Generator plug

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laketime

laketime

Senior Member
I am bidding a house and the general gave me another contractors take off to match his counts. On his take off he listed as an option, "Secondary Panel with specified loads and inter tie with primary service. A generator plug for portable generator. Additional $500 if requested." I am thinking he means a sub panel fed from the main panel and also and exterior plug of some type so you can back feed the panel in a power outage. What is he talking about and how do you safely tie all that together for $500.
 
Pierre C Belarge

Pierre C Belarge

Senior Member
Location
Westchester County, New York
laketime said:
I am bidding a house and the general gave me another contractors take off to match his counts. On his take off he listed as an option, "Secondary Panel with specified loads and inter tie with primary service. A generator plug for portable generator. Additional $500 if requested." I am thinking he means a sub panel fed from the main panel and also and exterior plug of some type so you can back feed the panel in a power outage. What is he talking about and how do you safely tie all that together for $500.
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The receptacle at the generator is generally for supplying equipment out at the generator that needs 120v power.
 
D

dbuckley

Senior Member
Location
Canterbury, New Zealand
laketime said:
What is he talking about and how do you safely tie all that together for $500.
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Could this not just be a small subpanel with backfeed breakers with that metal plate thingy that goes over the breaker handles and only allows one source to be on as a time?

You only end up with a couple more breakers, as the circuits you would have fed from the main panel get moved to the subpanel, so its a subpanel, a couple of breakers, that metal thingy, and a twist-n-lock in a watertight box or whatever as an inlet; not a huge bill of materials...
 
W

wireguru

Senior Member
I would think this would be that SQD panel (its a little 8/16 can if I remember correctly) with the two mechanically interlocked 2 pole breakers. Panel is around $90 plus another $35 for a L14-30 inlet -$500 doesnt seem bad once the labor is considered....
 
H

hurk27

Senior Member
Location
Portage, Indiana NEC: 2008
bradleyelectric said:
http://www.interlockkit.com/

I like this idea so much more. You don't have to figure out what lights you can give them the use of and what they can't use.
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Now that is awesome.

No more separate panels, no more switching wires around to a new panel. I can see this being done in as fast as you can run the generator feed to the generator location.

and I see they have a UL listing for it.

Thanks for the info.
 
F

frenchelectrican

Senior Member
Location
Nord'est Wisconsin et Paris France
I just want to give you guys a head up some local area may not approve the sliding interlock kit at all.

The reason why due some Inspectors feel that if someone remove the cover with interlock can defeat the safety point there.

I allready ran into like this situation when one of the customer's generator blew up when that person remove the cover for some reason { which I found out later } and hit both normal supply and generator breaker on the same time KAPOW Au Revior generator.

Merci,Marc
 
electricmanscott

electricmanscott

Senior Member
Location
Boston, MA
laketime said:
"Secondary Panel with specified loads and inter tie with primary service. A generator plug for portable generator. Additional $500 if requested."
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Sounds like they specify loads and those loads go into a seperate panel. That panel would have a main/gen breaker with and interlock kit. Install a gen inlet box on the outside of the house, done. Easy money and $500 would cover it in new const. I don't know why they would spec an addtional panel for this. It isn't necessary unless this is a huge house where more than one panel would be installed anyway.

$60.00 for the interlock kit. $75.00 ish for the inlet box, some 10/3 and an extra half an hour of labor is all you need.

I use the interlock kits linked in another post ONLY for older panels. All the manufacturers make them for current panels. I usually use Siemens for new work. They have a kit for about sixty bucks.

I seem to be the portable generator guru in this area. After last years ice storm people are scared that histpry will repeat itself. I am doing an avaerage of one portable setup daily. I'm heading out to do one this am and then to go look at three more. These are generally a 2 hour job that I can fit in at the begining or end of the day.
 
electricmanscott

electricmanscott

Senior Member
Location
Boston, MA
frenchelectrican said:
I just want to give you guys a head up some local area may not approve the sliding interlock kit at all.

The reason why due some Inspectors feel that if someone remove the cover with interlock can defeat the safety point there.
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I questioned this in the forum a while ago. Nobody could show me anything that would back up what you point out. I'd challenge the inspector.
 
F

frenchelectrican

Senior Member
Location
Nord'est Wisconsin et Paris France
electricmanscott said:
I questioned this in the forum a while ago. Nobody could show me anything that would back up what you point out. I'd challenge the inspector.
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I know due that part it did effect in my area when I am in Wisconsion that time but in France it automatic no it not allowed unless qualifed manatince personal do it { that kinda half way rubbish there }

I have to find that doucement what one of my inspector say that in my area but I don't know about the rest of the state of Wisconsin { I am pretty sure it should be on the record otherwise I will have to find the notepad what it was scibbed in }

Merci,Marc
 
iwire

iwire

Moderator
Staff member
Location
Massachusetts
electricmanscott said:
I questioned this in the forum a while ago. Nobody could show me anything that would back up what you point out. I'd challenge the inspector.
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Scott there is nothing in the NEC that forces an AHJ to accept listed equipment.

Here in MA 90.4 has been amended and it requires the AHJ to accept all listed equipment if installed and used as intended.
 
e57

e57

Senior Member
Location
San Francisco, CA
How's this?

For instance:
Main panel with two or more feeder breakers...
One (or more) feeder is regular stuff the other generator stuff - both panels right next to eachother, and both have all circuits come through a gutter... The feeder for the generator panel goes through a regular (not service rated) manual DPDT transfer switch sized for the panel - one side utility power, the other the generator outlet.... If you want to move circuits around - use the gutter... This way the cost is the switch and install with the outlet - the gutter is an option...

Best way I can think of - and still tough/impossible to price at $500 for anything more than 30A... Add a few hundred and I might consider 60A, but only as a CO lure to actually put anything on it... ;)
 
R

rt66electric

Senior Member
Location
Oklahoma
done that

done that

dbuckley said:
Could this not just be a small subpanel with backfeed breakers with that metal plate thingy that goes over the breaker handles and only allows one source to be on as a time?

You only end up with a couple more breakers, as the circuits you would have fed from the main panel get moved to the subpanel, so its a subpanel, a couple of breakers, that metal thingy, and a twist-n-lock in a watertight box or whatever as an inlet; not a huge bill of materials...
Click to expand...

Ive installed a few ... Instead of a outdoor wp outlet box, I put a large outdoor box and have a s.o. cord and cap wrapped up inside(try finding double ended oddball cordset when ya need it). . I explain that their house is a big RV pull out the cord and plug into genset
 
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