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House wiring questions

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LeveeLiving504

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Kenner Louisiana
I just purchased a 97 mep -803a. I will be hard wiring it to a ATS for my 200a main panel. The generator will need 100 feet of cable to the ATS. These are my questions. Do I need a breaker at the generator location upstream of the ATS? If so what amp rating? What size wire do I need to run for this 100’ length to power the entire house 200a panel? And is there anything else I’m missing.
Thanks


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Scoobyshep

Scoobyshep

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LeveeLiving504 said:
I just purchased a 97 mep -803a. I will be hard wiring it to a ATS for my 200a main panel. The generator will need 100 feet of cable to the ATS. These are my questions. Do I need a breaker at the generator location upstream of the ATS? If so what amp rating? What size wire do I need to run for this 100’ length to power the entire house 200a panel? And is there anything else I’m missing.
Thanks


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The breaker on the generator protects the head and the wire going to the load (assuming the wire is large enough) I have not had the opportunity to play with an 803 as of yet, size the wire for the rated output (if its 55 amp 6AWG will be sufficient) there is no real down side to going larger on the wire.

You need to be mindful of the load, having a smaller than your service generator creates problems with lack of available power (too many big things start at once).

And now my favorite part, grounding and bonding. Depending on how your ATS is configured, the grounding of the generator has to change.


Short answers
Breaker no, not needed
Wire size 41 amps (10000w 240v) plus overhead 6AWG.

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L

LEOK

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Lots of question, what kind of ATS, or is a manual transfer switch
Buy 100amp Alum. direct burial 4 wire service entrance cable for trailers for the run to ATS.
If your being inspected via permit at that distance they may require breaker.
Need more info on ATS
Good time to upgrade house grounding.
 
Z

Zed254

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There's a good amount of info on this subject on the SS site. Here are a few threads worth reading......

Connected my MEP-803A the proper way as my home standby generator... Install pics...

I decided that this is going to be my 15 year home and that we are done moving so I wanted a more permanent installation of my 10kW MEP-803A. I wanted a safe and legal means of connecting it directly to my service panel so that my wife can just throw one lever to restore power after starting the...
www.steelsoldiers.com

2011 Mep 803 wiring for house

According to the TM, it looks like Terminal L2 is not used unless it is 3ph power. The pics are what i have and i need to move the lead from L2 to L3 and the rest is good to go. Please take a look and tell me what you think. I just got it off trailer and set up today. The last pic is my use of...
www.steelsoldiers.com

Setting up an MEP-003A as a permanent stand-by Generator

Hey alls, Now that I've got the unit somewhat buttoned up and load tested, it's time to put it in place and prepare it for use. In this thread, I'll detail how I'm doing just that... a lot of which I've never done. Anyways... lets get started. First, I needed a solid location for the...
www.steelsoldiers.com

MEP-802a House hookup

Hello everyone, Newbie here. I recently found this site after doing a little research on military generators. I must admit that since I have started researching these gensets, I have been fascinated by their capabilities when you compare what they cost to their civilian equivalent generators. I...
www.steelsoldiers.com

connecting to a house panel

as I understand a lot of generator connections are by extension cords. where should the main bonding jumper be located when your generator is connected to your house panel by a cord attached receptacle connection . leaving the main bonding jumper on the gen will allow a parallel path if a...
www.steelsoldiers.com

Question regarding wiring on the panel side

I'm running 6/4 type w cord running from the 803a to a 50a generator inlet. My question is regarding the ground wire. I know the neutral (white) wire connects to the neutral bar. Do I attach the ground (green) wire to the neutral bar also or should I connect to the point where the box is...
www.steelsoldiers.com

Search on particulars and it's probably been discussed.
 
L

LeveeLiving504

Member
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49
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Location
Kenner Louisiana
LEOK said:
Lots of question, what kind of ATS, or is a manual transfer switch
Buy 100amp Alum. direct burial 4 wire service entrance cable for trailers for the run to ATS.
If your being inspected via permit at that distance they may require breaker.
Need more info on ATS
Good time to upgrade house grounding.
Click to expand...
I want to go with an ATS and get the control module for auto start. What 200a ATS is good on the market? What house upgrades to house grounding are you taking about?


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Scoobyshep

Scoobyshep

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Aluminum wire is absolutely trash. If you dont know what your doing it will fail. If your house ground is setup to code dont screw with it.

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Scoobyshep

Scoobyshep

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Voltage drop doesnt really matter because the generator can be boosted

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DieselAddict

DieselAddict

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Something to consider is it is a code violation to use an ATS with a generator not able to fully supply the connect load. Using a 200a ATS on a generator that makes 50a won't fly.

You'll want to review section 702.4 of the NEC.
 
DieselAddict

DieselAddict

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Scoobyshep said:
Voltage drop doesnt really matter because the generator can be boosted

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It does matter because voltage drop is relative to the current being drawn. You can boost it up when you are under load but when the load is removed the voltage will rise. Its best to size the wire so at max load you drop no more than 5% of the unloaded voltage.
 
L

LeveeLiving504

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Kenner Louisiana
DieselAddict said:
Something to consider is it is a code violation to use an ATS with a generator not able to fully supply the connect load. Using a 200a ATS on a generator that makes 50a won't fly.

You'll want to review section 702.4 of the NEC.
Click to expand...
I had a generac 22kw specked for my house and they were using a 200amp ATS and everything I read is ATS must match panel main amp. I even had the code enforcement look at specs and install and they said it was good.


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Scoobyshep

Scoobyshep

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DieselAddict said:
It does matter because voltage drop is relative to the current being drawn. You can boost it up when you are under load but when the load is removed the voltage will rise. Its best to size the wire so at max load you drop no more than 5% of the unloaded voltage.
Click to expand...
Consult a qualified electrician.

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Scoobyshep

Scoobyshep

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LeveeLiving504 said:
I had a generac 22kw specked for my house and they were using a 200amp ATS and everything I read is ATS must match panel main amp. I even had the code enforcement look at specs and install and they said it was good.


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It needs to be large enough for the highest load applied. If your service is 200 amp then it needs to be atleast a 200 amp ats

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DieselAddict

DieselAddict

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LeveeLiving504 said:
I had a generac 22kw specked for my house and they were using a 200amp ATS and everything I read is ATS must match panel main amp. I even had the code enforcement look at specs and install and they said it was good.


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Was the generator installed at the time of inspection? If it was and there is no automatic load shedding then it should not have passed. Obviously things like this slip by but don't count on it.
 
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LeveeLiving504

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Kenner Louisiana
DieselAddict said:
Was the generator installed at the time of inspection? If it was and there is no automatic load shedding then it should not have passed. Obviously things like this slip by but don't count on it.
Click to expand...
Not getting a permit. It’s a portable generator. This genset will run my entire house with soft starts on my 3 AC units.


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DieselAddict

DieselAddict

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Not getting a permit is one way to make sure it will pass inspection. :D

Just as a FYI for others reading the thread, saying its a portable generator doesn't get you out of the violation. If you have a MTS then its assumed you are also doing manual load management so its not an issue. If its an ATS the assumption is the generator could be subjected to the full connected load. Automatically connecting a source to a load its not able to handle is the problem.
 
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