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Keyser Söze

On 3/4/16 12:46 PM, wrote:
On Fri, 4 Mar 2016 02:37:36 -0500, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

On 3/3/2016 8:48 PM, wrote:
On Thu, 3 Mar 2016 19:46:07 -0500, Alex wrote:

wrote:
On Thu, 3 Mar 2016 07:52:40 -0500, Keyser Söze wrote:

I already have a 17KW generator.
I just got an ad that brags about a new in the box Generac 17KW
Standby Generator - $3200

Sounds about right.

Yup and the idea that it would cost $10,000 to install it is
ludicrous.

When we put our pool in back in 2007 the electrical contractor suggested
putting in a generator (propane fueled) of about the same
Kw as Harry's system. We ran the electrical wiring for it since we were
digging trenches for the pool/cabana wiring and manifolding but we
decided to hold off on putting in the generator. His quote for
everything (generator, auto switching system, wiring and propane hookup)
was in the $8K to $9K range, so $10K or so today doesn't sound ludicrous
to me.

If you can get the generator for $3500, why would it cost $6500 to
hook it up? I suspect they were charging you quite a bit more for the
gen set. It sounds like you already had most of the infrastructure in
place anyway.
In my case the gas line is roughed in with a valve on a capped pipe
(when they plumbed in the pool heater) and I would need about 50' of
2ga aluminum SER cable ($80 or so). I doubt I would spend more than
$300-400 to install it. This thing comes with the transfer switch. I
thought that was a good price but Harry would not let that stand.

$3500 seems a fair price for the 17KW unit, which has been discontinued.
We paid more because it was still current when we bought it.

We didn't opt for a Greggy Homeowner installation, so:

1. a Licensed master electrician made a home visit working up usage and
capacities and startup power need in order to properly size what was
needed. He also did an outdoor survey to place the unit according to
code. We also bought a couple of accessories.

2. Two laborers came out to prepare the ground (hilly), and place the
gravel bed, the surround, the base, and place and level the unit where
the electrician indicated.

3. a Licensed master plumber came out to check our existing 500 gallon
tank and specify the location, size and quality of the 100+ of buried
gas line that would be necessary. His apprentice ran a trenching machine
to cut the trench, either 18" or 24" deep, I don't recall, to run the
buried copper gas line to the generator. The county plumbing inspector
came out to look at the trench and the gas line.

4. Two Licensed electricians came out to wire the unit to the new auto
switch and run wires between our two panels to the new switch. Their
apprentice dug a ditch to bury the wires from the generator to the house
and to drill a hole through the concrete foundation walls to reach the
new panel.

5. The next day, the county's gas and electrical inspectors came out,
inspected, approved, and the unit was fired up by the electrician and
plumber, and the trench buried.

I understand this is not how you would do it. But it is the way we had
it done. The price was just under $9000 if memory serves.