Want to wire my Generator for Single Line Feed to electric panel

can someone help please ?? Thanks.

No problem; hire electrician.

-- KEith

I think you will find they are all tied together. Obviously you will have to balance the 120v loads but they will all be coming off of the 240 capacity.

Not sure about Coleman, but usually you will want to use the 240v plug. You can use a cord but your going to need to establish a ground at your generator. Usually the ground is the frame. This means a 5 wire connection to the service panel. You will need to either get a transfer switch or if you have a SQD I have heard that there is a kit that allows the main and one

2 pole breaker to be interlocked. Make sure that you follow all of the rules and regs in your area. This situation can be dangerous when the rules are not followed. As a hint do not think of using a Coleman close to its max rating. They are not that heavily built and were never designed for prime power. My opinion only. Your performance will vary

' snipped-for-privacy@webtv.net says... can someone help please ?? Thanks. No problem; hire electrician.

On Sun, 23 May 2004 12:44:23 -0500 dave wrote: | Im an experienced HVAC person of 30 years with above average | capabilities in electrical. I have a Coleman used Generator MAXA5000ER | 5 k.w. gasoline generator with 2: 120v outlets and 1: 240 v. outlet on | the rear. | | Question : In order to maximize the output of the generator to my homes | electrical panel....would the 240 v. outlet on the generator accomplish | that (by itself) , or, do u have to tie all 3 outlets together to get | the full 5000 w. output ??? If the latter, whats involved with doing | that once i take the backplate off of the generator ??

What is the current rating of the 240 volt outlet? How much current do you need to pull out of this generator. Depending on your answers you may need a 30 amp outlet, or perhaps you can get by with a 20 amp outlet. But what to do depends on answers to what it provides and what you need. If the generator has 30 amp, you can't get more than all 5000 watts from that one. 5000 watts at 240 volts is 20.833 amps.

'Not sure about Coleman, but usually you will want to use the 240v plug. You can use a cord but your going to need to establish a ground at your generator. Usually the ground is the frame. This means a 5 wire connection to the service panel. You will need to either get a transfer switch or if you have a SQD I have heard that there is a kit that allows the main and one 2 pole breaker to be interlocked. Make sure that you follow all of the rules and regs in your area. This situation can be dangerous when the rules are not followed. As a hint do not think of using a Coleman close to its max rating. They are not that heavily built and were never designed for prime power. My opinion only. Your performance will vary'

ME: Greg and SQL,

Thanks for your assistance. By reading both of y our posts, i assume then that the 240 v. outlet on the Generator will give me the (approx)

5000 watts of power ? If so, then ill simply use the appropriate 240 v. male plug and run the wire in conduit over to the electric panel. Yes, there is a frame ground lug on the generator and was going to run a number 14 stranded from it to the electrical panel as well.

Please confirm what i wrote above. Thanks much for your help.

Dave (using my other email address..)

Yes 5000 watts MAX... the closer you get to the 5k the sooner the generator will crap. A generator has a finate amount of power. Not infinate like the power company. Simple example. Let the wife turn on the washer and have it go into spin cycle. You just hit 18 amps. 18X 6 X 120 = 12960 watts on one leg. The 6x is the short starting current motors require. In a washer loaded with clothes it will last several seconds until the load is going. The watts will drop as the load starts spining. Your 5k is only a 20 amp 240v generator. It will be maxed out with general lighting and a refergerator.

14 is way to small. You really need to check the local regs. Back feeding is against the law and dangerous to line men. Your performance will vary.

ME: I can do the wiring myself thank you. I just need a bit of info in order to accomplish it. Would you like going to alt.hvac looking for a tiny bit of info, and for me to tell you :' No problem..hire an hvac tech' ?? The web is designed for an exchange of information -- please comply and dont be jerkish about it. Much obliged.

Dave

Wow, in the 3 years I lurked in alt.hvac, "hire an hvac tech" seemed to be the default answer to anyone other than an hvac tech asking a question. Kinda funny when it comes back to bite ya. The "exchange of information" argument doesn't fly too well in alt.hvac either.

Nate

--

'Wow, in the 3 years I lurked in alt.hvac, "hire an hvac tech" seemed to be the default answer to anyone other than an hvac tech asking a question. Kinda funny when it comes back to bite ya. The "exchange of information" argument doesn't fly too well in alt.hvac either. Nate '

ME: It may be a default answer to most of the Techs in alt.hvac...but, myself and a few others will gladly oblige homeowners, etc.. with useful info . I will admit, however, that in alt.hvac and the HVAC trade in general...most of the Techs in it are of the poor attitude/ mentality/ integrity type which has given a very bad reputation to the trade as far as the pubic is concerned. I hope the Electrical Trade does much better in this regard.

