Suicide cords

You forgot to ask a question.

Why can't you power the house by backfeeding?

All you have to do is turn off the main breaker and feed the house through a high current outlet.

Never turn the power back on with generator connected.

>>1186824
he forgot to pay the bill, more like.

>>1186824
he wants to connect it to the whole house without the feedback

>>1186828
That is how you power the house with a generator. Just turn off the utility supply first.

>>1186824
Youre right. Too busy ranting. Should I just make a suicide cable and use it for now. Everything Ive been reading is mainly worried about someone forgetting its a suicide cable. I wouldnt mind destroying it after my power comes back on but the term suicide still has me slightly apprehensive. But its so hot Im starting not to care.
>>1186826
You can't buy male to male cords and its illegal to use. But then again they could have fixed my power when they fixed the peoples on the next street.
>>1186827
I wish. Power could have been on in a few hours.

>>1186835
>male to male cords and its illegal
it is legalized

>>1186836
everything Ive read say backfeeding is illegal or doesnt mention the legality. But they are all 10 years old.

>>1186839
If you don't want to risk backfeeding, why not get a window unit and plug in whatever you want to power directly into it?>>1186839

>>1186839
>I can't do it because it's illegal

Why is legality such an issue.

If you don't want to use a dodgy cable then hard wire it into your consumer unit.

>>1186842
legality isnt the issue. its about how dangerous this cable is and being illegal for a reason. Like I said though most of what Ive read is just worrying over someone forgetting its a suicide cable.

Just keep an eye on limiting factors like cable size, plug ratings.

The generator should be happy. Do not use capacitor based power factor correction on gennies.

Plug everything in first then fire up the generator. Goes without saying but leave it outside.

As far as I see it. It is very illegal to connect a generator to the mains. Luckily there is no mains in your house as it is dead. Turn off the main breaker or switch fuse connection unit and be done with it.

>>1186844
If this is the case, then don't worry. Remove it when not in use, and destroy it when the repair is done

>>1186844
>dangerous this cable is and being illegal for a reason
The reason its illegal is because people forget to turn off the main and backfeed the grid.
Remember that a transformer can worth both ways, the 120 you are feeding it gets bumped up a couple thousand volts and a worker coming along thinking the line is dead will most likely become dead himself when he tries to handle it.

i made one of these by accident , im making it, thinking im the smartest mother fucker around, until i plugged it in and realized why people dont do it

why can't you fix the male to male to the generator? so it becomes a normal one.
but you should still be careful burn your things I guess

>>1187022
a male-to-male plug becomes LIVE with bare prongs at one end as soon as one end is plugged in to a live circuit, whether fixed or otherwise. It does not, under any fucking circumstances whatsoever, become 'normal' - these cables can, will and do kill people.

Since it hasn't been said clearly enough yet, TURN OFF YOUR MAIN BREAKER BEFORE CONNECTING YOUR SUICIDE CORD.
Otherwise, the power from your generator will backfeed the grid, which will not only overload the generator but might kill utility workers who are expecting dead lines. That's the real danger of a suicide cord and why it's illegal.

If you don't know where your main breaker is, or how to turn it off, then do not use a suicide cord. Just plug in your important appliances with extension cords.

>>1186864
Sounds like the perfect way to get back at those bastards at Con-Ed.

>>1187034
>>1186823
>>1186835
Yes, make a suicide cord.
It's called that because farmers would set it up and a) kill power workers, b) switch off the a breaker to fix a switch and kill themselves because the generator is in the same circuit so the breaker won't shut off the power, c) used a 100' 16ga extension cord to run to the generator outside and used 35 amps on it and melted it and started a brush fire d) hooked up a 35-40 amp generator to a 15 amp plug and started a fire in the house, e) forgot that the lightning strike and house surge protectors are hooked up before the main breaker, so the suicide cord bypasses them, and f) were just fucking idiots and setup the generator in their kitchen to use a short cord with no ventilation and died of CO poisoning.
Also, most small gens are made to run 4-6 hrs on, then need to be off for 1-2 to cool.
Steps to take to not be an idiot:
For the love of god LOTO the main breaker when you have it on, some duct tape and a note is fine, just so no one absentmindedly goes down and flips it when the gen runs out of gas, and doesn't flip it back.
Close all the circuit breakers before you plug it in and start the gen. Put a note on which one is the suicide switch circuit, and only switch on the ones you need, e.g. Kitchen fridge, AC, and possibly bedroom.
Unplug anything electronic. Unless it's a GOOD generator, which it's not because it's portable and cheap enough your buddy lent it to you, it can "pulse" power and fuck your any computer chips. Surge protector won't fix that, That's only for power spikes.
Try not to run more than you have to, generators are often not 110-120v, but 90-150v, so it's likely you'll be wearing any electric motors that are running at a much faster rate. Assume 1 month of service life for every day running unless it's a very robust motor, e.g. Power tools.
Use a nice hefty gage cord that is appropriate for peak amps of the motor (overkill is better than underkill)
If you can afford it, put a GFCI on

>>1187077
Cont
GFCI to keep it from melting the wires if you plug in to much on the circuit it is on. The breaker in the wall will only shut off power to the rest of the house if it trips, not the circuit it is plugged into.
Also increases the survivability if someone handles a live wire that should have been dead.

