I've been following this discussion and decided to see what the local power
company here in south LA. put in their "Electric Service Standards". They
should have lots of experience due to the storms we have every year. Below
is what I copied and pasted from their manual. I had expected to see very
tight restrictions due to local knowledge. My friends son was killed due to
back feeding from a portable generator while he was working on restoring
service after Hurricane Andrew.
I have connected portable generators for my home service several times due
to the hurricanes. I usually work on generators and engines located on
offshore production platforms. Other than connecting temp. generators to
industrial plants, I don't get involved with land based stuff.
Don
8.21.2 In situations where a portable generator is to be connected by a
Customer, the Company shall be notified.
Portable generators shall only be connected to the premise wiring when the
Main Service Disconnect is in the Open or Off position and the generator is
adequately grounded to the system grounding electrode.
Operation in this manner should ensure the safety of the Customer and
Company Personnel.
End quote.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Steven Trovato" <strovato@optonline.net>
To: "Randall" <tr3driver@ca.rr.com>; <shop-talk@autox.team.net>
Sent: Saturday, December 30, 2006 1:26 AM
Subject: RE: Water pump and furnace emergency electrical connections
>
> OK Randall. Don't get your proverbial knickers in a twist. I'm not
> recommending that everyone go out and kill the nearest utility worker. I
> just think we should understand the real danger. Moderate safety rules
> that can be easily followed are better than strict rules that are ignored.
> I posted an example of a transfer switch that I think would be much
> better, if more utilities would offer it and price it reasonably. If you
> peek in garages in my neighborhood, you will see a lot of 220V extension
> cords with plugs at both ends. That tells me that the current rules
> aren't working.
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