Electricians of the OT... question about transfer switch

I would expect about $1-2k installed. The disconnect itself is pretty pricey. Need an electrician to get the meter pulled.

Cheaper way would be to install a decent sized breaker off of your house panel and just kill the main before hooking up the genset to that new breaker so you don't back feed the city supply. May not be code though so take that into consideration.

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I would expect about $1-2k installed. The disconnect itself is pretty pricey. Need an electrician to get the meter pulled.

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nah it's not that bad. hardware will run you 200-300 and then whatever the electrician charges for install

If you are not electrically inclined, do not back feed your house via suicide cord. A transfer switch eliminates some hazard but not all of. Just having a suicide cord laying around is a potential deadly hazard if someone were to happen to grab it and plug it in.

Contact an electrician and they can advise you in detail on the best way to do this. Typically, a transfer switch and a male 220 covered NEMA outlet so that you can backfeed using a standard extension cord.

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First, is that a good idea?

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Yes, it is if you anticipate a need to run a generator more than on rare occasions.

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Secondly, what might I expect that to cost?

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Depending on your setup and the type of setup you are trying to install, it would be prudent to have it professionally installed. You'll need someone to give you a quote, but perhaps you someone on the board will be able to tell you what it cost them or what they would charge.

One type would be a simple transfer switch that would allow you to run your main box off of either utility power or generator power. I would assume you are looking at the 2K neighborhood installed, perhaps a little higher.

The other would be a sub panel with a utility/Generator interlocked switched. You would have to rewire whatever you wanted on your emergency bus to this panel. This is something you may be able to do yourself, depending on your skill and knowledge level. The box is probably in the 250 to 400 dollar range.

Have a breaker to a specific outlet for the generator that is normally off, switch the main breaker to OFF during an outage, fire the generator up then flip the generator breaker to ON?

Linemen have specific safety guidelines they have to follow to prevent this tragedy

If you are asking those kinds of questions you should not do it.

I've done it before in emergencies, but I do fairly complex electrical shite for a living and am very well versed on how to safely do shite with electricity. A mistake can kill someone. If you are not extremely familiar with electricity you are running the risk of frying somebody.

There are lives at risk if you frick it up, not just equipment. If you are not 100% positive of the effects of everything you do, pay someone to come install an idiot proof system. There are very affordable foolproof systems that work well.

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Im thinking of having a transfer switch installed so that I can run my generator via male to male cable directly into electrical box and run various systems without having extension cords everywhere.

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First, is that a good idea? Secondly, what might I expect that to cost?

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The transfer switch is a GREAT idea. If the proper switch is installed by a proper electrician, it provides a single switch you can flip that ensures that your genset is never connected to your house at the same time mains are. This protects both you and your equipment from sudden return of main power while your genset is feeding the house. It also protects any linemen trying to bring service back online from injury or death due to your genset backfeeding lines. You can and probably will be held liable for any adverse outcomes as a result of you backfeeding the grid. A proper transfer switch is a great idea.

The male to male extension cord is a fricking terrible idea. Get the electrician that you should be hiring to install the transfer switch to also help you get the proper connection point and cabling to connect your genset to your house. Do you think they call a male to male extension cord a suicide cable just for shits and giggles?

What I do:

Cut main
Check for power coming in (to test if main is working)
Cut all breakers off
Make cable (10/3 IIRC) with 30A male plug on one side, and same breaker on the other
Plug both in
Switch shite on that you want on

When the power comes back on:

Switch off everything
Pull cable off
Switch main back on


I haven't looked at the wire in a long time, so I am not sure if that is right. Pretty sure I used 10/3 though