electricalgenerator
I have a portable 6500 W generator. I have a main house electrical panel and a subpanel in my garage, which are on opposite sides of the house. My subpanel is on the outside wall of my garage. The main panel feeds the subpanel.
I would like to connect the generator to the subpanel which would then feed the main panel
and then I can decide which breaker (main breaker-OFF) to shut off and which to keep on.
Can this be done? What do I need and how do I do it?
What you are suggesting with a back-feed cord is possible, but not recommend for a bunch of reasons, including the ones you mentioned.
The first thing that comes to mind in terms of simplicity is replacing the power wire on the water heater with a cord made for a dryer and plug it in to the generator. When your power crisis is over, you can either wire the hot water heater back, or install an outlet.
The next best thing to do is to buy a transfer switch sub-panel, install it, and move the circuits you want to keep using to that sub-panel.
You could simply pull a properly sized cable from the transfer switch, out to the garage. Then install a generator input receptacle in the garage.
There's likely a knockout in the bottom of the transfer switch to allow for this. If not, you may be able to add your own (check with the manufacturer).
Moving the transfer switch, and migrating circuits is is likely going to be a huge headache. It's much simpler to pull a single new cable.
Best Answer
NO.
You'll likely end up backfeeding the grid, which can easily lead to linemen being injured or killed. A generator should never be connected to the electrical system without a proper transfer switch being installed.