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Started By
Message
re: Running a generator through a dryer outlet
Posted on 9/10/24 at 2:13 pm to Korkstand
Posted on 9/10/24 at 2:13 pm to Korkstand
quote:
Is this accurate?
My understanding is that if your load is balanced then current will flow through your two hots, and if the load is unbalanced then some current will flow through the neutral back to the generator. I suppose some current will flow through the utility neutral/ground rather than the neutral conductor to the generator, but it will be a very small amount, correct?
It should be a small amount on the serviced side. But it builds.
Unbalanced loads occur when your outlets/connections are on different legs of the 240V or transformer. If you have say, a phone charger plugged in and its drawing 1A, and a hair dryer plugged in in another room drawing 6A, and they are different legs, then you have an unbalanced load on the same single phase circuit. That load will then travel on the neutral, back to the utility transformer, back onto the 3 phase system and cause an unbalanced load for the utility because transformers work the same each way (step down a high voltage, step up a low voltage). Utilities will try to balance the phase load out on the distribution, but it's really difficult to do so. So, they use neutral transformer protection that reads all neutral current going back to a substation transformer and will trip the transformer offline if it sees an overcurrent.
This post was edited on 9/10/24 at 2:16 pm
2
Posted on 9/10/24 at 2:16 pm to SaintEB
If you do this and your house burns down the insurance company ain't giving you a dime
Posted on 9/10/24 at 2:31 pm to NatalbanyTigerFan
In my line of work, we refer to adapters that do this as “suicides”
Posted on 9/10/24 at 2:36 pm to Lonnie Utah
quote:Five year-olds as linesmen is how America became great.
My grandfather was a linesman his whole life.
Posted on 9/10/24 at 2:39 pm to NatalbanyTigerFan
quote:
understand exactly how
No you don't.
Posted on 9/10/24 at 2:54 pm to Cosmo
What is you’re using a portable genny and running a box fan on it to force exhaust out of the garage?
Posted on 9/10/24 at 2:56 pm to Bayou
Are you referring to exhausting the genny through the dryer exhaust vent?
Posted on 9/10/24 at 3:01 pm to NatalbanyTigerFan
This is one of those discussions that I wish we had option to use a threaded view to follow the different branches of arguments/conversations better and find the post that started them easier.
Posted on 9/10/24 at 3:04 pm to SaintEB
quote:
quote:Is this accurate? My understanding is that if your load is balanced then current will flow through your two hots, and if the load is unbalanced then some current will flow through the neutral back to the generator. I suppose some current will flow through the utility neutral/ground rather than the neutral conductor to the generator, but it will be a very small amount, correct? It should be a small amount on the serviced side. But it builds. Unbalanced loads occur when your outlets/connections are on different legs of the 240V or transformer. If you have say, a phone charger plugged in and its drawing 1A, and a hair dryer plugged in in another room drawing 6A, and they are different legs, then you have an unbalanced load on the same single phase circuit. That load will then travel on the neutral, back to the utility transformer, back onto the 3 phase system and cause an unbalanced load for the utility because transformers work the same each way (step down a high voltage, step up a low voltage). Utilities will try to balance the phase load out on the distribution, but it's really difficult to do so. So, they use neutral transformer protection that reads all neutral current going back to a substation transformer and will trip the transformer offline if it sees an overcurrent.
So none of the imbalance goes back to the generator? Why does it have a neutral?
Posted on 9/10/24 at 3:06 pm to NatalbanyTigerFan
You can do this but you have to do it correctly.
This post was edited on 9/10/24 at 3:07 pm
Posted on 9/10/24 at 3:10 pm to AwgustaDawg
quote:
not isolate the grounded conductor.
So this may be a stupid or a basic question (I'm simply a homeowner) and I'm not trying to run a device through a dryer outlet - my house has an interconnect and receptacle at the outside box, but does that type of ground terminate in the ground bus of a box, or does it have to go somewhere else?
Posted on 9/10/24 at 3:25 pm to bigbuckdj
quote:
So none of the imbalance goes back to the generator? Why does it have a neutral?
It will, but if that neutral isn't broken, the service line and utility transformer become part of the circuit.
Posted on 9/10/24 at 3:26 pm to NatalbanyTigerFan
I bet you got soft hands brother, soft hands.
Posted on 9/10/24 at 3:28 pm to BigPapiDoesItAgain
quote:
has an interconnect and receptacle at the outside box, but does that type of ground terminate in the ground bus of a box, or does it have to go somewhere else?
You want one common ground as to not create a grounding loop. Typically, you ground bus in the panel, the ground bar in your meter box, and any other ground will run separately to your ground rod outside of your house.
Posted on 9/10/24 at 4:22 pm to bee Rye
quote:
Paying someone to do it wrong, or doing it wrong yourself. This is probably the worst thing in the whole thread. You spent time/money, at for which at no extra cost, you could have installed the right thing, then still went ahead and put the wrong thing
I used it for 10 days after Ida, not one problem, also 3 days after Zeta...
My house is still intact...
I had an electrician install it... everything was done properly. You have no idea how it works...
Generator plugs into this... Which runs to my panel with duel 30amp breakers... Turn off the main, and the A/C unit, kick the generator breaker on... Power to the whole house..
This post was edited on 9/10/24 at 4:29 pm
Posted on 9/10/24 at 4:41 pm to Zephyrius
quote:
There were plenty of AC repairman in the neighborhood after Ida because people tried running their AC on the generator.
Its the startup inrush current that generators can't handle. Install a soft start and it will run just fine.
Soft Start
Posted on 9/10/24 at 4:43 pm to Hangover Haven
quote:
You have no idea how it works...
I know exactly how it works. You said you had a dryer outlet, then posted a picture of an inlet. Maybe you are the one who doesn’t know how it works?
Posted on 9/10/24 at 6:03 pm to bee Rye
quote:
You said you had a dryer outlet,
This is what I said...
quote:
It's basically an outside dryer outlet with its own breaker. :
In this same thread, I also said I had a double male suicide cord, and I changed the wall plug end to a female so my wife can deal with it, and not kill herself... Hence the male plug in the box now. But for Zeta and Ida I had a female 30 amp plug on the house, which is basically a dryer outlet.
This post was edited on 9/10/24 at 6:04 pm
Posted on 9/10/24 at 6:55 pm to Lonnie Utah
Shut off the main breaker and then flip on whichever breakers in the house you need.
Posted on 9/10/24 at 6:56 pm to Hangover Haven
Works great
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