4/ 110 V is a pair of wires: one that sweeps from +110 V to -110 V, and a second line that is always at 0 V. (not actually true - the peaks are +/- 170 volts, but we use RMS - "root mean square"). So anyway - 2 lines. One sinusoidal, one flat.
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15/ I've got a dinky consumer grade 110V generator, I've got gasoline. No problem. I don't have a "transfer switch" installed yet, so ok, small problem. I head to workshop and - working by candle light, wire up an illegal double-ended plug. Flip master breaker >
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16/ ...to disconnect house from utilities, lest any of my ghetto home-brew electricity back flow out to the pole and harm a lineman. Plug my double ended male into generator and outlet. Voila!
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17/ Except... remember how houses have A power and B power? Which bus bar am I feeding? Well, whichever one is connected to the outlet in the workshop I'm back feeding to. Let's call that "A".
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18/ so ONE bus bar in my breaker box is now energized. Good news, that's the one that feeds the outdoor boiler. The boiler turns on and starts blowing air. ...but no hot water is moving from boiler to house. Why? Investigate.
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19/ ...ah! The pump that moves hot water is on the "B" bus bar. And so are half the pumps that move hot water around inside the house (other half are on "A"). So I need to energize both A and B bus bars. GAH
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20/ So, remember how I talked about 220V breakers spanning both A and B bus bar? First I flip all of those off. No electric dryer or well pump. Next: how am I going to feed both busbars from the workshop garage? I could cobble TWO suicide plugs, and find one A outlet & one B
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21/ ...but...remember what I said about 220V outlets? They connect to both A and B busbars. Aha! So, working by candle light, I build a SECOND suicide cable, cannabalizing parts from my tablesaw plug. This one takes 110V from generator and puts it on BOTH A and B lines of 220
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22/ ...so now both A and B busbars are energized at 110V vs ground (as they should be) but are 0° out of phase (and not 180° out of phase, as they should be). I plug this in, start the generator ...and heat and lights come back on.
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23/ ...and because the 220V outlets in my workshop (for tablesaw, bandsaw, and MIG welder) are all NEMA L6-30R twist lock outlets, that's the the Great 110 volt to 220 volt Twist Lock Adapter Storypic.twitter.com/xhynwlSIG9
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26/ Always comment your code, kids - ESPECIALLY the ugly hacks.pic.twitter.com/JkLTlqNjeH
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27/ By the way, if you enjoy can-do-attitude and technical hacks, you might enjoy my short science fiction story "Staking a Claim". ~40 pages $2.99 ebook https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B081MW4W4Z … $9.99 (yes, pricey, I know) paperback https://www.amazon.com/Staking-Claim-Aristillus-Travis-Corcoran/dp/1709969407 …pic.twitter.com/dDDv9WYhMd
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28/ This now forms a chapter in my homesteading book https://escapefromthecity.backerkit.com/hosted_preorders …https://twitter.com/MorlockP/status/1336665407080566784 …
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