backup FURNACE PLUG - simple wiring for when the power goes out. *generator plug*

Outlet plug/switch combo: amzn.to/3w12fMf
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Adding a plug to your furnace can be quite easy. I add a plug to my furnace in this video to allow me to run my generator in case of an emergency or if my power goes out. I found adding the plug to my furnace took under 30 minutes.
This is a plug-switch combo outlet which makes it easier to turn off the furnace.
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► I am not a licensed electrician. Working with electricity is dangerous and can lead to injury or death, even when following documentation and instructions. You should consult with a licensed professional whenever possible and follow ALL local regulations! Be safe out there!

[@jolkraeremeark6949]

If you have a new high efficiency furnace, you may run into issues with running off a generator. Floating neutral generators are the main issue I believe.

[@eurowan]

What are the issues you might run into and what is the solution?

[@diySolarPowerFunWithRay]

Very good point! I'm pinning your comment. This was an issue for me. I bonded the neutral and ground on my generator (making it non- floating just for this scenerio) and that fixed the issue for me. My growatt solar generator already had a "bond" but it wasn't great... there was a ton of resistance there, so I made my own bond.

[@diySolarPowerFunWithRay]

@Username see my reply to jolkrae. Good luck!

[@OhmaSimpson]

I have a RUDD High Eff I done this only the fan runs the gas doesn’t ignite. Any info I’m missing. Using a 2500 inverter generator

[@jolkraeremeark6949]

@@OhmaSimpson I believe you may need a grounded neutral.

This is an awesome solution for those that don't have a manual transfer switch

[@LarryDickman1]

Using a high end solar generator power pack have stable pure sine wave AC output voltages. They can be recharged with a regular generator if the sun is not out. Best of both worlds.

[@DeekJohnson]

This is sweet...perfect. Wish I would have seen this before I bought the A/B switch

[@diySolarPowerFunWithRay]

Thanks.

[@paulnavarro9986]

Dude love how you explain everything in detail, very helpful thank you ❤💯👍🏽

[@diySolarPowerFunWithRay]

Thank you

[@marieloveless9279]

Good summary on how to wire a furnace plug..

[@diySolarPowerFunWithRay]

Thanks :)

[@diySolarPowerFunWithRay]

Adding a plug to your furnace can be quite easy. I add a plug to my furnace in this video to allow me to run my generator in case of an emergency or if my power goes out. I found adding the plug to my furnace took under 30 minutes. This is a plug-switch combo outlet which makes it easier to turn off the furnace. ===== Product links(some are affiliate): ======= USED SOLAR PANELS: www.santansolar.com/?ref=DiySolarPowerFun GROWATT ALL-IN-ONE INVERTER: signaturesolar.com/growatt-48v-3kw-150vdc-stackable-off-grid-inverter?ref=DiySolarPowerFun 48 VOLT LiFeP04 BATTERY: signaturesolar.com/eg4-lifepower4-lithium-battery-48v-100ah?ref=DiySolarPowerFun ===== Product Reviews ======== -Growatt all in one inverter review: COMING SOON -EG4-LifePower4 Lithium Battery 48 volt review: kzbin.info/www/bejne/f57Th2ajrZeZms0 -Used Solar Panels review kzbin.info/www/bejne/nKXZfJ6DmM6Vmtk -Some emergency tips - mysillysquirts.com/home-emergency-preparedness-tips/ ----------------------------- Disclaimer I am not a licensed electrician. Working with electricity is dangerous and can lead to injury or death, even when following documentation and instructions. I can not be held liable for such damage or injury. I am not giving or seeking to give advice on how to work with electricity. You should consult with a licensed professional whenever possible and get all work reviewed by an inspector and follow any local regulations in your area. I'm documenting my projects for informational purposes only.

[@boebradley867]

In most cases of you have had a gas furnace you will have heat from your solar BUT NOT AC, you need another switch to hook up your Ac to have AC. While your in the summer months, all this will do is make the fan run, but the AC such as what 99 percent have in a separate panel outside the house. But it would work with heat, if you have a gas unit. It wouldn't run your AC unit and cool your house though. It would if you ran a separate switch to the AC unit from outside so you could run that off your solar a well. Then you will have both heat and cooling if you lose power.