Dave

'Yes 5000 watts MAX... the closer you get to the 5k the sooner the generator will crap. A generator has a finate amount of power. Not infinate like the power company. Simple example. Let the wife turn on the washer and have it go into spin cycle. You just hit 18 amps. =A0 18X

6 X 120 =3D 12960 watts on one leg. The 6x is the short starting current motors require. In a washer loaded with clothes it will last several seconds until the load is going. The watts will drop as the load starts spining. Your 5k is only a 20 amp 240v generator. It will be maxed out with general lighting and a refergerator. 14 is way to small. You really need to check the local regs. Back feeding is against the law and dangerous to line men. Your performance will vary.'

ME: I called Coleman and the Tech dept. told me that there are two feeds off of the Generators Motor : one for the two 120 v receptacles and one for the one 240 v receptacle. They said the same as you did..that, the 240 v. is good for 20 amps. Arent i correct in assuming , that, if i tied the two feeds off the motor together, that i would end up with 40 amps capability ??? If so, thats what i want...and ill fuse it at 40 amps also. Ill be careful not to push the Generator to its limit.

Im fully aware of the dangers to backfeeding and will prevent that from ever occuring .

Thanks, dave

5kw divided by 240v is 20.8a. That is all you got.

The total load on the generator must not exceed 5000 watts. You can either feed 120 volt loads at up to 40 amps OR a 240 volt load at up to 20 amps, but not both. You can have a lesser load at 120 volts with a lesser load at 240 volts as long as the total load doesn't exceed 5000 watts. As someone else said, as you get near the 5000 watts you are running on the ragged edge. Best to keep well below that limit if possible. Larger motors, like 3/4 hp driving a fan say, may not start from the generator because their inrush of six times normal running load just cannot be met by the generator, especially if some other load is already on the genny.

A welder, even if set to a moderately low current, will not usually run because of the very low power factor. Small emergency generators like the Coleman are designed for mostly unity power factor loads plus a few very small motors like a fridge or a desk fan. Even several small motors may not start if all energised together. You may need to start each separately once the generator is running.

Rusty said : The total load on the generator must not exceed 5000 watts. You can either feed 120 volt loads at up to 40 amps OR a 240 volt load at up to 20 amps, but not both. You can have a lesser load at 120 volts with a lesser load at 240 volts as long as the total load doesn't exceed 5000 watts. As someone else said, as you get near the 5000 watts you are running on the ragged edge. Best to keep well below that limit if possible. Larger motors, like 3/4 hp driving a fan say, may not start from the generator because their inrush of six times normal running load just cannot be met by the generator, especially if some other load is already on the genny. A welder, even if set to a moderately low current, will not usually run because of the very low power factor. Small emergency generators like the Coleman are designed for mostly unity power factor loads plus a few very small motors like a fridge or a desk fan. Even several small motors may not start if all energised together. You may need to start each separately once the generator is running.

ME: Gotcha. Thanks Rusty. I understand. I think ill still go ahead and wire it into my Panel but only run the fridge and of course the TV ! Thanks again. , Dave

Dave Watts is equal to voltage times current. So if you have 20 amperes of

240 then you have forty amperes of 120. If you install an interlocking breaker set the you will need four wires from the four wire outlet on the generator to the generators breaker in the panel. The wire size should be #10 AWG type so or sjo cord. The black and the red of the cord will terminate on the generator's interlocked breaker. The white and the green will terminate on the neutral bar and the bonded Equipment Grounding Conductor buss bar if it is separate. If possible you will disconnect the bond between the generator's neutral and it's frame at the generator.

The interlock kits are inexpensive and fully effective in preventing back feeds. they will not only prevent the destruction of your generator but it will also prevent a service equipment burn down and eliminate the possibility of back feeding the power lines to kill a lineman.

-- Tom

Dave,

Wire it from the 240 volt receptacle. My "5000" watt Coleman is actually rated at 4600 watts with a surge rating of 5000, per the manufacturer. Mine is wired to a 10 branch circuit transfer switch. I certainly can't run everything on those circuits at once - but I can manage the load. For example, the freezer is on one branch, the fridge is on another, a 12,000 btu A/C occupies

2 circuits, the circulator & thermostat transformer is on another, and various lighting & receptacle circuits are on the rest. We lost power on a 98 degree day, and I managed by keeping the freezer & fridge off while turning on the A/C. Once it had started, I was able to bring both the fridge and the freezer online. All was well until the A/C cycled the compressor off and then on again when the room warmed. The generator couldn't start the A/C without tripping its breaker while the rest of the stuff was running.

The point of this is that you can run a surprising amount of stuff from a 5 kW generator with proper planning of the circuits and management while using it.

It seems Coleman makes several versions of this unit. If your generator has an L14-20 four wire outlet you are good to go with it.

This will provide the full output of your generator.

Connect this to a transfer switch and your essential loads.

I survived an 80 hour winter outage a couple of years ago using a similar generator. My load included two furnaces and two refrigerators. Most of my neighbors moved out after the first day without heat. The big inconvenience was getting up in the middle of the night to refuel (I got about 5 hours run time on a 5 gallon tank).

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