So with all this ice storm talk and being out of power for so long, we are looking at a generator for the house. Now before we go any further, I understand the need for a transfer switch so you can disconnect from the grid and not back feed the line and kill someone-and I would never tackle this project myself-id hire it done,but for curiosity sake I have to ask. My question is most generators have electrical sockets on them for plugging in extension cords-how are they connecting this to the household breaker box?? In talking it out with the family, these are the circuits I want to run on the generator:

Kitchen outlet for fridge and range. (gas range but cant use oven without power)

Basement outlet for sump pump, furnace (natural gas forced air), and water heater(upgrading to natural gas on demand water heater)

Bathroom outlet for washer and drier (upgrading drier to natural gas) and the drier isnt really a must but would be nice.

1 Living room outlet for TV and WIFI( WIFI not a must but TV is nice to get emergency reports. 

We are on city water so no well and we never lost water

There is a 240v 4 wire plug that you would plug into the HOUSE ELECTRICAL BOX if you want to power a CIRCUIT in the house... On stationary systems the is HARD WIRED into a throw switch and then the house breaker box.... If you have a PORTABLE unit that you also use for other things, you would  have a 50 amp RV plug or welding plug, etc that you plug into and send the gen power backward to the breaker box... you still need to incorporate some type of kill switch for the  Power company feed into your box.

IF you really dont want to power EVERYTHING, you just go the Main Breaker Box and switch off half of the breakers that are not needed..

I use this PORTABLE type so i can load it up in the truck and use for other purpose around the farm......the nice thing about the STATIONARY units is it can be plumbed into you Nat Gas line and run off that so you dont need to continuously add gasoline.. but they normally cost more..

Id like to do the Whole house stationary thing, but thats out of my price range. Im looking in the neighborhood of 1300.00

The best way is to run through a transfer switch. You can use a transfer switch that only transfers certain circuits (like this -  https://www.vevor.com/power-outlet-box-c_12116/manual-transfer-switch-30a-generator-transfer-switch-kit-nema-3r-7500w-120-240v-p_010102500634?adp=gmc&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_id=20324005678&ad_group=149385239663&ad_id=663982647761&utm_term=&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjwqv2_BhC0ARIsAFb5Ac-yk_JZXroKSvnXGC5O7v1tpfoHulLupVbrLOLz0JzCRY0d80WU_IMaAtg5EALw_wcB" rel="nofollow - Manual Transfer Switch 30A Generator Transfer Switch Kit NEMA 3R 7500W 120/240V | VEVOR US ) or a whole house switch (like this -  https://www.amazon.com/100A-Generator-General-Duty-Double-Throw-Stability/dp/B0CYLPBNHW/ref=asc_df_B0CYLPBNHW?mcid=feaed7fddd873951b07aa9f31cde08ca&hvocijid=18004238812858281387-B0CYLPBNHW-&hvexpln=73&tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=721245378154&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=18004238812858281387&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9005005&hvtargid=pla-2281435178858&th=1" rel="nofollow - 100A Generator Transfer Switch,24000W General-Duty Double-Throw Safety Switch,120/240-Volt Transfer Switch,Stronger Stability Manual Transfer Switch,Meeting NEMA 3R Standards for Outdoor and Indoor: Amazon.com: Tools & Home Improvement ).

To install the (first) transfer switch that transfers only certain circuits (which I am thinking would be the best for you, you simply pick which circuits you want to power up with the generator in your panel. Shut the breakers off and install the transfer switch between the breaker and the existing wire going into the breaker. Each circuit has a switch where it can be powered by regular electric service or generator. There is no way it can back feed.

Transfer switches are a lot safer way to do it!

A friend had a Generac standby generator, and it failed to start periodically as it was supposed to. When the company came to see what was wrong, they said the generator engine had a plastic cam gear that had failed. He said all their failures had been in regular scheduled cold weather starts. Repairs were going to be more than the generator was worth. 

The dealer told him that they had quit handling Generac because of other failures. He said they had switched to Kohler (which are more money).

Just something to keep in mind if you are thinking of buying.

Something like this... you may or may not have a Disconect switch out on the power pole that feeds into your house breaker boxx..( common in Rural areas, not city).

This is along the lines of the generator I was thinking

https://www.northerntool.com/products/powerhorse-portable-tri-fuel-generator-with-electric-start-9500-rated-watts-12-500-surge-watts-6075695" rel="nofollow - https://www.northerntool.com/products/powerhorse-portable-tri-fuel-generator-with-electric-start-9500-rated-watts-12-500-surge-watts-6075695

After doing some research today, I am thinking it was the oil pump gear that was plastic (not the cam gear).

