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oh also my garage door openers have back up batteries so they'll open and close with the power completely out ;)

Each door should have a red rope with a handle on it hanging from the hinge where the opener mounts to the door. Pull that and you can open and close your garage doors by HAND.




Millennials. :rolleyes:






:s0140:
 
There is some truth to that, stay safe brother.
believe me, when everything was dark, with 3 little kids asleep and just me in my house(wife works nightshift at the hospital) it would have been a bad day for someone to come try to get in my house. at night, i wanted the place to look as inconspicuous as possible.
 
Each door should have a red rope with a handle on it hanging from the hinge where the opener mounts to the door. Pull that and you can open and close your garage doors by HAND.




Millennials. :rolleyes:






:s0140:
oh you mean thats not there for the kid to try to hit it with sticks like a pinata?? :D


funny thing is, i did pull the red rope not knowing about the back up batteries. i found out about them on accident when i, by habit, tried to open my garage door when the generator was off lol.
 
My "transportable" genset is a Champion 3400 watt inverter, dual fuel (gas and propane) with electric and recoil/pull start.

What I really like about these new dual fuel (from the manufacturer) gensets is that it is typically just a plug & play setup. I can flip the switch to propane and plug the hose into the genset, open the valve on the propane tank, start up the genset and run it on propane (it takes a little bit longer for the propane to get to the genset the first time you start it) - no conversion kit, or other hassle (you do need to use their regulator).

Then to use gasoline I switch it back to gas and it runs on gasoline (1.6 gallons in my genset).

The inverter is nice too - I can tell when it ramps up, it is louder. When just running lights and computer it is quiet. Either you pretty much cannot hear it from the road about 100 yards away. If I ran it on the back side of the house you would not hear at all until you got up to the house. I can hear the neighbor's genset running from my house.

The low oil sensor works, and I assume the CO sensor does too. I run it in a covered semi-enclosed porch with the door open (yes I know, but it has plenty of ventilation and the exhaust is pointing out the door). I have a CO sensor/alarm in my office.

If I stay here I am going to get a larger genset and have it setup to run the whole house including the well pump. I won't run the furnace (10kw electric), but use the woodstove instead. The main thing is to have lights, water/hot water, and outlets.
 
I am retired for the last decade, but spent decades installing generators, and transfer switches all over the NW for homes, commercial buildings, and remote BPA sites on mountain tops. I've seen all sorts of crazy, dangerous generator installs, and heard of linemen hurt because of homeowners backfeeding the grid with half assed installs.
In the case of home generators, and transfer switches, there are numerous choices, and most homeowners want to scrimp and cut corners, resulting in systems that wont hold all they'd like to use. Often the homeowners want everything to run as it does on utility power, which is ridiculous, and wasteful. In most cases it's easy to be comfortable with about 6-8 circuits, and things like 220v. water heaters aren't an emergency. You can boil water and go stand in the bathtub or shower to wash yourself down.

I would suggest if your home is on city water, and doesn't need to feed a well pump, then you don't need any large circuits. A 220v generator is better, as it allows you to have equal numbers of 120v. circuits on each hot phase. And a 220v. circuit if you feel something 220v. is an emergency.
I suggested to owners that they get a couple lighting circuits, and often just one is enough. And they need a receptacle circuit in the kitchen, and living room. So that's 3-4 circuits. Then add the refrigerator and freezer to ensure you don't lose food. A stove is a huge load, and unless you're ready to really step up to a very large 100kva generator, it's not on most people's list. A small hot plate can be used, but usually need to make sure you turn off fridge and freezer circuits while cooking, and when done turn them back on.
The average home can get by pretty easily with a 6000 watt generator, and some frugal folks can get by with around 5000 watts. A full blown transfer switch isn't needed for these smaller generators, as a generator panel is a cheaper, easier, and better choice. These generator panels come with 4-12 circuits, and are 220v. They have 3 position breakers so when wired into your house panel they give the owner the ability to have each circuit in "normal-off-generator" mode. They come with a prewired flex conduit that has a set of black wires, and red wires, each numbered to match breakers. So you choose the circuits you want to control, and shut the breaker off. Then lift the wire and connect it to a numbered wire, then use the same number opposite color to land on the breaker. When you're done wiring circuits you turn the breakers on, and set the generator panel to the normal switch setting.
When the power goes out you simply roll out a cord, plug it into the generator panel, fire it up, switch the generator panel breakers from normal to generator, and you're done. When power returns you shut down the generator, and switch the breakers back to normal.
Easy, clean, safe, and not that expensive. The panels start at around $200, and larger 12 circuit panels run twice that. But a 12 circuit panel will likely require a 10,000-12,000 watt generator.
Hope this helps.
 
