Will this idea work to power my house off 7.2 kw Pro Power?

[Eskram]

Next storm when everyone loses power, I'll put the old generator up for sale for the win $$$$.

That's my plan! I have a 7.8kw gas/propane generator in the garage that used propane once, for about 30 minutes of run time..

The few times I have lost power since having the PB, I did the ol' extension cord trick to stuff that matters - my beer and meat fridge.

I do need a slightly better setup going forward though - the entire house is LED lighting and energy star appliances (if that matters much). I suspect I could run just about everything except the ac, pool equipment and stove/microwave without much drama from the PB.

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[CLT-PB]

I'm wiring mine up right now and should be able to test it tomorrow. Will report back.

I added a main breaker to my inside panel (to allow the interlock device to work so I don't accidentally backfeed the grid) and the only PITA was cutting through the massive 4/0 supply wires with small sidecutters (the wires needed to be a bit shorter).

 

[dafish]

CLT:

I didn’t read all 5 pages, but can say this.

1). I’m not an expert either, but believe I understand it well enough.
2). I have enormous respect for both perspectives, but I too will be using Hammamans approach.
3). This link is interesting:


if you get impatient jump to 9:45. I was already comfortable with Hammans method. The video solidifies it, and in my mind clarifies it’s a correct way

 

[CLT-PB]

CLT:

I didn’t read all 5 pages, but can say this.

1). I’m not an expert either, but believe I understand it well enough.
2). I have enormous respect for both perspectives, but I too will be using Hammamans approach.
3). This link is interesting:


if you get impatient jump to 9:45. I was already comfortable with Hammans method. The video solidifies it, and in my mind clarifies it’s a correct way

I'm also comfortable, but thanks for finding this. I would like to learn more about how grounding works.

 

[v2h8484]

Interesting video. The most notable thing to me in the video is actually that a separately derived system (e.g. PP with bonded neutral and neutral transfer switch connection to house) needs to have its own ground rod. I wonder if this is an actual NEC requirement for a portable generator. If true, it's another reason that disconnected ground looks more attractive.

 

[dafish]

indeed. In a perfect world one would simply wire in a bonding disconnect switch on the generator, but I see this as an acceptable solution when used ONLY when connected to a properly grounded and bonded home. But i am NOT qualified to say. Use at your own risk.

 

[CLT-PB]

CLT:

I didn’t read all 5 pages, but can say this.

1). I’m not an expert either, but believe I understand it well enough.
2). I have enormous respect for both perspectives, but I too will be using Hammamans approach.
3). This link is interesting:


if you get impatient jump to 9:45. I was already comfortable with Hammans method. The video solidifies it, and in my mind clarifies it’s a correct way

That video is great. It finally made me understand what will happen to the current if there is a ground fault in the house.

My system is all hooked up and ready to test. I am preparing for my wife and kid to yell at me when I kill the power and they lose internet for a few minutes, god forbid.

 

[HammaMan]

My system is all hooked up and ready to test. I am preparing for my wife and kid to yell at me when I kill the power and they lose internet for a few minutes, god forbid.

Important electrical devices should be on a UPS. For your internet equipment, there's a $50 UPS at walmart. When I designed the electrical system for my parent's house, I ran 3 discrete lighting circuits for the entire house that entered into junction boxes in a hidden compartment under the stairs that allowed any of them to be ran off of a UPS. The one for their room and the down stairs was on a UPS so that even if the generator didn't start, they still had lighting. Even the ceiling fans joined the circuit at that point and were able to be powered separately. Entirely LED

3300 sqft house that was easily run entirely off of a 14kW generator with a custom designed load shed system in case they forgot they were on generator. Twin 4 ton mitsu mini splits with 10 zones.

 

[v2h8484]

Looks like it's true. Anyone using a neutral transfer switch to connect PP to their house wiring without connecting the truck frame/ground to its own ground rod is not compliant with the NEC per Section 250.34(B) (https://up.codes/s/portable-and-vehicle-mounted-generators).

 

[CLT-PB]

Looks like it's true. Anyone using a neutral transfer switch to connect PP to their house wiring without connecting the truck frame/ground to its own ground rod is not compliant with the NEC per Section 250.34(B) (https://up.codes/s/portable-and-vehicle-mounted-generators).

