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Subject: Re: hooking up a portable generator to run home....parts needed, ect
Hello Gnatius;
My name is Michael.
Saw your portable generator hookup video, nicely done!
We interlocked the service entrance panel (outside), consulted/hired a licensed electrician to acquire correct parts and perform the install.
Found a sticker that reads:
WARNING: for connection of a nonseparately derived (floating neutral) system only.
Haven't seen this warning discussed in any of the install videos.
Could you explain how/if this would apply to interlock/portable generator installs?
Sincerely;
MB
Subject: Re: hooking up a portable generator to run home....parts needed, ect
When a power source is labeled as having a "floating neutral" it means that the ground and neutral are not bonded together; in other words, neutral is not derived from ground. On a generator that would mean that the neutral wire is not bonded to the generator frame.
So when your transfer switch says it is intended to be used with a "nonseparately derived" power source, it really just means the neutral is not switched, and if you want to be absolutely ultra-code-compliant, you should use it with a generator that has a floating neutral.
In practice, nobody cares about this. Plug your generator in and enjoy.
Subject: Re: hooking up a portable generator to run home....parts needed, ect
Hello Gnatius;
Thank you for responding and clearing that up for me.
Sincerely;
MB
I'm actually starting to look at generators for the house.
I'm considering a Generac natural gas powered generator with an ATS, to power my entire property in the event of a major commercial power outage.
Automatic transfer switches are nice. They are, of course, also quite expensive.
As part of a thousands-of-$$$ installation with a big generator and professional installation, it's not that big a component though.
I personally don't mind hauling out the portable diesel generator and plugging it in. And the video I made about it has paid for the generator several times over, which is nice. And I sold the house in the video, with the transfer apparatus ... to an electrician! We've been in the new house for over four years and I still haven't wired it for the generator, because the power here goes out so infrequently. But when it does, the extension cords are quite a nuisance.
michael lennon commented on your videothe
Comment: Look you fool. Back feed the 240 into a drier credit. Shut off
main breakers and power the hole house . Plane and simple . Dont need to
spend a lot . Just need half a brain . Reply to me and I'll tell you just
how to do it
Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lkbBt8hv8mQ&feature=em-comments
Every season I get a new batch of idiots making this same comment. But it's ok; it means they watched the video and therefore sent advertising revenue my way. This video has paid for the entire generator project many times over.
:)
This particular bloke is obviously going to kill himself or someone else someday, as he's already announced that he's a fan of dangerous electric setups and has demonstrated his intelligence through his spelling and grammar. It's been seven years since I made this video but it's still the all-time single most viewed video on this topic.
I think it might be time to take all of the most frequent comments and questions and answer them in a new FAQ video so I can make more money... er, I mean clarify the points people talk about most.
Ooo!
I wonder if you should create such a video in as inflamatory a manner as possible, just to rile everyone up so they *want* to watch the video (or the next one)... kind of like baiting them so you generate toxic revenue for yourself.
Or... more insidiously... *don't* go inflamatory, be super chill about it (think Bob Ross), and intentionally put something weird in it that won't hurt anyone, but seems totally unnecessary, just to get the next crop of people up in arms. Then, you can follow up *that* video with one saying, "Oh, yeah, my bad." or something.
My video will be a demonstration proving that smart meters aren't harmful.
It may have been one brand and one model, but half her house burned down, starting at the meter, and she's never been able to get the power company or the contractor who installed it that installed it to accept responsibility, nor her homeowner's policy to pay for the damages because it was caused by a third party's equipment and/or installation.
"Smart meter fires" are caused by the installation method, not by the meter itself. Power companies hired armies of careless boneheads to go to each home, pull the old meter, and slap the smart meter in hot, without shutting the power off inside the home, and without thoroughly inspecting the condition of the meter pan. There is arcing from the hot changeout, parts that were in bad condition can break, and an unsafe condition is created.
That same unsafe condition would have been created if the conventional meter was replaced with another conventional meter.
I'll explain this in more detail in my video, right after I explain that your cell phone bombards you with way more RF than your smart meter ever will.
But I need to find someone who has a spectrum analyzer I can borrow.
Tue Mar 12 2019 09:57:05 EDT from IGnatius T Foobar @ UncensoredThe smart meter was not responsible for the fire. Without even looking at the facts I can guarantee it.
"Smart meter fires" are caused by the installation method, not by the meter itself. Power companies hired armies of careless boneheads to go to each home, pull the old meter, and slap the smart meter in hot, without shutting the power off inside the home, and without thoroughly inspecting the condition of the meter pan. There is arcing from the hot changeout, parts that were in bad condition can break, and an unsafe condition is created.
That same unsafe condition would have been created if the conventional meter was replaced with another conventional meter.
I'll explain this in more detail in my video, right after I explain that your cell phone bombards you with way more RF than your smart meter ever will.
But I need to find someone who has a spectrum analyzer I can borrow.
This particular meter (and I don't remember the make/model) was actually known for and highly reported as having issues with establishing and maintaining its connections once installed. Numerous thermal events, all over the country, were reported as pertains to the particular meter in question.
Here's our fun of the day. I finally figured out the mystery of the soggy spot in my yard. While pulling out stumps and rocks today I uncovered this long piece of 4" PVC pipe. Apparently the neighbor ran an underground drain line from his shed's downspouts that emptied out into my yard.
This is the same neighbor who is a landscape contractor and still has his laborers dump his yard waste into my woods whenever he thinks we're not watching. I actually thought I'd just uncovered a scrap piece of pipe that had ended up in there somewhere along the line, since this area was overgrown until I cleared it over the last couple of years. Imagine my surprise when I picked it up and out came this entire length of pipe.
Now he's got a bigger problem because his downspout ends underground, somewhere between his shed and my yard.
Last night, I finally got around to installing the Wifi enabled tank/sump alarm for my septic system's lift station pump.
Mild pain because default method to configure the wifi connection is WPS. Otherwise, you have to connect an ethernet cable, get connected and then configure the wifi along with the remote alert settings. This, obviously, can be a pain for most people because who has ethernet in their garage?
This guy! LOL
I have a Ubiquity Unifi setup, with an 8 port switch in my garage that is uplinked to the switch in my basement. I also have 5 or 6 different SSIDs set up in order to segregate traffic and utilize rate limiting to keep my kids' games from sucking up ALL. OF. MY. BANDWIDTH.
I'm much happier with the idea of foregoing the convenience in utilizing the relatively insecure option of WPS configuration, thanks.
Tell me more, though. I have a septic system with a lift station pump, and ethernet in my garage.
By the way, I found another buried
PVC pipe, and there's a lot of water coming out of it. Before I lose my shit over this one, though, I'm going to have to trace it back and see where it goes. This one might just be a drainage line for the uphill side of my own property. But if it goes up to the neighbor's house I may have to launch something unpleasant into it.
Why anonymous? A neighboring property can not drain into your property, if the neighbor has water draining on to IG's property the neighbor will have to pay to correct the problem.
So if I find the other end is in my yard and it's just there for drainage management, I'll be fine with it. It does empty out in an inconvenient place though. It's land that I've cleared and now it's all soggy.
But if I find the other end goes to the neighbor's house ... well then, that's going to be a different kind of story, isn't it. Perhaps I'll get some pipe fittings and reverse-flood it to see where the water comes out. Or if it goes to his downspouts, I could find something very smelly to pump back up the pipe. Then we call the building inspector later.