[@ibenglish]

Excellent explanation of how the current flows through that switch

[@diySolarPowerFunWithRay]

Thanks

[@Dex01-Z_WingZero]

Definitely gonna do that with all these useless wind turbines and solar panels being built. Already had a bunch of brown outs this winter 😠

[@avpr1c]

Pretty sweet. I'm surprised this isn't the default config for this type of heat system

[@jivepatrol6833]

That is a great job - thank you!!

[@diySolarPowerFunWithRay]

Thank you.

[@Zbee167]

Good stuff! Thanks for sharing.

[@johnrains3526]

I'm not easily impressed but this blew my mind. Just had the electrician hook mine up and it is amazing. Everybody should do this.

[@RadioRich100]

No they shouldnt, its a jig rig. Do it right.

[@jimmyupson1959]

Make sure you get a high quality inverter if you go this route . I bought a pure sine wave inverter that was rated at 110 V. I cycled the furnace for heat 3 times. It worked fine. The 4th time it wouldn't work. I noticed it was now only putting out 106V. Which means under the load of the furnace, the voltage was even lower. All the newer furnace's have very finicky control boards that want to be satisfied with near perfect sine waves and voltage. The average mechanical generator won't even work. Do your research and tests before you depend on any backup method. I sent the inverter (which was fed by a marine deep cycle battery) back and am going to order a name brand inverter that is rated with a stable pure sine wave and voltage.

[@diySolarPowerFunWithRay]

Funny you mentioned this. When I tried my inverter would work either. It did start it once. I end up getting into work by adding a ground neutral bond. Some of your furnaces require the ground and neutral to be bonded. This bonding happens in the breaker panel on your house but when you're running off a generator sometimes it isn't bonded. Depends on the design of the generator or inverter. It needs to be a good bond without any resistance. I was showing continuity but my resistance and my bond was really high.

[@khiaraslaw]

A good generator is best

[@eurowan]

I just did this very same thing but I chose to eliminate the switch rather than the fuse, as the plug itself can be used as a switch.

[@diySolarPowerFunWithRay]

Nice!

[@jbhobbyist9372]

Consider yourself fortunate. I basically have the same setup but furnace is a Trane and on first stage the blower uses approximate 600 watts. So not going to run for very long on battery backup.

[@Techboilerplate]

Can you please add some product links to all the specific parts you used for this project?

[@DennisWintjes2]

Thanks for sharing. Like 406!

[@2kdhrubo]

Nice video

[@INTERNA9]

WOW!

[@Techboilerplate]

My furnace is on a 30 amp fuse in my breaker box. What size pigtail or wire gauge (AWG) is safe to use in this case when adding this plug to my furnace?

[@diySolarPowerFunWithRay]

I would use the same size wire that is currently being supplied into the furnace

[@SpiraSpiraSpira]

This will PROBABLY be fine, but it doesn’t really meet code. If you were doing it again, I would suggest considering a transfer switch. For a small one for this purpose they’re about $50-100 and would meet code. It’s not a big deal though, and you did everything safely for the most part.

[@eddwinnas]

when its cold out and no power fuck the code lol

[@diySolarPowerFunWithRay]

Thanks, I'm not an electrician, but I like to try to abide by code (most of the time). Please let me know anything specific that I broke.

[@torsoless6147]

I have a feeling the code these electricians are complaining about is that you aren't a licensed electrician

[@zachpearo2802]

Do you know if you can do with with an Oil Boiler? I've only seen this done with a Furnace similar to yours. Thank you.

[@diySolarPowerFunWithRay]

I don't see why not.

[@fishtacoguy]

If you could provide specs on the Growat unit you used in this video, that would be much appreciated. Looking to doing something similar to our furnace (after losing power for 24hrs yesterday!). Thanks!

[@diySolarPowerFunWithRay]

Yup. I'll be doing a video review of that in the next 2 weeks... 👍

[@matthewg7835]

Thanks! Could you make a video explaining how you fixed the issue with the neutral ground bond?

