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    Site Sponsor ajg617's Avatar
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    Question for an electrician?

    Years ago, we bought a portable generator for the house after being without power for over a Christmas week with zero temps, heavy snow, heat by fireplaces. Had an electrician install the correct sub-panel dedicated to the genset and an outlet on the exterior of the garage wall (4 pin male 30amp/250V connection for the generator) to support our well pump which runs at 220V.

    Now the question. Trying to have a tech install Coleman soft-starts on the 310 but other than a 110V 15amp garage outlet, the nearest is the connection to the generator. I'm assuming that electricity can flow both ways here since my procedure is to shut the main power supply to the street off before engaging the generator. I want to be able to test the install (mobile tech). Can I leave the master switch for the generator sub-panel and street ON and provide 30 amps to the coach? I could run the on-board generator, but that doesn't really tell me if the soft-starts will work on less than 50amps.
    TIA
    Last edited by ajg617; 05-28-2023 at 07:00 PM.
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  2. #2
    Long Hauler huntindog's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by ajg617 View Post
    Years ago, we bought a portable generator for the house after being without power for over a Christmas week with zero temps, heavy snow, heat by fireplaces. Had an electrician install the correct sub-panel dedicated to the genset and an outlet on the exterior of the garage wall (4 pin male 30amp/250V connection for the generator) to support our well pump which runs at 220V.

    Now the question. Trying to have a tech install Coleman soft-starts on the 310 but other than a 110V 15amp garage outlet, the nearest is the connection to the generator. I'm assuming that electricity can flow both ways here since my procedure is to shut the main power supply to the street off before engaging the generator. I want to be able to test the install (mobile tech). Can I leave the master switch for the generator sub-panel and street ON and provide 30 amps to the coach? I could run the on-board generator, but that doesn't really tell me if the soft-starts will work on less than 50amps.
    TIA
    I am not an Electrician but, I am pretty sure that what this past electrician did is not to code. The correct install should not require you to remember to do anything.
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  3. #3
    Site Sponsor ajg617's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by huntindog View Post
    I am not an Electrician but, I am pretty sure that what this past electrician did is not to code. The correct install should not require you to remember to do anything.
    Should have probably said this was probably 15 years ago and I should have clarified it's a portable generator on wheels that I roll out and connect with a cable much like what is in our coach. Permit was pulled and inspector came out. So it was to code then - no electronic switching involved at all - all manual.
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  4. #4
    Site Sponsor Jerryr's Avatar
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    Your electrician likely installed a manual portable generator power transfer kit, not a sub panel. Totally legal.

    It has an additional box that can power certain circuits off a generator rather than the grid if needed

    I’ve got one that I need to install at my cabin so I can run the well 240 v pumps, fridge, fans and some lights during power outages. I’ve got this one https://www.amazon.com/Reliance-Corp...000HS2L3O?th=1
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  5. #5
    Seasoned Camper
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    Short answer: No.

    That is a transfer switch, not a subpanel.


    When you throw the switch to the mains, it disconnects the generator connection.
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  6. #6
    Site Team xrated's Avatar
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    There are two ways to connect a generator to a house panel, both code approved if done correctly. 1. via the use of an automatic or a manual transfer switch. 2. Using a breaker lockout device that is attached to the main panel. With that device, you have to turn the main panel breaker off, then slide a lockout bar up and out of the way and then you can turn on the generator input breaker. So it's either the main breaker on, and the generator input breaker off.....or vice versa. With that setup, you also need to have a generator that does not have the neutral/ground bonding on the generator itself.
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    Long Hauler huntindog's Avatar
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    Like I said. I am not an Electrician.... But I knew it had to be setup so that it was fail safe. IOW impossible to screw it up by forgetting to flip the main breaker off.
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  8. #8
    Site Team xrated's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by huntindog View Post
    Like I said. I am not an Electrician.... But I knew it had to be setup so that it was fail safe. IOW impossible to screw it up by forgetting to flip the main breaker off.
    I use the breaker lockout method on my backup generator setup on the house. I've got a 12,000W running (15,000W peak), dual fuel Westinghouse with a built in CO sensor on it to power some of the house in case of a utility outage. It of course feeds the house breaker panel via a double pole 50A breaker on the right side of the panel, the top breaker....which is locked out until I turn off the 200A house main. Everything is manually operated by me, and I've typed out a set of very specific instructions that list the order/sequence of how to get the generator online, as well as how to restore utility power. It's not so much for me, but in case my wife would need to use it (not likely I guess, but still possible). I also have a Reliance "PowerBack" on the system to notify me when the utility power has been restored....with a 100+ db screeching sound. In addition to the PowerBack, I also wired in a wireless module that is specific to my Honeywell brand Security system that is on the house....and the module sends a signal to my alarm panel (which is operating whether I'm on utility power or generator power) and it lets me know that utility power has been restored with a pop up on the screen and a beep about every 20 seconds or so. Using the breaker lockout was the least expensive option and realistically, I don't need fully automatic and very expensive automatic transfer stuff to switch over and get me back on line. That, plus my genny is NOT a whole house standby type generator that is on a pad outside the house, it is a portable (if 350 lbs of generator is really portable??? ) that has to be wheeled out of the garage and setup.

    Our house has an Electric Heat pump for heating/cooling, so the power draw isn't terrible....unless, it's cold enough that the heat pump cannot keep up, then a 10Kw electric heat strip kicks on (aux. heat option) and that of course takes a high percentage of the generator power to operate. If that situation arises in the winter time, you definitely have to manage what you have running in the house and turn off anything/everything that is not totally necessary. We do have a gas fireplace that is propane, so I can run that also to help supplement the heat pump usage...if needed, but we rarely get those kind of temperatures in E. TN.
    Last edited by xrated; 05-29-2023 at 05:55 AM. Reason: added info.
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  9. #9
    Site Team xrated's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by ajg617 View Post
    Years ago, we bought a portable generator for the house after being without power for over a Christmas week with zero temps, heavy snow, heat by fireplaces. Had an electrician install the correct sub-panel dedicated to the genset and an outlet on the exterior of the garage wall (4 pin male 30amp/250V connection for the generator) to support our well pump which runs at 220V.

    Now the question. Trying to have a tech install Coleman soft-starts on the 310 but other than a 110V 15amp garage outlet, the nearest is the connection to the generator. I'm assuming that electricity can flow both ways here since my procedure is to shut the main power supply to the street off before engaging the generator. I want to be able to test the install (mobile tech). Can I leave the master switch for the generator sub-panel and street ON and provide 30 amps to the coach? I could run the on-board generator, but that doesn't really tell me if the soft-starts will work on less than 50amps.
    TIA
    The soft start doesn't care whether you are on a 30A setup or a 50A setup. It's made to be installed on a 120VAC circuit, provided that your A/C unit is 120VAC, and every RV A/C unit that I've ever seen is just that....120VAC
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  10. #10
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    What power source are you going to use which makes you need the soft starts? Using that to test them after install would be my first choice. It also seems to me the test for the soft starts could be to use the 15 amp 120vAc garage outlet with the proper dogbone adapter.
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