 

The cover is screwed down in the picture.

Are there any 240 volt circuits or just 120 volt?

 The transfer switch comes prewired with a length of flexible conduit, it just wouldn't work for my set-up so I used pvc instead.

 Since mine is 10 circuits it has 20 wires (10 pairs) coming out of the transfer switch, they're color coded and marked. For each circuit you want to power off the generator you remove the circuit wire from the breaker in your exsisting panel, wirenut that to 1 of the paired wires and place the other paired wire on the breaker.

 That way all switching is done at the transfer switch and since you don't turn the main off when your power comes back on you'll know it by leaving a light on not powered by the generator.

The rest area just north of Gaylord on I175 (southbound lane) was surrounded by a nice hardwoods......its now a forest of sticks. Tops broke off every tree

Thanks for your answer!

My plans are to eventually go to an automatic standby generator, but until I do, I am thinking of installing one of these in case I'm not home during a power outage. I have an old (LOUD) 9,000 watt generator from Northern Tool.

I have been thinking about a Champion 11,000 watt generator with remote start ( https://www.amazon.com/Champion-Power-Equipment-Generator-Technology/dp/B0CYR4XHLY?ref_=ast_sto_dp" rel="nofollow - Amazon.com : Champion Power Equipment 11,000-Watt Wireless Remote Start Home Backup Portable Inverter Generator with Quiet Technology and CO Shield : Patio, Lawn & Garden ). I could also use it for our fifth wheel to power both AC units. I have heard Champion has excellent customer service.

Any thoughts?

I agree it is a manual transfer switch. We had a similar (6 circuit) switch at work, but it was only for 120 volts. 

The breakers in the one at work (and I assume these are the same) are three positions: off in the center position and on for generator on one side and one on for regular power on the other. What I am looking for, temporarily, is something that would prevent accidental back feeding. If I was away and someone else was hooking it up, I don't want someone to get fried.

I know lineman take precautions when they are working on any downed lines, but I saw a co-worker kick a downed power line at an accident scene and the line arced, until it tripped a breaker or fuse. He was a lucky man to survive!

Here's my $0.03 (inflation)

There are automatic transfer switches, manual transfer switches, and TRANSFER PANELS, there are also BACKFEED BREAKER INTERLOCK kits.  Automatic transfer switches and manual transfer switches interrupt an entire feeder (along the utility feeder somewhere shortly AFTER your electric meter), and substitute your generator's output for that utility feeder.  Transfer PANELS are a sub-panel usually mounted near your main breaker panel, and the critical loads from your house go to breakers in the Transfer Panel, and that panel has an interlocked set of switching contacts that disconnect all those critical loads from the panel, and substitute the feed coming from your generator (like the outdoor inlet plug seen in photo above).    There's several advantages to a Transfer Panel, one being that you can LIMIT the generator to driving ONLY the emergency-critical loads (well, sump pumps, furnace, etc) so that your generator won't be overloaded by something way too big (like an electric kiln, or welder, or air compressor, or your air conditioning units) when there's an outage.    Then there's the INTERLOCK BREAKER KIT... this is a UL-listed/NFPA-approved device which mounts on your breaker panel, where you can add a LEGAL generator-backfeed breaker.  The interlock mechanism prevents the backfeed breaker from being engaged UNLESS the MAIN breaker is disconnected... and of course, it prevents the MAIN breaker from being engaged IF the generator backfeed breaker is engaged.  These mechanisms are specific accessories made BY the panel manufacturer, and once installed properly, they're totally legal.  They do NOT operate automatically, and they do NOT prevent you from overloading your generator, so when you go to perform a transfer, you NEED to shut off all the circuits that are not necessary, so you don't overload the generator.

Primary power transfer switches can be pricey.  Most don't realize this, but if you have a transfer switch connected between your service panel and power meter, then your transfer panel NEEDS to be capable of transferring the FULL CAPACITY of that meter and panel's capacity.. EVEN if your generator is just a fraction of the panel rating... because the transfer switch is considered an at-risk element of failure.

This changes, however, if you have a FUSED SWITCH BEFORE the transfer panel (after the meter).  At that point, the transfer switch you use, is now required to carry whatever you're FUSED at... because the FUSE is now your point of overcurrent protection.

