Seeking Electricians Advice for generator

[cmgee67]

My wife and I are in the market for a generator and have one picked out that is a 9000 watt unit that has a running wattage of 7250 watts. This is obviously not a permanent fixture but for emergencies and the occasional recreational use. I would like the option to hook it into my main breaker panel just in case it is during the dead of winter or heat of summer and I will hopefully be able to keep the house warmish or coolish. I will seek a professional electrician for installation of said hook up. Most of what I have seen is a box on the outside of the house where I can then plug into that 240 outlet and on the opposite end plug into the generator itself. Are there any better Recommendations or other ways to have it ready at a moments notice? I do not have have the pocket change for a permanent generac like some have. This is what I’m able to do now at the moment. Thank you in advance for your professional knowledge.

[philip964]

There are some really great threads on this subject maybe a year or so ago. I learned a great deal. Let me see if I can find one.

viewtopic.php?f=83&t=100047&hilit=generator

This is what popped up. If I remember there is this cool switch you can attach to your panel and portable generator that allows you to use it to power your house. Then I remember there was also discussion that with a change out of the carb you can run it from natural gas.

[eureka40]

YouTube generator interlock. This is a very cost effective way to achieve whole house power on a budget. Perfectly safe as far as back feeding the grid, and your generator remains portable.

[cirus]

The interlock kit will be your most economical way of backfeeding your panel safely provided you have room to add a double pole breaker or can make room. Otherwise a manual transfer switch with built-in twist lock receptacle is next but your service will have to be reworked. We installed one by Generac the other day for a customer.

I had the interlock and an external plug installed. it works like a charm.

This is the simplest, easiest, and most flexible way to do what you need because it doesn't require a separate panel for each circuit you want to run from the generator - you have access to every circuit on your main panel. You also don't need to connect a separate ground rod outside because it uses your house ground. You just have to be careful not to overload the generator by having too many circuits on at the same time.

Make sure to get a long enough main cord to keep the generator at least 20 feet away from the house to avoid carbon monoxide issues.

[cmgee67]

The interlock kit will be your most economical way of backfeeding your panel safely provided you have room to add a double pole breaker or can make room. Otherwise a manual transfer switch with built-in twist lock receptacle is next but your service will have to be reworked. We installed one by Generac the other day for a customer.

Do you think I can purchase the interlock kit from my local electrical supply and have it ready for the electrician once he arrives or do you find it best to have them come out and look and they pick it up. I am a contractor and do buy a bit of wire so I am fairly confident I can get close to their price if I walked in.

[Rex B]

I would let your electrician buy it. It has to match your panel, and it doesn't cost much.
You have to have room (two blank slots) to add a double breaker to the panel.
All the breakers have to be moved down two slots on the right side to allow the new double breaker to be added to the top right slot.

[RPBrown]

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Connecticut ... /100669964

This is what I installed for mine. It is a manual transfer switch but you can pick and choose which circuits you want to energize. Very easy to install if you have any electrical knowledge.

[howdy]

Does your home have natural gas? Costco sells a tri-fuel Firman generator that runs off gas, propane AND natural gas. https://www.costco.com/CatalogSearch?de ... +generator. I have this one and had an electrician wire my breaker box. I had a plumber hook up the natural gas connection. There are also kits that you can install that will convert your generator to natural gas. Also replace ALL your light bulbs to LED's. Amazon has 24 LED bulbs for $20 that burn only 7 watts vs 75 watts. Those bulbs add up when you are using a portable generator. Read some articles on how this emergency hook up works. Example. If you run a home central air conditioning unit, turn the thermostat all the way down. That way the system is not cycling on and off. It draws the most amperage when it first kicks on.