On 10/5/2018 9:42 PM, wrote:
On Fri, 5 Oct 2018 20:12:01 -0400, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

On 10/5/2018 7:45 PM, wrote:
On Fri, 5 Oct 2018 15:33:33 -0400, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

On 10/5/2018 3:24 PM, wrote:
On Fri, 5 Oct 2018 14:15:49 -0400, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

On 10/5/2018 1:27 PM, wrote:
On Fri, 05 Oct 2018 07:08:36 -0400, John H.
wrote:

On Thu, 4 Oct 2018 21:08:56 -0400, "Mr. Luddite" wrote:


Been doing it for years. The outside transfer switch just makes it more
convenient. Actually, my point was that there are many devices
available today that weren't around years ago. I had never heard of
an outside transfer switch like the one we are installing. My
son-in-law, being current on this stuff suggested it.

You're talking about something like this, right?

http://tinyurl.com/yaecwjem

I wonder how much an electrician would charge to install one. Might be a nice Christmas present for
the kids.

Installing the switch is not the expensive part. It is swinging over
the 6 (or more) circuits you want to transfer. Your mileage will
certainly vary on that one depending on where you want the generator
and where the panel is.
Also be aware generators may be putting out 115 volts and not 120 so
voltage drop can be an issue. That feeder from the generator may have
to be up sized if it is very long. I know it was a problem for my. The
fridge in the kitchen was only seeing 106-108v on start up.
I now have one of these for it. (a gift from Henk, my dutch friend)
http://gfretwell.com/electrical/Henc%20Variac.jpg

It lets you adjust the voltage up or down.



Greg, I think you are making this far more complicated than it really
is. The unit John found has a 10 foot long whip with 10 awg wires for
each circuit to be transferred. More than enough for typical household
circuits.

The idea is to mount the transfer box as close to the indoor power panel
as possible. If that can't be done, then another method should be used.

I had a voltage drop problem in Florida when I ran power down to a slab
that I put in for the RV we had at the time. The slab was about 75 feet
or so from the house panel. I used 6 awg wire but the voltage
at the RV drooped to as low as 104 volts sometimes mainly because the
whole service to the community drooped at times to under 115 volts. I
got a Hughes buck/boost autotransformer that cured that problem.

https://autoplicity.com/ImageLoader/12268501

How is my variac "too complicated" It is essentially what your buck
boost transformer does, it was free and it is adjustable.
The only thing I had a problem with was the fridge in the kitchen and
that is because it is a long way from the generator. (Using existing
house wiring)



I was not commenting on your variac. I was commenting on how
detailed and involved your comments are regarding hooking up a simple
little outdoor transfer switch that is specifically designed to be
located near (within 10 feet) of the house power panel. Voltage drop
isn't an issue. It's really not all that complicated if you install and
use it in accordance with what it is designed for.

My comment about the autotransformer was simply an example of long runs
and the voltage drop that may occur. I agree with you there but that's
not the issue with the Reliance outdoor transfer switch we are talking
about.


The point was PoCos usually give you 120v or more (mine is 123-124)
and a lot of generators are more like 115 so an existing voltage drop
issue may show up at 115 but not at 120+.
I agree 10' of #10 will not be an issue at all but if the generator
ends up a ways away because of noise or CO concerns, that feeder to
the generator may be an issue. Especially if you are starting at 115v.


In my case, it's not an issue but agree it could be in some cases. The
"feeder" I will use is 12 awg. Last year when I did the extension cord
thing I used a 25' heavy duty, 12 awg extension cord. I monitored the
voltage and current using a "KillaWatt" meter.

https://tinyurl.com/y6vtmrqe

Voltage was 123vac with no load and the same (123 vac) at about half
load (6amps). The Honda's max output is just over 13 amps so any voltage
drop is negligible.

Noise is not an issue. Honda eu2000i's are very quiet. Last winter when
I was using it to run the heat and refrigerator it was sitting outside
about 12 feet away from the house but within sight of the bedroom window.

If I woke up in the middle of the night I often had to get up and make
sure it was still running and not out of gas. Barely audible from
inside the house.


As long as your generator is putting out that kind of voltage you will
be fine but those old school "contractor" generators seem to be stuck
with 115. There are threads about how to crank it up but not a lot of
successes. Nobody has found the magic adjusting pot ;-(
I remembered I had the Variac and I gave up on the generator voltage
thing.
Everything else seems OK except this one fridge. It works but it
sounds like it is struggling to start sometimes. I ended up running a
12ga cord from the receptacle in the bathroom (dedicated 20a circuit)
and it was better but that is what we were trying to avoid.
That 14 ga circuit goes almost all the way to the far end if the house
and comes back to pick up the fridge. (the back bedroom circuit). It
used to also pick up that bathroom behind the fridge.
I did get the bathroom off that circuit in the remodel but the bedroom
is still on it. All that ever runs on that circuit is a lamp, an
overhead light and the clock so it wasn't worth fixing. It is about
100' of 14ga wire tho.



Problem with trying to increase the voltage on contractor type
generators by increasing engine RPM is that doing so will also increase
the frequency. They are designed by virtue of the number of coil
windings and number of poles to produce an output voltage at a frequency
of 60 Hz.

That's a big advantage that inverter type generators have. They can
produce a fixed voltage at 60Hz at virtually any reasonable engine
RPM with a reduction of current capacity at the lower RPM scale.