I want to hard wire a generator into a breaker box for a house. The generator will be the only source of power for the house. There is no danger of the current going back out into the powerlines because the house is off the grid and there are not power lines available. The generator will be located in a generator house about 50' feet away. I'm not sure how to hardwire into the generator or how to wire into the breaker box and my electrical knowledge is limited except for a how-to book that I bought. The book doesn't explain this though. I really don't want to hire an electrician because the house is on an island and only accessible by boat so hiring someone is really not what I want to do...plus I am a huge do it yourselfer. Thanks for any input.

How many amps will that generator put out? 50 feet of 6 guage wire can get expensive.

Open your main breaker box and look where the main fuse is located (usually at the top). That is where the hot lead from the generator will connect to. I'm not sure if you have to run a ground wire back to the generator to complete the connection.

Its a 3250 watt generator and I guess we are talking about 120 volts so I guess we are talking about 27 amps if I figured it correctly.

3250 is a small generator. How big is the house? Are you running an AC or is it just for lights? Anything in the house run on 220v? Are you wanting a permanet hookup or a cord you can plug into the generator? or plug into the house and the generator?

Permanent hook up. House is all 120, no 220. Its a small house, only about 700 square feet. One 1000 watt ac window unit is used, small 21 inch tv, vcr, and a few flourescent lights so the 3250 watt generator does the job. I use a microwave too but only after the ac has kicked on and used its surge watts.

That makes it a little easier. All breaker boxes are set up for 220 volts. (If I tell you something you know, I am not meaning to insult you). You typically have 2 hot 110V wires (Black), 1 ground (bare), 1 neutral (white). The two hot wires are in opposite phase to each other. In your breaker box, every other breaker (going down) is on a different hot wire. So when you put a 220 breaker in it is connected to the two different hot wires and on opposite phases. This is important later. If you are installing a 110V generator, the one 110V wire must power both leads in the breaker box. So here is what you do. I would use at least 8 ga wire and I would probably go with 6 ga. I know you are hooking up 110v which requires 3 wires(hot, neutral, ground) but you might want to go ahead and run 4 wires (2 hot, neutral, ground) in case you want to install a bigger generator in the future. Anyway, for the 110V generator. Connect the hot (black) wire from the generator to one of the main hot leads in the breaker box. You will know this lead because it is the one connect to the brass metal base that all the breakers clip too. There will be two of these leads. Put a jumper wire between the leads so both are getting power. Put the ground wire (bare) on the bare bus and the neutral wire on the neutral bus. These are often connected inside the breaker box as well. You must have a ground rod installed for safety. This is a 6 to 8 foot metal rod driven into the ground just outside the house. You should run a ground (bare) wire from the ground bus to the ground rod. Most generators of this size have a plug receptacle. You could put a plug on the end of the wire and just plug into the generator. Might be difficult with this size wire. At the generator, look at the wiring schematic and connect the wires appropriately (Hot, ground, neutral). DO NOT under any condition put a 220 breaker in this setup. You have to have two phases to run 220 and you don�t have it. If you ran the wire for a future 220, the second hot wire will not be used for now. Hope this helps.

Thanks TBS. Don't worry, you can't insult me as I know very little. For instance, I really have no idea what you mean when you say the hot wires are in opposite phases (any electrician reading this has probably got his palm on his forehead right now and shaking his head). I'll keep educating myself. I do have to install the ground rod but that is simple enough. As far as I know the house is not grounded. I really have no intentions on ever installing a 220 breaker. This will help me out alot more when I am at the house and can look at the breaker box and see things. I'm gonna print this out and use it for reference. Thanks!

There are other ways to do this, but this is probably the simplest.
A picture is worth a thousand words.

Very cool. Thanks for your time putting that together. Pictures are how I learn the best. I think I should be able to muddle through it now. One more question. I am using a new breaker box. The house is all 14 gauge wire and 15 amp receptacles. So would I buy the 15 amp breakers or the 20? Or are is it not even related, but I am thinking it is. I am assuming I would want a 20 amp breaker for the kitchen circuit if I was wired with 12 gauge wire and 20 amp receptacles.