Generator transfer switch question

[czgunner]

I just picked up this generator. I plan to have a transfer switch installed so we can run our water resevoir pump (well pump if the tank runs out), modem, laptop, 1 fridge, 1 freezer and a few lights during a power outage. Maybe the hot water heater if we are dark for a few days. I am converting all of our lights to LED.
I was planning on running the generator under the car port that houses our water resevoir shed and running a cable to my house.

Can I use this transfer cable? The rating is slightly lower than my generator output, but we will be using propane 99% of the time so the output will be a bit less.

Also, could you good folk recommend a transfer switch?
This is my panel in the house


And this is the panel for my well pump and reservoir pump. It is located 35 feet away from my house.

 

[Pwrgeek]

The easiest way to accomplish what you want is to add a generator interlock kit to your existing panel. You would take the two top right circuits and move them to the open spots on bottom left. Then add a 30A 2 pole breaker in those slots and one of these.

http://m.homedepot.com/p/Square-D-Homeline-Outdoor-Generator-Inter-Lock-Kit-HOMRBGK2C/203030954

Then you wire that 30A circuit to a generator inlet like one of these.

http://m.homedepot.com/p/Reliance-Controls-30-Amp-Power-Inlet-Box-PB30/202213702


And the cord you indicated can run from there.

If you truly want a whole home manual transfer switch that's going to get spendy but this is what you need.

http://m.lowes.com/pd/Eaton-200-Amp-Non-Fusible-Metallic-Safety-Switch/3012381

And if you want automatic it goes up from there.



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[czgunner]

Pwrgeek,
Thanks for the quick reply.
I don't need or want to power the entire house, I just don't have any water when we lose power, so I need to run my resevoir pump for sure.

 

[wyliesdiesels]

U asked if the generator cord u linked to will work even though its rated for less than your generator's rating but u didnt say what generator u have....

Interlock will be cheaper as a manual transfer switch may need to go between service entrance and main service panel...

 

[czgunner]

Wyliesdiesels, I have a link to the generator in my original post.

 

[Pwrgeek]

Pwrgeek,
Thanks for the quick reply.
I don't need or want to power the entire house, I just don't have any water when we lose power, so I need to run my resevoir pump for sure.

In that case an interlock kit plus an inlet box and a weekend's worth of work will get you taken care of. Good luck and feel free to ask any questions you run into. This is one of those "it has to be perfect" wiring situations. If you get it wrong the best case is you destroy your generator the worst is you kill a lineman.

 

[LS6 Tommy]

If you truly want a whole home manual transfer switch that's going to get spendy but this is what you need.

http://m.lowes.com/pd/Eaton-200-Amp-Non-Fusible-Metallic-Safety-Switch/3012381

And if you want automatic it goes up from there.



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

That manual transfer switch is WAAAAAAAAAAY overkill. He has a 7k Watt (30A) genny....


Tommy

 

[checkthisout]

I second the interlock kit. That's much easier and cheaper to install than a full on transfer switch and will let you power any circuit in the house rather than having to choose which ones right now.

 

[rockwithjason]

That manual transfer switch is WAAAAAAAAAAY overkill. He has a 7k Watt (30A) genny....


Tommy

if he wanted the ability to run any circuit in his home then that is the switch he would need. he would also need a bigger generator.

 

[czgunner]

if he wanted the ability to run any circuit in his home then that is the switch he would need. he would also need a bigger generator.

Just to ask because I don't know, if I'm not running more than a few circuits, why do I need a bigger generator?

 

[brewchief]

Interlock kit will work IF the main panel is a main breaker style, top of the pic cuts off where the breaker would be so hard to tell. Does the well subpanel feed from the main panel?

 

[theoldwizard1]

The easiest way to accomplish what you want is to add a generator interlock kit to your existing panel.

Pwrgeek,
Thanks for the quick reply.
I don't need or want to power the entire house, I just don't have any water when we lose power, so I need to run my resevoir pump for sure.

I concur with Pwrgeek. An interlock is the simplest, quickest, most fixable way to wire in a portable generator. Probably cheaper also.

 

[theoldwizard1]

Your generator has an L14-30 receptacle on it. The cord you referenced is also L14-30 plug.

It is correct.

 

[wyliesdiesels]

Wyliesdiesels, I have a link to the generator in my original post.

The link didnt originally work on my phone.

Looks like the genny, while having more than 30a 240v capacity (7200 watts) only has 30a outlets. So that #10 gen cord will be fine...

if he wanted the ability to run any circuit in his home then that is the switch he would need. he would also need a bigger generator.

Actually it all depends on the load.

