Q. The storm over the Labor Day weekend caused us to loose power for twenty-two hours. I brought out my generator that I had never used and proceed to connect several refrigerators and a light located in two separate areas using heavy duty extension cor ds.

After the experience I was talking with a man who hooks his generator up to an outlet in the room that he wants to provide power to using a male ended plug installed on each end of a heavy duty extension cord. If separate areas need to be powered, multi ple extension cords would be used. The main circuit breaker would need to be shut off at the box so not to blow everything when the power comes back on. Only those items in each room that are desired to be turned on would be used. The total wattage wou ld not exceed the wattage of the generator capacity. When power is restored by the power company the generator would be disconnected and the main circuit breaker would be flipped back on.

I would appreciate your view on this capability and refine the outline provided in that I would like to try this if and when the time comes. I realize that extreme caution is always required anytime electricity is involved. Also, is a there a general l isting of the power output for general home appliances that could be used to determine which items could be plugged into the generator?

A. Some areas seem to lose power more than others and it’s not just storms with names that create the problem but it can be a nasty thunderstorm or even a heavy snowstorm that will put out the lights for an undetermined duration. Generators, known as a stand-by power source, can be a godsend during times like these.

Construction contractors who have to rely upon portable generators to power tools on remote and unpowered jobsites look so well prepared when the lights go out. Their generators are sitting on the backs of their trucks and since they are regularly used, start right up and run nicely. Local hardware and home centers sell out of those generators within hours of the onset of a nasty storm and I know of some who had to drive out of state to buy a generator years back after T.S. Isabel.

However, I have to take great exception to the method of connecting the generator to the house wiring outlined in your letter. Your comment about being careful around electricity aside, connecting a generator to house wiring by plugging the generator dir ectly into a wall outlet is a recipe for disaster. The fellow who told you about this method is a classic case of a little knowledge being dangerous.

Just for a minute consider what doing that would do even in the best of circumstances. Let’s say that even with the lights off and you struggling to get the generator running and hooked up that you actually remember to throw the main breaker off, isolati ng the box from the main power line. As soon as you stick the generator cord into the wall outlet you will have powered the entire panel box with 120 volts through the 15 or 20 amp breaker that serves the circuit to which the outlet is wired. Everythin g in the house that was on when the lights went off will now try to pull power from the generator through that cord and outlet, through the breaker and distributed throughout the panel. It’s likely the breaker on the generator will keep tripping until y ou’ve trimmed the load down considerably. Anything 220 volts wont work.

But what’s even worse just think for a minute what could happen if, with the power out and the room dark, that you have a small lapse of attention and leave the main breaker in the on position while you power the house this way. The power from the gener ator will travel out the main power line and should a worker for the power company be working on that line somewhere in the neighborhood you can electrocute him. His world will be over and yours will collapse. It just plain isn’t worth the risk. Special switching gear, called a transfer switch, must be used from generator to house and must be installed by a licensed electrician. Please do that so not only you but others will be safe. The electrical codes were developed the hard way. Following them is a minimum standard. Don’t get caught on the wrong side. Electricity can turn on you at the speed of light.

Determing the amount of power from a generator that you will want is fairly simple. First, determine what you want to power when the lights go out. Refrigerators, sump pumps and well pumps would be first on my list. Add up the wattage for all those thin gs you want to run by generator. Wattage is volts times amps. Sump pumps pull about 1500 watts, refrigerators 600 to 800 watts and well pumps over 1000. Remember that some household equipment runs on 220 volts, such as a well pump, while lights, sumps and refrigerators are 110 volts and your generator has to be able to supply both. Then, after you've added up the wattages look to the generator you have and see what you can power and what may have to wait.

Refrigerators, sump pumps and lights can be run directly by extension cords to your generator that you will put outside to run because gasoline generators produce lethal carbon-monoxide gas. Generators of the size you have are called portable but are so only if you are young and strong as an ox.

Campers and outdoors enthusiasts tend to buy lightweight generators that can run a few lights or a TV set and that's about it. Such a small generator will help but in the long run won't do much real good.

Storing a gas generator is like storing any gasoline power tool such as a lawn mower. I prefer them in sheds away from the house but I know they get stored in garages. They have to be started and run periodically and oil changed at least once a year or after so many hours use and fresh gas kept on hand.

If you feel you can graduate up to a natural gas or propane powered generator you're getting into the big leagues both in power available and cost of system. Many vendors of these bigger generators sell installation and wiring as part of the deal and tha t's a good thing. The cost of this top of the line standby power system can rival that of a good fishing boat, so think carefully.

I hope we don't see the likes of Isabel again but I know it's only a matter of time.