Even before this mess I had considered getting a generator probably one that will work with propane. But if I don't get one that hooks directly into the home panel how would you use it to heat the house?? Just plug in space heaters? Since you would have to keep them outside or in the garage (with it up I suppose) isn't that a partial defeat of the purpose? You would have an opening to your house and a source of cold air.

What am I missing??

Best way is to have the hook up to your breaker box.
But if not, My thought was you'd need to run an extension cord but yeah you would need to port it through an area with minimal allowance of outside air coming in. maybe crack a window run extension cord through then seal with a towel or tape?

I've heard of someone plugging their generator into a wall outlet and it powered the plugs in the house ?? Can anyone confirm this is possible/safe/legal? Didn't sound like it.

lazuras_dc said:

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I've heard of someone plugging their generator into a wall outlet and it powered the plugs in the house ?? Can anyone confirm this is possible/safe/legal? Didn't sound like it.

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Please don't do this!

Possible? Yes. Safe? No. Legal? Dunno?!?

lazuras_dc said:

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I've heard of someone plugging their generator into a wall outlet and it powered the plugs in the house ?? Can anyone confirm this is possible/safe/legal? Didn't sound like it.

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Don't do it

Read here: https://texags.com/forums/34/topics/3177648/1

We've been without power for.. a while...
Yes, you can hook into a house with a generator with a "suicide cord" which is a cord with 2 male ends. I hooked into a 20amp circuit with all of the breakers off including the main. Then just running the circuit it's plugged into and the others I need running. This way we can get light in the bathroom, run a ceiling fan to move the air and a space heater.
I know it makes people butt hole pucker up, but if your not stupid and minimize potential issues, it works fine. My wife had 2 heaters and tried using her coffee pot and it popped the breaker, so we found the limit.

This is what we have. It's been a life saver this week and during two previous periods we were without central heat during big cold snaps. They're safe for indoor use and can really heat up a small space or take the edge off a large space.

I have two propane bottles and always make sure one is full, but I will start keeping 3 in the rotation from now on.

Mr heater safe indoors? in regards to carbon monoxide ?

Just get a med size Mr Heater. Get and coonect to a grill size propane tank with a 10 or 12ft Mr Heater hose. Move from it from to room. Works like a charm. Use a gen for refridge/computer/microwave. Highly rec a EU 3000 IS. Quiet and enough power.

It is labeled as safe indoors. I've used it 10+ nights indoors with zero fatalities.

First, I'm no electrician. At our house is Lundazi, we have a genset large enough to power our major appliances and lights. It is housed in a small covered structure away from the house. It plugs into an outlet that is wired to a switch that toggles between the genset and the power from the utility company. Our power goes off, we crank up the genset, toggle the switch and we're back in business. Would love to have a similar setup at our house in Atlanta.

We have a normal Briggs Stratton. 6250 running, 8500 starting watts.

Set up generator in backyard. Run cords through window and seal it as best we can with layers of towels. Not hard.

Runs 3 space heaters, fridge, coffee maker, modem, and rarely gets over 58% load per the display.

My biggest want after all this is a gas stove.

I ran 2 generators, with 2 extension cords, both through the same cracked window with towels on both sides of the window. And at one point we also used tape.

They were plugged into 2 1500w space heaters. They don't produce all that much heat. As far as heating the house. They would probably work fine in a single room though.

What I found with three of them is they won't raise the temp of the large living room but if you get them going early enough you can at least maintain temps in the 60s... and of course sitting close to one helps warm you up quick.

Honest question on the suicide cord and back feeding through a dryer plug.....If the main panel is shutoff (i.e. at the meter), is there really any chance that electricity is flowing past the meter? I've always wondered about this or if it has just been a major propaganda (rightfully so) by the lineament that know if you're a dumbass and forget to turn off the meter, you could kill them.

Im no expert but on Mr Heater I have the Mr Heater Big Buddy and they have a low oxygen sensor switch and a tip over protection switch. The low oxygen switch which I think is called ODS detects air quality and if oxygen is to low it switches off. This is meant to be used as a safety feature indoor. We ran one for over 24 hrs off a 20 lb propane tank you'd use for a grill, no issues, no odors, it kept us toasty warm. I have no issues with using it indoors.