[@diySolarPowerFunWithRay]

Here's a good little video. This little plug is what I needed.kzbin.info/www/bejne/rXi9lnSno9qbl6Msi=g1256it4cutyY4qR

[@temporaryscars]

I got that device but it just trips the GFCI on the outlet on the generator. What am I doing wrong?

[@diySolarPowerFunWithRay]

@temporaryscars you got the ground neutral plug? what generator are you using?

[@temporaryscars]

@@diySolarPowerFunWithRay the harbor freight predator 4375. Decided to give it a go without the plug and it seems to be working without it!

[@RadioRich100]

@@temporaryscars Jig rigging your furnace in the first place.

[@warnerjj]

I did this and my Bluetti eb55 won't work because of no ground but my Ego inverter will run it no problem.

[@diySolarPowerFunWithRay]

Cool. Disgrounding plug Works to fix my grounding issues. kzbin.info/www/bejne/rXi9lnSno9qbl6Msi=hTeafM9ovZ-Jsr8W

[@donhgr]

Bet you have a floating ground on your power station and most likely generator also. That’s a huge problem, all avoided if you connect to the main fuse box the correct way because your ground and neutral are hooked to the same bar there to fix that

[@TheSamuelKitty]

How would you connect the 2 black connectors of there was no connection already there

[@diySolarPowerFunWithRay]

Sorry I'm not sure what part of the video You Are referring to

[@Iceaxehikes]

Circuit breaker protects the wiring. The fuse was protecting the furnace electronics. You should re-think this.

[@diySolarPowerFunWithRay]

Thanks for the feedback. Is that because it will take the breaker too long to trip and the wires will be damaged? My other furnace didn't come with have this fuse.

[@basketcase8540]

I ran my furnace to the switch so the switch will work with either power source.

[@johnkolassa1645]

Two questions: 1. Regarding the ground between the outlet and the metal box, I thought that the outlet ground is connected to the metal mounting frame on the outlet, and the metal mounting frame is already electrically connected to the box through the screws that physically hold the outlet in place. Why do you recommend a second ground connection? 2. There's a brown and what appears to be blue or green wire connected by a wire nut within the box; you don't comment on these. What is going on with these?

[@diySolarPowerFunWithRay]

1) Yeah, It may be overkill to have that extra ground screw connected. IMO, It would be nice to have that if someone happened to unscrewed the outlet from metal box... Maybe I'm being overly safe here by saying I should have done that step? 2), I believe those where green and copper grounding wires.... Grounding the entire furnace back to the grounding to the panel.

[@johnkolassa1645]

@@diySolarPowerFunWithRay Thanks. John

[@LarryPeruski-ft5zb]

When you connect the cord ground to the screw in the box with the outlet ground, doesn’t that connect the generator ground to the house breaker box ground? Is that safe and ok?

[@akbaxb165]

My furnace maintenance on/off switch is already installed and is about 8 ft away. With it I can shut down the furnace for maintenance without having to turn off the breaker for the furnace on the breaker panel. If I were to replace the maintenance switch with a similar to the one one you installed, would I be just able to plug the cord from my generator into it without having to go through what you did to the furnace wiring? Of course, my breaker would be turned off when I plug in the generator cord.

[@diySolarPowerFunWithRay]

Sorry, I don't think I want to give you any direction because I'm not sure I understand your specific situation fully

[@FirstLast-dl7gf]

A bit late but anyway... your configuration is probably wired exactly the same as OP's except your switch is installed farther away from furnace due to newer NEC code (i.e. it has to be located near the entry of the furnace "room" I believe). I am not sure if you realize that you cant just "plug the cord from my generator into it" because the cord from your generator has a female end. You cant plug the female end of a cord into an outlet. Hence why the OP rewire the wire from the furnace to a plug so that he can 1) plug it into the female end of the extension cord 2) more importantly, it disconnects the system from your home wiring so you wont accidently kill the linemen that are working hard to restore electricity to you.

[@akbaxb165]

@@FirstLast-dl7gf This answered my question. Thanks for explaining the logic behind it. Have a great day!

[@verdeanpetersen8350]

How big does your inverter have to be to run the furnaces?

