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Winter Power Cuts
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By (user no longer on site) OP
over a year ago
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Purchased a new petrol generator today and tested it.
Switched off all power at the mains, plugged into a downstairs socket and it fed all sockets on ringmain. Unsure how much supply I will get but pleased to see it works. |
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"Er,,, no it doesn't work like that."
It "would" work like that, but potentially VERY dangerous.
To connect a generator too your house, you SHOULD have a qualified electrician install a Transfer Switch or an Interlock. I suspect it will also require Building Standards approval.
Cal |
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By (user no longer on site) OP
over a year ago
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"Er,,, no it doesn't work like that."
It does work like that.
as long as you have mains in, totally Isolated it works. I done it this morning.
And it's not only myself, farmer friends who suffered 16 days without electricity after high winds this year also done it this way.
ofcourse you always get a smart arse who likes to make comment such as Er,,, it doesnt work like that.
it does and as long as you watch amount of usage it works fine. |
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"Er,,, no it doesn't work like that.
It does work like that.
as long as you have mains in, totally Isolated it works. I done it this morning.
And it's not only myself, farmer friends who suffered 16 days without electricity after high winds this year also done it this way.
ofcourse you always get a smart arse who likes to make comment such as Er,,, it doesnt work like that.
it does and as long as you watch amount of usage it works fine."
fab is full of experts take no notice to them   |
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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago
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"Er,,, no it doesn't work like that.
It does work like that.
as long as you have mains in, totally Isolated it works. I done it this morning.
And it's not only myself, farmer friends who suffered 16 days without electricity after high winds this year also done it this way.
ofcourse you always get a smart arse who likes to make comment such as Er,,, it doesnt work like that.
it does and as long as you watch amount of usage it works fine."
Haha nice one geezer good for you |
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"Er,,, no it doesn't work like that.
It does work like that.
as long as you have mains in, totally Isolated it works. I done it this morning.
And it's not only myself, farmer friends who suffered 16 days without electricity after high winds this year also done it this way.
ofcourse you always get a smart arse who likes to make comment such as Er,,, it doesnt work like that.
it does and as long as you watch amount of usage it works fine."
The issues with connecting a generator in this fashion are that firstly you have a plug with an exposed live connector, secondly that you are bypassing ALL of the electrical protection that exists in your fuse box. Finally, in the case of a fire, your insurance will be invalid due to dodgy wiring.
There are much safer ways to connect a generator, and they don't need to be expensive. |
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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago
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"Er,,, no it doesn't work like that.
It does work like that.
as long as you have mains in, totally Isolated it works. I done it this morning.
And it's not only myself, farmer friends who suffered 16 days without electricity after high winds this year also done it this way.
ofcourse you always get a smart arse who likes to make comment such as Er,,, it doesnt work like that.
it does and as long as you watch amount of usage it works fine. fab is full of experts take no notice to them "
Yes, when the house catches light just call the local Chinese takeaway, take no notice of the so called fire service!  |
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Stocked up on some backup real books and ordered a couple more double layer sherpa oversize hoodies to keep me warm... worst case I head into work for a while at least there theres a massive backup generator and fuel to run it for a couple weeks. |
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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago
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They’re talking about worst case scenarios, and it being 3 hours.
Put the heating on an hour before the power goes off….there’s your warmth.
Fill some flasks with boiling water. There’s your hot drinks and some instant noodle/pasta pots if desperate.
Charge your device before. If you do nothing else with it, it can be a source of light.
Cook a slow cooker pot full of food, it’ll stay warm for the 3 hours. There’s your meals.
Get some candles.
Get some torches.
Talk to each other.
Pretty easy then.
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If Truss and company own up to 3 hours, i reckon we can easily expect no power for 3 days, maybe 3 weeks. Fuck, I wouldn't be that surprised if it all goes dark in November and doesn't get fixed until March... |
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"If Truss and company own up to 3 hours, i reckon we can easily expect no power for 3 days, maybe 3 weeks. Fuck, I wouldn't be that surprised if it all goes dark in November and doesn't get fixed until March..."
