That means if a power company employee is working on the lines he is at risk of being electrocuted. If you do backfeed your generator the electricity that you are generating through your generator can be routed back through your home and back through the electrical grid. No, that’s not the government being overreaching. The worst part about these fire accidents is that most of the time the homeowner doesn’t realize anything’s wrong until it is too late.Īlong with the fire hazard you should also know that backfeeding your generator is against the law. The story on this extreme example can be found by clicking here. In one such incident a backfed generator caught on fire, the fuel tank exploded, and caught the user’s house on fire as well as a neighbor’s home. This causes the overload that we mentioned earlier and poses a large fire risk either at the panel or the generator itself.
There are now two sources of power flowing back and forth between the panel and the generator. Without a circuit breaker, or by negating your circuit breaker by backfeeding, you risk your home and your generator catching fire.Ī lot of times these fires begin when the homeowner’s normal power comes back on line. When your circuit breaker trips it shuts off automatically normally to prevent damage and to prevent over heating. For those of you that do not know, a circuit breaker is an automated electrical switch that protects a electric circuit from a short or excess current overload. The first is that by backfeeding the generator into your home you negate the circuit breaker/fuse in your power panel. Many people do this without realizing the risks. While this may seem like a very easy way to power your whole home I will warn you now that it is illegal and dangerous to you and others. The power will move backwards from the outlet, to your electrical panel, and back throughout the rest of your home. (Why these cords exist, I do not know.) By doing this you are flowing power throughout your home in reverse. This is done with a two male sided extension cord. What is BackFeeding?īackfeeding is routing power from your running generator and plugging that power straight into an outlet of your home. In this article we’re going to cover what’s known as ‘Backfeeding,’ your generator. Generators can give you that much needed power, but they can also be dangerous if ran or setup incorrectly. Generators can be a lifesaver especially in those cold winter days when the power goes out and your furnace won’t start. Another step in preparing for winter that a lot of folks don’t consider is having a generator on hand in the event of a power loss. This could be cleaning the gutters, caulking any drafty areas, and making the home as efficient as possible.
It's a 200' run too.As winter approaches many folks begin prepping their homes for the oncoming cold and snow. However, the ground is frozen solid here and won't be thawed out until April. I know that ideally I would run new service cables. The distance from the junction box to the service panels would be 4' and 5.5' respectively. I would then run a pair of 3" conduit from the junction box to each service panel. I would place a pair of 3-pole splicing terminal blocks in the junction box. The cables are too short to reach an alternative spot to place the panels.Īs an alternative, I was planning on installing a junction box (18"x18"圆") where the two sets of service cables enter the basement. Unfortunately, where I was going to place the panels was too close to a sump pump pit. I have run two sets of 4/0-4/0-2/0 aluminum service cable from the meter through a 4" PVC sleeve in the concrete foundation wall. I am running power from my meter (400A) to my service panels in my basement.
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