J Custom Supply

With the busy part of Hurricane Season coming on, it is time to repost this about Snake Bite Cables:


There is a reason we call them “Snake-bite” cables!!
Here in the Southeast, along with plenty of sunshine and high temperatures, we also get to enjoy Hurricane Season. There are many things that you need to do if a hurricane warning is issued and most of these things will be covered by your local, state, or federal Emergency Management agencies. However, there is one item that you may want that everyone (including me) is reluctant to even mention. A lot of people assemble a cable with male plugs on each end to be able to hook a portable generator into their home’s electrical system without a proper transfer switch. Understand that we DO NOT SELL THESE CABLES AND WE DO NOT CONDONE THEIR USE. We call them “snake-bite” cables because they can cause tremendous damage and even kill. If you want to be able to run your entire house on backup power, please have a proper transfer switch installed by a licensed electrician BEFORE the hurricane puts you in the dark. If you are in an emergency, where you need to run lights, fans, and your refrigerator on a portable generator, please use proper-sized extension cords and do not connect to your home’s electrical system.
Having said this, I know that many people will not heed this advice and either have, or will soon assemble, a snake-bite cord. So we hope to help you at least try not to kill anyone or burn your house down. A snake-bite cord is an electrical cable with male plugs on both ends. It can be plugged into the generator and also into an outlet in the house so that the generator is connected to the house electrical system. Usually the house plug is a larger 240 volt unit and plugged into a dryer outlet, thus providing power to all of the electrical systems in the house. If you do not know how to wire up this type of cable, please don’t call us – we won’t help you!
Assuming that you have obtained a snake-bite cable, and plan to use it, again against our advice, at least follow these instructions to try and keep from killing someone:

1. DO NOT START THE GENERATOR UNTIL STEP NUMBER SIX (6). If that snake-bite cable is powered up by the utility company or your generator, before you connect both ends, the male pins that are exposed are hot and they will kill you if you touch them. (Starting to see why this is NOT something we recommend?)
2. Turn off the main breaker to disconnect the house wiring from the utility line. This is MANDATORY, otherwise, when you start the generator you will feed electricity back into the grid and possibly injure or kill anyone working on the grid. You will be responsible for this injury or death and will suffer serious legal consequences.
3. Turn all of the breakers in your electrical box off. Yes, EVERY SINGLE ONE.
4. Plug the snake-bite cable into the house outlet you are going to use.
5. Plug the snake-bite cable into the generator.
6. Following the instructions that came with the unit, start the generator and power up the snake-bite cable.
7. Turn on the individual breakers for the circuits you are going to use. Remember that both the power available from the generator, and the available gasoline supply during a storm, will both be very limited. Choose wisely – central air conditioners, electric clothes dryers, and high-wattage hair dryers are not items you want to run off of even a larger portable generator.
8. If you stop the generator for any reason (refuel, check oil, etc) turn off all individual breakers before restarting, then add the load back slowly. Do not restart the generator under a full load.
Once the Storm has passed and utility power has been restored:
1. Stop the generator.
2. Check the Main breaker to ensure it is still OFF – remember, if that snake-bite cable is powered up by the utility company or your generator when you disconnect it, the male pins are exposed and will kill you if you touch them. (We told you this was a bad idea!)
3. Disconnect the snake-bite cable at both ends.
4. Turn all the individual breakers off.
5. Turn the Main breaker back on.
6. Slowly turn the individual breakers back on.
7. Properly stow the generator. We covered this in an earlier newsletter.
8. Offer a prayer of thanks for surviving both the storm and your use of a snake-bite cable!
Wait – how did I know the utility power was back on?
Good question, since you CANNOT be connected to the utility line while running your generator. So check your neighbors who don’t have a generator, look at any local street lights or call the utility company – just don’t tell them you were using a snake-bite!

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