Generator at remote meter/main

[JoeNorm]

I have a house with a remote meter/main. Customer wants a whole home gen and transfer switch located next to it. The meter/main has breaker spaces and feed-through lugs going down to main house. The water system is powered from a breaker in the meter/main.

I was going to reroute the loadside of meter/main to the transfer switch but I'm seeing now I will not be able to power the loads on the busbar of the meter/main. AM I missing something? What is the best solution here?

 

[Todd0x1]

What is the meter main? Is it a 200 amp feedthough panel? A 400 amp feedthrough panel? Or is it a 320/400A service with a 200A breaker supplying the breaker spaces, and a separate 200A breaker supplying a set of lugs?

If its just a 200 amp meter/main combo, usually on these I see the loads from the loadcenter part of the meter main relocated to a new panel (with subfeed lugs in this case) fed from the output of the xfer switch and feed the normal side of the xfer switch from a subfeed lug (which your panel already has here....) in the meter/main.

 

[JoeNorm]

It's a 200 feedthrough.

This is the solution I came to as well. I just wanted to run it by the forum and make sure there wasn't a different/better option.

 

[MasonF]

We run into this quite a bit as well. Subpanel works best. Another thing to keep in mind is that if you have a block heater and battery charger they would need to be backed up by the generator too and the subpanel would be closer (I assume) than going inside the house for power.

 

[LarryFine]

Often, we're asked about this by those who want to reroute the factory wires between the meter and the main breaker.

Such a simple yet elegant solution we're not allowed to use because of modification of approved assembly restrictions.

 

[petersonra]

Often, we're asked about this by those who want to reroute the factory wires between the meter and the main breaker.

Such a simple yet elegant solution we're not allowed to use because of modification of approved assembly restrictions.

There's no rule that says you cannot modify an approved assembly.

 

[LarryFine]

There's no rule that says you cannot modify an approved assembly.

In that case, why is it that when someone asks about intercepting the wires between the meter and the main breaker to insert an ATS, the response here is invariably that it can't be legally done?

 

[petersonra]

In that case, why is it that when someone asks about intercepting the wires between the meter and the main breaker to insert an ATS, the response here is invariably that it can't be legally done?

Who says this?

I think you would need to move the GEC and N/G bond to the ATS to do this though.

 

[electrofelon]

I don't have a problem with it at all. The meter mains I get have a piece of regular conductor mounted between the meter load side lugs and the main breaker. I don't have an issue rerouting it. That said the N-G bond issue is usually a deal breaker