I finished wiring and load tested the transfer switch tonight. It turned out good and everything works great. Thanks to Greg H for his help on making the custom plug. http://forums.bowhunting.com/showthread.php?t=20968 So here is the final product. The Honda 2000i connected to the outside plug. There is a canopy on the porch in case of rain or snow so no worries about not being able to run it in case of inclement weather. Here is what the outside plug in looks like when not connected. The transfer switch mounted and connected to the main breaker. The conduit going out to the left contains 10/3 wire that runs to the outside connection box. And finally a close up picture of the controls of the transfer switch. Overall I'm very happy how smooth everything went. I checked all outlets to make sure proper voltage was present. I fired up the fridge, furnace and the TV and let it go for awhile to make sure everything was good.
Brad, good work man. I am seriously impressed with people that can do work like that on their own. I would electrocute myself! You saved yourself a lot of money, made your family safer, and learned a great skill.
Looks good. But, what about load? What circuits are you powering? I'm guessing fridge and another outlet or two for lights, TV or radio? Sump pump? Curious, as I have the Honda EU2000i and have thought about something similar. But, I just use an APC power strip and good sized extension cord.
I have the ability to power 6 circuits. Furnace Fridge Chest Freezer Kitchen Lights and outlets Living Room including TV and outlets Master Bedroom This is definitely not a set-up where I can turn on all 6 circuits and live life as normal. In the event of a power outage I would run the fridge for a couple of hours and then the chest freezer for a couple of hours alternating to keep both cold. We will be able to have some lights in the kitchen and living room so we can see. At night, the master bed can be powered to have lights there upstairs. I do not have or need a sump pump in our house. That may be a problem for you as I think most sumps take 240v? The 2000i only makes 120v. Maybe the smaller pumps are 120v? Guess I don't know for sure. This transfer switch is capable of handling 240v @ 30amps so if you did get a bigger generator for a 240v sump pump it would work. It's all about making sure you don't turn on too much stuff at the same time and exceed the max. wattage of your generator. The transfer switch makes it easy with being able to turn on and off circuits with the flip of a switch and also wth the built in wattage meters show what you are using so you don't overload the generator. Running extension cords is OK but as you know it is a pain in the butt and there not much you can do with the furnace since it is hard wired.
Thanks, I read a little about your other thread and how you have it hooked up. I'm not fond of extension cords. But, they have their place where needed. Furnace, I'm not too worried about we can do with space heaters. Actually, in our new place I'll be doing something similar to what you did as it will be a small house (whenever we get there...).
Thanks Brett. I do feel more of an accomplishment doing it myself. It felt pretty good when I cut the grid power and plugged in the generator and we were watching TV and the furnace was running under generator power. I've wanted one of these for awhile and I think I slept a little better last night knowing we could have an outage and stay warm and entertained by simply starting the generator and plugging it in. It's piece of mind really.
That looks great. I had planned on doing something similar without a transfer switch though. I was basically going to install a 220v receptacle on the outside of my home. When we lose power, turn off the main breaker along with all other breakers and do a continuity test to make sure the main breaker actually opened (so I don't backfeed the power lines). Plug the generator in, start it, and then turn on the selected breakers I want to have power (fridge, lights, tv). I know this isn't the ideal setup but as long as one makes sure the main breaker is opened there won't be any problems. I do like your transfer switch though and the wattage meters. So with the transfer switch, I wouldn't have to flip all my breakers off. It already has the ones you want to power during an outage?
