Discrete device generator lockout/disconnect.

[Firebrick43]

Does anyone make a discrete generator lockout/disconnect box?

If you loose power you can plug a portable generator into the box or next to the AC disconnect box and run a mini split and the switched disconnect will only accept power from the generator if its disconnected from the mains breaker panel feed?

20 amp works but I assume like most AC disconnects that 60 amp would be standard.

 

[mm08822]

This could serve as the disconnect, too. I don't find a HP rating on it however.

 

[loganb]

The way I've generally seen these is you put the interlocker in the main panel with a lockout specific to the panel so that the breaker being fed by the generator can't be switched on if the main breaker is powered on. Something like this



From there, you feed that generator breaker however you need. Exterior mounted round plug in a weather rated box is pretty common:



Size the cordset and the plug based on what your generator is rated to handle. You can remote mount that generator plug as necessary, just have to run the conduit around assuming it's been run on the exterior of the house

 

[Firebrick43]

This could serve as the disconnect, too. I don't find a HP rating on it however.

Damn, I was searching with the wrong terms. That is what I was looking for and even handles the plug in a way that is better than I envisioned.

Thank you

The way I've generally seen these is you put the interlocker in the main panel with a lockout specific to the panel so that the breaker being fed by the generator can't be switched on if the main breaker is powered on. Something like this



From there, you feed that generator breaker however you need. Exterior mounted round plug in a weather rated box is pretty common:



Size the cordset and the plug based on what your generator is rated to handle. You can remote mount that generator plug as necessary, just have to run the conduit around assuming it's been run on the exterior of the house

I am very familiar with interlocks, they still require significant time and at least some intelligence of home electricity to shed the unnecessary circuits to not overload the portable generator.

I am looking for a solution, and MM0882 found it, that requires almost no thought to hook up and run the one thing they find important in a long power outage in the summer.

They currently just hook up extension cords to their freezer and fridge as needed for several hours as needed and have a wood stove in the winter. However their mini split and its disconnect would be a challange, at least to do it in a way that wasn't jurry rigged and dangerous without a single circuit transfer switch.

The husband is an OTR trucker and gone for a week and his wife is tough as nails. She runs the farm, bales the hay, feeds god knows how many cows, even splits the firewood but knowledge of electricity is limited. Their son is autistic and I guess doesn't do well sleeping without AC and becomes a handful if he doesn't get enough sleep.

We recently had a lot of damage just north of here and they didn't have power for 4 days and she was asking me about whole house generators. But when I told her about them costing around 15k she winced and said that wasn't in the cards.

 

[mm08822]

With all of that info, I suggest a PIB with interlock as loganb mentioned.

Just color code critcal cbs that you keep on, others kept off, and some get used intermittently. (3 colors).
You figure this priority out ahead of time when the weather is good, not in the time of need.

 

[Firebrick43]

With all of that info, I suggest a PIB with interlock as loganb mentioned.

Just color code critcal cbs that you keep on, others kept off, and some get used intermittently. (3 colors).
You figure this priority out ahead of time when the weather is good, not in the time of need.

I guess color coding would be fine as well. I didn't look at the old farm houses panel if an interlock was even possible. I sort of described how it worked and you could tell she didn't understand.

I was more just trying to find her less expensive options to talk to an electrician. Options that were still safe for the linemen.

 

[mm08822]

A PIB and interlock is about as cheap as it gets.

 

[loganb]

The challenge with a single circuit interlock/transfer switch is they need more than a single circuit live in a long outage.

One for a mini split, one for fridge or freezer, one for lights and one for some wall outlets for lamps, phone, microwave or hotplate etc. yes, doing a whole panel interlock might make more work at the time of the outage, but regardless the generator needs pulled out and hooked up then started so using the as mentioned color coded dots so they know which breakers to flip on and which to flip off would make it fast to flip the necessary breakers.

The easy peasy automatic, no work solution is a generator with auto start, but as they don't want the $10k plus bill(and don't blame them) some trade offs are required

 

[Firebrick43]

The challenge with a single circuit interlock/transfer switch is they need more than a single circuit live in a long outage.

One for a mini split, one for fridge or freezer, one for lights and one for some wall outlets for lamps, phone, microwave or hotplate etc. yes, doing a whole panel interlock might make more work at the time of the outage, but regardless the generator needs pulled out and hooked up then started so using the as mentioned color coded dots so they know which breakers to flip on and which to flip off would make it fast to flip the necessary breakers.

The easy peasy automatic, no work solution is a generator with auto start, but as they don't want the $10k plus bill(and don't blame them) some trade offs are required

Right now they just use an extension cord and unplug/plug in what they need at that moment so it wouldn't be much different? I doubt that their portable generator would run multiple things as once anywho.

Its an old farm house, for all I know its a fuse panel still? She called me as someone she has a neighbor that has a propane generator and she was inquiring who to call, cost, ect.

 

[larry4406]

Maybe a small reliance generator panel with just 5-10 circuits then?

 

[Junkman]

In our new home that I am working on at present, the only big draw items are the electric oven, microwave, refrigerator, and the mini split. All the lighting is LED and they draw next to nothing. Our present home has a 18 KW diesel generator with an automatic transfer switch and it will automatically start and stop the generator when the power goes out and comes back on line. In the summer, that can be as much as 3 or 4 times a week, and the outages usually last 4 or 5 hours. In the winter, the outages can last up to 2 weeks depending on how bad the snowstorm is and how many homes are effected. The power company get the larger cities and towns fixed first, and we are at the bottom of the list, since we are so rural, with lots of poles between service drops. After 2 back to back power outages lasting 10 days each, I bought a generator. The generator uses about 3-4 gallons of diesel per 24 hours. My storage tank holds 165 gallons of fuel, so I can go a very long time.

 

[PCustoms]

Maybe a small reliance generator panel with just 5-10 circuits then?

This is exactly how I would set it up.

Or get a small "main" panel configured as a sub, with a small standard interconnect/inlet. Throw the interconnect to isolate the panel and fire up the generator