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WY_mark
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# Posted: 30 Jun 2013 02:52pm
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Hi everyone,
For those of you running only a generator as power source, how have you got it set up to get the power inside your cabin? we have been just stringing an extension cord through the door and leaving it cracked, but now it's mosquito season and I don't want the door open (never really did). I'd also like to move the generator out back of the cabin. is there some sort of receptacle I can tap through the wall so the generator can plug in to the outside and I can plug an extension cord or whatever else on the inside?
does anyone have a generator connected directly to a main pannel in the cabin? if so, how is it wired? I'm told differences in standard household wiring and how the generator is wired would require special attention....we're at least a year from solar and I don't want to run the generator to charge batteries until then. The house is wired, I'd love to plug in to the generator so I could use overhead lights and outlets as normal (being careful of loads of course).
thanks for the advice.
Mark
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johng
Member
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# Posted: 30 Jun 2013 04:05pm
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Use one of these http://www.lowes.com/pd_206355-76863-T030N_4294641568__?productId=4326713&Ns=p_produc t_qty_sales_dollar|1&pl=1¤tURL=%3FNs%3Dp_product_qty_sales_dollar|1&facetInfo= on the side of the cabin wired into your panel box, then a generator twist lock cord to connect generator to cabin.
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MikeJohnson
Member
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# Posted: 30 Jun 2013 07:52pm
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WOW! Thanks for posting this!
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toyota_mdt_tech
Member
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# Posted: 1 Jul 2013 09:08am
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If you are using a 110V only generator (no 220V AC) then there is one interior fuse panel mod you need to do to power up both legs. Run a jumper wire between the 2 inputs to tie them both together or you will only power up every other breaker/circuit. Use a wire size to do this that is the same as the size you ran to your inlet. Inlet is rated for 30 amps, so make sure you jump with a piece of black or red 10AWG wire.
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WY_mark
Member
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# Posted: 1 Jul 2013 10:19am
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any chance someone has a wiring diagram?
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plee23
Member
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# Posted: 11 Jul 2013 09:08pm
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WY_mark Do you have any photos of your cabin? We were looking to build from the same plan you mentioned from Drummond house plans and I was curious how it turned out. Any info on the build? Thanks! =)
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WY_mark
Member
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# Posted: 23 Jul 2013 10:35pm
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sorry, just saw this....here are my thoughts:
the house plans assume screw piles (very expensive) - we did a 4' foundation. at the time we went crawl space because our frost line is 40" - it was all I could afford. done over I would ABSOLUTELY do a full basement, would have taken me 2 months of frugal living to make up the difference, I should have.
We modified in the following ways:
plans are something like 20x24 - we went 20x30. We used 2x6 framing to allow more insulation for our arctic winters.
issues: the top transom windows are hard to find in plan spec size, I adjusted the roofline by 8 inches (taller) to allow an off the shelf window to fit.
Having done much construction but never a whole frame job I had an awful time getting my roof square - it's not and I could cry. the 23' metal roof panels are murder to handle, consider having someone do that for you.
The spec porch is 4' wide, it fits the scale of the house nicely, but I sure wish we had 6'.
nice things:
we feel like we've got all the room we need and more, esp with our expansion.
we love the windows!
we love the look and feel (except the roof that only I can see is off by an inch)
with the adjustment to 2x6 framing and spray insulation the temp is fabulous.
lemme download some photos and start a thread.
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WY_mark
Member
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# Posted: 23 Jul 2013 11:09pm
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here are pictures for you. http://www.small-cabin.com/forum/6_3699_0.html
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justincasei812
Member
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# Posted: 24 Jul 2013 03:13pm
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Mark,
I have this set up in my cabin. We run off of only a generator to run the entire place (lights, TV, DVD player, well pump, coffee maker, microwave, etc.). I have a 950 sq. ft. cabin two bedrooms shared living/ kitchen room and a bathroom. I actually bought this place and did not build. The previous owners set up most of the wiring but did not complete it. I had to put in all lights, sockets, switches and a main panel. Switches and plugs were easy, the hardest part was digging a trench 100 ft. for the wire for the generator (Honda). We hard wired the generator into the main panel as if it was a normal house. Then ran that wire out a 100 ft. to a generator shack that houses the 5000w genny. The main reason for such a hog was that the well pump needs 240v to run or we probably would have went with something a little smaller for fuel economy and noise reduction. In the shack we have 30a plug that plugs into the generator and we are golden. We are lazy and bought a remote control for the generator as well, in the cold snowy months or late at night we don't have to go out and turn on/ off the generator. It is nice to be able to turn that thing on or off from the comfort of inside the cabin. The shack it's self reduces a lot of noise and is not as noticeable. We will eventually use some sort of battery system for those summer nights when a TV or fan is all we need/ want to run.
