Setting up your house to run off your RV generator?

[Gundog]

I will start by saying I am a retired power lineman my house is setup with the proper hookup for a generator a break before make connection so it doesn't back feed the power company.

My MH has a 7 KW generator. Has anyone setup their RV to feed their house legally. My house panel is setup and has been inspected. I just need to figure out the MH end.

To be honest I haven't looked at the MH to see what I need to do yet. With today's world I think I want to get this setup.

[pianotuna]

Gasoline old? Add the recommended amount of 'Heet'. That's what I did in real life, when my generator would not stay running due to fuel that was aged out.

The fuel started as premium (no ethanol) and was treated with Sea Foam. It was 18 months old when I added the Heet.

[JaxDad]

BackOfThePack wrote:
Diesel: 12/month shelf life.

This is something that is a widely held, and promoted, story in the automotive fuels industry.

In the aviation industry though, Jet A is routinely stored for many many years without issue.

[BackOfThePack]

Gasoline: 3-6/month shelf life
Diesel: 12/month shelf life
Propane: Indefinite

To get that out of the way, the problem is a gamble however conceived.

What capacity (several 100-lb cylinders or larger) can be addressed somewhat. Design guidelines and rules exist.

The function of an RV is to be (and remain) mobile.

“More” propane and a TV with “more” diesel onboard than was factory-offered to be the storage tank addition “might” extend one’s abilities where high cost isn’t a barrier, but it’s still going to come to the most favorable climate over preparedness in any event

Ability to run from NG isn’t something I’ve come across to power an RV as propane substitute. Using it to generate electricity to in turn be able to substitute wholly or in part is going to take a design/size/weight starts to get prohibitive.

IIRC, the engine hour count I’ve seen on some 1980s-era Bluebird Wanderlodge diesel gensets was 12,000 or more. (500-days at 24; or 1k days at 12).

50A service = 12kW (equivalent max). An ONAN that size is $14,000-MSRP (rough; maybe $11k at dealer). Now factor oil/filter changes every 50/hours. And that the warranty is void if used to power a house in any fashion. 7-800/lbs.

Fuel consumption is going to go from .5/gl-hr at half-load to .8/gl-hr at full load.

All the numbers can be manipulated. But size/weight/consumption are all still a barrier beyond incorrect Genset spec for non-RV use.

Use the RV versus the house, short-term. Acquire additional propane bottles with proper transport addressed (least likely), to power the RV. What solar could be added is high-expense with low reliability (long-term) before that systems shortcomings in less than ideal operating conditions.

It’s genuinely the house needs to be addressed, not the RV (past maximizing its systems ability/capacity to ensure longest occupancy for a given power source). Natural Gas appears the best backup if that’s feasible. (Takes electricity also, even if remote).

Use the RV as family Conestoga to get somewhere better. Warm, dry quarters with all other amenities in the preservation of dignity it’s highest value. Assume injury or illness, that value goes higher yet. The inputs to maintain those keep one’s independence greatest till the day they don’t is in a plan which combines greatest distances on the one hand, and maximum nights-aboard times X-persons on the other.

Q: Better to have asked — and prepared; tested — what would it take to ensure complete freedom from any re-supply (food, water, propane & TV fuel) for a family with X-members over Y-nights aboard. Is it 10-nights, or is it 30? What are the differences? (In disaster planning for hurricane evacuation TV MPG — actually, any vehicle — won’t rise above 3-5/MPG . . and 150/miles from the coast is the minimum to access operating fuel stops).

With a bare reserve remaining, how far could we go, and for how long?

Promises to homeowners that, “be patient, we’re working hard to get the lights back on”, can become lies when two weeks turns into two months What MAY matter most — then — is leaving. (IMO, keep that option foremost).

.

[pianotuna]

If you had suggested natural gas BackOfThePack, I would agree. But propane is bulky to store and pretty much impossible to refill without electricity.

I'd prefer solar, too.

[BackOfThePack]

pianotuna wrote:

BackOfThePack wrote:

A Generac with extra propane tankage sounds better.
.

Propane would be the worst possible choice. It is far less energy dense than gas, or diesel.

Propane lasts longer in storage. Liquid fuels deteriorate fairly fast

[msmith1_wa]

It sounds like your house panel is set up the same as mine. If your rv generator is 120/240 you will need to tap into the generator output and wire a connector so a cord can connect the two. It would be wise to put a disconnect between the generator and the rv end so that it is hot only when you want it to be.

[Grit_dog]

Gundog wrote:

Grit dog wrote:
You were serious...
And yes, you picked up on the the OP has a transfer switch at the house. So far so good. He won't kill linemen trying to restore the power (but there are enough people back feeding their homes through a dryer plug or something, they assume hot all the time).
But OP has a 7kw genset, unknown if 120 or 240. Certainly not large enough to power the whole house at once and maybe not able to power 240V circuits. SO plenty to consider or change on the house end.

On the RV end, where is the "power" you plug your cord into going to come from? The little household outlet on the outside? The RV needs what I said earlier to work to it's fullest potential.