Um, oh one benefit of marking which circuit has the generator plugged in at the beginning is that you can check to see if the power is back but switching off that breaker and cutting in the main. It being easy means you won't be tempted to switch on the main breaker real quick because you think the gen is out of gas, or having someone come behind you where you unplugged it and trip on the loose cord and plug it back in, thinking they yanked it out when they tripped. Always try to plan so the easiest way to do something is the safest.

Oh, you can also kill yourself by handling the cord plugged into a running generator, because the prongs will be live. So unplug t from the generator, not the wall. Here is another place where someone was too lazy to walk outside to the generator in the snow, yanked it out of the socket to let the generator run through the last 10 minutes of gas (since you should store them dry or the gas attracts water because ethanol mix and rusts the tank/parts) and then either handles it or someone else picks it up or steps too close to it.

"Suicide" nicknames are for products that are often diy and can really fuck you up if not used appropriately, and is really easy to use in a risky way. E.g. A saw blade in an angle grinder is a suicide saw, as is a circular saw that is modified to let you pin back the guard out of the way. A nail gun with the secondary safety disabled, same thing (so either you hold down the trigger and it will fire every time the nose is pushed, or you don't have to push the nose against something to have it fire when you pull the trigger. I've seen both types mentioned.)

>>1187084
Cont again
Afaik the original is suicide knob/suicide door combo from the 30's. Suicide knob is a spinning knob on a steering wheel to make it easy to spin the wheel one handed. Suicide doors are an old style of car door where the doors latch together with no center beam.
So suicide door+suicide knob+no seatbelt+sharp right turn (left in UK) = fall against door, instinctively grab steering wheel for support, deepen turn, fall harder against door, doors buckle open because latch is holly thing holding them together isn't rigid enough car is in tailspin as you are thrown free and probably run yourself over = suicide.
But today suicide knobs are very common on tractors @ low speed = no danger and quick 0 point turns are very helpful for harvesting/mowing in neat rows (often comes with a seatbelt/harness or at least armrest rails to keep you from falling out) and suicide doors are common on some commercial vans (and design has improved, often one door latches at the top and bottom instead of just to each other).

Also, If your humidity is <80%, you can get a drop of abt 10 degrees with a misting fan/evaporative ac. Higher humidity is also more comfortable for many who are sick, it helps keep the mucus from crusting over and loosens it so more comes up when you cough = cough less.
Aside from that, in the meantime I would also suggest filling a bunch of empty soda bottles with water and storing them in the basement/garage, and switching them out for her every hour. Put a sock over the ones in the basement when you grab them so they stay cool longer, take it off when you put room temp ones back.

>>1187084
>don't have to push the nose against something to have it fire when you pull the trigger
Why? Too lazy and "it only happens to others"?

>>1186823
Memphis? I'm praying my shit is back on when I get off work tonight

MALE TO MALE GENERATORS. NOHOMO

there are two issues here
1) making a suicide cord
2) backfeeding the grid (accident or not)

1) is not really acceptable. if you are capable of wiring one up you are capable of hard wiring the generator directly into a circuit. Tell me more about how you will take the cord apart when you are done with it... how many times do people look you straight in the eye and hand on heart swear on the life of their mother they will do something and then they just don't bother. laziness, forgetfulness, blah blah blah. the easiest way to not leave the cord lying around is to not make it in the first place.
suicide cord is a misnomer, the people who make them are rarely the victims, it's thick people and children who plug one end in without realizing the other end is ready to bite them because they aren't used to plugs being live, they have never encountered anything like it before and neither they should have because it flies in the face of anything to do with electrical and electronic engineering since it was invented. live parts are covered, shrouded, protected. that's fucking 101.

2) you can buy an actual interlock changeover switch to jump between sources for maybe $100 or so, i don't know i'm not american i have no idea of the exchange rate.
you can buy a piece of metal that you screw onto your breaker panel that physically prevents you from turning on a breaker set aside for the generator and the main breaker at the same time, again providing an interlock. i don't know what it costs but its literally a square piece of metal with a hole cut in it.

people probably do both of these all the time and absolutely nothing bad ever comes of it, everybody goes on with their lives and live happily ever after. doesn't make it right.

nobody is stopping you, police won't break down your door, swat isn't going to rappel through a skylight and take you out because you made a double ended dildo.
but if someone is hurt u r fucked. if you get hurt we get more fucking safety bullshit.

turn off main breaker
turn off all double breakers
turn off all single breakers
make suicide cord
plug it into range or dryer outlet
plug other end into generator
start generator
turn on either range or dryer breaker depending on which outlet you used
turn on only those single breakers needed to get power to the area you really need power
when power is restored undo everything in reverse order