Generator inlet receptacle installation on house
Posted: Sat Oct 03, 2015 5:10 pm
I figured I'd make a new thread since this doesn't pertain to a particular generator.
I used the Reliance PB20 inlet box, rated at 20 amps (~4.8kVA max, or call it 5kW): http://www.amazon.com/Reliance-Controls ... 162&sr=8-1&
Wire used was 15 feet of 10/3. I used 10 gauge which would allow up to a 30A circuit in the future, should I decide I need a 7500W generator. I will have to replace this inlet receptacle with the Reliance PB30.
Circuit breaker was 20A 240V.
First, I checked out the breaker box for breaker placement and where the wires will enter the box. This is where I put the clamp connector in the breaker box. I used all 15 feet and just ran the cable roughly to both locations. Tip: run any wire into the bottom of the breaker box (or at least the bottom of where the breaker bus bars are). That way you can always move the breaker later, up or down (only the hot wire(s) need to run that far). I didn't even have to drill anything. I just shoved it through where I had already run some other cables, into the garage area. On the house, I picked a place that looked like I could access both sides, and drilled using a 3/4" spade bit. I should have started with a 1", gone in a bit, and then finished with the 3/4". This way the cable clamp that I installed on the back of the box has a recess to sit in. Next I put a very generous bead of silicone caulk around the cable clamp on the box of the inlet box, and put that flush against the house/hole. Then I screwed it to the house with 1-5/8" deck screws (exterior rated). It is quite secure. I also pushed the wire through for this shot. I clamped the ground wire on, then stripped the rest of the wires. Red and black go to X and Y, white goes to W. Pretty simple. A few close-ups. You can kind of see the silicone in this one. This shouldn't give any problems. The finished product. It's kind of high but that's where it had to be. The concrete foundation starts like 4 feet off the ground. These are locking outlets so it should be fine with the cable hanging off. Breaker installed and connected up. Neutral and ground also connected. Tip: connect the hot wire(s) to the breaker before installing it in the box. A close-up of how the breakers and bus bars interface on this particular GE breaker box design. You can easily see that by straddling any two adjacent slots, the breaker picks up each hot leg of 120V, which are 180 degrees out of phase (making 240V across the two bars). Any one of those to neutral is, of course, 120V. The final wire entry into the box, with the cable clamp tightened down (orange wire if you haven't been paying attention). I am happy with how this came out. Wasn't too difficult, due to proximity of my breaker box to the location of the inlet receptacle. I ended up using exactly the 15 feet of wire, so that was a good thing.
At some point I would like to test this...
I used the Reliance PB20 inlet box, rated at 20 amps (~4.8kVA max, or call it 5kW): http://www.amazon.com/Reliance-Controls ... 162&sr=8-1&
Wire used was 15 feet of 10/3. I used 10 gauge which would allow up to a 30A circuit in the future, should I decide I need a 7500W generator. I will have to replace this inlet receptacle with the Reliance PB30.
Circuit breaker was 20A 240V.
First, I checked out the breaker box for breaker placement and where the wires will enter the box. This is where I put the clamp connector in the breaker box. I used all 15 feet and just ran the cable roughly to both locations. Tip: run any wire into the bottom of the breaker box (or at least the bottom of where the breaker bus bars are). That way you can always move the breaker later, up or down (only the hot wire(s) need to run that far). I didn't even have to drill anything. I just shoved it through where I had already run some other cables, into the garage area. On the house, I picked a place that looked like I could access both sides, and drilled using a 3/4" spade bit. I should have started with a 1", gone in a bit, and then finished with the 3/4". This way the cable clamp that I installed on the back of the box has a recess to sit in. Next I put a very generous bead of silicone caulk around the cable clamp on the box of the inlet box, and put that flush against the house/hole. Then I screwed it to the house with 1-5/8" deck screws (exterior rated). It is quite secure. I also pushed the wire through for this shot. I clamped the ground wire on, then stripped the rest of the wires. Red and black go to X and Y, white goes to W. Pretty simple. A few close-ups. You can kind of see the silicone in this one. This shouldn't give any problems. The finished product. It's kind of high but that's where it had to be. The concrete foundation starts like 4 feet off the ground. These are locking outlets so it should be fine with the cable hanging off. Breaker installed and connected up. Neutral and ground also connected. Tip: connect the hot wire(s) to the breaker before installing it in the box. A close-up of how the breakers and bus bars interface on this particular GE breaker box design. You can easily see that by straddling any two adjacent slots, the breaker picks up each hot leg of 120V, which are 180 degrees out of phase (making 240V across the two bars). Any one of those to neutral is, of course, 120V. The final wire entry into the box, with the cable clamp tightened down (orange wire if you haven't been paying attention). I am happy with how this came out. Wasn't too difficult, due to proximity of my breaker box to the location of the inlet receptacle. I ended up using exactly the 15 feet of wire, so that was a good thing.
At some point I would like to test this...