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Author Topic: Backfeed in motion, baby.  (Read 3390 times)

Mike Sokol

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Backfeed in motion, baby.
« on: December 21, 2018, 07:50:25 AM »

Backfeed in motion, baby. I'm going to have to penalize you, yeah...

Figured you would enjoy seeing one of my RVelectricity articles I just posted today about some RV owners who use a male-to-male extension cord to backfeed 120-volt AC power into an exterior receptacle on an RV trailer. Who thinks up this stuff? Oh yeah, you can buy these backfeed cables to connect the twist-lock outlet on a generator to a dryer outlet in your house. Yikes!!! :o

https://www.rvtravel.com/rv-electricity-dont-backfeed-power/

I don't have to tell any of you NOT to do this, correct?

BTW: I highly recommend you click on the youtube link in the article and play the great song by Mel and Tim "Backfield in Motion". It should be played in the background as you write any feedback.  8)

Tim McCulloch

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Re: Backfeed in motion, baby.
« Reply #1 on: December 21, 2018, 12:50:21 PM »

Backfeed in motion, baby. I'm going to have to penalize you, yeah...

Figured you would enjoy seeing one of my RVelectricity articles I just posted today about some RV owners who use a male-to-male extension cord to backfeed 120-volt AC power into an exterior receptacle on an RV trailer. Who thinks up this stuff? Oh yeah, you can buy these backfeed cables to connect the twist-lock outlet on a generator to a dryer outlet in your house. Yikes!!! :o

https://www.rvtravel.com/rv-electricity-dont-backfeed-power/

I don't have to tell any of you NOT to do this, correct?

BTW: I highly recommend you click on the youtube link in the article and play the great song by Mel and Tim "Backfield in Motion". It should be played in the background as you write any feedback.  8)

There was a recent thread on iRV2 about using such "adapters" to power the sticks & bricks house in a power failure.  One fellow took great umbrage when he was corrected after telling the forum "a good friend from church is a PoCo engineer and he said it was okay so long as we turned off the main breaker."
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Mike Sokol

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Re: Backfeed in motion, baby.
« Reply #2 on: December 21, 2018, 01:54:28 PM »

There was a recent thread on iRV2 about using such "adapters" to power the sticks & bricks house in a power failure.  One fellow took great umbrage when he was corrected after telling the forum "a good friend from church is a PoCo engineer and he said it was okay so long as we turned off the main breaker."

My thought is that a backfeed cable should only be used in the event of a zombie apocalypse. So unless zombies are ready to eat your brains if you can’t get power to your electric fence, don’t do it.

Keith Broughton

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Re: Backfeed in motion, baby.
« Reply #3 on: December 21, 2018, 02:05:33 PM »

While I agree that this can be a dangerous thing to do, let me ask a "what if" question.
Let's say you have a fully wired cottage that has  no wiring is run from the building to the pole, (yet), would this backfeed setup work to power the building from a genny?
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Tim McCulloch

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Re: Backfeed in motion, baby.
« Reply #4 on: December 21, 2018, 02:25:23 PM »

While I agree that this can be a dangerous thing to do, let me ask a "what if" question.
Let's say you have a fully wired cottage that has  no wiring is run from the building to the pole, (yet), would this backfeed setup work to power the building from a genny?

"It depends."  - I. Beaver

Many RV generators are not split-phase 120/240v so powering 240v. loads won't happen.
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Keith Broughton

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Re: Backfeed in motion, baby.
« Reply #5 on: December 21, 2018, 03:37:42 PM »

"It depends."  - I. Beaver

Many RV generators are not split-phase 120/240v so powering 240v. loads won't happen.
Right. Chances are the genny will not have enough  grunt to power a range or dryer.
I'm trying to determine if there are any problems, other than the connection to the POCO that would arise.
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Dave Garoutte

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Re: Backfeed in motion, baby.
« Reply #6 on: December 21, 2018, 03:54:45 PM »

I hadn't thought about the step-up tranformer issue.  Hokey smokes! :o
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Stephen Swaffer

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Re: Backfeed in motion, baby.
« Reply #7 on: December 21, 2018, 04:10:55 PM »

While I agree that this can be a dangerous thing to do, let me ask a "what if" question.
Let's say you have a fully wired cottage that has  no wiring is run from the building to the pole, (yet), would this backfeed setup work to power the building from a genny?

It would work.  Having a male to male cord laying around the 99.5% of the time it's not in use is probably not a good plan.  If there is no wiring from the pole to the cottage it would be FAR better to connect your incoming power to were the power from the pole is supposed to go.

One thing about POCO guys.  Most of the guys that are "boots on the ground" linesmen are pretty cavalier (and a few french fries short of a happy meal if you ask me) about working with energized conductors.  They probably treat conductors as energized almost all of the time anyway-so I can see a linesman saying something like that.  I don't want to be the one responsible for energizing something that shouldn't be-end of story.l
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Justice C. Bigler

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Re: Backfeed in motion, baby.
« Reply #8 on: December 22, 2018, 02:18:19 AM »

One thing about POCO guys.  Most of the guys that are "boots on the ground" linesmen are pretty cavalier (and a few french fries short of a happy meal if you ask me) about working with energized conductors.  They probably treat conductors as energized almost all of the time anyway-so I can see a linesman saying something like that.  I don't want to be the one responsible for energizing something that shouldn't be-end of story.l
Yeah, well, those are the guys that get the power back up and running in the middle of the rain/hail/ice storms and blizzards. You have to be a few fries short of a meal to go out in that weather and get the job done. I'll give them a break because I know I couldn't do it.
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Mike Sokol

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Re: Backfeed in motion, baby.
« Reply #9 on: December 22, 2018, 07:01:00 AM »

Yeah, well, those are the guys that get the power back up and running in the middle of the rain/hail/ice storms and blizzards. You have to be a few fries short of a meal to go out in that weather and get the job done. I'll give them a break because I know I couldn't do it.

I was talking to a lineman a while back who said he was shocked on the ear when he accidentally contacted an 18,000 volt line. On the EAR! That explains some of the crazy, I think...

Erik Jerde

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Re: Backfeed in motion, baby.
« Reply #10 on: December 22, 2018, 10:01:22 AM »

Working hot does seem to be SOP for linemen.  As a result they (usually) have good safety systems (isolated work platforms) and good self awareness (don’t touch two things at once).

Lots of people think riggers working the high steel are bat shit crazy too.
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ProSoundWeb Community

Re: Backfeed in motion, baby.
« Reply #10 on: December 22, 2018, 10:01:22 AM »


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