Wiring Cabin to Generator (How to)?

[BrandonH]

I started a thread yesterday asking for assistance with a GFCI issue at home, and with the overwhelming response I thought why not post this up for the brain trust as well.

I am in the process of constructing a small cabin and for now plan on using a diesel generator as my power supply. I will eventually have power ran from the co-op, however that is a long way down the road. I purchased a 125amp Square D panel for inside and need to know the best way to wire everything up for power from the generator. The generator will be located approximately 20' from the cabin, so I will need around 30' of wire from the panel to the generator. The generator also has a 4 prong twist receptacle for 240volt supply. My plan is to run a cord from the panel out to the generator with the male 4 prong twist plug.

The biggest questions I have is what kind of wire do I need to run from the panel to the generator, what size wire, do I place a ground rod at the cabin for the panel or one at the generator or both? Any other things I need to know?

Thanks,
Brandon

[bwssr]

What is the output rated at on the 240 plug?...30amps? -3 conductor with a ground...try to find some um-b romex wire.....red and black to the 2 buss's, white to the neutral bus, and ground to ground..I would put a rod at both ends...

[LloydMcCoy]

[ATTACH]549095[/ATTACH]

[Todd-ty729]

What is the size of the generator?

[LloydMcCoy]

A "real" generator or a mobile generator

[Todd-ty729]

A "real" generator or a mobile generator

Due to the twist loc statement I am betting mobile!

[bwssr]

my EU3000 has a 4 prong twist for 240..as does my 5700 watt...
that would be a BIG gen set to has 125a output.....

[BrandonH]

A "real" generator or a mobile generator

Portable 12kw.

[BrandonH]

What is the output rated at on the 240 plug?...30amps? -3 conductor with a ground...try to find some um-b romex wire.....red and black to the 2 buss's, white to the neutral bus, and ground to ground..I would put a rod at both ends...

Yes 30amps on the 240v side.

[bwssr]

Portable 12kw.

that's big......#10 is good for 30a, but run #8......

[Todd-ty729]

12 KW should be more than 30 amps!

The 125 amp is what the inside panel is rated for. Doesn't mean there is 125 amps of power being used.

[PROUDREDNECK]

For all home electrical installations sizes 10 or 12 ga wire are suggested.

Here`s what I did in my small cabin using a very old Honda E300 generator.

I made an electrical extension cord of about 30 feet long which runs from the generator to the cabin, since the generator isn`t really too loud there was no need to make a longer extension and I placed prong contacts on each end of it.

The cabin`s electrical installation was made using size 12 ga wire, all I have there are 5 led bulb lights and a cd player and most of the time only one or two lights are on at same time.

What I do is plug one end in the generator`s outlet and the other in the cabin`s outlet and electricity feeds all the circuit.

Perhaps this isn`t the correct way to use a generator but it works for me and that`s all I need hope it helps

[Aggiebush]

I wired my cabin into an old electric panel. For the supply, I wired in an exterior plug (same size as the 30amp on the generator). I bought two female plugs and some wire to make a special extension cord between the two. I just plug the generator into the exterior plug and have full power to the cabin.

[BrandonH]

12 KW should be more than 30 amps!

The 125 amp is what the inside panel is rated for. Doesn't mean there is 125 amps of power being used.

It says 60 amps for 120v & 30 amps for 240v.

[Tbar]

Portable Power Cable Type SO 10 X4............

http://www.dxelectric.com/item.php?ItemId=141

http://www.campingworld.com/category/electrical-cords/56