Steps for installing a transfer switch

I saw this thread late, so may have missed a point; but why wouldn't you install the transfer switch so that it only powered "critical" loads, and loads within the capacity of the genset?

Put the reefer and freezer, a few lights, maybe the oil heater and gas water heater (for any AC controls they may need), and the water pump on the transfer, and render the other circuits 'dead' until line power is restored.

LLoyd

Square D makes generator back feed interlock kits for several of their panels. I installed on in the new QO panel I recently installed.

Pete, your link did not work for me, sorry. If Homeline is a brand of Square D, I will just call them on the phone.

I answered this already, but my generator can run basically the entire house, without a few loads like kitchen range and A/C and hot tub. Why would I limit my lighting, etc? I see no good reason for that. I would just turn off what cannot be run on the generator (see above) and would continue to use the house normally.

This is how I'm doing it, although with an 8KW generator.

I figure that should be able to run the oil burner and circ pumps in the winter, and a refrigerator and a house fan in the summer. Plus a few lights.

Jim

On Mon, 21 Aug 2006 15:10:15 GMT, with neither quill nor qualm, Ignoramus4235 quickly quoth:

It seems preferable to coming home to a warm freezer full of previously usable food is why I asked.

December 29th, 3:00am: at your door. It's then neighbor. His kid plugged in a ceramic heater and blew the CB. "Can you please reset our circuit breaker?"

-- Instant Gratification Takes Too Long!

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On Mon, 21 Aug 2006 07:30:26 -0700, with neither quill nor qualm, Don Bruder quickly quoth:

"Hmmm, should I buy a new vehicle or get those connectors this year?"

Yeah, it's just a delightful subject once you get your head into it. Whaddya wanna bet his neighbor went out and bought the very cheapest extension cords available in any store for this purpose, too? ;)

-- Instant Gratification Takes Too Long!

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Yes, and also I really like coming to a home that did not burn down. :)

Most of the time there is someone in the house, and food would not spoil in a few hours while the power is out before we come home from work.

you know, I can live with that.

On Mon, 21 Aug 2006 15:47:39 GMT, with neither quill nor qualm, Ignoramus4235 quickly quoth:

Sheesh, it's necessary if for nothing else but wringing 5 or 10 gallons of water out of the air in the house, eh?

But wifey says "Hey, we have electricity, why can't I use my stove?"

That helps.

I'm surprised you didn't comment on this, Ig.

======================================================== TANSTAAFL: There ain't no such thing as a free lunch.

That's true.

Well, she could use one burner, most likely.

I think that there is a lot of not well understood (for me) dangers of that, that is, dangers of circuits turning on and off at arbitrary and not well defined moments, unbeknownst to users. Plug the legalities of wiring weird relays into my house circuits. I would not want to do it, personally, I think that the idea is interesting, but kind of fraught with dangers. I would rather just say, no A/C, hot tub, etc period, than making something very complicated.

Whats in that box with the wheels? Looks interesting

generator. :)

Just don't forget that the NEC is a minimum standard.

Wes S

You are correct, that link does appear to be hosed. This one works:

Pete C.

I would install the Transfer Switch as close to the Main Panel as possible. Typically, adjacent with a 1 1/2" Dia. nipple in between, as you can run the new wires from the MeterBase into the Main Panel, and thru the nipple to the Transfer Switch, and then from the Transfer Switch back to the Main Breaker. This keeps the runs short, and makes for centrally located Home Power Managment, as you may want to drop some of the loads offline in the Main Panel when running OffGrid on the Genset.

You can use any UL 600V Insulated wire, of the appropriate size for the current, that suits you. It is the Insulation Rating that the Inspector will be looking at. Typically Welding Cable isn't rated at 600V, so you may have to find a suitable wire that has the UL Insulation Rating approprite to the service.

Bruce in alaska who likes Welding Cable for Battery Jumpers and Inverter Dc Feedlines.......

OK, I like this idea a lot. I will do it exactly as you say, all my doubts have been resolved.

OK, I will definitely look for suitable 600v rated wire -- the flexible wire is so much easier to work with, it is worth the extra $$ -- not that much for just a dozen feet or so.

On Mon, 21 Aug 2006 18:05:18 GMT, with neither quill nor qualm, Ignoramus4235 quickly quoth:

I used to live in Arkansas, so I know how horrible humidity is.

Oh, sure, until she falls right back into habit (turning on several burners at once fora meal) and brings down the genset.

Grok that. What I was referring to was a logical OR circuit for the main current suckers. If you had the a/c on, the hot tub, water heater, and stove were all effectively frozen out until it went off. I suppose there could be some danger with the stove, if someone turned it on and forgot about it, but the water heater and a/c are both relay controlled now. There would be no "weird relay" wiring at all.

======================================================== TANSTAAFL: There ain't no such thing as a free lunch.

I used to live in Oklahoma (where it is a lot hotter in summer than here).

I think that a sensible approach here is to use a circuit breaker on the generator.

Oh, I see, yes, that would be a ONLY ONE circuit, activated by transfer switch in the GENERATOR position. Anyway, my generator cannot run A/C at all, I think, but other things are a potential possibility.

I am not telling you to get a generator big enough to power everything in your house at once. I am saying that having all that load connected to the generator and relying on someone (which might not be you) to turn breakers off to control the load is not good engineering design. Good design is putting your emergency circuits in a transfer switch, in some reasonable relation to the size of the generator. Just as a note, compressor starts on your refrigerator/freezer are quite taxing on a generator.