On 11/12/2014 2:08 PM, Tim Wescott wrote:
What's the switch called that you use to cut a circuit over from street
'lectricity to a generator?

And do they come in a little 15- or 20-amp version?

I just lost most of today's opportunity to work to a power outage (big
windstorm today), and spent my down-time buying a generator. I can just
toss an extension cord through the window of my office to the generator,
but it'd be nice to connect it to my office plugs instead.


Smallest I've seen for code-compliant installation in the US is 60 amps:

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Reliance-Controls-60-Amp-Utility-Generator-Transfer-Switch-TCA0606D/202216483

We installed one of these and a separate sub-panel to feed the essential
circuits (computers, furnace, stove, refrigerator, freezer, etc.) for
about $140 and worth every penny.

Prior to that we had a 50A range plug on the generator and a range plug
fed from a 2-pole breaker in the main panel and a range cord feeding the
sub-panel. Manually changing over was not a problem but the transfer
switch makes it a 1/2 second task even in the dark.

Carla

If electricity comes from electrons, does morality come from morons?