 

[czgunner]

Interlock kit will work IF the main panel is a main breaker style, top of the pic cuts off where the breaker would be so hard to tell. Does the well subpanel feed from the main panel?

Yes, the main panel feeds the "carport"

 

[dakota98]

I used a Generlink transfer switch. A bit expensive, but it gets installed by the local hydro company, and it's one of the few they actually endorse.
Gets installed at the hydro meter,
and lets you choose what you want to run by flipping breakers in your panel.

 

[Pwrgeek]

That manual transfer switch is WAAAAAAAAAAY overkill. He has a 7k Watt (30A) genny....





Tommy

That is the switch he would need if he wanted to be able to throw the whole house. The switch has to be rated to carry the load in either position and so a 200A switch is required. As you'll notice I pointed to a much more practical solution but wanted to go ahead and give the answer to the specific question the OP asked.

 

[gnxtc2]

And this is the panel for my well pump and reservoir pump. It is located 35 feet away from my house.

FAIL

What brand panel do you have.....Homeline or ITE/Siemens???

Billy T.
[email protected]

 

[czgunner]

FAIL

Seriously?

Regardless, that small panel is fed by my main panel in the house. Not really sure on the name. I see a Square D tag on my main panel.

 

[gnxtc2]

Yes, the UL rating is voided by installing a different brand breaker vs the panel. Doesn't matter what brand main panel. What matters is the sub panel brand.

Billy T.
[email protected]

 

[CJ7VFR]

Everything in my home is powered by electricity, my water comes from a well (no city water), and I have a septic system, so anytime I loose power I have no heat, no hot water, can't flush the toilet (too many times) and my sump pump does not work.

I installed a Gen-Tran (Now Generac) brand manual transfer switch with a power inlet box mounted at the back of the house, and I have a 5500/8250 watt gas powered Briggs and Stratton portable generator to hook up to it to provide the back-up power. I bought all of this stuff just before Hurricane Sandy hit New Jersey in 2012.

I originally wanted to get an Inter-lock for my panel so I could pretty much pick and choose what I wanted to power, but my panel is full, and I already had the maximum amount of tandem breakers in there already, so I could not move the breakers on the right side of panel down to allow for the 30 amp double pole breaker the Interlock needs.

So I went with the manual transfer switch and installed it myself. I bought the 10 circuit version and it and the back-up generator worked flawlessly during the 11 days we were out of power during Hurricane Sandy.

We had enough items going to be able stay living in our home as we could eat, keep the food in our two refrigerators cold, take hot showers, flush the toilet, stay warm, watch TV, charge anything that required batteries (like our cell phones), make coffee, use the toaster oven and read the Garage Journal on the internet, all without being in the dark!!!

If this is what you are looking to do, then a quality manual transfer switch with a power inlet box would work for you. Our 5500/8250 watt generator was able to run all the things we had going and then some. It has 120/240 volt capacity, and ran our well and septic system with no problems.

Since I installed everything myself, the total for everything including the transfer switch, generator, power inlet box, 25 foot long L14-30 cord, and 10-3 wire to hook the power inlet box to the transfer switch came to just under $1000.00.

For the peace of mind, it is well worth the price to install some type of back-up system for your home, especially if you live in the country where everything you have is powered by electricity.

Here are a few pictures of my set-up.

Jim

 

[LS6 Tommy]

That is the switch he would need if he wanted to be able to throw the whole house. The switch has to be rated to carry the load in either position and so a 200A switch is required. As you'll notice I pointed to a much more practical solution but wanted to go ahead and give the answer to the specific question the OP asked.

I get ya. I was thinking of the add-on manual circuit breaker type transfer switches like I have where the transfer switch is matched to the genny and the circuits that are fed are limited to the genny's output rating.

Tommy

 

[theoldwizard1]

I originally wanted to get an Inter-lock for my panel so I could pretty much pick and choose what I wanted to power, but my panel is full, and I already had the maximum amount of tandem breakers in there already, so I could not move the breakers on the right side of panel down to allow for the 30 amp double pole breaker the Interlock needs.

Though position to be in ! I would have added a 8-12 slot load center just below your main. Same brand, so you can use the same breakers. This would have given you the flexibility that you wanted.

 

[theoldwizard1]

If this is what you are looking to do, then a quality manual transfer switch with a power inlet box would work for you.

If I understand the OP issue, some of the circuits he wants covered are in the main panel and some in the sub panel. Using the type of transfer switch you have would require a fair amount of re-wiring.

I am am correct and the OP does not want to do that re-wiring, then the only solution I can think of is an interlock.

 

[czgunner]

The sub panel in my carport has 2 light bulbs, well pump, and reservoir pump. This panel is controlled by a breaker in my main panel. Not sure if that helps any.

