If you have a generator, and do not want to connect it into your panel box, just want to run an electrical ext cord from outside to the refrigerator and either a fan(summer) or a space heater(winter) what is the best way to run the extension cord inside? thru a window is not cool due to maybe letting CO inside, and thru a door leaves the door unlocked? any ideas?
thanks
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Replies
How about a section of PVC pipe through the wall with screw in plugs on both ends. Seal when not in use? Weathertite too!!
I run mine thru the cat door.
We never lock the doors here even when we go away for a couple weeks, but if you live in a place where you need to keep the doors locked, I'd suggest making that hole in the wall with a twelve gauge double ought buck discharged about 30" away from the wall near the door. That will leave a signal that this house is not a great one for thieves to visit.
And if that sort of hole is not socially acceptable in your neighborhood, you should just break down and have a sparky wire you a transfer switch and link cable.
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Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime.
where ...
Excellence is its own reward!
Could you just make a wooden box insert with foam weatherseal to insert in the window? Open window, insert box, close window on box. If only the bottom sash on the window moves you can cut short lengths of wood to put above the sash and lock it, like on a sliding door.
Our windows have little lock things about 3" above the sash. Before I had an outside receptacle I'd just shove an old blanket in the gap around the extension cord to feed the outside. Seems that you want something to use more often.
Perhaps a dryer vent?
-Nate
Pick the best spot for you to run your line through the house, to which place in the wall you wish you had an opening to run the line to.
There, put an electrical box on both sides - offset so you can still insulate properly of course. Run the correct ga. wire for the gen betwen the two.
On the inside box, place a conventional twist lock outlet. On the outside box, either mount a male plug end (that you can twist a female end onto from the generator), or a 1' length of cable with a male end attached. Make sure your cable is grommeted correctly.
Now you need two shorter lines, instead of one big long one.
Tu stultus es
Rebuilding my home in Cypress, CA
Also a CRX fanatic!
Look, just send me to my drawer. This whole talking-to-you thing is like double punishment.
If you wuz a hillbilly, you'd know the easiest way to do this.
Take the end off the cord.
Drill a hoile in the wall just big enough to push the cord through.
Push the cord through.
Put the end back on.
;o)
Just because they want to make it personal,
doesn't mean you have to take it personal.
Real hillbillys just use a rathole, or existing bullet hole to run the wire. If necessary, a bullet hole can easily be made if none is conveniently located.
Real hillbillys
Real hillbilly has a fridge in the breezeway/dog run next to the genny already, and already has a stove indoors for heat. <g>.Occupational hazard of my occupation not being around (sorry Bubba)
we have problem with rats, mice, roaches, ants if here any hole in outside wall. transfer switch is the only way
Sounds like the voice of experience to me. Or you've been to my house. <G>Piffin, given the obvious veracity of your testimonial to the efficacy of a 12 ga., you might see the humor in this -- I come from a long line of true . . . well, I don't exactly know how to characterize these folks, you would recognize them as Swamp Yankees.We needed a new leaching field, as the washing machine (yeah, we had one of those finally) was floating the septic tank (and yes, that was an improvement over the outhouse).So we hooked my uncle's tow truck to the old tank that used to be in the cellar. I don't actually know what the tank was for, it was really big and galvanized and very heavy steel. The house we lived in was an old mill shack, so it could have been anything.We needed holes in the tank, as what was taking place here was the invention of the world's first galvanized steel Infiltrator, just a few decades earlier.We started with pistols, that did not work so well, shotguns were unreliable as the curvature of the tank easily deflected the slugs unless they hit square. We knew someone who had a 44 mag., that worked. So he spent the afternoon blasting away at the tank, which we subsequently pushed into a hole, hooked up to the washing machine, and backfilled.I suppose that worked for at least 20 years.So yes, there is nothing at all strange or inappropriate about the use of firearms in remodeling.I did tell you about the time I simultaneously redecorated my living room and gave the kids a lesson in the value of corporate media, didn't I?
DaNG, iz you related to me????
Thank you for that post. That's exactly what I had done, (for a different application). I was thinking to myself, is it me, or can't they SEE the forest for the trees. Sometimes things are just TOO simple. Also just as an aside , for a generator I would recommend getting a carbor monoxide detector and placing it in the area that fumes would most likely enter your home.
No, if u wuz a hillbilly you'd know that a 12 guage shotgun makes the perfect size hole for an extension cord to pass through.
The mark of the immature man is that he wants to die nobly for a cause, while the mark of a mature man is that he wants to live humbly for one. --Wilhelm Stekel
Shotgun makes too big a hole..45 aught to do it...
Just because they want to make it personal,
doesn't mean you have to take it personal.
But you want a hole big enough for the plug to pass through.
The mark of the immature man is that he wants to die nobly for a cause, while the mark of a mature man is that he wants to live humbly for one. --Wilhelm Stekel
well yeah, if you want to take the trouble of taking the plug end off and putting it back on! But I thought we were talking hill billy here....LOL
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
Dont forget, if you thread the receptace end thru, dont forget to untwist the wires and put the receptacle back on before plugging it in!
(dont ask why I thought of that)
where do you put the caulking? Inside or out?;)
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
A little duct tape on the inside, and yer good to go.;o)
Just because they want to make it personal,
doesn't mean you have to take it personal.
First off, I've never done this. But I've always thought it would be best to set up your generator in the basement.
Put it in a corner furthest from the bedrooms.
Get one that is quiet.
For the exhaust, run it through steel or copper for a bit and then switch over to pvc after it cools off. Or just run metal all the way outside.
Your exhaust run is going to be what? 10 feet? It should be fine.
