Comcast XFINITY → Re: [OUTAGE] Re: General power outage. have UPS backup but lost internet ?

L5-30R is a 120v 30a outlet (L5-30P is the plug for the outlet) (R is for receptacle and P for Plug, guess O for outlet might have looked like an 0)

L6-30 (R and P again) is 240v 30a.

both of those are 3 wire (Hot+hot+ground for the L6) and (Hot+Neutral+Ground for the L5)

IIRC the L14-20 is 240v 20a 4 wire plug (Hot+Hot+Neutral+Ground) often used for generators, an L14-30 for even bigger.

But I figured at minimum a generator should have a 240v not a 120v unless it has 2 of them, one for 0 degrees and one for -180 degrees parts of split phase (the sparkies don't like it when you call them different phases even though they are 180 degrees out of phase.)

 
It's 120v only. The higher capacity models are also 240v.

Guess I might be off about the L14, I don't mess with L14's much, most of our UPS are L6's my home big ones are L5's and our really big UPS's at work are plugless hardwire.

 
The L14-20 was in the "generator power tap" box that I bought.

The 20 amps were more than enough for my needs. I wired it with 10-3 wire to the transfer switch, so there is some room to spare there.

Yeah, I think you're in a different league than I with regard to generators and such.

 
btw, just to be clear, the sockets on the generator are 5-20 sockets. The L14-20 is the socket in the box on the wall that I plug the generator into.

I tend to not touch generators, just tell maint to go fix it, and most UPS's and PDU are mostly set and forget.

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Ok just looked it up, ya the L14 is meant for 4 wire use.
Guess you have one wire not connected, though that means all of the stuff you're powering with it are on the same leg, which isn't ideal, but at least you don't have to worry about balancing the legs when on the gen.

 
"all the stuff" is whatever is plugged into the "generator" outlet in the basement.

This isn't connected to a real transfer switch at the main panel. It basically just connects a portable generator (running outside the house in front of the garage) to an outlet box in the basement. Then whatever I want to run during an outage, I unplug from its regular wall outlet and plug it into that outlet box.

Completely manual, but it does accomplish two main things:

1) at no time does the generator power get anywhere near the power feed into the house. This, for me, is an important safety issue for the kind folk working on the power lines to bring the power back.

2) it's safe, simple and it works.

They want to be sure that everyone treats ground and neutral as separate legs even if they are bonded at your home meter they are different and any confusion could be deadly
a transfer switch (correctly wired) is needed to power a home from a generator or using a separated passthru system like Camper mentions below while not code even if grounded, is safer than running the generator in a garage (all to common, deadly even with the door open, or a cord with plugs on both ends as SOME PEOPLE do to power a home from a motor home w/ gen. or vis versa.

True, though why not just force a 5 pin plug instead? You know good ol 3-phase plus G/N.

This or a variant allows 2 small inverter gensets to work as one, and share a higher watt load. so far everyone wants you to buy there system with thieir custom cables.
electrical engineering has long consider the standards and considered all kinds of plugs and sockets=over the long term the best practical ideas survive that SAFELY do the job.