Saturday, April 1, 2023

Some Like It Hot

I'm not a huge fan of freezing to death, and so I figured it was high time to make sure I could run my furnace during our inconveniently frequent power outages.

Normally, a furnace is hard wired to a circuit by way of a cut-off switch, like this.

Convenient for safely servicing the unit, but not so hot (quite literally) if you want to power it another way. Luckily, there is a solution.

These generator inlet kits are not especially cheap, considering the parts list, but they at least come with fancy looking printing and a nice paint job.

So, the first step of installation is ridding ourselves of that switch and handy-box screwed to the wall.

Oh, ok. Turns out it wasn't a handy-box, but actually a box extension. Interesting. So, slight change in plans: I'll need to modify the new box a little to act as a box extension, which mostly involves measuring and drilling two new holes.

Thankfully, drilling holes is not particularly difficult. It does look a little weird with unjacketed wires coming in through the grommet but oh well, nobody will ever see this once I'm done.

Let's get the MC from the furnace stuck in here.

If you've ever struggled with a conduit locknut before, you really owe it to yourself to get one of these tools. It will save you a lot of frustration.

Speaking of frustration, nothing will ever make packing wires back into an electrical box easy or fun. It's always a struggle, no matter what you do. Thankfully persistence pays off, eventually.

And the all important question: does it work?

Yes, it absolutely does.

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