Using RV generator as a backup generator for the house?

[racnacr]

So... I live in Pa and our weather here this winter has motivated me to finally do something about using the manual transfer switch that came wired into my house when I bought it. My question for the group is, is my Generac Quietpact 40g capable of 220 output? The biggest problem with using a portable generator during an extended power outage is th 5-8 gallons of gas they hold. You need te refuel several times a day... While my Super C has an 80 gallon tank : ) My transfer switch looks for 220 output to run my well pump. If the RV can't do it, I may upgrade the RV generator, or have the transfer switch rewired to eliminate the well pump and use 110. Am I crazy here, or has anyone else done this? My transfer switch only has 6 circuits, 2 of which are occupied by the well pump. I have meters on the switch so I can monitor, and be sure not to overload the genset. Thanks in advance for any advice!

[az99]

Before you spend any $ on transformers etc. why not look at buying a real backup generator. If you already have the transfer switch you probably already have propane or nat. gas also. They have gotten very affordable.

3600 watts is barely going to kick on your well pump if it is more than 1/2 hp.
I tried doing the same thing with a 4400 watt 240V and it does not work well except for short duration.

Just a thought. Good Luck

[racnacr]

I already have the transfer switch in place, so back feeding the grid won't be a problem. I didn't realize that I could get a transformer to get to the 220 required for the well pump. Thanks for the good info! This is something I'm going to talk to my electrician about. I want to make sure I wire this up once, and properly. This forum is a great resource.

[campinginthewoo]

As it was mentioned.....REMEMBER if you hook up any generator you need to have a way to disconnect from the power grid....that way you don't back feed and yes you can back feed using extention cords. I work for a power company and it's a concern every time we have power outages with bad weather....

[Gene_in_NE]

map40 wrote:
Here is what I bought
http://www.interlockkit.com/ "Added Clicky Thingy"
And no, 220 or 240 appliance won't work, don't even try.

[map40]

Here is what I bought
http://www.interlockkit.com/
And no, 220 or 240 appliance won't work, don't even try.

[map40]

I have always used my RV genset to run my house. You will need an output plug in your coach and the proper wiring on your home.
In my house in MI I had a transfer switch for 10 circuits.
In my house in FL the generator connects directly to panel with a error proof switch that does not allow you to back feed the grid (big NO-NO).
The only thing is that you need to keep in mind how much power your genset can handle.
It is convenient to have a 55 gallon gas tank for the generator instead of the 8 hours of the small tank...

[KD4UPL]

I run my house off of my Onan 2.5 kW gen. in my camper. You just have to be careful not to overload it or it will trip the breaker. I run a #12 extension cord from the microwave outlet in the camper to my transfer switch in the garage. I use the microwave outlet because it is a 20 amp circuit and because it is not GFCI protected. Since my home's transfer switch only switches the hot wires and not the neutral (like any other home transfer switch) it would trip the camper GFCI outlet if I tried to use one of those.
I have added a transformer to make 240v AC for the well pump. A 3 kVA transformer is large enough for my 3/4 HP pump. I paid about $300 for it at an electrical supply house. You can also get an autotransformer from Outback Power, the X-240. It comes in it's own enclosure with a breaker.
My well draws about 2 kW running. I'm not sure what the starting surge is but the gen. handles it. I have fluorescent lighting in almost the whole house so that draw is quite low. If I turn on every light in the house it's only about 2 kW.

[Flyfisherman128]

I do it when necessary.. I have a 120v pump.. I run most of the house from the rv 1200 watt inverter. When I need to run the fridge or pump or stove.I kick on the rv generator.

