DIY Home Improvement Forum banner

How hard is it to install a standby generator?

5K views 16 replies 12 participants last post by  aljagre 
#1 ·
I want to install a 20KW Kohler natural gas standby generator - is this a viable DIY project or should I be very afraid of blowing up my house?

Alternatively how much would one expect to pay for an electrician to do this? I'm located in Fairfax County, Northern VA. I have a location picked out within 10ft of the gas meter and main electrical panel. Would the electrician handle the gas hookup as well, or is this a job for a plumber?
 
#5 ·
I would NOT consider a 20kW standby unit to a DIY job for anything but the most advanced DIYer. Even then I question it.

Prices are a very subjective thing, but considering the close proximity you will be on the lower end of things. A typical electrician will NOT do the gas piping.
 
  • Like
Reactions: frenchelectrican
#4 ·
i wouldn't recommend a genny instal for anyone that isn't serious about DIY, or someone who's willing to make a lot of mistakes learning how to do it right. If your questioning whether your skills are adequate then you can maybe ask the electrician to do the main connections and ask for some savings if you do some of the grunt work.
 
#15 ·
i wouldn't recommend a genny instal for anyone that isn't serious about DIY, or someone who's willing to make a lot of mistakes learning how to do it right.
I did a 17kw. Andrew is correct about being willing to make, while I won't call them mistakes, corrections and changes as you go along. The manual assumes you have 1) space behind the panel location (or withing 30') for the generator and 2) space right beside the panel for the transfer switch. That is usually not the case.

I did it all including running 150' of gas line. But I started pipelining as teen so that part was easy. Took me a good 2 weeks (not full-time;)) and reconfigured things a couple of times, but it is good to go now. Had a master electrician (neighbor) come up and inspect it and the only thing he dinged me on was taping some of the wires together in the box.

But I also had to reconfigure the transfer switch. I did not need 3 240 circuits. So 2 of them got removed which involved adding neutrals for their replacements and replacing a couple of the breakers with AFCI's.

I plan on posting pics when I get a chance to download them. If I had it to do all over again, I would probably borrow the requirement from our neighbors to the north and to all the wiring in an external box.
 
#8 ·
You can do a few things necessary for the installation. You can level the site and pour the slab. If so inclined you can purchase the equipment. The installation itself is better left to someone with the experience and knowledge to safely handle entrance equipment. Safety is the biggest part of these installations. I take it you will be using it for the entire home?
 
#13 ·
That is "advanced" electrical work. I would recommend getting an electrician who is experienced with the installation of generators and of course get electrical and other permits needed.

Some of this stuff is mind boggling even to experienced electricians. Google the following words for example...

separately derived system generator

and...

gfci generator transfer switch

and...

gfci generator OSHA

and...

generator backfeed danger
 
#14 ·
You must also consider whether it is even legal in your location for you to do the electrical and gasline work. In many places, it is not unless you're a licensed contractor.

I am an experienced DIYer (wife and I built our house essentially by ourselves) and I would not tackle this project. The electrical maybe, but never the gas. While I plumbed our house myself and installed the gas tankless water heater, I paid the propane supplier to run the gasline. It was less than $100.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top