If you have a cabin or an RV that's wired for electricity, but you don't have any power coming in on the mains, or you don't have mains, you can backfeed the system by plugging your generator into one of the outlets.

The proper thing to do is to use a special outlet that's made for a generator, and perhaps an isolator switch as well, but if you don't have those then you might think to yourself, why don't I just make a male to male plug? It definitely works, but it's also dangerous if you or anyone unplugs it while the system is hot.

[–] sonori@beehaw.org 13 points 3 months ago

While true, the this time of the year part of the poster makes me think it’s for people putting up Christmas lights who ran the string backwards and don’t want to switch it around. This is also more dangerous because it ensures that a live male plug is lying around far from the suicide cable itself.

[–] agegamon@beehaw.org 16 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) (2 children)

They want them because they're being lazy/cheap. No, seriously. They're called widowmaker cords for a reason, but inevitably some muppet with two plugs and some wire will come up with the brilliant idea that one of these will work for.

One really sneaky and dangerous place these get made are generator backfeed cheater cables for houses. You see them in RVs, Xmas lights etc too, but generator backfeeds are super dangerous because they're also juggling two potential power sources. A backfeed is where a house/building is disconnected from the grid just by flipping off the main panel breaker, then it's "backfed" by a generator going into another breaker in the panel. Usually, without any type of safety interlock to keep the mains voltage off when the generator is on, or vice versa.

Afaik, this is illegal per housing code almost everywhere that I've seen, but still every now and then some yahoo thinks "wait, if I make a two-ended cable and put a receptacle on the house, I can remove the generator easily without any of the expensive safety crap!" And then grabs a live male plug when they fuck up and didn't shut off the generator or mains voltage...

[–] princessnorah@lemmy.blahaj.zone 4 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) (1 children)

In the US, do you have male sockets at all? We have those on caravans/RVs for shore power in Australia, so you can just plug a regular extension lead in.

[–] glizzyguzzler@lemmy.blahaj.zone 2 points 3 months ago

I’ve seen a pronged socket for sale, but never seen them applied since I’ve never been in an RV.

[–] marcos@lemmy.world 15 points 3 months ago (1 children)

Honestly, I've passed the last 2 or 3 minutes trying to make some use form them up. I've come empty-handed.

[–] communist@lemmy.frozeninferno.xyz 27 points 3 months ago (2 children)

They can technically be used to power your home from a generator... but please don't

[–] marcos@lemmy.world 13 points 3 months ago

Oh fuck. They can.

Will they burn before the wall wiring? Who knows?!?

Will you forget to shut the breaker down before plugging? YES! How is that even a question?

[–] user224@lemmy.sdf.org 6 points 3 months ago

Just don't forget to disconnect the breakers. This is AC, not DC. Additionally to voltage, you'd also need to perfectly match frequency and phase.

[–] chiliedogg@lemmy.world 12 points 3 months ago

I've used them in a pinch to run a circuit on a generator, but it can be really dangerous in several ways.

You flip the breaker off and plug the generator into one of the outlets on the circuit using one of these and it'll power the rest of the circuit.

But pretty often the generator will put out a lot more amps than the wire in the wall is designed for, and you've bypassed the breaker. If you hook up too many devices you can draw too much current for the wires and start a fire.