[racnacr]

I did the extension cord thing during the last power outage (almost 4 days) but I figure since my panel is already wired for a genset, I should take advantage of it. Especially since I have an oil fired furnace and radiators, I should be able to run my whole house heater with very little draw. The circuits that are wired into my transfer panel other than the heater and well pump are my fridge, and my entertainment center. I think the genset I have should be able to run those few items without any difficulty. For me the big thing is the furnace. I was worried if we went another few days, I might run into a frozen plumbing situation since it was going down into the single digit temp range overnight. Luckily it was sunny during the day, and the temps in the house stayed in the low to mid 40's. I have stayed out in the rig during power outages before, but we have 3 Labrador Retrievers and 2 cats. With the slide in, that would be a bit tight for an extended stay... Thanks for all the quick replies! I think I'm going to rewire the transfer setup for 110 and just skip the well pump. It seems much cheaper and easier for sure, and will take care of 80% of my regular household needs.

[enblethen]

Before doing much more thinking of the RVs genset, determine what you want to run. Make a list of wattage of items.
240 volt pump could be a very major concern. amperage of it's starting could go over many portable gensets as well.
Sure you could get a transformer and back feed it to get 240 volts from 120 but it will cost to wire it up properly.

[RoyB]

I do it all the time here at my house on a small scale where I get to store my OFF-ROAD POPUP trailer. I will run a couple of 120VAC extension cords from my off-road POPUP setup into the house to run a few things from the 600WATT PSW INVERTER setup in the trailer.

This is the easy way of doing it and not have to wire anything into the house Power Panel...

We run the home entertainment center, some lights, fans, and chargers for the cell phone and computers. In the winter I have a fireplace to heat the house with but will need 120VAC to run the fireplace internal fan.

When I run my trailer batteries down to around 12.0VDC I will then connect my shore power cable of the trailer directly to my 2KW Honda portable generator and re-charge my trailer batteries in around three hours of generator run time.

During the generator run time I will make my coffee for the day and plug in the fridge to give it a couple hours of running to keep the frozen meat safe.

Using the batteries from the trailer gives us all night to run the few things we have connected and only uses the generator just three hours aday to re-charge the batteries. My generator only has around 7 hours of run time on one tank of gas so this saves us big if we in for a long time without house power. Sometimes finding gasoline in the county is a problem as the local gas stations may be without power as well and can't pump gas...

This is my PLAN B when the power goes out here at our house...

Roy Ken

[Explorer1016]

You are not crazy and are actually on the right track. we will be doing the same thing with our RV. Our house is wired for an external genset as well. I believe it is the amperage draw at the auxiliary panel that you should be concerned with. Household electric panels are rated in Amps, ie 100 amp service, 200 amp service etc. If your generator does not produce enough amp output to meet the well pump amperage draw requirement it will not kick on and the generator will fault into over load. This will cause a high heat situation in your panel as well until the either a breaker trips or the gen goes into overload fault. either way, not a good situation. Check amp draw on the well pump vs amp output of your generator on the rv. Keep in mind, lights, refrigerator, furnace blower will draw amps as well. Hope this helps

[enblethen]

The genset set is 120 volts. It is only rated to 3600 watts.
It would not do much for a house. I would live in MH while power is out or run a couple heavy extension cords for specific items like refer or microwave.
Generac Quietpak 40G

[DutchmenSport]

I have a much smaller generator for our camper. It's not fixed in the camper, it's portable enough to move around. We use the generator for power outages at our house every time there's an outage. Unfortunately, the output is only 110, so our well (220) is not functional. We do not tap into the house wiring, we just simply run 100 foot extension cords all over the house. We run one line for the freezer and refrigerator. We switch the line back and forth about ever hour on these two appliances. We run another line to keep the television, satellite, and internet going, which works OK provided the cell tower "down the way" has power as our internet is a line-of-site system, and not a cable or dial-up system. We run one line for the blower on the fireplace, and we run one line to keep a coffee-pot, or flat griddle working for cooking.

I've considered putting in a whole house generator, but the cost does not justify the few number of times we have power outages. Also, we have relatives in two different directions (5 miles one way, 10 miles the other way), we can always descend on in the event of emergency. And they can descend on us if they have emergencies too.

Of course, we also have the travel trailer we can use for heat, television, and sleeping if we want to. But we still need to keep the refrigerator and freezer going in the house too.

Your idea is not so far fetched. It's actually very reasonable. Work out the logistics and I'm sure you'll be most happy!