Feeding 120V From Generator to House.

hotblast,do it the cheap way,use extension cords with a 4 way receptacle on the end. You have a cheap generator,no sense in going the million dollar set-up to hook it up. Buy good heavy cords,12-3 is plenty for what you have,you can always use extension cords for other uses when you eventually upgrade the generator & then upgrade the hook up.Someone mention earlier that 10-3 is a good idea,that is way overkill for the generator you have & what you will be powering. 12-3 stranded as an extension cord is will handle quite a load,& I say that after wiring over 400 houses in my earlier life,we used a lot of cords for power while wiring the houses.

Generally 12 gauge wire is rated for 20 amps....but most 12 gauge extension cords are only rated for 15 amps. What is the breaker size on the generator outlet?

The difference in cost between a potentially overloaded cord and one properly sized & protected by a fused gang box is $50 or less. I totally understand that this is not being done on an unlimited budget, but safety is #1.

I may even have some wire in my archives.

Correct, the rv plug is rated for 30 amps.

I have everything priced out through lowes at around 160 dollars to hard wire this, I will have to price out some extension cords.

There's also 4 standard plugs on it rated at 20 amps.

So where thinking something like this?

The 12-3 ext,cord is the way that I would go,you don't have to run everything off of 1 cord. If you run 2 cords @ 15 amp each x 2= 30 amp or equal to the 30 amp receptacle on the generator. I find it hard to believe that your heating system will require near this much. Cords are fairly cheap,they are safe to use (can't plug the wrong end into the wrong end),can be used for other uses besides the generator. The length of the cord depends on how far from the generator to the apparatus being powered. This is for emergency only use ? for those rare outages that you claim to have,which is the reason why you say that a whole house,standby unit @ $8-12 K is not worth it for you. Then why spend extra money to make a cheap ,temp setup for a cheap under powered generator ?

Your David, I'm just weighing the options, I'm going to shop around for cords. I need at least 50' but I'll measure tonight.

windyhill4.2 wrote:......................If you run 2 cords @ 15 amp each x 2= 30 amp or equal to the 30 amp receptacle on the generator.................

I'm no expert, but I think the cord should be sized according to the breaker regardless of actual load. The idea being if the cord is shorted out the breaker should trip before the cord overheats and melts down.

Also he may not need a plug on each load. An electrician could wire multiple low amperage loads into a junction box, exit the junction box with a power cord and plug. That way he only need move one plug from house power to portable generator when needed.

Harbor Freight, Home Depot, Lowes, etc, all have have 50 and 100 ft 10-3 cords with triple or single tap and are UL listed. However the ones I looked at are only rated for 15 amps and his generator has 20 and 30 amp breakers.

Lowes has a 10-3 cord rated for 20 amp.

http://www.lowes.com/Search=10-3+drop+cord?storeI ... +drop+cord#!

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Cerro-RIDGID-50-ft-10- ... /206533285

http://www.harborfreight.com/50-ft-10-gauge-tripl ... 93670.html

HB,
Camping World has a 50' 30A cord on sale, free shipping.
Maybe this works for you.
http://www.campingworld.com/search/index.cfm?Ntt= ... Ne=1000058
CS

top top wrote:

windyhill4.2 wrote:......................If you run 2 cords @ 15 amp each x 2= 30 amp or equal to the 30 amp receptacle on the generator.................

I'm no expert, but I think the cord should be sized according to the breaker regardless of actual load. The idea being if the cord is shorted out the breaker should trip before the cord overheats and melts down.

Also he may not need a plug on each load. An electrician could wire multiple low amperage loads into a junction box, exit the junction box with a power cord and plug. That way he only need move one plug from house power to portable generator when needed.

Harbor Freight, Home Depot, Lowes, etc, all have have 50 and 100 ft 10-3 cords with triple or single tap and are UL listed. However the ones I looked at are only rated for 15 amps and his generator has 20 and 30 amp breakers.

Lowes has a 10-3 cord rated for 20 amp.

http://www.lowes.com/Search=10-3+drop+cord?storeI ... +drop+cord#!

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Cerro-RIDGID-50-ft-10- ... /206533285

http://www.harborfreight.com/50-ft-10-gauge-tripl ... 93670.html

That is what I plan on doing, I'd like to find a 3 way switch suitable for the load that way I wouldn't have to plug anything,

coal stoker wrote:HB,
Camping World has a 50' 30A cord on sale, free shipping.
Maybe this works for you.
http://www.campingworld.com/search/index.cfm?Ntt= ... Ne=1000058
CS

Thanks for that site.

hotblast1357 wrote:That is what I plan on doing, I'd like to find a 3 way switch suitable for the load that way I wouldn't have to plug anything,

That switch is what's call a transfer switch. And you want a manual transfer switch.

http://www.smps.us/transferswitch.html

The whole point is that 2 -4 cords will plug into the regular receptacles on the generator,that is where the 2x15=30 comes from. A 12-3 is perfectly capable of 20 amps,but is only rated at 15 amps because many people act stupid with cords,like using 2) 100' 12-3 cords plugged into each other to make a 200' cord and then still expect to pull 15 amps or more. TOPTOP,please look at all the cords you use on appliances or anything,ck their rating/load according to the breaker size + keep in mind, hotblast has an elcheapo 110volt,3600 watt generator that cost him $200. ~~ NOW you guys want him to spend several hundred to hook up to the elcheapo generator that will be for light duty ,occasional use. Besides,how many amp does the whole heating system & a few lites add up to ?? PS.- I can trip a 20 amp breaker easily with my 12-3 ,100' cord without the cord heating up at all. How hotblast spends his $$ is totally up to him to decide,but I fail to see the point of putting $200 racing tires on a $350 lawn tractor.

You are welcome HB
Maybe you can install an outlet from your panel to plug this into.
I would check with your local electrical supply house for parts.
CS

McGiever wrote:

hotblast1357 wrote:That is what I plan on doing, I'd like to find a 3 way switch suitable for the load that way I wouldn't have to plug anything,

That switch is what's call a transfer switch. And you want a manual transfer switch.

http://www.smps.us/transferswitch.html

ok I new thats what a transfer switch did, but didnt know if in the electrical "world" there was another type of switch, thats easy enough.