[@diySolarPowerFunWithRay]

Inside your furnace it should say the Max Amps. I believe mine is 9 amps. And that is just the startup amps that's required. When it's running it is a lot less. If you have a typical house furnace you should be fine with a 1200 w standard inverter... imo

[@FirstnameLastName-sx8ls]

What's a bonded and floating neutral?

[@diySolarPowerFunWithRay]

google.gprivate.com/https?m.kzbin.info/www/bejne/o6mUgaWHn56Go9U

[@philipmiller5202]

I noticed when the video started you had a fused switch. You rewired the box and eliminated the FUSE, bad idea. I think that fuse is their to protect the fan motor.

[@diySolarPowerFunWithRay]

I eliminated it because I already have a dedicated 20 amp fuse on my breaker panel

[@jenn2597]

How do you bond the ground and neutral wires?

[@diySolarPowerFunWithRay]

I am going to use a bonding plug that you can just buy on Amazon. I will use the bonding plug on one of the outlets on my solar generator.

[@jakepollard8093]

Power Watchdog Hughes Autoformers Ground Neutral Plug - Basically Bonds whatever is on the same circuit in the generator.

[@percyfaith11]

How do you ensure that your thermostats and dampers are powered using this plug? My thermostats connect through a control panel that is powered by a 24v transformer that steps down 120v house power. I believe that the duct dampers are powered by the same transformer. This is pretty typical of home heating systems.

[@bisurdaddy]

The transformer you are talking about is inside the furnace and powered by the connection that was shown in the video

[@percyfaith11]

@@bisurdaddy Thanks. I have 2 transformers in the system. One is in the furnace. The other is mounted outside the furnace and powered by the circuit that powers the furnace from the electric panel. The external transformer sends 24vac to a control panel that is connected to the 2 zone thermostats and to the 2 electric dampers in the air ducts. That external transformer would be "upstream" from the rewired switch/plug that is shown in the video. I'm not sure that my dampers would work or that the thermostats could call for heat if that external thermostat was not powered.

[@diySolarPowerFunWithRay]

​@Percy Faith yeah. I was just thinking about this. Very good point. You'll definitely want to make sure everything associated with your furnace is powered through your generator plug. I haven't ran into your specific scenario but I will speak to an electrician. Imagine he could power it through the generator plug as well. Just some rewiring would be needed.

[@percyfaith11]

@@diySolarPowerFunWithRay I'll just have to get a generator that will power the furnace through the electrical panel via a gen-tran switch. My old coleman with 15% THD won't cut it anymore with new high efficiency furnaces or fridges with circuit boards.

[@diySolarPowerFunWithRay]

@Percy Faith that would be even better. I totally need to hook up a gen transfer switch for my critical loads. You should consider getting a growwatt all in one solar inverter. They re pretty nice. I like mine so far.

[@jimfields9491]

This is for a gas furnace only. What about an electric furnace?

[@diySolarPowerFunWithRay]

Not sure. I haven't done that test

[@RadioRich100]

Everybody on this channel seems to think this is ok. Its not. Your causing more problems than your solving. Your a bunch of play school electricians. Especially the guy who posted this (who can be held liable for injury or damage) Find out the proper way to do this. Like a transfer switch, proper bonding, proper generator (sine wave output) and not powering your furnace permanently through a cheap Chinese outlet which can arc and cause explosions. Its properly done at the panel using a transfer switch. Not to mention shock hazards, back feeding your panel and cause unreliability to your furnace. You can even smoke your furnaces control board with improper connections, grounding and the wrong kind of backup power. All furnaces are not the same. Get professional help or find out how to do this right.

[@RadioRich100]

Not a good thing to do, pretty sloppy. The right way would have been a small transfer switch and twist lock outlet. Too easy for the furnace running on line power to fail like that. Its to much of a jig rig.

[@frednepa9690]

I am not an electrician, but without isolating the neutral from your main panel you are energizing not only your home with an unbalanced load, but also the grid with your generator.This could possibly electrocute a lineman working outside your home trying to restore power in your area. Hopefully a licensed electrician who sees this could explain better than me. Connecting a generator to a home incorrectly could be costly if not life threatening. I know a person who replaced a TV, microwave, and dishwasher because of an imbalanced load on his circuits. Please at least seek the advice from a professional.

