>KC> Why not make a permanent point to attach your generator to?  They make
 >KC> switching gear that is designed for this application.  It is simply a
 >KC> three-position break-before-make switch....power company -or- off
 >MR> -or- generator.
 > 
 > I would not use a permanent point, 'cos if the house burned [for 
 > what ever
 > reason] then the Insurance assessor or the Electric Light Co 
 > inspector, might
 > report "unauthorised, non- complying alteration to house wiring".
Alec,
 He recommends using an approved transfer switch. If he uses one like 
Northern sells, he'll switch only the necessary loads, alleviating the 
problem you describe of overloading the generator.
Those switches are only a few hundred bucks, depending on capacity. 
Installation should be done by a qualified electrician, of course. If you 
live in an area that suffers frequent or prolonged outages, the couple of 
thousand bucks for the switch and generator might be money well-spent, 
however.
I probably sound like a broken record, but if you have a standby generator, 
it's imperative that you test it on a regular basis. I'm an ISP (Internet 
Service Provider) and my customers don't understand outages. Especially when 
they're localized and due to no apparent reason like last September. We had a 
5-hour outage due to a broken wire during otherwise beautiful weather (I was 
messing around outside at the time, walked into the shop and found the UPSs 
whining away and the emergency light on). Fired up the generator and the 
customers never realized that I had a problem.
A few weeks ago on a rainy day, I decided that it was time to P.M. the 
generator and found it wouldn't start. New sparkplug wires are sitting next 
to it and will be installed at my earliest opportunity. My practice is to run 
the generator, with a 1500 watt heater plugged in, for an hour or so, once 
per month. It has Sta-Bil in the gas and will have the fuel turned over at 
least once every 6 months.
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