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7 Things Retired Electricians NEVER Buy for a Blackout — That Everyone Else Wastes Money On

Prepared Dale

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Retired electricians skip the same seven backup power mistakes most of us pay for, starting with a backfeed cord that can shock a lineman who never saw it coming. We go through the dryer outlet backfeed danger, why a manual transfer switch with its own power inlet box stops it, and why a thin indoor extension cord fails outdoors. Then comes generator placement away from garages and windows to avoid carbon monoxide buildup, the difference between modified and pure sine wave power for sensitive electronics, and sizing a generator to peak surge watts instead of running watts alone. It ends with the one habit, testing your setup on a calm afternoon, that catches every other mistake before the storm does.

12 Comments

@johnclyne6350 4 days ago

Retired power lineman. We test everything before we touch it. We listen for generators when we arrive at a new job. I've only been on two jobs in my career where we found a dangerous back feed. We trace down the back feed & pull their meter & blank it off. Then return the meter to the office.
We don't confront homeowners. They know what they did wrong. After everyone else is restored? Meter Service goes out to check for back feed. If none found? Then they follow proper procedure to restore power.
I hired an electrician to put in my inlet & my inter lock in my main panel. I can back feed my entire panel. Not just a few circuits.
The "cord" is called a suicide cord.

@GoldSeals 4 days ago

The lineman always ground the primarys with a jumper while working on the power lines..This will prevent any backfeed from electrocuting anyone.

@johnstreet797 4 days ago

Flashlight, a tubular device used for storing dead batteries.

@user-r4d2l 3 days ago

I am so glad that when I selected my solar gear I thought about the power from a generator.. My Outback Radian system can handle 50 amps at 240 volts coming from a generator and has relay logic that does the changeover and locks out the grid when there is generator power.. The system also has a battery bank that allows the inverter to assist and smooth the AC to prevent it from damaging electronics.. So we run everything except the stove and dryer during outages although if need be we could shut off stuff and then use them.. I always keep a can of starting fluid on the shelf as a last shot backup but I do the tank draining and a tablespoon of ATF in a half cup of gas to pickle the carb of the generator..

@johnwalker6121 3 days ago

Back feeding and failure to turn off main breaker not only energizes the utility side but possibly your neighbors homes and most likely trips the generators breaker.

@mikel.5850 3 days ago

It’s called the inrush. Is the amount of amperage a refrigerator are air conditioner pulls on initial startup. Could be up to seven times a normal run for less than a second. But it’s enough to kill a generator, if you don’t size a generator right

@RichardJorgensen-k7b 4 days ago

I was always told to turn off the main breakers. Myself, I run a cable to my fridge that I can switch to the chest freezer.

@SebastianHeart3-w7v 1 day ago (edited)

Electrical Inspector here, Australia.
Our Standards require a change over switch, 3 position, to be installed for the genenerator.
I have had generators on every house, but always with manual change over switch. Currently have auto change over. They are not expensive.
Mainly because the msb is at the shed not the house. And my wife loves it.

@ddyeo503 3 days ago

You buy a little Honda generator and set it outside. You unplug the refrigerator and plug it into your generator. And you could also have a extension cord for just one light bulb. There is no reason to make everything work in the house. Especially if you have a wood stove to keep you warm and to be able to cook on top of the woodstove. Here we have a power out about once every 5 years, so there's no reason for me to use a bigger generator and a backfeed cord, or proper ways to hook a house up, and make everything in the house work. Because before long the power will come back on. It always does,,,,,,,,,

@jimj3031 4 days ago

What an annoying video

@samcolt1079 2 days ago

TOTAL BULL CRAP

@WL-mt4mv 4 days ago

Did not cover a Generator Interlock for your breaker panel that makes you turn off the main before you can turn on the breaker for your generator outlet.