Electrician run around

[Josephml21]

I'm in the process of wrapping up my install. Between a electrician friend and a lot of reading on NEC code I felt comfortable doing a lot of the "manual leg work" like digging the trench, laying conduit, pulling 6awg thwn rated at 65 amps, pouring a concrete pad for my 803.

All I have left is the actual install of my 200amp GE DPDT manual transfer switch. As I call electricians I've been getting alot of push back, them expressing that they really don't feel comfortable working on something that they didn't do start to finish.

I really thought I was doing them a favor by doing all the mundane work. I received alot of questions about how deep I buried my conduit, tons about the generator itself like who makes it, what fuel it runs off of, what's it rated for.

Anyway I just needed to blow off a little steam. Feel free to put me in my place.

 

[Light in the Dark]

Your work = money out of their pocket. I just spent $550 to have (1) hose spigot installed on my house because my wife just had to get it in this week.... so yeah, these "skilled trades" people can take a number with me.

 

[NormB]

lawyers and liability and experience.

I’ve had similar experiences over the years and understand the thought processes. When a professional does a job, he’s responsible for every detail. He also may have different ways of running/stringing/bundling wires which, while your method will work, may not be exactly as he was taught and the time spent tracing, troubleshooting, “unfracking” your work to suit his methods make many of these jobs just not at all interesting or cost-efficient.

I’ve done my share of plumbing, carpentry, tile, electrical, HVAC and even painting and, while I have a pretty good sense of my limitations, am planning out ALL the wiring in my garage (lights, 120, 240 outlets) and conditioned space on my farm in TN, including a 100A panel with a manual backup generator switch and the wiring to the genset. Nothing I haven’t done before and it’ll be fun. No waiting for the electrician, paying thousands for what, for me, will be days of new installation, fun stuff. I can even sink ground rods.

But yeah, I’ve found that, often, once you’re hours or days into a job and in over your head, it’s nearly impossible to find a professional to bail you out. So I don’t.

YMMV.

 

[fa35jsf]

It’s unfortunate you can’t find someone. I prefer to do all that stuff myself because like you I’ve done my research and feel confident I can do it right and safely. Unlike you, I don’t live in an area that requires permits, inspections, or a licensed contractor.

My best advice for you is if you can’t find a good professional electrician to take on the job, you may have to start getting flexible on the “good professional” part and just hire someone that has a license that will satisfy code. If it’s not done to your liking then you could always redo it after the inspector looks at it.


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[robertsears1]

I would check to see if your county allows you to work on your own house. My county does and I wired my whole house to include a 400 amp service entrance, 2 200 amp main panels and a 125 amp subpanel. The book “Wiring a house” by Rex Cauldwell is excellent and the latest revision shows how to do generator hookups. I passed my inspection first try.

Robert

 

[Josephml21]

Excellent replies everyone! After doing some more calling around I found a reputable company that has what sounds like a younger guy working for them.

He took the time to figure out what I was doing, asked questions and even gave me so options on how to finish the job. I went with the DPDT manual transfer switch and he said it would be cheaper and possibly easier to go the interlock route.

I'm a pretty sharp guy and work in a technical field, I don't mind reading and learning I just didn't think this was going to be the hurdle. Anyways he'll be swinging by this coming Tuesday to finish the job.

 

[Triple Jim]

Like robertsears1 said, my county lets me do all the work, since I'm the owner of the property. I'm fortunate about that, since the county I grew up in won't let that happen. It's worth looking into for your next project.

I like to go talk to the inspector before I do any work that requires a permit and inspection. I ask what he needs to see when he gets here. Then I do what it takes so he can see that, and he passes the work.

 

[Josephml21]

The electrician got back to me and said that it would be cheaper and easier to use a interlock kit that is made for my distribution panel in the house.

According to him he spoke with the inspector and was advised that by putting a disconnect outside of the house would technically make the distribution panel a sub-panel and he would have to wire in separate neutral and grounds for each panel.

At this point I just want the work done and the generator operational.

 

[Light in the Dark]

There is safe, and there is legal... sometimes they are one in the same. Panel interlocks are cheap $$ and do the job just fine. If you were talking high amperage, Id put in a manual handle service disconnect before the panel... but interlocks work just fine for 802/803s.

 

[Josephml21]

There is safe, and there is legal... sometimes they are one in the same. Panel interlocks are cheap $$ and do the job just fine. If you were talking high amperage, Id put in a manual handle service disconnect before the panel... but interlocks work just fine for 802/803s.

I hear you. I bought a GE 200 amp DPDT switch from home depot and was ready to get this wrapped up but now it looks like I will be returning that in favor for the 80 dollar interlock.

I just want the thing operational. The old lady is starting to get pissy about the money and time sunk into a project that is still not finished.

I'm sure she'll be greatful when the power goes out.

 

[Bmxenbrett]

Interlock is the way to go. Cost effective and safe. You can install it your self.

