Here's one for your weekend

[Robert Jones]

This is a home, built in 2001, shockingly bank owned;), and the wiring is, well, you can see. The red wires, all 12 gauge, are from the 'professionally" installed generator plug.

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[Jim Katen]

This is a home, built in 2001, shockingly bank owned;), and the wiring is, well, you can see. The red wires, all 12 gauge, are from the 'professionally" installed generator plug.

And the problem is . . .

[Robert Jones]

Jim,

Should the 12 gauge not be run on 20 amp breakers? Should the generator not have a transfer switch? Shouldn't there be a different relay(30amp)? Is there not a possibility of back feeding with this set up? They disconnected the listed uses for each breaker to run this generator switch.

Thanks for your advice.

[Jim Katen]

Jim,

Should the 12 gauge not be run on 20 amp breakers?

That depends on what you're trying to power with them. Putting #12 wire on a 15-amp breaker isn't a problem if you're only drawing 15 amps or less on each circuit.

Should the generator not have a transfer switch?

The gizmo on the right is a transfer switch. I believe it's made by Reliance.

Shouldn't there be a different relay(30amp)?

What relay?

Is there not a possibility of back feeding with this set up?

No. Each breaker on the transfer switch transfers its circuit to the generator while simultaneously disconnecting it from the street power.

They disconnected the listed uses for each breaker to run this generator switch.

I'm not sure what you mean by that. If I remember these things right, you're supposed to take your circuit wire off of the service panel breaker and feed it though the transfer switch and then back to the breaker. I might be remembering wrong, but I seem to recall that those red wires come in numbered pairs. If you're dealing with, say, the fridge circuit, you take the fridge wire off of it's breaker and connect it to wire #5. You then take the other wire #5 and connect it to the original breaker. When the transfer switch #5 is in the normal position, power from the breaker feeds through it to the fridge circuit. When the transfer switch #5 is in the generator position, power from the generator feeds to the fridge, but it's disconnected from the service panel breaker.

Make sense?

- Jim in Oregon

[Robert Jones]

Jim,

That does make sense. I am so used to seeing ytansfer swithches that are associated with much larger breakers, that this one caught me off guard a bit.

Thanks for the explanantion

[hmiller]

According to Reliance install instructions;

"The transfer switch circuits with 20 Amp breakers must be

connected only to branch circuits with 20 Amp breakers in the load

center. Do not connect transfer switch circuits to any branch

circuits greater than 20 Amps.

NOTE: The transfer switch circuits with 15 Amp breakers can be

connected to branch circuits with either 15 or 20 Amp breakers in

the load center."

Link;

http://www.reliancecontrols.com/Documen ... ctions.pdf

[Robert Jones]

Thanks Harold.