Wow. I can’t imagine many people do that, or know about that.

 

[v2h8484]

Wow. I can’t imagine many people do that, or know about that.

Yeah, I doubt even most general electricians and inspectors know about it.

 

[Hullguy]

CLT:

I didn’t read all 5 pages, but can say this.

1). I’m not an expert either, but believe I understand it well enough.
2). I have enormous respect for both perspectives, but I too will be using Hammamans approach.
3). This link is interesting:


if you get impatient jump to 9:45. I was already comfortable with Hammans method. The video solidifies it, and in my mind clarifies it’s a correct way

This video is not about a bonded neutral generator like the Powerboost. The information Is not pertinent and dangerous to use in a powerboost

 

[Egilson1]

Looks like it's true. Anyone using a neutral transfer switch to connect PP to their house wiring without connecting the truck frame/ground to its own ground rod is not compliant with the NEC per Section 250.34(B) (https://up.codes/s/portable-and-vehicle-mounted-generators).

So I work in the entertainment industry with very large vehicle mounted generators, and this topic comes up all the time. No grounding rod is needed as you are complying with that section by use of the 30amp connector on the truck, and matching cord cap on the cable. How do we know this? As an industry we have representation on the committee that writes that section of code.

 

[v2h8484]

So I work in the entertainment industry with very large vehicle mounted generators, and this topic comes up all the time. No grounding rod is needed as you are complying with that section by use of the 30amp connector on the truck, and matching cord cap on the cable. How do we know this? As an industry we have representation on the committee that writes that section of code.

According to the code section, that would be fine as long as you are not using a neutral bonded generator connected to house wiring through a neutral transfer switch which is unlikely a common use case for the entertainment industry. Funny you mentioned that the entertainment industry has representation for that code section. Their influence looks obvious in how specific the exceptions appear to be written for temporary location use cases, likely common for the entertainment and construction industries.

 

[RickBullotta]

Hello all. I just purchased my first F-150 ('23 Powerboost Lariat) and these forums have been great for doing research and after buying the truck. I've read many of the threads about powering a house off the Pro Power and the neutral issue but I haven’t seen my specific question/solution addressed. I’m no cleverer than anyone else and I’m sure someone has tried it.

Like most folks, I would prefer to power my whole electrical panel from the truck rather than choosing 8-10 circuits to move over to the Generac transfer switch panel with switched neutral (http://tinyurl.com/nhfx6nws). The Generac would work fine, but I would prefer the flexibility of being able to power any of my circuits if I choose, managing the load manually.

My house for some reason has the meter and 200 amp main breaker outside the house, and the ground and neutral are bonded there. My indoor “main panel” is really a subpanel that also has a 200 amp main breaker; the ground and neutral are not bonded because it’s a subpanel. See drawing.

My preferred solution would be to put 30 amps into my panel from the truck and use a breaker interlock (http://tinyurl.com/5n8p9hya) to prevent both the generator input and utility input from being on at the same time. That of course leaves the problem of switching the neutral. My solution would be to use a 200 amp disconnect (http://tinyurl.com/4b5e7zcv) between my main breaker outside the house and subpanel inside the house to switch the neutral (although I guess I could/should switch the hots as well). Before turning on power from the truck generator, I would throw the switch to open the existing service neutral, therefore isolating the existing neutral/ground bond so the truck doesn’t trip. If I forgot to do that, the truck would just sense a fault and trip. When it’s time to go back on utility power, I close the switch again. So basically I would have to throw two switches – the 30 amp on the panel to bring in the truck feed, and the utility service disconnect to isolate the existing bonded neutral-ground.

I don’t see why this wouldn’t work. It seems to me that as long as you can switch open the neutral downstream of the existing neutral-ground bond, the bond will be isolated and it should work. This is basically just like the PITA solution people have suggested of unbonding the neutral and ground in the main panel. There is still a path to earth. It seems safe. I don’t know if NEC would approve, but I don’t see why not. It’s just a safety service disconnect.

Any thoughts? Please tell me if I am an idiot.

Please, PLEASE make sure you don't implement any approach which does not automatically isolate grid backfeed from your truck. A transfer switch is a must. You could kill or injure a utility lineman otherwise.

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