Generator Interlock

[tim5055]

It sounds to me like there was a loose neutral connection.

talked to them today. Seems they found a neutral wire coming off the stator not connected anywhere. Don't see an empty lug and it doesn't show on their schematic. Generac told them, oh - you must not have the new schematic.

Should be ready Monday.

[Marc]

It happens. My new diesel generator came to me 8 years ago defective. Needed a new capacitor in the generator control circuitry, low engine oil cutoff switch and the bracket for the battery was for a different model.

I kept it, factory sent free parts and I fixed it myself. It has served beautifully and without failure since. I run it for half an hour first week of every month.

Marc

[edwardh1]

what gas do marinas in chicago sell?

ethanol or pure gas?

[kurt]

It's all got some ethanol in it nowadays.

[tim5055]

What bugs me about disaster planning is the disasters don't seem to happen when you are prepared for them. []

Well, while not a true "disaster" I got to test my set up in a real world situation. Power went out yesterday - I waited about 45 minutes because a few minutes out is not totally uncommon. Rolled the generator out of the garage, hooked it up and fired her up (electric start is nice). I had TV, cable and internet the whole time the power was out.

But, it showed me I need some sort of way to know when the power comes back on. Best I can tell the power was back on for about 30 minutes before I knew it.

[John Kogel]

That is an interesting challenge. With a partial hookup, generator circuits in a subpanel, the other lights come back on independent of the gen.

But you are killing power to the house entirely with your transfer switch.

Now you need a volt meter to measure incoming power from the pole. But no current will flow, so it can't be a clamp type ammeter which measures current.

A 120 volt LED bulb tapped between one power lead and the neutral. Rob the light out of a cheap power bar.

[Marc]

But, it showed me I need some sort of way to know when the power comes back on. Best I can tell the power was back on for about 30 minutes before I knew it.

Nothing wrong with that. I tend to look out the window every now and then and see if the neighbors have power. They don't have plants. If it's daytime, I'll just check for voltage at top of main breaker.

Marc

[Inspectorjoe]

But, it showed me I need some sort of way to know when the power comes back on. Best I can tell the power was back on for about 30 minutes before I knew it.

My generator powers everything in the house except the dishwasher, electric dryer and electric range. When the power is out, I turn the oven on and set the temperature to 200 degrees. When the power comes back on, the oven heats up and when it hits 200, it gives a few beeps that can be heard in most areas of the house.