[@diySolarPowerFunWithRay]

Are you saying there shouldn't be a ground neutral bond in your main electrical panel?

[@DRE_43]

Huh? Both the hot and neutral are totally isolated here. That's the whole point of using the "flying plug " connection. Once removed from the outlet it can then be plugged into a generator or power station. You are then powering the furnace with no connection to the panel (neither hot nor neutral). This flying- plug may not be code compliant, but it is completely safe if installed as shown with good electrical workmanship.

[@RadioRich100]

@@diySolarPowerFunWithRay You should have used a transfer switch. Stop playing electrician.

[@darrenmacmullin6169]

One blatant code violation, 20 breaker on 15 amp equipment. I hope your insurance company didn't see you do this. Best of luck with it Take care

[@diySolarPowerFunWithRay]

When the house was built the electrician put that 20 amp fuse in there. But perhaps a 15 amp breaker would be better I need a double check that... some furnaces do require a 20 amp breaker though

[@MorganTheva]

Thanks for this video. It helped me make a mod in my CDN home setup kzbin.info/www/bejne/j6SUmGmte7KVipo Buying a 720Wh power station and getting an electrician to help me out was the best value method for getting aprox 8 hrs of power during an ice storm. You can always buy more LiFePo4 portable power stations later, as prices drop, to get a longer run time by swapping out. 8 hrs is a good nights sleep. Be sure to turn off the power switch for the furnace, on your panel during such an outage, thus avoiding accidently electrocuting yourself when swapping back the power plug. Those prongs on the plug in my video clip are converted to live wires so I have nice red tags explain how to safely use them.

[@diySolarPowerFunWithRay]

Nice set up. Glad it worked for you.

[@diySolarPowerFunWithRay]

Those powerstations are nice

[@stevenk-brooks6852]

Why complicate things? I turned off the power, of course, before starting, then I cut the Romex coming from the breaker; connected the power side to an outlet, which I attached to a beam, and added a heavy-duty plug to the Romex to to furnace. Now I can either plug the furnace into the outlet so that it receives power from the breaker as usual, or I can plug the furace into a heavy-duty extension going to my EcoFlow Delta Pro (or it would work with a generator too). How simple: 3 wires (hot, neutral, ground) properly connected to an outlet, and 3 wires connected to a plug. No need for pigtails, no need for a seven and a half minute video with an unnecessary detail, just a straightforward, sound and simple solution.

[@vinceb4105]

His explanation was very straightforward and simple.... Your solution, on the other hand, is actually more involved, slightly more prone to failure, and potentially dangerous. With your solution you still have to mount a 1-gang box and then you're going to put a plug on Romex?? Really?? Romex is solid conductor and is not meant to be utilized as a cord for multiple reasons. Cord is stranded and is designed to be moved / manipulated, etc. and was the proper choice in this video. "No need for pigtails" you claim....and yet that's exactly what you created with your Romex, albeit a more dangerous and half-assed version. Since you're averse to unnecessary detail, the information in your reply really could have been summarized into "After turning off the power I installed a plug and receptacle to the Romex feeding the furnace." Everything else you sent along was "unnecessary detail" right? We could also add that it was condescending, self-aggrandizing, and a bit rude, but "Why complicate things?" Your "straightforward, sound and simple" reply is more like trolling, with bad information to boot.

[@mm345-0]

Hey Steven, why irritate everyone? By my reckoning; perhaps you should, with all your amazing wisdom, stick to your 8 subs and leave the sound and simple solutions to normal folks.

[@diySolarPowerFunWithRay]

I like this set up but I might try different one in the future

[@deanmiles3505]

For an emergency maybe but you violate multiple codes.

[@diySolarPowerFunWithRay]

Do you know what codes? I'm not an electrician but I'd love any feedback to help out.

[@retroelectro1190]

Nobody gives a s***

[@minutemanmac]

No one gives a shit

[@user-ur7qh2mu3k]

Source?

[@stevemartin3601]

You need to explain that the "thing" called a strain relief is REQUIRED by code.

[@diySolarPowerFunWithRay]

Thanks, I'm not an electrician so I really like it when you guys chime. Someone also mentioned I need a double pull double through switch for this but that was a bit over my head.