That's the transfer switch I was looking at Ray....good call. Looks very easy to install. I'd also looked at that and similar gens. Thanks for the info. My brother just recently picked up a similar sized gen from Harbor Freight.
I think HF carries the Predator generators and they are rated highly.. For what I paid and the fact that wheel kit is included (which most people need) it was an easy choice.. This genny gets good reviews too and seems pretty well made too..
We were w/o power for about 2.5 hours last night. Candles saved the day (uh, night). I'd run a couple heavy (12g) extension cords for the well pump, and swap it for the fridge as needed. Another for a couple lights. I'd do that to see how well it worked before doing the transfer switch, since the service panel really needs an upgrade. I've got a heavy duty 4 way power cord to run the lights. This was a timely thread. Just reread and have a question. You need to kill the main in the service panel before powering up the gen., right? I didn't notice where you may have mentioned that.
To answer your question no you don't touch the service panel just the transfer panel.. The advantage of this is you will know when power comes back when other things suddenly turn on.. The transfer panel transfer power for circuits that you select to either be powered by line or generator. This panel uses single pole double throw (SPDT) switches that has it's own breakers and power can only be from one source to avoid a backfeed which is dangerous to life and property.. If you go to the Reliance site they have a video and documentation that explains things.. Hard to explain in English..Hope this helps..
Nice setup. Two things I'll point out for you and everyone else. If you have a generator, you should consider building a box that is ventilated to run it in. You don't want your generator running all day or even into the night. People that don't have a generator either walking or driving by will know. The box serves two purposes. First and foremost is the noise reduction. Second is the ability to lock the box slowing down would be thieves. I see yours is gasoline like mine. You should consider getting a propane conversion kit if offered an purchase a couple 20lb bottles or larger. If you already have propane on you property, then you could setup a line to feed the generator giving you event long run time. Thank you Jason fromR
I know the advantages of propane however I have 10 gallons of treated gas on hand and it is cheap right now plus I use that for the snowblower, mower etc.
I have a generac 3250 and my only real concerns are the fridge and freezer when the power is out for extended periods. I've only needed to use it one time so far. I put it out on the patio and run a 50ft HD extension cord into the house. If I lived in an area that was prone to long outages, I'd definitely have the generator tied into the house electric though.
To get water I need power same for hot water and you can't plug in your furnace and well pump at least not in my world.. Installed this over a year ago and haven't needed it yet.. Not many homes on my street so we are low on the priority list in power restoration so if we lose power it could take days.. This has happened a few times and we lost the food in our fridge and freezer.. This is expensive plus a PIA..
Saw a vid on YouTube that showed how a guy did a 3 way regulator to run propain, gasoline, or nat. gas on his portable gen.
I like the transfer box. Our local electrician set us up with a backfeed system, run through a subpanel in our barn (metal and concrete), about 60-70 feet from the house. We got the chance to run it on Christmas morning. We lost electric from about 5:00-9:00 A.M. It was also a great opportunity for the wife to set it up and get it running by herself in a low stress setting. And no, we did not fry the linemen working down the street. Everybody, PLEASE BE CAREFUL WITH GENNY EXHAUST. My friend is an ER doc in Houston, and he treated gobs of people for carbon monoxide (not all survived) from generators last time they had a hurricane.
If properly installed it should be impossible to backfeed.. Anything less is dangerous and illegal period..
I have to agree with you. Will be looking to upgrade. Thanks for the reminder. It's been on the honey do list for a while now.
Mike I am a licensed electrician and I would do nothing less.. My conscious and license are at stake..
That's the set up I have and it is great. No more playing around with plastic gas cans and pure crap gasoline...................On top of that my Honda powered generator runs hands down better and smoother on propane.
That's really slick. My transfer switch is a the meter. Until they installed a digital meter we had no way to tell that line power was back on.
