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Generator Power

308ftWIN

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Minuteman
Apr 9, 2018
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Hopefully someone out there decent with these things can help me.

Prior owner of my house had a transfer switch installed with a 30A plug in the backyard.

I haven't purchased a generator quite yet, but have my eyes on this one at Costco. Not the most powerful, but I like the idea of having natural gas as an option.


My question is, why am I having the hardest time finding Male to Male L14-30 cords? Both the generator and the house plug are females.

Can someone point me in the right direction to an adequate adapter to work with a standard Male to female cord?

Thanks!
 

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With a 30A set up you will have to choose what you want to run. For me that would be a PITA. I would get a genset big enuff to run the whole house including aircon, an automatic transfer switch that has a generator exercise routine . Then the only way you know the power is out is by the rumble of the genset.
 
With a 30A set up you will have to choose what you want to run. For me that would be a PITA. I would get a genset big enuff to run the whole house including aircon, an automatic transfer switch that has a generator exercise routine . Then the only way you know the power is out is by the rumble of the genset.
If money were no object I'd love this option too. But that isn't an option at the time. It's enough to run the furnace in the winter and a fridge and a small AC unit and the sump pump in the summer. I can live with that for now.
 
To no one in particular.......

Running an entire house is a nice dream. However, starting motors across the line cause AT LEAST 600 per cent inrush current. The generator is a "finite" current source. If the generator doesn't have enough grunt to start the motor, it (the motor) stalls at slow or more commonly, zero speed and cooks until it burns up.

I have a 6 kW Onan 230 Vac single phase generator. It has enough power for the gas furnace (motor) all of the lights, the Wifi and computers/network. The Onan covers pretty much all my needs. I'm in the greater Seattle area, so A/C is pretty uncommon and we don't have it. If we did, I'm pretty confident I'd have to buy a higher powered/higher current generator. The alternative is to replace the single phase motor on the AC with a three phase motor and VFD/Inverter. That would work, but it's a lot of money. Fortunately, I don't have high power gobbling stuff, other than the electric dryer, which we don't run when on Generator backup anyway.
 
Nobody will sell a cable like that for liability reasons , you'll have to make it yourself. The male to male cable has the potential (no pun intended) of having live exposed contacts that can cause injury. Get some SO cord and some connectors from McMaster-Carr.
Correct. Don't bother trying to find a male to male cable, you won't find one.

You can make one, but you should look for ways to eliminate/modify the need to connect female to female (necessitating a male to male cable).
 
Nobody will sell a cable like that for liability reasons , you'll have to make it yourself. The male to male cable has the potential (no pun intended) of having live exposed contacts that can cause injury. Get some SO cord and some connectors from McMaster-Carr.

While this guy speaks the truth he has no sense of adventure.

Seriously though, male to male plugs are high adventure and not recommended. Normally transfer kits come with a male plug, it’s likely that this wasn’t a kit installation, possibly also not done by certified elechicken.

Making your own pig tail wouldn’t be that hard if you want to use that plug but be aware of the hazards.
 
That's because they didn't use the proper connector on the house. It should look like a male connector, and the cord should be male to female. Did they do the disconnect properly? Better check that. As always there's the easy way, and the right way....
 
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While this guy speaks the truth he has no sense of adventure.

Seriously though, male to male plugs are high adventure and not recommended. Normally transfer kits come with a male plug, it’s likely that this wasn’t a kit installation, possibly also not done by certified elechicken.

Making your own pig tail wouldn’t be that hard if you want to use that plug but be aware of the hazards.

Making my own adapter is tempting.

I guess if I'm having a gas line extended with an outdoor tap added, then having the electrical part at least looked at probably isn't the worst thing to do either.
 
While this guy speaks the truth he has no sense of adventure.

Seriously though, male to male plugs are high adventure and not recommended. Normally transfer kits come with a male plug, it’s likely that this wasn’t a kit installation, possibly also not done by certified elechicken.

Making your own pig tail wouldn’t be that hard if you want to use that plug but be aware of the hazards.
"While this guy speaks the truth he has no sense of adventure"

Funny stuff. :ROFLMAO:

Usually, the (adventurous) guys that make up male to male cables know what the implications are before they even buy the parts. Hell, I just backfeed the output from the generator into a spare 2P Dryer breaker in the panel. And yes, I specifically know of the required breaker sequencing and more importantly, WHY everything needs to be sequenced......
 
"While this guy speaks the truth he has no sense of adventure"

Funny stuff. :ROFLMAO:

Usually, the (adventurous) guys that make up male to male cables know what the implications are before they even buy the parts. Hell, I just backfeed the output from the generator into a spare 2P Dryer breaker in the panel. And yes, I specifically know of the required breaker sequencing and more importantly, WHY everything needs to be sequenced......

Ohhh no, you did not just post the infamous dryer back feed secret on an open net!
 
