Posted: 11/3/2012 6:15:59 AM EDT
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I might get grilled for this and it goes against all my better judgement, but for my brothers who have no power/heat, if you have a decent generator, your heat is fueled by natural gas or oil and you have a little mechanical skill I can try and walk you through how to hook up the boiler/furnace to the generator if need be. My folks haven't had power since Monday and I hooked there generator to their heater on wed. They do have a fireplace but mom gave me a call this morning just to thanks me again.  |
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Back feeding the house via generator isn't all that hard to do, number one this is dis-connecting the Main Breaker, and managing the load throughout the house.
My Garage is detached from the House and is wired 220V using sufficient wire to carry the load. When we have to use a generator, I shut off every breaker in the house and only run what's needed, when it's needed. For example our large generator make 5Kw continuously (which also burns the most fuel) and will cover a surge to 6Kw. Everything you have should be labeled with the wattage they draw, and something to carefully remember is start-up wattage; your Furnace my only need 200 watts to operate, but may need 1,000 to start up. Second is to make sure the plugs and wiring are heavy enough because of the heat created by the flow of electrons. The farther you have to push the power, the larger the cable must be in proportion to the voltage and amperage. Think "waterhose" the more that needs to go through and the farther it has to go, the larger you need. A five thousand watt generator properly set up and managed will keep the house up and running, but you will have to be contentious at all times about your consumption....running the electric clothes dryer then having the refrigerator come on line will strain the system; turn on the vacuum cleaner and the whole thing will collapse. 
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| we shut off the main breaker and connected the generator leads to the load side of the breaker in a family members house. on a lark, I checked the breaker for continuity. What do you know, the 60 year old main breaker had continuity in the off position. get someone who really knows what they are doing if you are going to futz with your electric. |
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we shut off the main breaker and connected the generator leads to the load side of the breaker in a family members house. on a lark, I checked the breaker for continuity. What do you know, the 60 year old main breaker had continuity in the off position. get someone who really knows what they are doing if you are going to futz with your electric.
good advice. I've got so many issues with house's wiring, every Tom, Dick & Harry seems to have added a circuit or a line here or there. I just fire up my genny and run adequate extension lines to electric heater, lights, etc. and by-pass the main panel altogether. to me, it's not worth the risks. |
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This interests me greatly, though we just got our power back and it is not a "right now" issue. My furnace appears to be have an option of lighting with a pilot light, but then I assume I would need to power the circulating pumps? I assume the pumps run from the same power as the furnace, such that if I powered the furnace from a generator, the pumps would run?
Can this be done using a 1600 watt generator? How about 3200 watts? |
| Just did this for the neighbor down the block who has no power/heat and has disabled people in the home. I provided the generator (2000 watt, had brought it down from VT for my parents but thankfully their power came back on quickly) and another neighbor did the wiring (not sure how, I'm not Furnace Girl LOL). It's working GREAT so far and they're very happy, other than the worries about getting gasoline for it. |
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I figured this out following the ice storm we had a few years back. I switched off the main to prevent backfeeding the line; switched off all the non-essential circuits; and wired an extension cord from the generator into the oil boiler circuit. Before I put all the pieces together, the temperature in the house was down to 45 degrees. All this while being on the 9-12, 12-3, and 3-6 shifts at my fire dept. Once again, I thank my father for teaching me how to do wiring when I was a kid. David |
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Quoted: This interests me greatly, though we just got our power back and it is not a "right now" issue. My furnace appears to be have an option of lighting with a pilot light, but then I assume I would need to power the circulating pumps? I assume the pumps run from the same power as the furnace, such that if I powered the furnace from a generator, the pumps would run? Can this be done using a 1600 watt generator? How about 3200 watts? Pumps don't need too much power and the boiler needs next to nothing. You would need to check the labels on the pumps to see how much load. The issue is backfeeding the panel. If the hot and neutral get swapped you run the risk of energizing most of the metal in your house that is connected to ground. |
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I'm on LI in Valley Stream. We had a pole come down Monday night right across from our home. There is a big oak that is also down on the wires. We've been makin due with the wood stove for heat. We are able to cook and keep the kids entertained by using the Honda 2000 I have.
I plan on going to work tomorrow been out for over a week. I gotta get outta the house. |
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If you've got gas stoves, set pots of water on the stovetop to boil. This should heatthe kitchen fairly well. Just be careful not to burn yourself. and also be careful not to fill your home with CO. leaving on the burners for an extended time, will build the CO levels up. stay safe |