trying to use your power on a cheap or bad one you'll have nothing but troubles with gfi tripping. big pain in the rear.


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## oldspark (Mar 26, 2011)

Bad extension cords are a whole another story to be avoided.


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## rowerwet (Apr 2, 2011)

my generator is in an outdoor shed, when it is needed it sits out in whatever is coming down in my back yard so it is out of sight from the street. it has the large gas tank that covers the whole top of it, the motor and generator don't get snow or rain on them due to the design.


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## Vermonter2011 (Dec 31, 2011)

BIGISLANDHIKERS said:
			
		

> Off topic just a tad but where does everyone have their gen when it is being used?  Seems like when we are out of power it is either raining or snowing.  I think I need to get a storage shed close enough to the house so I can run it and keep from getting wet.
> 
> Thanks
> BIH




Yes, most of the time when you need to use a generator, the weather will be miserable, and these things should not be run in the rain or snow, or in the mud.

I have a 6700-watt generator, and built a 60" by 60" by 48" high doghouse / shed for my generator.  It has four louvers/vents, and I keep the front door open when I run it, so it gets adequate ventilation.  If the weather is clear, I roll it out of the doghouse and onto the flop-down front door and run it in the open air.  If the weather is crappy, I run it inside, in what is essentially an ventilated lean-to.  

If you do try it this way, make sure your doghouse gets plenty of ventilation.  Most portable generators are air cooled.  They also produce a lot of carbon monoxide, and these machines need oxygen to run properly. In addition to the ventilation, a small fan can make sure that the air is circulated.


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## begreen (Dec 31, 2011)

Highbeam said:
			
		

> You bought the wrong genset. You should have bought a 220 volt model since your house is a 220 volt model. I feed my panel with the same interlock device you describe via a 4 wire "generator" circuit properly hooked up to the 4 wires on my genset. I bought the smallest 220 volt genset I could find so that I would save fuel and so that all devices would work properly without risk of damage.
> 
> Who knows what might happen when you only energize one leg of the 220 circuit feeding an electronic device such as a dryer or oven. These things have circuit boards that expect to be fed only 220 volts.
> 
> Extension cords indeed. This will keep the fridge cold and the tv running.



I just kill all the 220v breakers before connecting the generator. Its been no issue at all.


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