There are portable generators anywhere from a couple hundred to about 15kw, there are trailer-mounted stationary and fixed installation generators, and there are big-box generators in outdoor-rated enclosures.

There are 2 pole generators (they run at 3600 rpm), and 4-pole generators (1800rpm), then there's 6-pole generators (1200rpm).  There are INVERTER-type generators that run at variable speed (based on load) and do all their synchronous AC using a fancy solid-state inverter.

There are air cooled and liquid cooled engines...

There are engines that run on diesel, others run on gasoline, yet others are fitted up for gaseous fuels (natural gas or propane), and there are 'multi-fuel' engines that will accept more than one type of fuel.

There are generators with fully automatic operation... battery start, electronic ignition, some even have fuel injection... they usually have a 'self-exercising' mode where they start themselves on a regular basis.  Many of these have integrated protective circuitry through a microprocessor, and have an interface that drives the automatic transfer switch or transfer panel.

From here on, you'll find MY recommendations, and the reasons why.  Others may have different opinions, but the reason for that, is simply because they're willing to make sacrifices for reasons they feel are more important than the following aspects of basic premise:

An emergency generator's sole purpose, is to protect you, and your family, and property from loss-of-power circumstances that USUALLY result from weather events-  thunderstorms, ice storms, windstorms, blizzards, hurricanes, tornados, floods, the zombie alpaca-lips, and hippies wearing hip-height rubber boots carrying velvet Elvis posters and singing 'American Pie'.

A generator doesn't constitute an emergency power option... it is just one PIECE.  As noted already, a method of CONNECTING that generator (which could be anything from a fancy automatic transfer switch, to just a couple extension cords pulled through the garage door)... a method of FUELING that generator (How will you STORE fuel? can you GET MORE fuel?  Will your municipal gas service be cut off as result of flood or earthquake? 

Personally, I would NEVER recommend a big-box-store enclosed generator.  A portable?  Yeah, but not one of those that mounts outside your house, like the AC unit, on a plastic pad against the back wall... and there's several reasons:

1) It's outside.  A portable will be outside too... but when you need to WORK on it, you can ROLL the portable inside.  IF you kill the portable, you can roll in another portable, plug it in, and continue.

2) Big-box 'wonder kits' have fancy electronics.  Lightning storms kill fancy electronics, then the automatic start systems crank until the battery dies, or the unit catches fire.  Now you're stuck with a dead unit... don't bother calling the company for emergency service when there's a weather catastrophe, you WON'T GET IT.

'screamers'.  Two pole synchronous generators running at 3600rpm are called 'screamers', because they're howling along at 3600rpm.  Go to a 4-pole machine, and that speed is cut in half.  Much calmer, and usually quieter.  MY generators are 6pole machines, they burble along at 1200rpm... very docile.

Liquid cooled engines last longer, withstand wider temperature range, and when idle, don't provide a wonderful little nesting place for rodents.  When the air-cooled fixed-position unit fills up with nest and feces, THEN the engine starts, shoves all that into the cooling fins, you have a fire... in your generator...

Fuel... It is unwise to assume that when your power goes out, you'll be able to drive to the corner store and fill up a 5-gallon can with gasoline.  it's also unwise to have ten 5-gallon cans sitting in your garage or shed... the shelf life of gasoline is terrible... especially if there's ethanol in it (hygroscopic- it absorbs water).  If you're thinking diesel, remember- ALGAE.  If you're constantly rotating fuel, and you have a bulk tank (like a farm overhead type) then you might be okay for a while.  If you have municipal natural gas, realize that in seismically-sensitive areas, it isn't unusual for distribution networks to have lockoff valves on the municipal feeders that shut off NG when there's a good quake.   IF you can have a propane bulk-tank, though... then that's a good option- it never ever goes bad.

I don't have a generator.  I have FOUR.  One could say it's solely about redundancy (my wife HATES power outages)... but it's also about fuel management.  I don't run my BIIIG generator unless SHE wants to bake cookies, run the dishwasher, washer, dryer and air conditioning while I'd be welding or running the mill in my workshop.  When we're sleeping on a cool night, I don't NEED much power, so I can run a very small prime mover and save considerable amounts of fuel.  If our needs are somewhere in the middle, I use the most appropriate unit for demand.

