No Heat For 13 Hours

[Jkebxjunke]

which co-ops?

 

[mtfallsmikey]

Rappahannock and Shenandoah Valley co-op's. They will be splitting the territory between them.

 

[Cowboy Billy]

Cool RAF

They keep changing the law on whether or not you can import them. But if you can find them now its big money. The single cylinder engines from 6.5 hp to 16hp? Pretty much look the same. Mine is a lister clone from India. A friend of mine said he will give me two if I ever make it to Colorado to pick them up.

One more good thing about the listers. Is that with all the rotating mass in the big flywheels. It starts big startup load appliances like air conditioners a lot better than other generators.

Billy

 

[upsnake]

Ok so nothing like resurrecting old dead threads.

I am looking at putting a 10kw Briggs and Stratton Standby generator with a 200 amp smart transfer switch / service disconnect.

I currently have a 5500 watt generac portable genny, but no transfer switch, and don't want to back feed.

The reason for the automatic is b/c the house is in a wet area and if the sump pump loses power it is not long before water is backing up into the basement (15 min to an hour) depending on the time of the year.

I got a quote from Home Depot and for a 7kw unit it was 5,600 installed. I can buy the same same setup for less that 2k.

I think the 10k is fine size wise and with the help of my father in law (30+ years of appliance repair / install / general fix it all person).

The only thing that I am not sure how is going to work is I need to disconnect the meter while I install the the transfer switch / service disconnect. I am in MI with DTE.

I am just wondering if anybody has gone through this recently went through anything similar what steps did you need to do with DTE? Did there have to be a licensed electrician signing the work order?

I know i can just disconnect the meter but I am not so sure how happy they would be with me the next time the came and did a meter reading. Hahah

 

[olyman]

Nope, instead the rest of us get to pay higher electric bills to fund the subsidies for such wasteful, inefficient methods of generating power that they can't stand on their own economic feet.

Let me guess, in addition to the $35,000 in cash, you get to sell the electricity back into the grid at retail rates, not wholesale?

Turns the whole basis of the economy -- buy low, add value, sell high on it's head by forcing utilities to buy lower quality power at high prices.

Thank you liberalism! You saved us again!

yesssssssss, i very accurate statement..they DONT want to reveal all the truth.....

 

[dhopkins55]

go big, or not at all.

price the ones that are 15k or above. better to have too much, than not enough.

when the power goes out, your house will be lit like a christmas tree.

Absolutely correct!!! If you're going to go for your whole house, particularly with central air, you need at least a 15KW generator to handle the start up load. As earlier posts have stated, you need to calculate your total power requirements, and once you have that wattage calculated plus that up by about 20%. I have a Generac 15000E series to run my whole house, including central air and an electric hot water heater. It's a beast, and for such a capacity, it's surprisingly quiet. It'll surge to 22KW, so I have power to spare. If you're going to go whole house, don't waste your time or money on anything less than 12-14KW. You'll be glad you did when the time comes.

 

[upsnake]

Absolutely correct!!! If you're going to go for your whole house, particularly with central air, you need at least a 15KW generator to handle the start up load. As earlier posts have stated, you need to calculate your total power requirements, and once you have that wattage calculated plus that up by about 20%. I have a Generac 15000E series to run my whole house, including central air and an electric hot water heater. It's a beast, and for such a capacity, it's surprisingly quiet. It'll surge to 22KW, so I have power to spare. If you're going to go whole house, don't waste your time or money on anything less than 12-14KW. You'll be glad you did when the time comes.

Ya I am needing to calc the usage here in a the next couple days.

We have the sump pump, the furnace fan, fridge, freezer. Electric Range, (give or take). WE do have central air but we rarely use it, (we have a little 6k btu window unit in the bedroom that we use, as there are only two of us in the house). The OWB, gas dryer, some random CFL lights, couple pcs, tv, etc. So while bigger has the advantages, it also burns more gas.