 

[wyliesdiesels]

do an interlock in the main panel and be done with it. That way u can power whatever u want on whatever panel as long as its withing the limits of the generator.

A manual transfer switch on the main service will cost a lot more as the PoCo's feed would need to be disconnected and moved to the new TS

 

[theoldwizard1]

A manual transfer switch on the main service will cost a lot more as the PoCo's feed would need to be disconnected and moved to the new TS

This is what wyliesdiesels is referring to :

 

[wyliesdiesels]

This is what wyliesdiesels is referring to :

Not only would he need that but then theres fees and costs associated with the PoCo's time, permits and a licensed contractor to do the work if required by the AHJ and/or PoCo....

 

[czgunner]

Yeah, that is a lot more than I would like to spend. I think I will look into an interlock.
How do I know what panel I have?

 

[Alchymist]

I have one of these installed:

http://www.alt-electric.com/TRC1006D_p_343.html

I just put a 60 amp breaker in the main panel, then put the circuits I wanted powered in case of power failure in the TRC100. Unit will take Square D QO breakers, (which is what my main panel uses) as well as Murray, Westinghouse and Siemens. Well and water heater (240 volt loads) as well as outlets and light circuits can be switched on and off as needed .

For about $200 a nice alternative.

 

[TractorJeff]

Door panel in photo says "Square D" on it

 

[czgunner]

Door panel in photo says "Square D" on it

Thanks, I saw the brand, but wasn't sure if I needed a model or type.

 

[theoldwizard1]

Thanks, I saw the brand, but wasn't sure if I needed a model or type.

Yes, you do.

Usually it is on the paper on inside the door.

Likely it will be a Square D ELK1 or ELK2

 

[czgunner]

Okay, I found this interlock kit and the sales person said it will fit my panel. Unless there is a "better" kit, I think I may use this one.
Now to source a receptacle kit to plug the generator in to and call my neighbor (electrician).

 

[Mustang51js]

Home depot sells the interlock kit for square d homeline, its about $55. And at least its ul listed.

 

[Mustang51js]

And they have the generator plug for outside also

 

[Mustang51js]

Here is everything you need

The easiest way to accomplish what you want is to add a generator interlock kit to your existing panel. You would take the two top right circuits and move them to the open spots on bottom left. Then add a 30A 2 pole breaker in those slots and one of these.

http://m.homedepot.com/p/Square-D-Homeline-Outdoor-Generator-Inter-Lock-Kit-HOMRBGK2C/203030954

Then you wire that 30A circuit to a generator inlet like one of these.

http://m.homedepot.com/p/Reliance-Controls-30-Amp-Power-Inlet-Box-PB30/202213702


And the cord you indicated can run from there.

If you truly want a whole home manual transfer switch that's going to get spendy but this is what you need.

http://m.lowes.com/pd/Eaton-200-Amp-Non-Fusible-Metallic-Safety-Switch/3012381

And if you want automatic it goes up from there.



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[CJ7VFR]

Though position to be in ! I would have added a 8-12 slot load center just below your main. Same brand, so you can use the same breakers. This would have given you the flexibility that you wanted.

I thought about doing that since my main panel is full. I already have a sub-panel in my garage, and figured it would not be too hard to install a small panel next to the main to transfer some circuits.

I went the transfer switch route for two reasons. One, it was very easy to install, and required no re-wiring of my main panel breakers to a second panel. And Two, the transfer switch is easy to operate and my wife is not afraid to operate it when we are on generator power. She said she did NOT want to have to go into what she calls the "electrical box" an have to touch the breakers when the power goes out to be able to take a shower, or make hot coffee. She is so afraid of that, that she was even too afraid to watch me installing the transfer switch initially. So the transfer switch was my only option since she is involved in this too.

If I am not home, she knows how to get the generator out of the garage, plug it into the power inlet box, start it up, and then just flip the switches on the transfer switch up. Zip zip and she is done and taking a shower. This alone was good enough reason to install the transfer switch.

As they say, happy wife happy life....

Jim

 

[CJ7VFR]

If I understand the OP issue, some of the circuits he wants covered are in the main panel and some in the sub panel. Using the type of transfer switch you have would require a fair amount of re-wiring.

I am am correct and the OP does not want to do that re-wiring, then the only solution I can think of is an interlock.

I agree. With an Inter-lock, he can run anything he wants (if the items he wants to run do not exceed 30 amps), even an item or two on the sub-panel.

Jim

 

[czgunner]

I know it's been a long time, but I wanted to verify that this is the correct interlock I need.
http://m.homedepot.com/p/Square-D-Homeline-Outdoor-Generator-Inter-Lock-Kit-HOMRBGK2C/203030954