How much for a generator transfer switch?

Including the switch itself? Manual or automatic?
Not knowing that, and depending on how far the electrician must wire your outlet for your generator to plug in, and what size switch you need, anywhere from $600-$1000 installed.
 
What Kind? ( Circuit based or whole house)
What Size? ( 5000 Watt, 8000 Watt, 12000 Watt or 100 Amp, 200 Amp)
What Style ( Automatic or Manual)
 
digitech said:
What Kind? ( Circuit based or whole house)
What Size? ( 5000 Watt, 8000 Watt, 12000 Watt or 100 Amp, 200 Amp)
What Style ( Automatic or Manual)
Click to expand...

Arrr..I knew it wouldn't be that easy..[wink]

OK, here's my situation. I have a three story condo. Ground floor is basement where the panel is located. Second floor is living room/kitchen. Third floor is two small bedrooms. Total square footage of living space is around 1000 I would guess. Oil heat, electric appliances. City water.

Thanks
 
Sorry for being obtuse. I don't have a generator yet. I would probably get one of the $600 hondas to run appliances and a few lights. I'm just trying to get an idea of the total cost to see if it is worth it.

Thanks again
 
What appliances will you be looking to run? I ask because if you will be looking to use your electric range, and knowing Honda generators while great units, are not inexpensive by any stretch. A $600 Honda generator may not be enough.

You may want to start with a Size calculator first, and make sure you will have enough generator. Then, if you let us know how many circuits will be run, and for what I can give you a rough estimate.
 
Adam_MA said:
What appliances will you be looking to run? I ask because if you will be looking to use your electric range, and knowing Honda generators while great units, are not inexpensive by any stretch. A $600 Honda generator may not be enough.

You may want to start with a Size calculator first, and make sure you will have enough generator. Then, if you let us know how many circuits will be run, and for what I can give you a rough estimate.
Click to expand...

Interesting calculator thanks. It looks like I'm around 4000 running and 6300 starting.
 
I don't think you will even come close to that output in the $600 range with a Honda. If you are set on Honda, you will be looking to spend around $1800 for the generator alone.

This one will do what you are looking to do, for $400. Granted it won't be nearly as quiet as the Honda's are famous for, but they work well.

That being said I would take a guess that you won't need any more than an 8 circuit transfer switch. You should figure around $300 for the transfer switch itself, and somewhere around $500-$600 for the additional parts and labor to install and wire the switch.
 
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It ran about $1000 to have the transfer switch wired and the generator installed last year. That was for a 7.5 KW automatic unit. It is totally automatic which is what I wanted for the house.

I don't think a small Honda is going to run an electric stove. Those elements take a lot of power. I left my installation and the required size up to the contractor. I was very happy with the installation and performance to date.
 
Does anyone make a generator without an engine in the 540 RPM range? I'd like to use my existing powerplant to take over for generator duties instead of having ANOTHER gasoline engine to worry about. I have a rear PTO on my '61 International Harvester B414 tractor that is just begging to get used.

Besides, I'm willing to bet a 40hp diesel is a lot better than a 10hp gas!
 
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I have a 5,000 watt generator and use a 6-circuit transfer box which I paid $279.00 for and paid an electrician $200.00 to install it. Works like a DREAM! On my 5,000 watt generator, (6,000 peak) I run the following:

- well pump
- furnace - with zones
- chest freezer
- refrigerator
- overhead kitchen light
- 1 living room wall outlet, (phone television, lamp)

It draws beautifully and I only had an issue once when I blew the separate fuses in my well house, (or well and tank are underground in a well house). For some reason, the generator kept blowing the 15-amp fuses. I sent the wife down there to change them out, (she hates me for that still).... [wink]

PS - your stove will shut your generator down - so will using a microwave or an electric heater is you're running other household items. The draw will be too much and you'll brown yourself out or blow your breakers. Get yourself a Coleman Stove for cooking. If you're trying to run other household stuff, (lights, furnace well pumps), think about it: Most tiny electric heaters draw 1800 watts. Run a couple of those and you'll screw up the works. Even at 5,000 watts and running the freezer and fridge, if I plug in a space heater, the draw is obvious.
 
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That's great..I think that may be doable. I've got a coleman stove I can cook on and a weber grill. The only thing in the fridge is beer which I can put outside. If I can just stay somewhat warm that would work for me...i don't have kids or a whiny female[wink] to worry about. I live in pretty primitive conditions most of the time anyway.
Thanks everyone
 
I have one of these, http://www.homegeneratorsystems.com/products/empower/10kw/index.cfm in 10kw, with a 100Amp auto transfer switch. I'm an electrician, BIL is a plumber, the entire setup cost me $2800 wholesale. Fully automatic, switches over in 50 seconds from power loss.
The cheapest, easiest way out is to get a 6000W portable generator. Have an electrician install a 'standby' panel with the specific loads you want to run, he should install two 30amp 2 pole breakers side by side with an interlock to prevent backfeeding the utility. One 30/2 is the normal feed, the other is the genset feed. Place a 30Amp twist lock male recpt in a weatherproof box outside and use a 10ft length of SO cord with a male cap to teh generator.