The new smart transfers switches say they can manage the load to get the central air going, but that is not a super high priority. My biggest concern is making sure that I can do the install myself with out somebody blocking me. Hahah (whether it be DTE, or the county etc), Which the less people know about changes to the house the better. Hahah

 

[davec]

Depending on the transfer switch, you may not have to pull the meter. Many of the smaller ones are meant to be installed as a subpanel off the main panel. That may be easier than the full house disconnect you are looking to do, but that's up to you. The procedure around here for pulling the meter like that is to schedule a disconnect first thing in the AM and an inspection by mid-day so you can have them reconnect by end of day (also pre-scheduled) when the inspector says it's OK. Obviously the way to do this is to install everything ahead of time and have it down to just the main connections, so that you can be sure to bang it out fast once disconnected. This will depend on your local codes and inspectors of course, but around here the Pow Co will not reconnect a meter without an inspection. If you were thinking about going un-inspected, you will probably not be able to do that if you need the meter socket pulled, IME. You may need (and want) to have everything else inspected ahead of that day too, so gas lines, genny install, etc are all good to go before it is critical.

Bottom line: You need to check locally as this varies a lot around the country.

 

[upsnake]

Here is what i am looking at.

Briggs & Stratton 10 kw, 40243a, briggs stratton generator, briggs & stratton generator

automatic transfer switch, control module, automatic, briggs, whole house

Rats.
I am always scared to have inspector ppl poking around my house. I don't want them there, I don't want them looking at other things, It just creeps me out.

But A home owner should be able to pull their own permits and do all the work though right?

 

[davec]

Varies by jurisdiction, but typically yes - on your own house that you live in. Start by calling your inspector and get the scoop. You don't have to identify yourself. Heck, call the inspector in the next town if you are really worried. I will say that inspectors will try to dissuade most homeowners from doing genny installs as they are considered more complex than the typical HO can handle, and for good reason. But if you know what you are doing, research it, and can clearly explain to the inspector what you are going to do, you should be OK. They will be looking for the deer in the headlights look to indicate you are over your head, I would say. IMHO Genny's aren't that complex, but there are a few key things that need to be right in the wiring/install or you risk big trouble (proper cutover switch to avoid back feeding the mains, load balancing, subpanel wiring (sometimes), watching for CO poisoning issues, etc). It all seems pretty obvious to me, but I am not your average HO...

Like I said, if you are willing to put in a cutover switch that is wired as a subpanel (vs whole house), you can avoid pulling the meter and that may be a better route if you have these kinds of concerns. Inspections shouldn't be a nightmare, but there are always jerks in any line of work... Every inspector I have dealt with has been a decent guy. They will answer questions and help you do it right (within reason). Be straight up, deal honestly and ask questions - but do your research first - and you should be fine.

 

[upsnake]

Have you found that when an inspector does come they pretty much stay to what they are supposed to be inspecting and don't poke around for other things?

Haha not a fan of government meddling if that hasn't been established yet. hahah

 

[davec]

Unless you have a frankenstein panel that is arcing and frying mice that dare to run by, yeah you should be OK. Pre-existing stuff is not really their concern beyond life & death issues. But again, this depends on the jurisdiction and the inspector. I am not an electrician, I have just just done a lot of electrical work on my own few houses so I have only dealt with a handful of inspectors, and they have all been decent and logical. You may get Norman NumbNutz or a decent guy. Most of them are decent, IMHO. If they see something they will likely tell you and educate you (encouraging a fix...) but unless it is something horrible it's not like they are going to bring in the SWAT team. Nothing wrong is nothing to hide...

 

[upsnake]

Thanks Davec I really appreciate it.

Maybe I am too anti county intervention but it just irks me has I was looking through the plumbing / electrical / mechical permit forms the other day, were to install a water heater is an extra 80 dollars to have inspected. How the heck to do mess up installing a water heater? Cold in hot out, make sure your sweats don't leak. Or to run a new outlet somewhere was 66 dollars + 6 for each outlet after that.
The list goes on, you can't put a humidifier on you furnace with out having the inspector come out and make sure you aren't a moron, how the heck can you screw up a humidifier? haha

I have to make sure the ground is not too frozen already to make the foundation for the genny, as long as it isn't then I will call and talk to the county next week and see what permit levels are involved.

Once again thanks for your help.

 

[beerman6]

I know i can just disconnect the meter but I am not so sure how happy they would be with me the next time the came and did a meter reading. Hahah

I have done it many times,dont worry about it.

Just make sure you kill the main or shut off all of the breakers so the meter dont arc out on ya when you pull it.

 

[upsnake]

do you just call them (power co) and tell them after or do they just figure it out when they read the meter the next time and the security tag is broke.

I plan on leaving the actual act of disconnecting the meter to my father in law.