electricians?

[brehuh]

I have a question for the more voltage savvy members. At my parent's house in upstate NY we lose power a lot. My parent's bought a generator at a military auction and got a 60,000 kilawatt generator and built an incloser for it. There is no automatic turn on for it so we turn it on when we lose power. But the problem is that we do not know when the power From national grid turns back on. Is there any way to have a light or something to notify us when the power is back on and we turn off the generator? My dad tells me there is no way, he is a great surgeon but I am not sure of his electrical skills. So some insight?

 

[gypsyhead]

Sounds like you just need some sort of isolated circuit, wherever that may tie in

 

[brehuh]

That's what I was thinking have a light that does not connect to the generator and only connects to national grid. So to come on when the power comes back to the area

 

[Joker]

I agree either bell or light only connected to the power company. However, that could be a bit tricky to accomplish since I assume they plan on connecting the generator to the house panel.

 

[Brek81]

do they have a transfer switch installed?

 

[kh54s10]

I would have a licensed electrician wire in the generator or come to check what has already been done. I am sure a circuit could be isolated from the generator that could be used to notify you when the grid comes back on. Auto start generators come in different sizes so you can wire in only essentials like heat and refrigeration, or certain rooms, or the entire house.

 

[sapperxl]

You could put a transformer before the transfer switch that lit a small bulb I suppose, probably not code though. I'm an industrial electrician so not really sure.