Generator Interlock Question

Micdisc · 10-27-2012, 08:56 AM

I posted this question in the general discussion, but I think that might have been the wrong place once I found this forum. Sorry moderators.

Hi everyone, I'm knew to this website, but I'm interested in learning some new tricks as well as helping some others. I am not an electrician, but I am an electrical engineer.

To make a long story short, while building my dad's house the electrician did not do a very good job on the generator panel installation. When I say this, I do not mean hooking up wires, but with the interlock/transfer of power portion.

To resolve this and meet the inspector's liking, the electrician inserted two red side by side interlocks on the panel. My question to you guys is what are these officially called and where can you find them. I cannot find them anywhere online to order some more. They go in between the double pole breaker connector but they do not connect. This way both breakers can be shut off.

What do you guys think?
Please see picture below.

Speedy Petey · 10-27-2012, 09:01 AM

May I ask what the question is? If those are approved interlocks for that panel what are you looking for?

Micdisc · 10-27-2012, 09:03 AM

Since the inspector passed solution. I was thinking about doing a similar setup for my house. Considering that these things are just little bits of plastic, it would seem that it would be a lot cheaper than the full blown transfer switch panel.

That GE Power Mark Gold Load Center box accepted these, but I cannot find anything online or in the store where I can find these plastic tabs again. I'm not sure where the electrician found this and he left before I could ask. So my question is, where do I find these things?

Thanks again,
Micah

andrew79 · 10-27-2012, 10:26 AM

Google generator interlock kit and you'll see hundereds of them.

Micdisc · 10-27-2012, 12:33 PM

Right....not exactly what I meant.

I have Googled this hundreds of times and have come up with hundreds of different kinds of interlock kits. All require some drilling of the panel and having a master breaker. The reason I was looking for these plastic tabs is because it is so easy. slip in the tabs and poof, your done (if you can find them). I've exhausted the GE load center site trying to find these and also Google.

I just thought that somebody would have seen these and know what they were.

andrew79 · 10-27-2012, 09:59 PM

The panel is being backfed through a breaker. I believe, but I'm not sure as we don't use them here, that a quality interlock kit usually runs from the main to a lower breaker. You actually aren't allowed to backfeed a panel through a breaker in my parts so that set up would be illegal.

Micdisc · 10-28-2012, 08:40 AM

Well this is probably true that the panel cannot be backfed through the breaker. This might have been a case where the inspector had been out 8 to 10 times just to pass electrical and he finally just passed it. (Like I said before, the electrician left a lot of things not in code). So with each thing fixed, there was another thing found, prompting the inspector to come out again and again and again.

Anyway, this is probably a good reason why I cannot find these online or anywhere because it is not allowed. However, now I can't help but wonder what these would be used for since they do sell them somewhere.

In any case, thank you for your help.

brric · 10-28-2012, 09:29 AM

Those are are GE designed. That is the same design used in their small transfer panels. I have one of their transfer panels in my home.

GE Model TM830FCUGEN

Anti-wingnut · 10-28-2012, 09:58 AM

You're an I/O EE aren't you?

Anti-wingnut · 10-28-2012, 10:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by andrew79

The panel is being backfed through a breaker. I believe, but I'm not sure as we don't use them here, that a quality interlock kit usually runs from the main to a lower breaker. You actually aren't allowed to backfeed a panel through a breaker in my parts so that set up would be illegal.

Since it's only being fed thru a 50A breaker, I would guess that its a sub-panel.

A line-voltage EE should be skookum on this, unless they're a I/O EE, at which point they have about the same education regarding line-voltages as a hairdresser.

Micdisc · 10-28-2012, 10:59 AM

Thats a pretty broad generalization there. My degree is ee. While a lot of classes were digital and small circuits i took all high power classes i could find. My work is at a steel mill dealing with 34.5kv down to the standard 480. I didnt install anything at the house for the record.

Anyway. Im not the most knowledgable by any means. But im not a hairdresser lol.