Anyone know anything about installing a standby home generator?

[Kenny202]

Regularly losing power every night for a couple of hours and will only get worse with the storm season coming. I am an Electrician by trade and was thinking

of making an inlet for a small portable honda generator just to run low wattage LED lights and fans should we lose power. Normally back home it would be done with a 3 way switch were you could switch between mains and generator power and have an inlet on the wall to plug in the genset. Is that how its done here? Do you need to be qualified here to do electrical work on your own home?

[Jdietz]

Go right ahead and start installing. Anything you will do yourself will be lightyears ahead of the local work standard.

[Kenny202]

I realise that after some of the things I seen but would like to know the actual legal position and if anyone knows how the installation should be performed

[Crossy]

Let's go over to sparking

[Crossy]

Have a look here http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/671221-build-a-low-cost-semi-automatic-generator-transfer-switch/ read the thread to the end for important updates.

You looking for full auto, semi-auto or manual genset start and transfer?

You need no formal training or registration here, to be quite honest a competent DIYer will do a far better job than many of the domestic sparks available.

[Kenny202]

I am qualified in Australia so doing the job no problem but reason I asked is I will have to get the local power people to pull the plug on the mains or remove the service fuse while I reconnect to the transfer switch.

[Crossy]

I am qualified in Australia so doing the job no problem but reason I asked is I will have to get the local power people to pull the plug on the mains or remove the service fuse while I reconnect to the transfer switch.

Service fuse?? No such animal here. Service overload protection via the transformer fuses.

No meter seals so just pop the cover and remove the tails from the load side and you're good to go.

[Kenny202]

Thanks bloke. Unscrew the tails live?

[Crossy]

Thanks bloke. Unscrew the tails live?

No choice, rubber flipflops and Marigolds if you're the nervy type.

Whilst you've got the tails out drop an isolator into the supply before the CU so you don't need to do it again.

EDIT Supply here is 3-phase 4-wire TNC-S with MEN and a local rod (just like Oz). MEN is wired like the US NEC with the incoming neutral going via the ground bar.

Useful reading (OK looking at pictures) here http://www.crossy.co.uk/Handy%20Files/groundwire.pdf

[Kenny202]

Haha I wish they would have told the Hotel about MEN in Khon Kaen I stayed last week. Got out of the swimming pool for a smoke, lent against the railing and got a full whack to the old feller. Hurt too! When we informed the Hotel staff they giggled

[Crossy]

Haha I wish they would have told the Hotel about MEN in Khon Kaen I stayed last week. Got out of the swimming pool for a smoke, lent against the railing and got a full whack to the old feller. Hurt too! When we informed the Hotel staff they giggled

Welcome to our world

[gerry123]

i really think you have received some sound advice from T.V. s resident sparky

i just love this bit Do you need to be qualified here to do electrical

[MZurf]

Forgive the stupid question but since I have no idea about these things and would like to have a backup generator installed in my house I have to ask what is a semi-automatic switch? I can understand the fully automatic and manual system (I think )but not the semi.

Edited May 3, 2015 by MZurf

[Crossy]

The idea of the semi (have a look at my thread) is to stop the genset when power returns, but still manual start.

Great for those with simple gensets without electric start or control electronics.

[Torrens54]

Kenny202 and Crossy,

I wish you well in your Sparky Speak. Also wish I had known one or both of you, when we were renovating a few years ago. Most of the electrical stuff turned out "sort of okay," although I had grave doubts about some of what I saw the Local Lads doing at the time....anyway............

"Fingers, if not WIRES Crossed."

Edited May 3, 2015 by Torrens54

[Naam]

I am qualified in Australia so doing the job no problem but reason I asked is I will have to get the local power people to pull the plug on the mains or remove the service fuse while I reconnect to the transfer switch.

Service fuse?? No such animal here. Service overload protection via the transformer fuses.

No meter seals so just pop the cover and remove the tails from the load side and you're good to go.

last year a won a bet. one of my visiting German friends did not believe that we don't have service fuses

[pigeonjake]

we have a little geni,, and to be honest i havnt wired it in, all we do is run 2 extentions from it one to the kitchen for the fridge, a light and a fan and the other goes into the living room for a fan and light,and computer,

the electric is not off for more then 6 hours at a time lol,

it does for us,

jake

[Kenny202]

I thought the fridge would be too much load on a genni. But yeah extension leads wud work I guess but as ours electricity seems to be cutting everyday wud be nice to have the convenience of hooking into the mains

[Kenny202]

By the way, would be putting mine outside. Is it noisey enough to worry the neighbour's?