My generators don't have enclosures, they're in a SHED... a place I can walk into, that doesn't have rain, snow, or animals coming in... it's never dark... it has more than one lighting system-  one system runs totally on utility power, one system lights up the shed if ANY of the generators are running, and there's a battery-powered emergency lighting circuit powered by dedicated emergency batteries (not the generators' cranking batteries), so if we have an outage, I don't have to stumble around in there with a flashlight in my mouth.

My generators have cranking batteries, my wife can start any one of them with a pushbutton... but ALL of them have hand cranks.  ONE of my generators has an electronic ignition system... but ALL of them have magnetos, which means, if the cranking battery is dead, I just need to turn on the fuel and step on the crank three times, and they'll run.  Once ONE is running, the batteries on all the rest WILL charge. I've never been in a situation that left me unable to get AT LEAST ONE going.

My transfer panel is manually-operated.

My generator starting, and occasional exercise program is facilitated by Addidas... or Red-Wings, or Crocs, or KEENs.  I WALK out there... into the shed, turn on the lights, turn on the main fuel valve, turn on fuel to whichever unit I choose to run, and I start the engine.  Once the engine is running, I apply a light test load to get it warmed up, I watch the oil pressure, coolant temp, frequency and voltage output, and once satisfied that everything is good, I disengage the test load, step over to the transfer panel, throw the handle, then flick the switch that engages the generator to transfer panel.  The starting surge is usually high (sump pumps, furnace, refrigerators all coming on), and I watch the meters just to make certain... then once it's all stable, I head inside.

Invariably, THINGS will go wrong.  A generator might not start, or might not want to generate for some reason.  When that happens, I simply start one of the others... and once the other is running and transferred, I wait a bit 'till the generator shed has warmed up to a comfortable temperature, then I set a stool beside the challenged unit and start troubleshooting... in a warm, well illuminated, and safe environment.

My machines have NO microprocessors... they have NO dependancy on electronics in order to start, run, and generate.  There's supervisory systems that allow me to monitor output, vitals, etc., from inside the house, but aside from that, they're stone-simple.

This is in contrast to what many go through- My machines are NOT out in the back of the house, knee-deep in icy mud, in the dark, while I fumble in heavy gloves trying to take a $#it-ton of tin bodywork off a big-box screamer who'se electronic brain got fried by the very lightning strike that knocked out the utility line.

If it sounds like mebbie I've been through this... it wasn't because I owned a mouse-destroyed lightining-zapped big-box 'screamer' sitting outside in the overgrowth...

It's because my DAD bought one (I warned him)... and my neighbors bought them (I warned them)... and my boss bought one (he didn't ask me first).

My Dad's Generac sits faithfully on it's plastic platform, behind his garage, totally worthless.  Fifth microprocessor control board blew out years ago, locked itself in 'cranking mode', and fortunately ran it's battery dead before it could catch fire.  By that time, he'd spent 6x the unit's original cost on service calls for blown out processors.

Now I just tow one of my trailer-mounted machines down, and connect it to his transfer panel.  His favorite is one of my 5kw Kohler inline fours... 1200rpm... has a carbeurator AND a gaseous mixer and demand-regulator, I can start it up running on it's 26-gallon gasoline belly tank, and while it's powering his house, I can hook up the flexible hose from his gas line to the demand reg, and once done, just off the gasoline, turn on the NG, and it's good to run for a month or more.

Oh, there's one other power distribution method that nobody mentioned... a dedicated secondary.

The Dedicated Secondary consists of a breaker panel mounted somewhere convenient, with breakers for outlets by your refrigerator, sump pump, furnace, etc... you run receptacles to those breakers, but the panel is fed from a generator plug.  When you have an outage, connect your generator to the dedicated secondary panel, then go to your sump-pump, unplug it from it's utility outlet, plug it into the dedicated secondary.  Do same for your fridge, furnace, whatever.  Since the system is NOT connected to your utility line in ANY WAY, there's no concern with any aspect of your house power/panel/etc... it is totally separate and isolated from the utility system.

We usually try to go south for about a month in the winter, and I always worry about a prolonged power outage during that time. That's why I am thinking about an automatic standby generator.

YES, you can plan on the "once every 40 year outage"... but at what cost ?  Having a "PLAN" is always a good idea... Figure out what you REALY NEED the power for during an outagae...Normally a MINIMAL setup is adequate.. If you routinely have MAJOR OUTAGES, thats another story.

I consider the COST and HOW BAD DO I NEED IT , in everything i do.

I shudder to think of how much damage we would have had, if we had been out of town during the storm. We had freezing rain over a period of several days. All roads in our area were closed, with downed trees and power lines. There is no way we could have got home. 