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Should have something like this on the house, usually used for welders and such. This way the cable is male/female...
Screenshot_20200917-152707_Chrome.jpg
Screenshot_20200917-152707_Chrome.jpg
 
Ohhh no, you did not just post the infamous dryer back feed secret on an open net!
shit. I didn't know........... :eek:

It's funny. I have a friend that just loves to act all smart and intellectual. He doesn't know/think that I think he's an idiot.
He was a noob and wanted to go down the generator path. We talked on the phone a bunch. I sensed he just wasn't getting it, so I said "come over to my place and I'll show you my setup and the sequencing".
He came over, I showed him and told him of the sequencing in the simplest terms possible. I even made him take his own notes.

dumb fook just never got it and gave up........:rolleyes: He spent 10 times the energy bitching complaining/not getting it than if he had just shut up, listened and learned. I didn't try and talk him out of abandoning the "project".
 
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I can confirm that a “whole-house” genset needs to be sized for worst case electric motor start.
Where we live, it is hot 10 months of the year. AC necessary for wife to exist.
Utility power here is out every couple of months for various reasons, not always storms.
Monday it was an F-150 vs power pole.
The old R-22, piston compressor heat pump made the 15kw genset groan when the contactor engaged, but it recovered nicely.
Replaced the heat pump w/ a new R-410A unit, scroll compressor. Old Genset said “nope”.
Replaced the 15kw LP genset with a 21kw Diesel.
The Diesel would damn near stall when the heat pump compressor contactor engaged, but it did recover. Ugly.
So I installed a “hard-start” kit on the heat pump compressor, now the Diesel is happy when the heat pump compressor starts!
No other electrical loads, not even starting the 1hp well pump, hit the generator like the heat pump does.
 
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I can confirm that a “whole-house” genset needs to be sized for worst case electric motor start.
Where we live, it is hot 10 months of the year. AC necessary for wife to exist.
Utility power here is out every couple of months for various reasons, not always storms.
Monday it was an F-150 vs power pole.
The old R-22, piston compressor heat pump made the 15kw genset groan when the contactor engaged, but it recovered nicely.
Replaced the heat pump w/ a new R-410A unit, scroll compressor. Old Genset said “nope”.
Replaced the 15kw LP genset with a 21kw Diesel.
The Diesel would damn near stall when the heat pump compressor contactor engaged, but it did recover. Ugly.
So I installed a “hard-start” kit on the heat pump compressor, now the Diesel is happy when the heat pump compressor starts!
No other electrical loads, not even starting the 1hp well pump, hit the generator like the heat pump does.

Oh, and BTW, new motors (made in the last 10 years or so) are "more energy efficient" than their older cousins. .Guv has been madating increased motor efficiencies since the mid 90's. A somewhat unknown side effect of increased efficiency is that the starting current for the new motors can be in the range of 20% to 30% higher than older motors. Good old US .guv regulations in action for all of us.

So, motors that used to have 600% inrush are now more like 750 to 850%. When they start across the line, marginally sized generators will rail the output current to max and slow down, because that's all they can do. This causes the output frequency of the generator to droop from 60 Hz and the output voltage drops proportionately. With the drop in output voltage, the current demand increases above already being railed and starting that motor becomes even harder. It isn't just the motor that's getting the shit beat out of it, the generator is getting pounded as well.
 
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I can confirm that a “whole-house” genset needs to be sized for worst case electric motor start.
Where we live, it is hot 10 months of the year. AC necessary for wife to exist.
Utility power here is out every couple of months for various reasons, not always storms.
Monday it was an F-150 vs power pole.
The old R-22, piston compressor heat pump made the 15kw genset groan when the contactor engaged, but it recovered nicely.
Replaced the heat pump w/ a new R-410A unit, scroll compressor. Old Genset said “nope”.
Replaced the 15kw LP genset with a 21kw Diesel.
The Diesel would damn near stall when the heat pump compressor contactor engaged, but it did recover. Ugly.
So I installed a “hard-start” kit on the heat pump compressor, now the Diesel is happy when the heat pump compressor starts!
No other electrical loads, not even starting the 1hp well pump, hit the generator like the heat pump does.

I replaced both my AC units with Inverter Heat Pumps because the inrush current is so low when they start up. Originally I had planned to add solar, batteries, and inverters and tell the utility to pound sand. The the wife said it had to be simple enough for her to maintain it as someday I wouldn't be there. (old age, not divorce as far as I know)

I decided to just go grid tie instead, however those inverters did make a difference in energy consumption. Until this year, electric bills were $20/month. This year has been very hot and I've blown through my credits from the winter so electric is about $150/month.

The bigger 4 ton unit will run on less than 25 amps, if it's throttled back, probably less than 15.

I agree with @1moaoff except for me 50 to 75% larger. You never know when you 'have' to fire up the MIG for a 'Honey-Do' ;)
 
I do this stuff for a living and I’ve seen It all. I’ve also heard first hand accounts of people being hurt pretty bad by male/male cord set ups. My advice would be to change the outside outlet to the proper male power inlet. They run around $50 and then you can snag a male/female L14-30 cord from amazon and you’re good to go. It will make it easier and nearly foolproof when you need it. Most times when we have to fire up the generator, It’s not under ideal circumstances. It’s worth a few bucks to make the process simpler and much safer.