My back surgery...

[tekkydiver]

Only a "suicide cord" if you plug it into an energized socket and intentionally grab the exposed end.

Otherwise, your car would be a "suicide car"; your electric drill would be a "suicide drill"; your toothbrush would be a "suicide toothbrush"; your newly sharpened pencil would be a "suicide pencil"; your cereal spoon would be a "suicide spoon"; your step ladder would be a "suicide stool" (or would a suicide stool be the result of the AYCE Taco Tuesday at the Taco Tornado Grill?); your new girlfriend would be a "suicide girlfriend" ...

In addition to suicide if used incorrectly it can mean death to a lineman trying to restore power

 

[tekkydiver]

I

I believe the "Suicide Cord" moniker as it relates to home emergency power is considered a male plug to male plug - one matching the generator outlet to one that goes into a dryer/range/welder outlet. Typically, neither end is sleeved. Other than that, yep ... Utility breaker open, emergency feed circuit breaker open , load shedding breakers open as required, connect cord at both ends, start generator, close emergency feed breaker, balance loads as required.

As Pete and others pointed out, It relies on user intelligence for safe operation for the user and the system. It is not idiot-proof, therefore types of that description get twisted drawers. Neither is it hard to do.

In parts of Hillsborough county last week, Code Enforcement Officials were going house to house citing
homeowners having 'incorrect' generator hookups

 

[greeniguana]

In parts of Hillsborough county last week, Code Enforcement Officials were going house to house citing
homeowners having 'incorrect' generator hookups

Please cite the code section, or apply the FUD label.

 

[tekkydiver]

Please cite the code section, or apply the FUD label.

I can only tell you what they were doing. I can tell you some homeowners were scrambling to switch out their 220v line to the breaker box to a Home Depot outdoor extension cord

 

[greeniguana]

I can only tell you what they were doing. I can tell you some homeowners were scrambling to switch out their 220v line to the breaker box to a Home Depot outdoor extension cord

Ridiculous. On many levels. Not how code enforcement works. Private home owners arent bound by electrical "code" because they aren't licensed contractors. I can do whatever I want. Ask me how I know.

 

[TrimixToo]

In addition to suicide if used incorrectly it can mean death to a lineman trying to restore power

That hazard is theoretically there.

However, I feel sure that if I were to fail to disconnect my main breaker before plugging in my genset, I'd briefly be trying to power my entire neighborhood (and more, actually, as currently wired to the grid). Trust me that my generator would pop both breakers in a few tens of milliseconds or less trying to meet the load. I mean, the neighbors have refrigerators, freezers, well pumps, and such just like we do. And if it didn't have breakers, it would stall. And if it didn't stall, it would fry a winding. It seems unlikely in the extreme that a line worker ("lineman" is a specific job title) would be trying to provide a ground path at that exact moment. Possible, certainly. Theoretically.

I'm willing to be corrected if I'm wrong. Please, pipe up if appropriate.

Notwithstanding the above, I fully support connecting generators to houses in accordance with code.

 

[tekkydiver]

Ridiculous. On many levels. Not how code enforcement works. Private home owners arent bound by electrical "code" because they aren't licensed contractors. I can do whatever I want. Ask me how I know.

None-the-less, Code Enforcement was out there looking are generators. Private homeowners may act as their own contractor w/o a license, but permits still need to be pulled when required; and the work must be up to code.

 

[tekkydiver]

That hazard is theoretically there.

However, I feel sure that if I were to fail to disconnect my main breaker before plugging in my genset, I'd briefly be trying to power my entire neighborhood (and more, actually, as currently wired to the grid). Trust me that my generator would pop both breakers in a few tens of milliseconds or less trying to meet the load. I mean, the neighbors have refrigerators, freezers, well pumps, and such just like we do. And if it didn't have breakers, it would stall. And if it didn't stall, it would fry a winding. It seems unlikely in the extreme that a line worker ("lineman" is a specific job title) would be trying to provide a ground path at that exact moment. Possible, certainly. Theoretically.

I'm willing to be corrected if I'm wrong. Please, pipe up if appropriate.

Notwithstanding the above, I fully support connecting generators to houses in accordance with code.

May I direct your attention to this article... Backfeeding Portable Generators is Dangerous and Illegal

 

[greeniguana]

Private homeowners may act as their own contractor w/o a license, but permits still need to be pulled when required; and the work must be up to code.

Completely wrong.

How do you even get a permit if you're not a contractor?

 

[greeniguana]

May I direct your attention to this article... Backfeeding Portable Generators is Dangerous and Illegal

Random FUD with no author.