 

[Chainbreaker]

...The old lady is starting to get pissy about the money and time sunk into a project that is still not finished.

I'm sure she'll be greatful when the power goes out.

That's what happened in my situation. Initially she questioned if we really even needed a generator when I bought the first one. She rationalized that we only had a couple of outages of 4 hrs or less in our first 5 years of moving and buying the new house, that the money could be better spent elsewhere...yada, yada, yada.

However, after our multiday ice storm outage she was singing a different tune & crowing to all her co-workers, who were telling stories of woe about being without electricity for days, that it was life as normal at our house during the outage. When I bought the 2nd generator to fully power our compound she was 100% supportive. She then went so far as to encouraged me by instructing me to "jump on it", when I hesitated, to buy a backup genset that was offered at a good price...lol.

Since then, all 3 gensets have come into play during multi-day outages that seem to be happening all the more frequently due to heightened weather events. Now she finds the sound of a running generator very reassuring...even more so than me. lol

 

[lonesouth]

I had an 8kw that would run everything except the AC. Then Hermine hit in the summer. She said "I don't care what it cost, or if it will run nothing other than the AC..." Now the 803 runs everything AND the AC

She's happy.

 

[Daybreak]

Howdy

Panel inter-lock
steps to follow
1. Brand of your panel
2. search for that brand inter-lock piece
3. purchase your dual pole circuit breakers which will be wired to generator (or inlet receptacle)
4. purchase your properly sized wire.

The reason for this.. say your service panel is a Square D. They have a proper generator inter-lock for it. You are good to go with all that UL inspected stuff.

There are third party inter-locks out there. Be a little leery. It might work fine, but for those pesky inspectors, its a no go.

Most big brand service panels have generator inter-locks kits available. They are made to stay in place when the front surround is taken off.



A thread a while back Generator Connection Choices

 

[Josephml21]

The install is finally done! I'll get pictures up as soon as possible, I'm on vacation.... **** I wasn't even at the house while the electrician was there finishing the install.

Now it's time to sit back and wait for the power to go out!

 

[lonesouth]

Wait? You need at least a couple test runs to ensure SOP is clear and concise, and the wife know's how to operate all switches and levers...

I did create an SOP with pictures to explain step by step what to do.

 

[Wire Fox]

Wait? You need at least a couple test runs to ensure SOP is clear and concise, and the wife know's how to operate all switches and levers...

I did create an SOP with pictures to explain step by step what to do.

Nice! I love writing documentation like that. I don't have enough stuff that I have "finalized" yet in my house for my wife. As it is, she's still nervous about all of the gas appliances I have setup, as she grew up with all-electric. Thinking about that, I think I might make her be the one to light these and turn them off, even if I'm the one cooking, that way she finally gets over her fear of using them when I'm not home... That said, my power backup plan is mostly about cycling the blower and igniter for heat in the winter, the sump pump year-round, and the fridge/freezer year-round. For that, I have two 1800W inverters and a 1600W inverter. Once at least one of those is hard-mounted to the HMMWV, I'll teach her how to safely vent the space, start it up, check everything for proper charging, set a high idle, and safely interconnect to the vital household equipment. Poor man's manual generator setup! (Well...at least, poor enough to not be able to afford an 802/803 and​ a HMMWV.)

 

[Josephml21]

Nice! I love writing documentation like that. I don't have enough stuff that I have "finalized" yet in my house for my wife. As it is, she's still nervous about all of the gas appliances I have setup, as she grew up with all-electric. Thinking about that, I think I might make her be the one to light these and turn them off, even if I'm the one cooking, that way she finally gets over her fear of using them when I'm not home... That said, my power backup plan is mostly about cycling the blower and igniter for heat in the winter, the sump pump year-round, and the fridge/freezer year-round. For that, I have two 1800W inverters and a 1600W inverter. Once at least one of those is hard-mounted to the HMMWV, I'll teach her how to safely vent the space, start it up, check everything for proper charging, set a high idle, and safely interconnect to the vital household equipment. Poor man's manual generator setup! (Well...at least, poor enough to not be able to afford an 802/803 and​ a HMMWV.)

Hahaha. I remembered when I moved to Phoenix and Southwest gas refused to turn my gas on unless I was home. It was winter and cold in the house. I tried to explain to the customer service rep that I grew up all gas and had turned everything off in the house and reassured her there would be no leaks. No joy. I had to take time off to make it happen.

The funny part of the story is in all my frustration I said "lady I grew up in a all gas house, even my microwave was gas"!

After that phone call I had like 3 coworkers actually believe I had a gas microwave. Can't save them all I guess.

 

[Triple Jim]

The funny part of the story is in all my frustration I said "lady I grew up in a all gas house, even my microwave was gas"!

When I was a kid, one of the neighbors had a gas air conditioner. You don't see them much these days.

 

[Josephml21]

When I was a kid, one of the neighbors had a gas air conditioner. You don't see them much these days.

Yes sir... I know some RV's are outfitted with gas refrigerators and such.