We recently had an interlock kit installed with the inlet on the opposite side of the house (panel is not in an ideal location). I had already bought the interlock kit and the inlet box, electrician charged us $750 for about 60 feet of cable, conduit, fittings and labor for the install. We have an 8500 watt Champion portable that should run most everything except the 5 ton AC. Granted it won't run everything simultaneously with the smaller 3 ton AC unit on, but it will run lights, fridge and freezer, septic aerator and sprinkler pumps, window unit ac for sleeping. If we shut everything off except limited lights, septic pumps and fridge and freezer, the smaller AC should be gtg. I also have a 2000 watt Honda Inverter that I would use for electronics.

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Originally posted by tigereye313:
We recently had an interlock kit installed with the inlet on the opposite side of the house (panel is not in an ideal location). I had already bought the interlock kit and the inlet box, electrician charged us $750 for about 60 feet of cable, conduit, fittings and labor for the install. We have an 8500 watt Champion portable that should run most everything except the 5 ton AC. Granted it won't run everything simultaneously with the smaller 3 ton AC unit on, but it will run lights, fridge and freezer, septic aerator and sprinkler pumps, window unit ac for sleeping. If we shut everything off except limited lights, septic pumps and fridge and freezer, the smaller AC should be gtg. I also have a 2000 watt Honda Inverter that I would use for electronics.

Just looked at the interlocks. Going to make some phone calls Monday to electricians. It was also suggested since I have a 100 amp service, I could just upgrade to modern 200 amp service with a fresh panel, and the interlock, and kill 2 birds with one stone, for not much more.

Just had a friend that did that (upgrade to 200a and add interlock). Great choice there!

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Just looked at the interlocks. Going to make some phone calls Monday to electricians. It was also suggested since I have a 100 amp service, I could just upgrade to modern 200 amp service with a fresh panel, and the interlock, and kill 2 birds with one stone, for not much more.

If you are getting panel upgraded and buy the interlock, I'd think most electricians would install it for free, I know I would. Panel upgrades are usually a high profit job. Another option is to buy a GenReady panel, they are 2-3 times more expensive than a standard panel $400 vs $150, but it would leave you ready for a Generac standby unit in the future and you would not need to buy the interlock. It can be used as an manual transfer switch or ATS. It does come without any options for load shedding and there would be some positives and negatives that would come with it vs an standard ATS. Ask your Electrician for details.

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Originally posted by trapper189:
... the 22kw Generac makes for a simpler solution for maybe $750 installed extra.

Not where I am. The generator set (natural gas) with the pad and proper installation from the electrician and plumber would cost about $10k.

Plus, in Connecticut I'm at the point where there is no way I can get back the improvements I put into the house over the past 15 years. We may end up having to move soon, so the portable is a plus.

I'm now looking at a Champion 100520 - 8750-Watt Open Frame Inverter - for about $1200.
https://www.championpowerequip...open-frame-inverter/

Portable makes sense if you plan to move.

The $750 in addition to the cost of having the interlock installed. I have another post in this thread where I detailed what I think the costs will be on both houses we are having these generators installed.

For the pad, the installation manual for the generator I linked said it could be installed on gravel or concrete. The 3'x5' pad used 11-80lb bags @ $4 a bag. It took us less than 2 hours to set the forms and hand mix in a wheelbarrow. The carton for the generator serves as a template for the bolt hole locations. You pre drill them before you place the generator on the pad.

I went with the interlock. While it may be the least expensive method its not the most favorable. I have to go outside and fire up generator then go to the basement and switch breaker off slide lockout over. I have all the breakers labeled with either a red or green sticker. Turn off all the red breakers before turning on the generator. It works but a pain when its dark and having to use flashlight.

At our last house, which we built, we went for the installed natural gas Generac with 2x200 amp automatic transfer switches, and enough juice to run everything in the house (required by code for install without a sub panel). In two years, it ran for three minutes, not counting the weekly self tests. It was really great peace of mind.

When we moved, I considered getting a standby unit installed. Instead, I put the interlock kit in the panel and mounted a permanent power inlet for my 7500 kw portable. All that took me about a much time as I spent changing the oil and filters on that Generac. If it's needed, I'll have to manually connect the portable and keep it full of gasoline. But it's big enough to power lights, TVs and one AC unit.

The big standby generators are really nice to have, but quite expensive (doubly if you hire a guy who steals from you). The biggest selling feature to me is continuous fuel. There was a big storm three months after we sold that house, and it knocked out power for half of the city. The guy who bought the house ran the generator for four days straight before it started giving overheat warnings. I admit that would have been really nice to have, but everyone else in the neighborhood survived.

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Originally posted by steve495:

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Originally posted by trapper189:
... the 22kw Generac makes for a simpler solution for maybe $750 installed extra.

Plus, in Connecticut I'm at the point where there is no way I can get back the improvements I put into the house over the past 15 years. We may end up having to move soon, so the portable is a plus.

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Same here. I'm in a decent location, starter type home near schools, very reliable power system, so this is a convenience for when I'm working. Just want the house close to modern standards to keep it desirable for retirement.

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Originally posted by Largefarva:

If you don’t mind me asking, what is the total price that you’re looking at for getting that generator installed? I really want to get a generator here for our infrequent outages, but haven’t really looked into it because I figured it would cost too much.

In a post on the previous page I said I thought $1,500-$2,000 for the one house and $1,000-1,500 for the other house. I got the bill from the electrician. I was wrong and maybe right. It was $2,000 for the electric alone at the one house and $1,000 for the electric alone at the other house. The cable to hook the generator to the transfer switch was $6/ft. The box the transfer switch comes in doesn't have any knockouts, so the electrician used a hydraulic press tool he had to punch holes in the box.

It rained the day the plumber was supposed to come, he'll be out in the next week or so. The plumber has the easier job as all the connections are outside the house and each run is only 10'.