30 Amp Generator output into a 50 Amp inlet.

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Jman2012a

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I have an existing generator that has a 30 amp outlet, however, my house I recently purchased has a 50 amp power inlet box. The 50 amp circuit breaker in the box has an interlock, so we have protection from that stand point. My question is can I use my generator that feeds 30 amps to the 50 amp power inlet box using an adapter from a legitimate manufacture, such as Westinghouse? The proper generator adapter would be male on the 30 amp side and female on the 50 amp, so it would not be a suicide adapter. It sounds logical to be able to do it safely since the power source (30 amp from generator) is less than the breaker/wiring (50 amp) that it is feeding into. I wanted to try to avoid having it rewired to a 30 amp power inlet. Also, in the future I might buy a different generator that has a 50 amp outlet.
 

wwhitney

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Assuming they are both 120/240 (NEMA 14 or L14) I see no safety issue, just a lower threshold for overloading the generator.

You do need to confirm the generator bonding matches the specifications that should be posted by the inlet. With a breaker interlock, that means that the generator neutral should not be bonded to its ground (frame); whereas on a generator used as a standalone source, its neutral and ground should be bonded. So depending on your generator, it will may be hard to convert it back and forth for the two use cases.

Cheers, Wayne
 
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