Back feed wall plugs from inverter

tkoden wrote:

powderman426 wrote:
I'm having trouble thinking of one. A male plug from the inverter would work, but have the danger of a hot plug if a child were to unplug it. Also if there was anything else on the circuit like a Frig or a Water Heater It Wouldn't Be Very Happy.

This is what I was thinking. I could just turn off the breaker for the plugs and back feed with an inverter similar to what I did with a generator when my parents lost power.

:E

Really?

"back feeding" ANY home or even a RV is never a good idea.

For your home there IS PROPER safety devices called Generator transfer switches.

With a generator transfer switch the gen can never feed the utility lines and the power from the utility company can NEVER REACH your gen.

Simply put, you can get transfer switches for $100 or so, you simply move a FEW of the IMPORTANT circuits you want to power into the transfer switch. The transfer switch has a "feed" from your breaker box and a feed from your generator.

Under normal conditions the transfer switch is set to utility and when power goes out you flip the transfer switch to generator..

Utility power comes back on and you flip it back to utility.

Everyone seems to think it is fine to backfeed a breaker box because they think they will ALWAYS REMEMBER to turn off the MAIN breaker.. People even with the best of memory CAN FORGET that critical step..

Just because someone you know or even yourself has done it, does not mean it is safe or good to do..

If you "forget" to turn off the main breaker while running the gen you can send power back into the lines. This creates a high voltage hazard to the power company linesman. Give them a break and don't do it!

Additionally if you forget to turn off the Main breaker when the utility company energizes the lines your gen may be the victim..

Besides, how in the world do you "know" when the power has been "restored" if you turn the Main breaker off?

At least with a transfer switch the Main panel will get power from the utility company and you will easily notice when other non gen loads get powered up..

For your RV, just simply PLUG THE SHORE POWER CORD INTO THE INVERTER, use a 120V 15A male to 120V 30A RV female adapter.

You will have to "remember" to turn off the CONVERTER, the fridge, the water heater electric element (if equipped) and any other high current draw items..

Just be aware, most CHEAPO inverters may NOT LIKE what you are planning to do. Most cheapo inverters have a floating "neutral" output, this will present about 60V AC on the neutral and about 60V AC on the HOT..