My home power backup without Powershare solution/ neutral-ground bonding/ transfer switch options/cold temps

[CyberTrk]

Well...if you already have a NEMA 50AMP charger outlet in your house and get into a jam, the absolute cheapest way (provided you fully understand all principles of electricity and safety) to power your house is this...and with adapters you can power up anyone's house with a 220V appliances plug

Has come in handy a few times, just sayin'

Please don't promote this deadly cord:

There are plenty of kits available, and very affordable, see for example:

Seeutek - Generator Interlock Extension Kit​

50 Amp Generator Cord,​

NEMA 14-50P/SS2-50P Functional Cable,​

Power Inlet Box​

Interlock Kit​

ETL Listed​

$ 90 - 15 FT 50A Extension Cord​

$106 - 20 FT 50A Extension Cord​

$130 - 25 FT 50A Extension Cord​

$160 - 30 FT 50A Extension Cord​

$220 - 50 FT 50A Extension Cord​

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[CyberTrk]

Be careful, had a Generac installed a year ago, $65-$80 and hour for work. NOTE: they came back to do annual maintenance and was checking my electrical panel and outside city box and said, “who wired your panel, it’s all backwards and unsafe?!” I was like HUH? You did!! They fixed it!

Be careful out there!!

Can you provide a little bit of information?

Was the Interlock not providing the expected isolation from the Grid?

 

[CybertruckPilot]

Manual transfer switch pros:

1. Does not require any space in the main panel
2. No need to throw the main, or any breakers, ever
3. Circuits powered by generator can be run at the same time as circuits powered by line
4. Switching from generator back to line is seamless, devices stay on

I have the exact same transfer switch installed. Plug in from outside. I leave the tailgate up and run the cord over it with tonneau cracked a bit. With the 10 circuits, similar choices like well pump, plus grinder, and we have oil heat. Most of home is backed up. Didn't power the washer, dryer or the kitchen, except refrigerator (can cook on grill, or run extension to microwave). When the kitchen light comes back on, grid restored! Works great.

 

[mongo]

Good looking out, thanks!

You can't use the outlets and AC charge at the same time with cybertruck. I wonder if this is why!

The problem is the charge connector doesn't have a neutral line. So for 120V, the PCS needs to be outputting power.

However, Tesla could allow the outlets to work when plugged in, but not actively charging.

 

[Sposborn]

I bought a powershare box off eBay for 800 bucks and self installed and commisioned. I even had Tesla support help me figure out a problem over chat and they remoted in. It’s a easy wiring job, I would go this roite again if I had to.

 

[no%X#XMVk65v#cq]

I bought a powershare box off eBay for 800 bucks and self installed and commisioned. I even had Tesla support help me figure out a problem over chat and they remoted in. It’s a easy wiring job, I would go this roite again if I had to.

Interesting! I wonder how many powershare bundles from foundation series are still sitting in a box uninstalled.

 

[Protondecay123]

I bought a powershare box off eBay for 800 bucks and self installed and commisioned. I even had Tesla support help me figure out a problem over chat and they remoted in. It’s a easy wiring job, I would go this roite again if I had to.

Awesome!

 

[Protondecay123]

Interesting! I wonder how many powershare bundles from foundation series are still sitting in a box uninstalled.

If they are it’s a shame. The install was a few hundred bucks more than the universal wall charger itself for me. The electrician was not familiar with the Tesla One app or commissioning process, so that was up to me. That was literally a dozen or so photos during the install and button clicks. Go price 123 kWh of batteries for a home back up. Literally the CT is cheaper.

 

[Sposborn]

Interesting! I wonder how many powershare bundles from foundation series are still sitting in a box uninstalled.

Sadly probably quite a few, I remember seeing old posts and seeing quotes anywhere from 3000-8000 bucks….

 

[Protondecay123]

Yeah, the “ Tesla certified” people quoted me something like 10-12k . It did have a bit of a cable run to the box ( 25 ft or so) . I got it done for less than a fifth of that by a licensed and bonded ( over 1 mil) local electrician.

 

[Sposborn]

Yeah, the “ Tesla certified” people quoted me something like 10-12k . It did have a bit of a cable run to the box ( 25 ft or so) . I got it done for less than a fifth of that by a licensed and bonded ( over 1 mil) local electrician.

Holy shit… I mean I can’t be some debbie downer stuff about people making money…. But that’s highway robbery…. I think that it was $200 worth of cable.

 

[Protondecay123]

Yeah me either, but the cable runs and everything took him, a journey man and a laborer all day. I had to upgrade my ground and something else with my box. My house was built in 1953. Since I had the parts it was almost all labor.

 

[rjmcinnis]

Do you have your universal charger listed on your Tesla app under your products? You should have used Tesla One for that.
The “ acceptance “ by Tesla is following the prompts on Tesla One. It’s literally a dozen or so photos and button clicks.

For the chargers, I didn't even have to take pics. Just completed the steps and closed out the "job".

 

[rjmcinnis]

Well...if you already have a NEMA 50AMP charger outlet in your house and get into a jam, the absolute cheapest way (provided you fully understand all principles of electricity and safety) to power your house is this...and with adapters you can power up anyone's house with a 220V appliances plug

Has come in handy a few times, just sayin'

Ah, yes, a "Suicide Cable", super handy lol.

 

[JerseyMike]

What we do know from other forum members who have already tried this by back-feeding with an interlock is, neutral-bonded or not, it works. This is not the case with the F150 Lightning onboard plugs. To get those to work, you must cheat by leaving a ground off or the truck trips. Cybertruck does not. Why is this? Who knows. Is the Cybertruck plug not GFCI protected? Doubt it. Is it neutral-floating? Doubt that too as it's far more dangerous to run power tools or whatever from a neutral-floating generator than to power a house from a neutral-bonded one. Does Cybertruck have some logic that switches back and forth as needed? Not likely, since they sell the entire Powershare Gateway system for this exact purpose. Is there something special about the grounding of the vehicle or inverter architecture that makes this a non-issue? Perhaps the stainless steel construction makes the flux dispersal... Anyway, I jacked into the house and I have no voltage on ground in branch circuits.

Having owned both a lightning (with 7.2kw plug) and now CT with the 11kw bed plug and having an interlock and old gas generator I have the experience you talk about above (lightning would trip unless I removed the ground connection…which is likely not to code…..CT works great plug and play like my floating neutral generator)

I believe that CT doesn’t have GFCI and instead has a floating ground which is why it has a vault on all editions that have the bed plug as opposed to the lightning…..it is likely a floating neutral and not as safe as the lightning when running power tools in wet environments but also much easier to connect to the house for backup power. That may be part of the reason why it is not on the long range version (could also be cost) because it doesn’t have a covered bed

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