Yeah, when they said "definitely won't happen" a few months back, I thought that that was probably a bad omen. |
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"I lived through the 70's power cuts/black outs...... buses still ran, we still went to work.... we were without power for a few hours..... big deal. "
Ditto..
It was a bit of a giggle tbh albeit experienced through much younger eyes..
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"Help me out here ........
If we have a power cut ...... yeah ???
How does a generator , that you PLUG IN to the mains ...... work ?
Petrol usually  "
Let me think about leccy n petrol bryan ....... sommat just doesn't feel right ...... |
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By *ryan...Man
over a year ago
1950's Original |
"Help me out here ........
If we have a power cut ...... yeah ???
How does a generator , that you PLUG IN to the mains ...... work ?
Petrol usually
Let me think about leccy n petrol bryan ....... sommat just doesn't feel right ...... "
Most generators run off petrol ....wouldn't of course be cheaper with the price of petrol nowadays |
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"I suspect I'll be fine if it's up to 12 hours. After that... well, I'll lose the contents of my fridge freezer, I guess.
As we will all be without heating as well, it won’t defrost…"
I'm in a newish build with decent insulation. Even without heating, my apartment doesn't get that cold. |
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"Purchased a new petrol generator today and tested it.
Switched off all power at the mains, plugged into a downstairs socket and it fed all sockets on ringmain. Unsure how much supply I will get but pleased to see it works."
If it’s a normal small one , maybe tv centre heating pumps and a small microwave mate ! Word of warning make sure u disconnect the main supply first |
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"I lived through the 70's power cuts/black outs...... buses still ran, we still went to work.... we were without power for a few hours..... big deal. "
I remember that as well Granny. Though not as much stuff relied on electricity then. We all had fireplaces in the front room with back boilers. No central heating. Chuck a bit more nutty slack on the fire and we'd got hot water even with no gas or electric. God knows how we didn't burn the house down giving 5 year olds a candle to carry around.
Now the bloody gas central heating won't work if there's no electricity. Can't even make toast in front of the fire. And we're all a lot softer than we used to be... |
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"I lived through the 70's power cuts/black outs...... buses still ran, we still went to work.... we were without power for a few hours..... big deal.
I remember that as well Granny. Though not as much stuff relied on electricity then. We all had fireplaces in the front room with back boilers. No central heating. Chuck a bit more nutty slack on the fire and we'd got hot water even with no gas or electric. God knows how we didn't burn the house down giving 5 year olds a candle to carry around.
Now the bloody gas central heating won't work if there's no electricity. Can't even make toast in front of the fire. And we're all a lot softer than we used to be..."
I have a wood burner with back boiler .
Water gets piping hot |
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By *mp411Man
over a year ago
chester |
And while we have to suffer with power cuts and extortionate energy bills, mortgage rates skyrocketing, wicked high fuel prices, food more expensive by the second....
Be happy in the knowledge that your local MP won't have any such worries thier lights will be blazing, fridges stocked with luxury foods, vehicles filled with fuel, all toasty warm while pensioners down the road freeze and starve |
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By *ryan...Man
over a year ago
1950's Original |
We might have to have blackouts before winter anyway.....
turn off all your lights ...Close the curtains ...
so Putin's nuclear bomb lands next door instead...
that'll teach next doors cat to come into your garden..
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"And while we have to suffer with power cuts and extortionate energy bills, mortgage rates skyrocketing, wicked high fuel prices, food more expensive by the second....
Be happy in the knowledge that your local MP won't have any such worries thier lights will be blazing, fridges stocked with luxury foods, vehicles filled with fuel, all toasty warm while pensioners down the road freeze and starve "
What if the local M.P. is a pensioner  |
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"Help me out here ........