Bad advice is one thing. Might get wet, stranded, hit in the head if you unknowingly follow bad advice about most things, save for electrical. Following bad electrical advice will just zap or kill ya right there on the spot.
OP also is assumed to be an electrician because he is a lineman.
If he was a knowledgeable residential electrician, he wouldn't have these questions.

You have no clue what I know. Anytime you want to compare credentials let me know.

Since Slowmover brought this one back from the dead, I saw your post.
Hilarious dude!
I have no idea what you know, you’re correct. But if you knew what you were doing, you wouldn’t be asking. (Seems strange to me, a lineman couldn’t do a little residential electric work, but….)

However, you got your undies in a bunch and I wasn’t even replying to you. Go back and look….lol

[C_Schomer]

Just a heads-up… IDK know how old your furnace is but my high efficiency 2016 furnace won’t run off my Honda… fussy electronics. Fridges have been electronic for decades and it works fine.
The old farm was all electric and I wired a 25kw pto driven gen in dads barn, in the mid 70s. Wire gauge was right and I made sure the bldgs and the gen had common gnds and neutral. REA put a manual disconnect on the main line and they let him do manual switching. Power was out for 4 days the next winter and dad said his poor old M went thru 50 gallons of gas a day.

[pianotuna]

BackOfThePack wrote:

A Generac with extra propane tankage sounds better.
.

Propane would be the worst possible choice. It is far less energy dense than gas, or diesel.

[BackOfThePack]

Unless weather were below freezing in the daytime, moving into the RV seems better to me.

Most gensets (unless a $$$$ motorhome) are going to have a duty cycle and installation isn’t quite meant for running days or weeks on end.

A Generac with extra propane tankage sounds better.

With an attached garage and appliances chosen as NEEDS for the smallest area — the RV just outside — I could see getting by.

I just wouldn’t care to try to run a house-sized kitchen and keep it heated or cooled versus using the RV and the attached garage as transition.

I’d be looking at a man-door to the garage, not just panel upgrades, and a sealed floor that could stand up to heavy family use + pets without adding to the burden. Garage can be subdivided many ways (insulation) to “fit” needs.

Spent some years on the Gulf Coast where hurricanes are an expectation. There aren’t any cheering good stories from those dumb enough to ride out no worse than loss of power. The size and duty-rating of a Genset (and fuel) to go for weeks is not, IMO, what is provided in an RV. Chasing fuel was 150-miles from coast and a full day of being gone.

You’ve “lost” the house. Don’t lose the RV also. Minimize demand.

.

[Gundog]

Grit dog wrote:
You were serious...
And yes, you picked up on the the OP has a transfer switch at the house. So far so good. He won't kill linemen trying to restore the power (but there are enough people back feeding their homes through a dryer plug or something, they assume hot all the time).
But OP has a 7kw genset, unknown if 120 or 240. Certainly not large enough to power the whole house at once and maybe not able to power 240V circuits. SO plenty to consider or change on the house end.

On the RV end, where is the "power" you plug your cord into going to come from? The little household outlet on the outside? The RV needs what I said earlier to work to it's fullest potential.

Bad advice is one thing. Might get wet, stranded, hit in the head if you unknowingly follow bad advice about most things, save for electrical. Following bad electrical advice will just zap or kill ya right there on the spot.
OP also is assumed to be an electrician because he is a lineman.
If he was a knowledgeable residential electrician, he wouldn't have these questions.

You have no clue what I know. Anytime you want to compare credentials let me know.

[time2roll]

Grit dog wrote:
You were serious...
And yes, you picked up on the the OP has a transfer switch at the house. So far so good. He won't kill linemen trying to restore the power (but there are enough people back feeding their homes through a dryer plug or something, they assume hot all the time).
But OP has a 7kw genset, unknown if 120 or 240. Certainly not large enough to power the whole house at once and maybe not able to power 240V circuits. SO plenty to consider or change on the house end.

On the RV end, where is the "power" you plug your cord into going to come from? The little household outlet on the outside? The RV needs what I said earlier to work to it's fullest potential.

Bad advice is one thing. Might get wet, stranded, hit in the head if you unknowingly follow bad advice about most things, save for electrical. Following bad electrical advice will just zap or kill ya right there on the spot.
OP also is assumed to be an electrician because he is a lineman.
If he was a knowledgeable residential electrician, he wouldn't have these questions.

:R

[pianotuna]

I had the same six circuit switch. It worked well and I was surprized at how many things I could power on my Kipor 2800 generator.

[ktmrfs]

bgum wrote:
We just installed a Reliance Protran manual transfer switch. It is all of 6 circuits and only uses 120 volts. It is rated for up to 7000 watts. We use our Honda eu3000i to power the switch. We have two bedrooms, kitchen, heating system, and office/freezer running off the circuits. The particular items powered are Dish tv system, freezer, refrigerator, security system, heating system, lights, computer system, kitchen wall plugs. We also have two small window AC units we can install as needed. We don't run every thing a once. The transfer switch has two meters that indicate wattage being used. The generator has a 3 gallon tank and it lasts about 20-24 hours.

I have the same system nice thing is it is one of the few that is set up for 120V input to the panel rather than an expected 120/240 and mine has a input plug for a 30A 120V cable