I will soon be purchasing a 15K watt, 50A generator and an exterior 200A on/off/on transfer switch. Nothing is an issues except for connecting generator to transfer switch cabinet. Must a male/female connection be used or may the generator connecting wire be permanently connected to the transfer switch? The male plug end of the connector wire would remain and be used on the generator end.
The generator is expected to be a Pulsar 15,000W Dual Fuel Propane/Gasoline Portable Generator. The transfer switch will be Emergency Power Transfer Switch 200 Amp Non Fused Double Throw Surface. The connector wire will be RV Extension Cord Generator Cord 15ft 50 Amp Power Cable 6/3+8/1 Copper Wire.
The house has hot water base board heat operated via an outside wood burning stove. Also have a propane fired furnace in the basement. Usually the basement furnace is not used. Well pump, too.
The propane use will cut the available watts to about 10K. That's alright, as my wife and I added up all the possible items that would be used and we come out to bout 75% of available watts. That's if everything runs at once. Not likely. Presently we use a 5KW generator and, while it provides us with what we need, it's all very basic and we do a severe limit on what's used.
Not to mention there's a bit of effort involved in making sure the main is off and so on. Fine if I'm home. But I want this to be easy and safe for anybody else to use. So, yes, the whole house will be able to be operated, as it now selectively is.
So, may that female end of the power cord be directly connected to the transfer switch as will be the input line from the meter? If it's necessary to install a male shielded plug, I will, but…it does introduce another connection that I see is not necessary.
Best Answer
Can a 15kw generator be hard wired eliminating the male female connection at the house. Yes a generator can be hard wired but you then cannot use the cordage you planned to use. When hard wired they are usually in conduit and a junction box switches to flexible conduit for the last few feet to absorb the vibrations.
A 15kw generator can be connected by a cord through your transfer switch or lockout device. However you will need to use a power inlet to feed the transfer switch.
The power inlet has male prongs and connects to a standard female cord cap of the same type. How is this legal? The male prongs are isolated by the transfer switch or lockout device so they only have power from the cord of the generator. They are never live from the house feed. This is normal for portable generators because hard wire would be required if there is no plug in device.