Joined
·
217 Posts
I've installed a generator inlet for a newly-acquired generator. I used existing wiring from a hot tub hook-up that was installed by the prior owners, but is no longer used. As I explained in this thread:
http://www.diychatroom.com/f18/use-existing-unused-hot-tub-wiring-generator-hook-up-410282/
the existing wiring included a 50-amp, dual pole breaker in the main breaker box, and then another 50-amp, dual pole, GFI breaker in a separate box in the garage., just below the main breaker box. From there, four wires are ran to the backyard. I'm not sure what gauge it is, but it is THICK... might be 4 gauge wire, or 6 at a minimum.
The wire goes into a fuse box, and then went out of the fuse box to the hot tube. I removed the fuse box and the wire that previosly went from the fuse box to the hot tub. In place of the fuse box, I installed this four-prong generator inlet (nema L14-30P):
I ran the black wire to the x, the red wire to the y, the ground to the ground, and the white to the w.
Unfortunately, I just realized that the generator has a three-prong plug (nema l5-30r). How do I hook up the 3-prong generator to the four-prong inlet? I could get an adaptor, but what happens with the extra wire? Can I just use one hot instead of two? Can I split the one hot from the generator into two?
TL;DR: How do I hook up a generator with a three-prong outlet (nema l5-30r) to an inlet that has four-prongs (nema L14-30P)? What happens with the extra wire going from the inlet to the breaker panel?
http://www.diychatroom.com/f18/use-existing-unused-hot-tub-wiring-generator-hook-up-410282/
the existing wiring included a 50-amp, dual pole breaker in the main breaker box, and then another 50-amp, dual pole, GFI breaker in a separate box in the garage., just below the main breaker box. From there, four wires are ran to the backyard. I'm not sure what gauge it is, but it is THICK... might be 4 gauge wire, or 6 at a minimum.
The wire goes into a fuse box, and then went out of the fuse box to the hot tube. I removed the fuse box and the wire that previosly went from the fuse box to the hot tub. In place of the fuse box, I installed this four-prong generator inlet (nema L14-30P):

I ran the black wire to the x, the red wire to the y, the ground to the ground, and the white to the w.
Unfortunately, I just realized that the generator has a three-prong plug (nema l5-30r). How do I hook up the 3-prong generator to the four-prong inlet? I could get an adaptor, but what happens with the extra wire? Can I just use one hot instead of two? Can I split the one hot from the generator into two?
TL;DR: How do I hook up a generator with a three-prong outlet (nema l5-30r) to an inlet that has four-prongs (nema L14-30P)? What happens with the extra wire going from the inlet to the breaker panel?