Shop Products
Houzz Logo Print
fa_f3_20

Pigtailing a water heater

fa_f3_20
12 years ago

During the four-day power outage we had in North Alabama a few weeks ago, I found myself wishing I had a way to power the electric water heater from my (6 kW) generator. The WH is a typical dual-element electric unit, 50 gal. I recall that when I lived in south Florida back in the '80s, the water heater in my apartment was wired with a pigtail that plugged into an outlet.

It occurs to me that if I had a pigtail for my water heater, I could plug it into an outlet that I install for normal usage. Then, if I need to run it off of the generator, I can unplug that and plug it into an adaptor cord that I'll make. Well, I went down to the big box stores, and I was not able to find a pre-made pigtail of the proper configuration (needs to have a NEMA 6-30 plug). So it looks like I'll have to make my own. Question: what kind of cord or cable do you use for a 230V, two wire with ground, 30A pigtail, and where do you get it? And, are there any code implications (besides the obvious) to connecting a water heater this way, vs. the usual direct wiring?

(The generator is not connected to the house wiring, and I don't want to do that right now.)

Comments (6)