Do tell. What exactly makes it so dangerous? I guess you could be dumb enough to grab the hot end of the plug.

Or fry some poor lineman trying to turn the power back on. Even better when they re energize the line, the generator that is backfeeding is now a pile of crap even if it didn't catch on fire. But you do you.
 
I know 0 lineman that have been fryed by backfeed. You don't think the power company in some places backfeeds the line? The absolute 1st thing you do is test and make sure its dead and the can isn't heating up the primary. Even more so on power restoration.
 
PS-This suggestion of back feeding the system through the use of double ended male cords is full of unsafe practices! Beyond the possibility of accidentally killing a lineman, or yourself, it could also damage equipment if it's not done properly. And since you can't watch the generator or cords 100% of the time, it's easy for an accident to happen.

PSS-A natural gas or propane generator does take more HP to run the same output as gas or diesel generators. Diesel is a poor choice in my opinion, as somebody has to get the diesel to you, and diesel generators are usually only found in large output generators. So the average homeowner is better off without diesel.
The other advantage to natural gas or propane is maintenance. Either needs almost none other than an annual oil change, and filter. Whereas a gasoline generator should be exercised monthly to ensure the fuel doesn't go bad. And the tank should be drained and replace the gas every 3-6 months as it can go bad sitting in it, and clog up your carburetor. I always told customers to run their generator all year round once a month for 15 minutes, and top off the gas. Some only ran them as needed, but turned off the gas and ran them until they stopped to leave the carburetor dry. That's a good idea also, as it keeps the bad gas from sitting in the carb.
 
I know 0 lineman that have been fryed by backfeed. You don't think the power company in some places backfeeds the line? The absolute 1st thing you do is test and make sure its dead and the can isn't heating up the primary. Even more so on power restoration.

With lines down all over the place and the pressure to restore power, I KNOW that they don't always test for line voltage at every turn. Not only that, what happens if they test for it and AFTER that someone backfeeds from a genset? It's bad practice and PGE doesn't like it when you mess with THEIR grid. It is THEIRS BTW.

 
I know 0 lineman that have been fryed by backfeed. You don't think the power company in some places backfeeds the line? The absolute 1st thing you do is test and make sure its dead and the can isn't heating up the primary. Even more so on power restoration.

Obviously since you likely don't work in the trade, you wouldn't know of linemen being shocked by backfeeds. But I've heard of numerous cases over the decades I did generator work. Your homeowner's insurance wont protect you if what you did to cause it was illegal, so be prepared for a lawsuit.
Linemen are careful when they approach unknown lines, and check to ensure it's dead. But once checked they begin working, and if somebody backfeeds the line after they checked they can and will get shocked. And since there's a transformer between the home and the line they're working on it also ups the voltage the reverse of normal. So your 220v. backfeed will hit the lineman at 7,000v-11,000 v. at his point of contact.
 
Obviously since you likely don't work in the trade, you wouldn't know of linemen being shocked by backfeeds. But I've heard of numerous cases over the decades I did generator work. Your homeowner's insurance wont protect you if what you did to cause it was illegal, so be prepared for a lawsuit.
Linemen are careful when they approach unknown lines, and check to ensure it's dead. But once checked they begin working, and if somebody backfeeds the line after they checked they can and will get shocked. And since there's a transformer between the home and the line they're working on it also ups the voltage the reverse of normal. So your 220v. backfeed will hit the lineman at 7,000v-11,000 v. at his point of contact.

I've heard of it too. More than once.


Wow, such shockingly bad advice from some here.



Get it? :D
 
Obviously since you likely don't work in the trade, you wouldn't know of linemen being shocked by backfeeds. But I've heard of numerous cases over the decades I did generator work. Your homeowner's insurance wont protect you if what you did to cause it was illegal, so be prepared for a lawsuit.
Linemen are careful when they approach unknown lines, and check to ensure it's dead. But once checked they begin working, and if somebody backfeeds the line after they checked they can and will get shocked. And since there's a transformer between the home and the line they're working on it also ups the voltage the reverse of normal. So your 220v. backfeed will hit the lineman at 7,000v-11,000 v. at his point of contact.

IBEW 125 JL ticket in my pocket.
 
How is turning off your main, and backfeeding your panel any more dangerous than doing it with a transfer switch? Other than eliminating the possibility of human stupidity and actually not flipping off your main.
 

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