If you want to do the plug out side of the cabin it would work, then you have the generator next to the cabin and the noise. If the generator is a good one and small enough it shouldn't be too big of a deal.
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WY_mark
Member
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# Posted: 24 Jul 2013 04:41pm
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how did you adjust for the three wire outpit of the generator to two wire input of your main panel?
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optimistic
Member
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# Posted: 24 Jul 2013 05:32pm
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WY_Mark - that is exactly what I am wondering....
I am in the exact same boat as you. Off grid cabin, wired with panel, and a honda 2000... I have searched everywhere for those generator inlets that someone here posted with a THREE PRONG. To no avail!
I would love to hear how you guys are hooking up this ginni to this inlet.
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MJW
Member
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# Posted: 24 Jul 2013 06:32pm
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I also run my place completely with a Honda 2000.
I wired my 100 amp panel box and cabin exactly like it was going to be a regular, grid tied home.
Then, I ran a wire from the panel box (via a single pole 30 amp breaker) to a 30 amp twist type plug in a small shed outside of the cabin. There, I plug into the Honda 2000 Companion unit and power the house.
I have attached pics of the set up as well as a modified picture to show how the panel box is wired.
You can see where the 30 amp breaker is drawn in along with the 3 wires from the wire to the breaker. The left and right sides of the panel are tied together at the top. This must be done because you are running the house with a 110 v generator instead of 220 v.
Thanks to toyota_tech for help with getting this set up.  
Generator & Propane Shack
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Wire run from the cabin to the Honda
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Close Up of Wire Going to Generator
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Panel Box Wiring to Generator
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justincasei812
Member
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# Posted: 24 Jul 2013 07:17pm
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That is where mine is a little more simplistic.... at least to me. The wire that I am running from the panel to the generator has 4 wires (ground, 2 hots, and a neutral) with the well pump needing a 220 I plug in a 30a four prong plug. I have the 220 I separate the 2 hots at the panel. Hope this helps.
kevin
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MJW
Member
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# Posted: 24 Jul 2013 07:25pm - Edited by: MJW
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Kevin,
What we did to handle the 220 well pump thing was buy a larger, 5000 w generator and set up a water storage system.
I bought 2, 300 gal water tanks and hooked them up to the plumbing going to the house. I then added a110v 3/4 hp shallow well pump and ran a regular 110v wire to the panel box.
I built a 8 x 12 shed to house it all as well as our solar batteries and mechanics when we install them.
Now I run the 220w generator about once a week for 45 minutes to fill the tanks and the rest of the time, we have water on demand from the water tanks with the small Honda running it all.
Water / Solar Shed
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Water Tanks & Fill Hoses
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3/4 HP Pump, Pressure Tank & Generator
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optimistic
Member
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# Posted: 24 Jul 2013 08:11pm
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MJW - I like the idea (not sure if I understand it though) - you have a 30 amp circuit breaker that feeds the other circuit breaks and this 30 amp one is hot wired to an extension cord that goes out side and connects to the generator... Is that correct?
Can you show/explain the wiring? I will relay the info to my father in law who is the designated electrician for my cabin.
I though about just using this - http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000NI38MG/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
feed the panel from it and then have the generator plug in to this. Will that work too?
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Truecabin
Member
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# Posted: 24 Jul 2013 08:29pm
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yes it will work but why not just cut an extension cord and attach it to your shed
plug your shed in like it was a vacuum cleaner you guys are getting too complicated
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optimistic
Member
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# Posted: 24 Jul 2013 08:35pm
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hhhh... good point
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MJW
Member
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# Posted: 24 Jul 2013 08:36pm
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Yes, the generator is actually "on" the 30 amp breaker. I can shut the breaker off and there is no power coming into the panel. I can also run both of my Hondas in parallel and have all 30 amps on the breaker.
The wiring is drawn into the panel picture above but I am attaching a blown up picture for clarity.
Actually, I believe this plug is how most people do it. I just eliminated the extra step of putting the receptacle into the house wall.
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justincasei812
Member
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# Posted: 25 Jul 2013 07:40am
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MJW,
I like the water storage idea to save on the generator use (the big one). This would have been a good thought prior to doing what I have. mainly since the 5000w is a honda ($$). If I would have used your setup I could have bought the smaller hondas and a cheaper big one for pump use only and had a back up to boot.
