Portable Generator Inlet location

[davidaengelhart]

Not sure if this question has been asked already but can the inlet for a portable generator properly connected per 702.5 be located in a garage, or doesn't article 400 apply to the cord?

 

[hbiss]

I've put them in garages many times. The cord is plug connected is it not? Usually it is run outside to the generator through the garage or side door, as long as it is a suitable distance so the exhaust is not a problem.

-Hal

 

[infinity]

Not sure if this question has been asked already but can the inlet for a portable generator properly connected per 702.5 be located in a garage, or doesn't article 400 apply to the cord?

I think that it depends on how you interpret 400.12(3) if you consider a garage door a doorway.

 

[mtnelect]

I have a 4K portable generator that I plug into an unused 30-amp garage dryer outlet which back-feeds a two-pole 30-amp beaker in the main panel. Works like a charm every time the power goes out ! I do turn off the 125-amp main and I installed an indicator light to let me know when the power is back on.

 

[don_resqcapt19]

I have a 4K portable generator that I plug into an unused 30-amp garage dryer outlet which back-feeds a two-pole 30-amp beaker in the main panel. Works like a charm every time the power goes out ! I do turn off the 125-amp main and I installed an indicator light to let me know when the power is back on.

406.7(B) Connection of Attachment Plugs.
Attachment plugs shall be installed so that their prongs, blades, or pins are not energized unless inserted into an energized receptacle or cord connectors. ...

 

[mtnelect]

406.7(B) Connection of Attachment Plugs.
Attachment plugs shall be installed so that their prongs, blades, or pins are not energized unless inserted into an energized receptacle or cord connectors. ...

Looks like I violated the Section 406.7(B). I have a cord with exposed blades one end connected to the generator and the other to the driver outlet. This is of course just for me. I would never do this for anyone else.

 

[infinity]

Looks like I violated the Section 406.7(B). I have a cord with exposed blades one end connected to the generator and the other to the driver outlet. This is of course just for me. I would never do this for anyone else.

You also are required to have some type of mechanical interlock and a sign on the service equipment as well as the inlet.

 

[drcampbell]

Sure, and nobody else -- teenagers rummaging through the workshop, perhaps? -- even has access to it, right?

Please disassemble your suicide cord and do it right. One-hour job; less than $100.

 

[LarryFine]

I have a 4K portable generator that I plug into an unused 30-amp garage dryer outlet which back-feeds a two-pole 30-amp beaker in the main panel. Works like a charm every time the power goes out ! I do turn off the 125-amp main and I installed an indicator light to let me know when the power is back on.

Beside the suicide cord, you're lacking an interlock that makes it physically impossible to interconnect the two sources.

For example: https://interlockkit.com/

 

[mtnelect]

Will do !

 

[AC\DC]

Kill a line man and we won’t see you post on here anymore

 

[AC\DC]

My inspector did not like that I installed the inlet indoors said it has to be listed for it. Showed him in instructions m they said. “It can be installed indoors but we recommend not to.”
Passed with a frown

 

[hbiss]

I think that it depends on how you interpret 400.12(3) if you consider a garage door a doorway.

How is it any different than a temporary extension cord taking power from a garage receptacle to something out in the driveway?

-Hal

 

[hbiss]

“It can be installed indoors but we recommend not to.”

The reason for that is the concern for fumes and exhaust CO getting back in the house. An inlet in the garage might encourage someone to actually run the generator in the garage. If it's outside at least there is a chance someone will put it there. Most generator instructions give requirements as to where and how close it should be placed to windows and doors, etc. Surprisingly they want it a considerable distance away from the house.

-Hal

 

[infinity]

How is it any different than a temporary extension cord taking power from a garage receptacle to something out in the driveway?

-Hal

The generator must be outside the garage, the inlet is inside of the garage therefore you have to run the cord through the garage doorway. It would need to be specifically permitted by 400.10(A). I guess that one could argue that (3) may apply.

 

[Fred B]

I've seen kits that allow the exhaust to be piped out the wall and generater operate inside the garage. But it makes the generator no longer portable in the the exhaust is modified with perminant piping.

https://www.amazon.com/Universal-Generator-Exhaust-System-Attachment/dp/B07HGK4MV4/ref=sr_1_3?gclid=Cj0KCQjwzqSWBhDPARIsAK38LY9_F6CH3c6wRCJLSw993k5KNUiJF66FOi4UWwUqU3uXnuaL-uR5R6gaAlCsEALw_wcB&hvadid=558525269692&hvdev=t&hvlocphy=9005256&hvnetw=g&hvqmt=e&hvrand=16015252383447833679&hvtargid=kwd-622690802870&hydadcr=9057_9893368&keywords=exhaust+for+generator+through+wall&qid=1657378537&sr=8-3

 

[hbiss]

I've seen kits that allow the exhaust to be piped out the wall and generater operate inside the garage. But it makes the generator no longer portable in the the exhaust is modified with perminant piping.

Ignoring the violation of the generator's listing for the moment, I see nothing that would prohibit an inlet used with a connecting cable from being installed next to the generator in this case. Matter of fact you wouldn't even need an inlet. Wire the cable right into a panel or a Jbox with wiring over to the panel.

-Hal

 

[infinity]

Many generator inlets are listed only for outdoor use. Here's one such inlet.

 

[GarwoodV6]

Is #10 ground suitable for the portable generator connection?
I want to re-purpose an unused 6/3 w-#10 ground range circuit by bringing it outside into an inlet like this, and install an interlock kit in the panel I will be feeding. 10KW (12.5KW peak) generator w/ built-in 50A C.B., no doors or windows within 15 feet of proposed inlet.

I have looked all over the NEC and cannot find where the difinitive answer is.
Does 250.122 apply to this?
250.66 seems ridiculous

 

[don_resqcapt19]

Is #10 ground suitable for the portable generator connection?
I want to re-purpose an unused 6/3 w-#10 ground range circuit by bringing it outside into an inlet like this, and install an interlock kit in the panel I will be feeding. 10KW (12.5KW peak) generator w/ built-in 50A C.B., no doors or windows within 15 feet of proposed inlet.

I have looked all over the NEC and cannot find where the difinitive answer is.
Does 250.122 apply to this?
250.66 seems ridiculous

This is a feeder and 250.122 applies.