That way you don't have to move much or go outside at all. It just seems like a better set up to me.
I think that would work if it was fueled by natural gas or propane, but I would not want to have or burn gasoline inside my house.
I just wanted to say that overall I think you guys are more safety conscious than I am.
Maybe I'm a slow learner or I haven't been burnt as many times. I'm not sure.
But I'd like to think I can learn without being burnt.
A cord through the wall is a much better idea. What was i thinking?
It would violate several codes and be awfully dangerous.
The mark of the immature man is that he wants to die nobly for a cause, while the mark of a mature man is that he wants to live humbly for one. --Wilhelm Stekel
What's the difference between running the extension cord thru the wall and running the exhaust pipe thru the wall?Ozlander
Gasoline leaks.Exhaust leaks.Vs.Chance of shorting out the cord.~An argument could be said for either being a fire hazard. But I would much rather take a chance with running the cord through the wall.However, the way Reno suggested is exactly the way I would do it, were I to set it up for my own home.
Just because they want to make it personal,
doesn't mean you have to take it personal.
Carbon monoxide. Explosive vapors.
The mark of the immature man is that he wants to die nobly for a cause, while the mark of a mature man is that he wants to live humbly for one. --Wilhelm Stekel
The cord does not produce condensate or have much chance of leaking toxic gasses. If sized right, it won't get hot enough to start a fire. I haven't seen a cord rust out. The cord run through is a less permanent install. seriously, there are people killed every year by indoor generators where folks thought they had taken care of all the danger points.I have been joking in this thread a lot, but the best method is to have a transfer switch and ext cord link wired in. Last link like that I had done for a portable ran less than a thousand for labour and materials.Second choice would be to let in a dryer exhaust 4" with hood and stuff it with a rag when not used for the cord pass.
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
There is absolutely no way I would do that.Not even with a welded exhaust system.The generator goes outside, in a place where it will get plenty of cross-breeze, and there is the least liklihood of the exhaust making it's way inside the house.Running a cord through the wall is one thing. Bringing an internal combustion engine inside the basement is a too easily lethal, other...
Just because they want to make it personal,
doesn't mean you have to take it personal.
The correct way to do this is...
1) Mount, on the outside of the house, a deep box with a 'power inlet' in it. This is sort of like a receptacle, but has the prongs sticking out. Cover this with one of those "bubble" covers;
2) Using an approved wiring method, connect the inlet to another box inside, with a receptacle in it. This receptacle must NOT receive power from anywhere else. It helps if you mark it "generator power" to prevent future confusion.
What renosteinke said.
You can buy a transfer switch panel, receptacles, and cord kit. It works well, improves safety by a huge margin, and lets you set up in a jiffy when the power goes off. It also avoids drafts from impromptu holes punched through a wall.
Let me know if pics would help, I've got such a setup. Cost less than $100 for the whole thing.
Scott.
Edited 12/21/2008 9:15 pm by Scott
Pics would be appreciated.
Signed,
GraniteStater <--- Knows plenty of people who still don't have power 10 days later.
I'll snap some today and post to this thread.Scott.
Here's some pics.
This is the male connection to the generator:
View Image
Female connection to the side of the outbuilding (our pumphouse). Nice siding, huh?
View Image
This is the transfer panel directly through the wall. This transfers electricity between four breakers on the main service panel to four breakers on this panel.
View Image
Here's a closeup of the transfer switch.
View Image
Scott.
Edited 12/22/2008 3:25 pm by Scott
Transfer switch is the way to go. Set up the furnace on one circuit and you'll be good to go. It prevents electricity from going back into the grid and zapping a worker on the utility pole.You get out of life what you put into it......minus taxes.
Marv
Cool, thanks for the pics.
four circuits seems limiting...
one for furnace
one for hot water heater
one for refrigerator...
one for... ?? (Cicruit with TV!!!)
propane fired whole house backup was in our house budget but fell out of favor about 1/2 way through... lost out to some finished the wifey wanted (and a desire not to crush budget).
boy, did I regret that decision last week...
>>>four circuits seems limiting...LOL.C'mon...how many circuits do you REALLY need when the power goes off....For us the well pump was critical, everything else was window dressing, but nice. We can run our fridge, our tenant's fridge, and some lights.If you're going to heat up more circuits you'll need to match the genset size to the load. The other budget allowance will be for manual versus automatic transfer. The sky's limit if you want it to be.Good luck,Scott.
If that includes the transfer switch, I gotta see it. Those run 400-1000 bucks alone.
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
You can buy transfer switches for 100 bucks, but they are a single circuit switch. Multiple circuit switches go up in price fast.
I think that this was mentioned in the other thread, but I will repeat it here.You can use a backfeed breaker for the generator. Now this required an interlock. It is basically a sliding metal gate that only allows the generator breaker to be turned on if the main is off and vice versa. But you need one made for particular panels.And inlets are relative cheap.Here is one.http://www.stayonline.com/detail.aspx?ID=4440
.
William the Geezer, the sequel to Billy the Kid - Shoe
>>>Those run 400-1000 bucks alone.Mine is a basic, four breaker, manual transfer switch. But you're right, the fancy automatic ones get pricey.Scott.
Edited 12/22/2008 12:22 pm by Scott
Scott,
I put the same manual transfer switch in my house. I think mine was $65 from lowes. Had to buy four brakers for it, a little wire, generator plugs and misc. Probably didn't run much over $100 in total.
It was a Murray, not my favorite, but it works fine. The Murray line that Lowes carries is almost identical to the Square D Homeline..
I was surprised to find a setup that cheap. Most of the ones that I see are in the $400-600 range.
Thanks,
Eric