[arrowsdawdle]

I realise that after some of the things I seen but would like to know the actual legal position and if anyone knows how the installation should be performed

Fairly straightforward so long as you make sure to install a transfer switch, which you will throw to OFF position when firing up the generator so you won't overload the circuits when the generator is running if the the power from the grid kicks back on. Don't skip this step.

[pigeonjake]

ours as i have said runs all i have put and it would run more,

the noise well it does drone, but the revs dont go up that much to be honest, we are alone, we dont have neighbors for over 500yrds so that isnt a problem, we just have our outside on the veranda, run one cable through the kitchen window and the other into living room, job done

[oneday]

Just had our house built and I asked for a switch over for a generator. They put in a box with two large double knife switches. So when power is out just reverse the switches and start the generator.

The bad thing is the wires coming down under the house that will carry the load from the generator to the house are smaller than I would have liked so I will have to make sure the refrigerator is unplugged while using the generator and not use the AC units...just lights and one fan and the water pump if needed.

[Balance]

Don't worry about the "qualified" thing. I learned this a couple of years ago when I took a look in the attic; I am really surprised the house has not burned to the ground (I rent for a reason).

I moved here from Atlanta and had outages all the time. The thing to do there is put a large generator in the basement and tie a natural gas line to it, exhaust it outside and then wire what you could to the main panel. It was pretty cool. Power would go out and 20 seconds latter whatever you had wired into the generator was back up.

Best of luck.

[Crossy]

Just had our house built and I asked for a switch over for a generator. They put in a box with two large double knife switches. So when power is out just reverse the switches and start the generator.

The bad thing is the wires coming down under the house that will carry the load from the generator to the house are smaller than I would have liked so I will have to make sure the refrigerator is unplugged while using the generator and not use the AC units...just lights and one fan and the water pump if needed.

If your description is accurate this is worrying.

Is there any form of interlock to prevent the genset and mains being connected at the same time?

If not fear for the genset if the mains is on, fear for the poor souls trying to reconnect your supply if the mains is off.

It is IMPERATIVE that both the mains and genset can NOT be connected at the same time, ever!

Change-over knife switches are readily available, I suggest you get one installed by someone who actually knows what they are doing.

[captspectre]

I realise that after some of the things I seen but would like to know the actual legal position and if anyone knows how the installation should be performed

there is no legal provision, build what you want there are no building inspectors up country.

[captspectre]

I realise that after some of the things I seen but would like to know the actual legal position and if anyone knows how the installation should be performed

there is no legal provision, build what you want there are no building inspectors up country.

I use two extension cords running from my generator to the house to run the rerregerator and fna and TV.

[technologybytes]

The legal position is that there isn't a legal position... just do it.

Actually if all you want is to run some fans and lights why not get a couple of deep cycle batteries and a inverter, that way you can get a few hours on battery power and simply recharge the batteries when the power comes on.

Top quality generators will automatically start up take over when the power goes off, but they are very much more expensive than than the portable type that you are probably looking at.

[TheKnave]

Just had our house built and I asked for a switch over for a generator. They put in a box with two large double knife switches. So when power is out just reverse the switches and start the generator.

The bad thing is the wires coming down under the house that will carry the load from the generator to the house are smaller than I would have liked so I will have to make sure the refrigerator is unplugged while using the generator and not use the AC units...just lights and one fan and the water pump if needed.

If your description is accurate this is worrying.

Is there any form of interlock to prevent the genset and mains being connected at the same time?

If not fear for the genset if the mains is on, fear for the poor souls trying to reconnect your supply if the mains is off.

It is IMPERATIVE that both the mains and genset can be connected at the same time, ever!

Change-over knife switches are readily available, I suggest you get one installed by someone who actually knows what they are doing.

Think you meant "can NOT be connected at the same time, ever!", eh?

[Naam]

why not get a couple of deep cycle batteries and a inverter

[Crossy]

Just had our house built and I asked for a switch over for a generator. They put in a box with two large double knife switches. So when power is out just reverse the switches and start the generator.

The bad thing is the wires coming down under the house that will carry the load from the generator to the house are smaller than I would have liked so I will have to make sure the refrigerator is unplugged while using the generator and not use the AC units...just lights and one fan and the water pump if needed.

If your description is accurate this is worrying.

Is there any form of interlock to prevent the genset and mains being connected at the same time?

If not fear for the genset if the mains is on, fear for the poor souls trying to reconnect your supply if the mains is off.

It is IMPERATIVE that both the mains and genset can be connected at the same time, ever!

Change-over knife switches are readily available, I suggest you get one installed by someone who actually knows what they are doing.

Think you meant "can NOT be connected at the same time, ever!", eh?

Oops

I've edited it to avoid confusion (one of the advantages of modship, no edit window), but I'll leave the comment to show even Mods are human