Whats your back up when you lose power

[peirhead]

My Xantrex inverter fried when i tried to connect the APC 1400UPS from my Prius...There is some kind of inrush thing that requires a much larger capacity (at least 2x the UPS size) anyways I gave up in the Prius thing and am going to go with the Honda EU2000i and just power a few things I really need.

 

[John_M]

Honda EU6500is. Feeding a properly installed, UL Listed manual transfer switch. This runs t.v, computer, well pump, propane boiler, computer, refrig, coffee pot, light in every room, garage door openers, etc. Have only had to use it once but that one time made it worthwhile. John_M

 

[wolfkiller]

My backup is a 12 kw kubota 1800 rpm genset in a heatable shed. It is wired to a xantrex 4 kw inverter-charger. I also have 20 l-16 batteries that will run my house for about 2 weeks. I have a 300 gal fuel tank piped to the the generator. I have 8- 140 watt solar pannels on a seeker in the yard. I also have a wisper 200 wind mill on a 200' tower out back. With a full fuel tank I can make all my power for about 20 years. The only back up I dont have is the utility company.

 

[ffspeed]

That's why you shut the main off before you start the generator. I'd rather do it this way than using extension cords hacked into boiler switch's or outlets. I agree, the transfer switch is the safest way to go...but i'll bet of all the people w/ generators out there, only a small % are done that way.

I do it exactly this way at my house too. BTW, the guy on the pole isn't going to get shocked. If that were the case you'd be powering the whole block and the generator would turn off anyway because it couldn't handle the load because you'd be powering everyones pellet stove. The bigger reason to turn off the main is so when the main comes back on the rest of the house doesn't get double the voltage and more likely the generator itself gets cooked.

Well, let's not forget here that it is against the law in all 50 states to do what you are doing.

I could have cut corners and did the same thing but I wanted a fully automatic system that responds wheter I am home or not.

Besides, I need to be able to sleep at night knowing that everything is wired correctly.

Turning off the main breaker doesn't cut all the legs in the breaker box. There are three legs in there, and the main breaker only cut two of them. The third one is a ground, but could still send power into your house and fry your genny, if the line man happened to cross a wire.