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..

Backfeed via generator to a home is safe if done properly. Turn off main, turn on generator, flip generator power, boom house has power. Repeat procedure, shut of gen main, kill generator, flip main done/deal.

it seems that a simple DPDT switch rated at 20 amps would do all that is needed. But if this idea hasn't occured to you, then you should probably consult an electrican.

PAThwacker wrote:
Backfeed via generator to a home is safe if done properly. Turn off main, turn on generator, flip generator power, boom house has power. Repeat procedure, shut of gen main, kill generator, flip main done/deal.

Your utility company will disagree.

And now back to the OP question ...

I really like the idea of using the plug strip. It's simple, safe and it avoids the argument over who's right or wrong about backfeeding the panel. You don't have to worry about overloading the inverter because you forgot to turn off the fridge, water heater, etc. You don't have to have several adapters to plug the 30 amp(or even 50 amp!) RV plug into the 15 amp on the inverter and the plug strip gives you several locations to plug in your devices that need charging! Nice and simple.

John

It is possible for backfeeding to be done safely, but it is NEVER a good idea...one missed step can be deadly.

I wired a small 150W inverter using the transfer switch that smkettner linked to. Here's my build thread.

Worked out nicely for me since I have one circuit that feeds outlets at both TVs (24" LCD), at both nightstands, and the one I use to inflate the AirDream pull out bed. Only downside is that the fridge is on the same circuit, so I need to remember to set the fridge to "gas" when I have the inverter on.

I only have 2 6v batteries, so I purposely kept the inverter size small.....just enough to watch TV and charge a couple of cell phones.

(Note: If you read the thread I linked to, I did subsequently upgrade the converter and the wiring to the batteries to optimize charging.)

PAThwacker wrote:
Backfeed via generator to a home is safe if done properly. Turn off main, turn on generator, flip generator power, boom house has power. Repeat procedure, shut of gen main, kill generator, flip main done/deal.

And totally illegal in 99.999% of the world. Forget to shut off main and kill a lineman, sounds like a bad idea to me!

Spend the $50 and get a circuit breaker interlock kit, legally run your generator into the panel!