This is probably a stupid idea but why couldn't you take a heavy duty extension cord and cut off the female end. Then find a discrete are of the house in the back yard drill a hole through the wall. On the interior wall you would wire the extension cord end you cut to a appropriate amp receptacle and wall plate and you label it "emergency" or something. So from inside the house it looks like a regular wall outlet except for the label. On the exterior wall you build a box you can attach to the wall that allows you to neatly coil the extension cord. Then caulk and weatherproof everything. So when you lose power due to mother nature you take your portable generator to the backyard power it up, go to the box you built/attached and uncoil the extension cord and plug into your generator, now your "emergency" wall outlet inside is live and you can plug what you need. I know it is probably a silly thought or maybe a safety issue but does my premise make sense?

I was able to successfully power my gas furnace off my Dad's Harbor Freight Predator 3500 generator. It took me 1/2 the day to figure out how to do it but was worth it. The trick was apparently some generators do not have bonded neutrals and newer furnaces (high efficiency?) will sense this and throw error status on the control boards. Easy workaround was to force a bonded-neutral on the generator by plugging in an extension cord that I sacrificed with the neutral and common connected. Voila!

Apparently the RV community is well aware of this as they have all kinds of discussion forum conversations on it. Not as well documented for connecting to a gas furnace. If anyone needs more details let me know.

For heat, kerosene heaters fit the bill. Kerosun used to make good ones and there are lots still out there in use.

And for some of the rest of the comments on suggesting someone who is not an electrician use a double ended plug to power circuits inside a house, there is a reason they give out Darwin awards. Don't kill your family or a lineman who shows up to help without your knowledge.

I have a 220 outlet in my garage for welding.

1. Turn off main breaker.
2. Turn off 220 breaker and any circuits in your house you don't want to power
3. Plug in generator to welding outlet with suicide cord
4. Fire up generator
5. Open 220 breaker

Yes it's sketchy but if you do it right and take your time it can be done safely. Was able to run two furnaces, two refrigerators, a tv, and plenty of lights off a 5500

mm98 said:

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What I found with three of them is they won't raise the temp of the large living room but if you get them going early enough you can at least maintain temps in the 60s... and of course sitting close to one helps warm you up quick.

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I have 4 1500 watt electric Honeywell heaters

It dropped down to 36 when it was about 18 outside in my 400 sq ft noninsulated garage with 16x7 door facing north and i was concerned about the cold line going to the water heater freezing when the outside fell to the predicted 5 the next morning. So i plugged 2 heaters into two separate circuits and ran them. When it was 18 those two heaters heated the inside of the garage to 59 degrees from 36. The next morning when it was 5 degrees the garage was still 48 degrees inside with both heaters running.

Ran two space heaters, tv and WiFi on the harbor freight predator 3500 inverter. Did the old extension cord through the windows and it worked great. Reading this thread makes me want to figure out how to do the suicide and run the furnace blower since we have gas heat.

It's really no more hassle to add an inlet and an interlock on your panel. Not idiot proof, but at least adds some level of "stupid protection".

I paid an electrician to hook up where I can plug in my generator to my house. You need thick lines and sufficient breaker switches.

I also have this heater for my barn but also have it as a backup just in case. It's a 220 watt heater.



Dr Heater Dr. Infrared,... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01M9D8CV1?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

Yesterday said:

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Ran two space heaters, tv and WiFi on the harbor freight predator 3500 inverter. Did the old extension cord through the windows and it worked great. Reading this thread makes me want to figure out how to do the suicide and run the furnace blower since we have gas heat.

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You might be able to plug it into the dryer socket.

http://www.interlockkit.com/aboutus.asp

An electrician hooked up a suicide cord outside my house. It's against code but I gave him extra. We shut down the main power and did a trial run with him there. Worked great.

I live in the woods and if an ice storm ever hits GA I'd be screwed. It's a quarter mile to the mailbox. I have some propane heaters as another failsafe but they only put out a little bit of heat.

Yesterday said:

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Ran two space heaters, tv and WiFi on the harbor freight predator 3500 inverter. Did the old extension cord through the windows and it worked great. Reading this thread makes me want to figure out how to do the suicide and run the furnace blower since we have gas heat.

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On gas furnace
The blower/control board is usually on a switched circuit in the attic for service reasons. I have seen them on older installs where they still plug into an outlet. In theory one could disconnect from the 110 power at the switch and put a male plug on the cord running to the unit and then run a heavy enough cord from the generator to there. Most blowers on gas furnace pull 7-10 amps but check your blower motor for specs.

Your generator can easily and safely be set up to run through your panel to your house by an electrician. Surprisingly they make devices to do this. You do not have to use suicide plugs.

Not safe and not code but it works. Prior owner did it but I had the cord updated.