If we have a power cut ...... yeah ???
How does a generator , that you PLUG IN to the mains ...... work ?"
You don't plug a generator into the mains, you use it instead of the mains.
The accepted way is to fit a transfer switch between the incoming mains and the consumer unit. So you can switch between mains and generator power.
However as the OP says you can in extreme circumstances take a line from the generator output and plug it into a domestic socket and the electricity will flow 'backwards' through the system.
There are several dangers with doing this. It is essential that the mains is disconnected, otherwise power can flow out of the house and be a danger to linemen working to repair the system.
In addition, as said above the bare plug will be live and an electrocution danger. Further most generators output 32amps, but the rating of a domestic socket is only 13 amps. So either you will be inefficiently using the generator capacity or you will find the plug getting hot if you try to use the 32amps.
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By *ryan...Man
over a year ago
1950's Original |
"And while we have to suffer with power cuts and extortionate energy bills, mortgage rates skyrocketing, wicked high fuel prices, food more expensive by the second....
Be happy in the knowledge that your local MP won't have any such worries thier lights will be blazing, fridges stocked with luxury foods, vehicles filled with fuel, all toasty warm while pensioners down the road freeze and starve "
There is some truth in that ..as MPs get their London/ second homes energy bills paid for by the taxpayer.. |
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By *igGs19Woman
over a year ago
Castle Douglas |
Live in the countryside, regularly have no power for 3 days or more at a time during winter. A few hours a day would be cakewalk.
That said, I have nothing which relies on constant power e.g. medical equip, etc. The fridge freezer is good for up to 24hours before it's too much of a problem, outdoor chest freezer is good for a few days without.
Living without city conveniences means thankfully not having to be concerned about them being curtailed. |
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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago
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"Help me out here ........
If we have a power cut ...... yeah ???
How does a generator , that you PLUG IN to the mains ...... work ?
You don't plug a generator into the mains, you use it instead of the mains.
The accepted way is to fit a transfer switch between the incoming mains and the consumer unit. So you can switch between mains and generator power.
However as the OP says you can in extreme circumstances take a line from the generator output and plug it into a domestic socket and the electricity will flow 'backwards' through the system.
There are several dangers with doing this. It is essential that the mains is disconnected, otherwise power can flow out of the house and be a danger to linemen working to repair the system.
In addition, as said above the bare plug will be live and an electrocution danger. Further most generators output 32amps, but the rating of a domestic socket is only 13 amps. So either you will be inefficiently using the generator capacity or you will find the plug getting hot if you try to use the 32amps.
"
You're almost correct, you should replace any device with a changeover switch between the Henly block and fuse board.....what the OP is doing is incredibly dangerous and just because he knows a couple of farmers doing it certainly doesn't make it correct.
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By *ryan...Man
over a year ago
1950's Original |
"What about all our frozen food we've bulk bought to save money?
Or dairy going off in the fridge 
Generally, if you do not open it, stuff in a freezer will be OK for 48hours"
That's good to know..I might cryogeniccally freeze myself and come back in about 20 years..when everything will be super |
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By (user no longer on site) OP
over a year ago
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"Electrician here I’ll be fine 
Happy to help anyone
How much to bypass my meter? "
Maybe Your Electricity Supplier is already ripping you off
I read in the Courier Newspaper that a guy had a Faulty meter fitted for 20 years
The meter was running fast and recording 10 or 20% more Electric than he was actually using.
Electric Meters are not calibrated once fitted so unless you have had your electric meter tested you have no idea how fast it could actually be running.
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Perthshire man could have been overcharged for 17 years By Rob McLaren |
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"we had no central heating when i was a kid,, no double glazing windows frost inside the windows, sleeping bag inside the bed, god showing my age now,,"
Yes me to! I loved the leafy patterns on the single glazed windows in my bedroom of a morning! No duvets either scratchy blankets and a bed spread! X |
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