Upon power loss, start the genset, plug it in, shut one breaker off, turn the other on....instant power.
I recently did the entire setup in 5hrs for $600.
 
Does the generator stay outside or did you run an exhaust?

I bought a cheap-o generator for work once in a pinch and it was loud as hell. Check the decibel ratings when making a purchase.
 
The portable setup I did for my client is in his basement on wheels. He opens basement door, wheels outside. starts up & plugs in.

The one I have is permanant pad mount, like an a/c compressor, with nat gas supply.
 
Each 6" element will only pull about 1500W
Click to expand...

For $600 which was the quoted price of the generator, you are going to barely get 1KW out of it. That will only run one element on the store. I would think the main reason to install a transfer box and gen set would be for the heat, well, refrig...

My opinion is that trying to save on too small a gen set will only be disappointing. I thought about a 10KW but even the installer said it was more than I actually needed. I was mainly looking for the automatic operation as my wife isn't about to drag out a gen set and start it up. That along with a long run time. The installed had me up the propane tank to a 120 gallon which will run the set for four days at least when full.
 
rscalzo said:
For $600 which was the quoted price of the generator, you are going to barely get 1KW out of it. That will only run one element on the store. I would think the main reason to install a transfer box and gen set would be for the heat, well, refrig...

My opinion is that trying to save on too small a gen set will only be disappointing. I thought about a 10KW but even the installer said it was more than I actually needed. I was mainly looking for the automatic operation as my wife isn't about to drag out a gen set and start it up. That along with a long run time. The installed had me up the propane tank to a 120 gallon which will run the set for four days at least when full.
Click to expand...

+1 I live in a pretty large house - built in 1750. I think my 5,000watt set up is a bare minimum for what I run. I have $600 into the generator and about the same in the transfer box, (installed). If I had it to do over again, I would have likely invested in a better generator, (mine's a Sears special) that was a little more quiet. Other than that, it's perfect. Power goes out, I wheel the generator out of my basement, fire it up, run the extension cord to the box, (I have a cut out on the lower portion of my door to allow the thick cord to run out and still close the door), wait 5 minutes, plug in, flip the breakers and I'm up and running. Heat, water, cold storage, a couple of lights and TV/Radio...I get about 6-hours on a tank o gas...perfect.
 
My main concern was running the furnace and the well. A few lights and the TV and I'm a happy camper. When they set up the transfer unit he included the garage door openers (never thought of those) and the refrigeration and microwave. The stove is gas so it wasn't an issue. As all of those items aren't used at the same time, the gen-set could handle them nicely. I thought about a stand along generator but my wife wasn't about to drag it out in the middle of the night to set up and start if I was away.

The only thing I would think about if I did it again was lights on the second floor. Not a big deal but a little inconvenient.
 
rscalzo said:
My main concern was running the furnace and the well. A few lights and the TV and I'm a happy camper. When they set up the transfer unit he included the garage door openers (never thought of those) and the refrigeration and microwave. The stove is gas so it wasn't an issue. As all of those items aren't used at the same time, the gen-set could handle them nicely. I thought about a stand along generator but my wife wasn't about to drag it out in the middle of the night to set up and start if I was away.

The only thing I would think about if I did it again was lights on the second floor. Not a big deal but a little inconvenient.
Click to expand...
We're in the same boat right now, looking to wire up in the spring. Same deal - want to wire up furnace blower, well, fridge, and a couple key circuits.

One of my big concerns is how fast these things drink up the propane. From the numbers, some of these units generating 3.5kW/h chew through as much propane in a day as we do for heat in a week - at 20 degrees. Some use about half that, but it's hard to compare numbers since the generators give full and half load only, and not numbers on - say - a 12kWh generator delivering maybe 25% load.

Are the LP/NG generator units as efficient at 25% as they are at 50%? At 100%? Where is the sweet spot for them, generally?
 
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My 7.5KW unit is rated for .8 gals at half rating and about 1.3 gals/hr at full output. I doubt I run mine much past half output as the heat and well only cycle on from time to time. Most other circuits aren't used that much.

I was told to upgrade from the 50 gal. tank to the 120 gallon propane which wasn't a big deal. The only other thing running on propane is the stove and oven which use very little.
 
TheIglu said:
Does anyone make a generator without an engine in the 540 RPM range? I'd like to use my existing powerplant to take over for generator duties instead of having ANOTHER gasoline engine to worry about. I have a rear PTO on my '61 International Harvester B414 tractor that is just begging to get used.

Besides, I'm willing to bet a 40hp diesel is a lot better than a 10hp gas!
Click to expand...

Check out a Tractor Supply store (there is one down in CT) - or go online and check out Northern Tool.

You can get generator heads that will hook up to the 540rpm PTO on a tractor.

Chappell Tractor up in Milford NH probably has them too - I have seen one on a trailer mounted up to a tractor on their lot before.

www.tractorbynet.com is a good source if info for stuff like this - plenty of guys on there who have done this before.
 
I appreciate all the great advice. I went down to HD to check out what they had. I was looking at a Coleman with a Suzuki engine (does that sound right?) It was about $500 and it appears it would do anything I would need and is on wheels. Maybe next years I'll have a transfer switch installed[wink]
 

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