AIO hand cart build, how to set up dual ac output ?

[dahluwalia]

I'm building a sungold 24v generator on a 2 wheel hand cart . I like to have ac outlets and also have the option to plug into my house. My gas generator plugs into a welder out let in my shop to feed the house but I have to shut off the house beaker then pick a few things to run . Id like to do a proper tranfer box to be safer.

 

[Mattb4]

Good that you are seeking to do a more proper installation. Your present arrangement with the suicide cord from your generator and manual switching off of the Main breaker is an accident waiting to happen.

If your hand cart power pack setup is only 120vAC you will need to allow for this. If you need to power both legs of an electric panel from 120vAC understand that you can not run 240vAC loads.

There are two ways you can safely isolate your Main from the grid. One is a transfer switch upstream of the main panel. The second is a breaker interlock setup inside the main panel that would require turning off the Main breaker before sliding the interlock over to allow turning on a feed in breaker from emergency power. Or in reverse turning off the emergency power breaker before sliding the interlock over to allow turning the Main breaker on.

Another option is to transfer some circuits to a critical load panel. You could place a transfer switch before it and use power from the Main as normal and your generator or hand cart as emergency. Below you will find a simple drawing of this concept.

 

[dahluwalia]

Thanks , so question ,when I plug my gas gen into my 240 welder plug it fires up the hole house but I have 90% of the breakers and the main line off, (i will not do this any more ) Does that mean my gen or solar gen would be 240v ? I thought it was just a way to feed 120v into the fuse box ? But anyway a transfer switch is what I need to be put in and what about my buid can I have 120 power strip and a plug for my house as well ? RV plug ? and box ? Whats that look like

 

[Mattb4]

If you feed in 240vAC split phase from your generator than you have 2 hot legs of 120vAC plus neutral going to the main panel from the welder plug. So the arrangement is L1, L2, Neutral and possibly ground. L1 and neutral is 120vAC. L2 connected to neutral is 120vAC. L1 connected to L2 is 240vAC. Likely your hand cart setup is only 120vAC or only one hot leg. This is L1, Neutral and possibly ground. Thus it can only power one leg (1/2) of the Main panel unless you create a jumper so that it gets power from the L1 also. Powering both legs of the main panel from L1 means there is no L2 to get 240vAC.

From your inverter you can wire all kinds of plugs and connections. What you can not do is exceed the power capabilities of the inverter or individual circuit. Think of it like your home with all those wall outlets. Likely many just sit idle. However if you exceed the load rating with too many things running you can trip the breaker powering the circuit.

 

[dahluwalia]

So a generator transfer set up is very different than a solar generator transfer. ? It sound like it's going to be expensive and my has been will need a different set up ?

 

[OffGridForGood]

Maybe best to start with: "if the utility fails these are the loads I would like to be able to operate"
Then list each load, confirm 120 or 240, and the running Amps for each to calculate the total energy you need to run them.
Then consider how long you need to run them.
All this information will tell you how big a system you need, and how much battery it will take to get X-hours.
for things like fridges that cycle on and off, you can get a "Kill-O-Watt" (look it up) that plugs into a standard wall outlet, and then you plug in the fridge. Let it run a day or two, and the Kill-O-Watt will tell you the total energy consumed and how many hours it was collecting data.

Edit: there are sample tables on this forum to help you with this step, we call this an Energy Audit.
{Resources/Search/Energy Audit - then download}

 

[dahluwalia]

Thanks. I think I'm getting over my head. I have a 35 year back round in automotive 12v diagnostics and around the house well pumps and lighting but I'm going to concentrate on the cart gen build first. So I am adding a 20 amp power strip to use for now ,but I want to also have a generator plug or rv plug that will plug into my house in the future when I have someone set up my house . How to spit the a.c. Output to one side gen plug and the other side power strip

 

[OffGridForGood]

Thanks. I think I'm getting over my head. I have a 35 year back round in automotive 12v diagnostics and around the house well pumps and lighting but I'm going to concentrate on the cart gen build first. So I am adding a 20 amp power strip to use for now ,but I want to also have a generator plug or rv plug that will plug into my house in the future when I have someone set up my house . How to spit the a.c. Output to one side gen plug and the other side power strip

Nothing wrong with that approach.
With your hand cart build, you will still be able to run some things that have cords like a fridge or such, but not be able to run things hard wired until you can get an receptical installed to feed into your home. If your hand cart inverter is 120 only, you can set up (or have electrician help you set up) a critical loads panel for 120 volt critical load items. Check out the Reliance 306 or similar models (I have one) it allows you to choose either utility or your back up power system.
Meanwhile, read on this forum similar start up systems, go to youtube and watch Will Prowse videos and see what you can do with even a small system.