I have decided I will bite the bullet and have a standby generator before winter. I hope I never have to use it!

In November 2015 a big storm blew a large tree over the power line which pulled the transformer pole over and yanked the weather head right out of our main service panel, which, being an old house, was inside our house.

I had previously asked the electric company about relocating the service outside, but they wanted to charge me mega-bucks, calling it a 'new service'.

After the outage, I again went to the electric company and asked them if I would install the underground wiring to a new service pedestal would they re-connect me at no charge. They instantly agreed.

We put in a full 200 amp manual transfer switch outside by the new service pedestal, and I now have a 20 kVA generator to go with it.

During the course of this project, every decision I made cost more money and took longer to finish, but I'm glad we did it this way. We were out of power for a full 30 days and were running an 8000 watt generator to keep things going (we have wood heat). I was buying gasoline by the 55 gallon drum.

Years ago, we were out of electricity for ten days, due to a huge ice storm.   We had no auxiliary generator.  After several days, the neighbors got back on line.  They loaned us their five kw portable generator.  It helped but was not large enough to run our total electric home.

The total electrical load for the farm came in just under 40kw.

We could have gotten by with  a smaller unit but my mother and I decided bigger was better.  No regrets purchasing this unit.

I mounted the pto generator on a home-made trailer and mounted an arc welder to it.

It is nice to have lots of power to repair equipment in the field or weld on fence in areas where a truck could not go.  TRACTOR POWER!!!  

The problem with a generator starting and running while you're away, is that now you have an engine running unattended.

That's a very, very, very bad thing.  In the case of my dad's Generac, when it's processor blew the first time, he was there, went out and cut the battery cable.  The second time, he wasn't there, it chewed it's starter gear off, then the starter motor ran continuously 'till the battery was dead.  The third time, he WAS home, the battery caught on fire, and melted the bottom two rows of siding from his garage... he got to it in time to hose it down with an extinguisher.

Like Steve says, it's a matter of 'how bad' you THINK you need it... meaning, IF you lose power, what all will you lose.  I'm on a single-ended utility line on a gravel road.  MOST of our outages occur in blizzards that take down the utility lines, and when that happens, the road to north and south is drifted shut, typically about 10ft deep or so, and usually there's ice under, or on top of the snow, or both.  WE are usually one of the LAST places to get utility power back... no county snow crew comes through 'till the winds calm down, and daylight returns, and that's not 'till after the snow routes and paved roads are cleared, too, so we're usually snowed in for anywhere from a few days, to mebbie a week.    We don't want frozen pipes or dead livestock (chickens and pets), and even though snowbound, I can attend to a fair amount of my occupational responsibilities from home, as long as the computers are useable.

I DO need to keep my basement dry and food stores protected.

In a bare-minimum-load state, my house requires about 2100 watts.  In an average evening after dinner, it's around 4200w... and if we're cooking dinner, running laundry, taking showers, etc., it's around 5800w.  IF she's got baking, laundry, dishwasher, it'll go up to 15kw, and if I'm working in the shop, 30kw or so.  IF I need to start up the electric fire pump (in an emergency cistern), I need 25kw right there... never needed to, but if there's a building or machine fire, it's the immediate go-to.

The absolute killer of generators, is when a guy has electric water heater, and electric furnace- they're BRUTAL loads... terrible.

If you have HYDRONIC heat, a liquid-cooled engine-driven generator is THE THING to have... put a heat exchanger in the engine coolant loop, and recapture the generator's waste heat to warm up the house, and the domestic hot water heater.  When I run MY generators, they ALL output enough recovered thermal energy to heat the house WITHOUT running the furnace... which means I've gotten a WHOLE LOT MORE energy out of the generator fuel I burn.

So we've had an interesting situation tonight... no storm, nothing going on... but a fairly significant outage... 10,000 or so.  I'm running on my '41 Kohler 5M61... that's the Waukesha FC130, 1200rpm.  Two 1000-gal propane tanks feeding it, plenty of oil in the pan, and in my reserve tank (but it doesn't consume any noticeable amount after only 84 years of service).  I shed all the heavy loads... locked out the air compressor, the clothes dryer, everything else heavy.  No need for furnace or AC tonight.  My status panel is indicating 6A on one leg, 8A on the other just running the refrigerators, freezer, and some lights.  It'll grumble along forever like this if I ask it to...

Estimation is about 3am for recovery.