[aprssig] Shack backup power

[Ray Wells]

I don't know what hit and miss laws exist in the US regarding electrical 
safety but in Australia, such things are closely regulated. It is 
illegal for anyone without an electrician's licence and an electrical 
contractor's licence to perform any form of electrical work.

For an installation with a generator back up supply, in the event that 
work will be conducted on the mains, the service fuse (at the consumer's 
switchboard to protect the network) is removed and the neutral tail is 
lifted to ensure complete isolation of those premises from the mains.

Electrical safety is never taken lightly and that probably explains the 
exceptionally low incidence of accidents amongst electricity supply 
authority employees.

My credentials? I worked for in excess of twenty years for an 
electricity supply authority, working on 240/415, 11kv, 33kv and 66kv 
mains, both live and dead.

Nobody with any sense of responsibility trusts a switch for isolation. 
They can and do fail.

Ray vk2tv

On 05/06/11 15:37, Greg Dolkas wrote:
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: "DALE"<wa7ixk at embarqmail.com>
> To: "TAPR APRS Mailing List"<aprssig at tapr.org>
> Sent: 6/4/11 6:50 PM
> Subject: Re: [aprssig] Shack backup power
>
> ..snip..
>
>> very unlikely a generator is going to kill a lineman.
>> I use a suicide cord to hook mine up after I have tripped all breakers.
>> One main breaker kill the whole house.
>> I am thinking of putting in a transfer switch, but it is $200.00 just for the panel.
>
> Are you willing to bet a life on this?  It is unlikely, sure, but the small risk is extremely severe.  Circuit breakers can fail closed, especially if the outage caused a power spike at its onset.  You may think the breaker is pulled, when it's not.
>
> The thought that the line load would prevent your generator from driving it presumes you're driving the whole of it.  Depending on the event, that may not be true either.
>
> Laws and building codes not withstanding, is saving the money worth the risk?
>
> Greg  KO6TH
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> aprssig mailing list
> aprssig at tapr.org
> https://www.tapr.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/aprssig
>