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toyota_mdt_tech
Member
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# Posted: 5 Jan 2017 05:30pm
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Quoting: MJW Thanks to toyota_tech for help with getting this set up
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toyota_mdt_tech
Member
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# Posted: 7 Jan 2017 05:17pm - Edited by: toyota_mdt_tech
Reply
Quoting: justincasei812 I have the 220 I separate the 2 hots at the panel. Hope this helps.
Kevin, you are feeding yours with a 220V generator? Yes, then you will wire it in like normal service, ie line and line into the 2 inputs at the main panel. This can be done either to the panel inputs or via a 220V double pole breaker. I like to feed it via a breaker, so if you hear the generator hunting or about to run out of fuel, flipping the breaker can quickly kill the power.
If you power up the panel with just a 110V generator like myself, I had to jump the inputs at the panel to power up both legs of the panel, or only every other breaker would have power.
I did run a large service wire from the panel into the crawlspace (10AWG 3 wire w/ground) in case, I ever hook up to service, ie a secondary or sub panel, I am all good to go. Its just not terminated inside the panel, just taped up at the ends and stored for future expansion.
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LoonWhisperer
Member
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# Posted: 8 Jan 2017 10:16am - Edited by: LoonWhisperer
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We run an extension cord from our Yamaha 2000 gennie to one of these:
4937
Easy peasy.
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toyota_mdt_tech
Member
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# Posted: 8 Jan 2017 08:34pm
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Quoting: LoonWhisperer We run an extension cord from our Yamaha 2000 gennie to one of these: 4937 Easy peasy.
An an "inlet" vs outlet and its all legal too. ;D
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LoonWhisperer
Member
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# Posted: 9 Jan 2017 03:07pm
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Quoting: toyota_mdt_tech An an "inlet" vs outlet and its all legal too. ;D
We don't have any electrical service/panel so this just serves as a dedicated pass through for our extension cord.
No open doors or windows = no mosquitoes
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fitzpatt
Member
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# Posted: 10 Jan 2017 10:45am
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I use a very similar setup with both of these:
https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B009ANV81S/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc =1
https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B000MN8RUU/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc =1
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neckless
Member
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# Posted: 12 Jan 2017 08:31am
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my cabin was never wired,, but need some power for tv and light and mixer for refreshments lol..... being a 40 year old cabin, i just put in receptacles in each room wire them and wired in a good # 10 extension cord under the cabin out to the genny..... i know this sounds all wrong but its grounded and the genny is the panel...breakers and such... that was 5 years ago...now maybe its time to do it right when i remodel....
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KeithC
Member
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# Posted: 6 Feb 2017 07:48pm
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I did the same thing. Mounted a couple of receptacles on the floor facing up tucked into the corners, where they are hidden by the kitchen counter and behind a oak TV cabinet. Underneath the cabin they are connected by Romex. A heavy duty cord is wired into one of the recpetacles, and is stored up under the cabin in a hidden box/cubby. Just pull it down and hook it up to one of the Honda generators. The Honda EU3000 when we're staying for a week or so during holidays or hunting season, and the EU 2000 for weekend stays. The generator sits on a portable flat cart with a cover in case it rains. I haul the generators each time we go out, and don't leave them in case of a break in.....which can and does happen in remote rural areas. 
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Borrego
Member
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# Posted: 19 Aug 2017 08:01pm
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Quoting: LoonWhisperer We run an extension cord from our Yamaha 2000 gennie to one of these: 4937 Easy peasy.
Cool, this is simple, but do I need a shutoff/breaker of some sort?
And how do you wire this into your panel to connect to the circuits you want to charge?
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offgridjunkie
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# Posted: 20 Aug 2017 04:59pm
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Quoting: Borrego Cool, this is simple, but do I need a shutoff/breaker of some sort?
Not if your generator has a circuit breaker built in.
Quoting: Borrego And how do you wire this into your panel to connect to the circuits you want to charge?
This depends on how you have wired your batteries and panels. We will need much more info before we can answer this.
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Borrego
Member
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# Posted: 20 Aug 2017 05:56pm
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Quoting: offgridjunkie This depends on how you have wired your batteries and panels. We will need much more info before we can answer this.
Right now I'm just trying to wire the cabin circuits, installing solar is till a few more months away...
The cabin is wired the same as a regular house with 5 different home runs, it'd be nice to light them all up from the panel. I was going to use a transfer switch but was told I didn't need one. Just want to do it right and safe....
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