Which 20kw whole house generator would you recommend and why

[pclausen]

Which would give you a ground wire from the rod to the meter base, the transfer switch, and panel 2?

Exactly.

I've seen it engineered like that, installed it like that, and it passed inspection, so it sounds good to me.

Sounds good to me too and will be the easiest change from what I have now!

 

[hr3]

In case nobody else noticed, grounding and bonding are 2 of the most confusing issues that the code book fails to clarify.

Ground rod at generator is optional. I have seen it engineered and passed with a ground rod, and without. You are required to have both a neutral and ground from the generator to the transfer switch.


Neither of the OP's panels were subpanels, but now the panel fed from the transfer switch is.

The non transfered panel can have neutrals and grounds on the same bar, with a main bonding jumper, fed from the meter with SEU cable (2 hots and a ground).

The transfered panel is now a subpanel, neutrals and grounds should be separate, no main bonding jumper, fed from the transfer switch with SER cable (2 hots, neutral, and ground).

The transfer switch (which needs to be service entrance rated in this case), is now the main breaker for the transfered panel, and should have a main bonding jumper, fed from the meter base with SEU cable.

So what your saying is that the transfered panel is no longer part of the service equipment and his 4/0 seu.."that should have been ser" is now a feeder???
I would look at it as all part of the service equipment..

 

[hr3]

that says nothing about NOT using a ground rod at a generator.

my 2001 book is in my work van, but read 250.30 exception 2 (from 2008 code...im not sure if its been renumbered in 2011...ill have to look. it talks about allowing multiple ground bonds AS LONG as a parallel path for grounding is not established. A hard wire connecting all ground rods prevents a parallel path.

I have made ground planes before with 8-10 ground rods for use in highrises and communication equipment. all were tied together and all were 100% legal.

I hope you ment your 2011 book is in your truck.. 250.35 dosn't tell your not to do something it tells you that the ground conductor is to be installed with the supply conductors...

 

[podagrower]

So what your saying is that the transfered panel is no longer part of the service equipment and his 4/0 seu.."that should have been ser" is now a feeder???
I would look at it as all part of the service equipment..

Yes the SER from the transfer switch to the transfered panel would now be a feeder, as it is after the main disconnect (the service entrance rated transfer switch).

I can see your point with calling it all service equipment, because it is right next to the main, but a panel after a main is not service equipment to me.

 

[General Lee]

pclausen - I just pulled the trigger on a 20KW Generac. Ordering through the electrical contractor who is going to install. I debated for months on what to get, finally decided to get a whole house standby.

 

[pclausen]

Congrats! I'm sure you will be very happy with it. We just had another 3 hours with no power during a storm 2 nights ago.

I'm still fighting with the trucking company that I filed the claim with. They are denying it since they say I didn't note that there was any damage when I signed the form. Hopefully I'll get things straightened out with them tomorrow and have them send an inspector out.

 

[OcalaPat]

Well, I'm a little late to the party but here goes. I live in Florida and got sick and tired of the portable/semi stand alone generator hassles. Upgraded to a 20 Kva Stamford NewAge genset powered by a Kubota V2203 4 cyl diesel. Everything runs through an ANSCO automatic transfer switch which also exercises the unit as I wish. In addition, I installed a Power-Saver 1200 primarily as a whole house line conditioner/surge protector but in the process began saving from 12-18% on my monthly utility bill. Gota love that!

Runs entire house including A/C, elect stove, elect water heater, lights, well pump, computers etc. with not even a burp. Best investment I ever made.

 

[big daddy ray]

I HAVE INSTALLED TWO KOHLER ABOUT 18 GENERAC VARIOUS SIZES AND NOT HAVE ANY THAT USED OIL AS LONG AS YOU FOLLOW THE REC. SERVICE AND WHY NOT IF YUO ARE SPENDING 2-5 THOUSND ,100 TO 150 $ A YEAR ISAN'T THAT MUCH GENERAC IS A GOOD MIDDLE OF THE ROAD UNIT KOHLER ARE ABOUT 1000 $ MORE A UNIT I CANT SEE 1000 DOLLARS DIFFERANCE BOTH ARE DEPENDABLE CUMMINGS BOUGHT OUT ONAN AND HANG ON WHEN BUYING PARTS

 

[Onfong]

Hello pclausen, I have been following your thread with a lot of interest as I am exploring the same generator. Your thread has been pretty much been a step by step installation guide. I am curious on how things are going? I also read were you were going to install a DLM module on your air conditioner but I had seen were this transfer switch has a built in module in the panel to handle the AC. What made you decide to add the module? Once again I have enjoyed reading about your project and seeing the great photos, thanks again!

 

[pclausen]

I was finally able to get someone to come out and provide an estimate for the damage during shipping. The cost of the guy coming out was $150 ($75 for examination and $75 to get part numbers from drawings and pricing them).

The repair estimate was:

Parts $383.15
Tax $19.16
Shipping $25
Labor $900.00
Total $1,337.31

So the grand total with the estimate is $1,487!

I submitted everything to the trucking company, hopefully they will pay it since the concealed damage was clearly caused during shipping.

With the estimate done and submitted, I went ahead and fixed the issue. There was a ding in the fan housing from the impact that caused the fan to rub against it. Here's a pic of the area that was touching the fan after I knocked it back into shape:

And here's the fan before I sanded down the rough edges:

And the oil cooler also sustained damage, but is no leaking. I'll be sure to keep an eye on it.

It was quite a bit of work to get the fan housing off. Took me maybe 4 hours total for the job, so if the tech could have done it in the same time, that would have come to $225/hour!

Got it all back together and the problem was fixed. Did a load test and pulled 28A on leg 1 and 30A on leg 2, with AC off, and 48A and 50A with AC on. No problem at all, frequency was 60HZ +/- 1 HZ the whole time, and voltage was 244V at all times.