[puttster]

I got inspired by this fellow http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U8AxSkzgCTY
He avoided paying $150 for a $10 device from
http://www.interlockkit.com/typicalinstall1.htm

Though my panel is not the same, I'd like to design something like that. It seems to capture the spirit of DIY. I wonder if anyone here has made their own interlock / lockout mechanism and has some advice on it.

puttster

 

[k_buz]

An interlock needs to be listed.

 

[puttster]

Anyone got some ideas? Thanks!

 

[electures]

Anyone got some ideas? Thanks!

Yes. You can't do it. The kit has to be UL listed. If you make your own, it is not listed and is a code violation.

 

[COLDIRON]

No good

It's a great diy scheme however I am sure somewhere, somehow, some date long ago someone already did this and probably isn't among the living anymore. Naturally or by accident.
As long as man has been alive people have tried to save a buck and lost their lives.
Don't mess with electric install an approved interlock or have one installed by a real electrician.
The codes are written for a reason so people don't die.

 

[Oso954]

If it was just his life, maybe the objection wouldn't object be as great.

But, if his jury rig device fails to work properly and he back feeds the grid, he could kill one or more linemen. (Usually, the 120V becomes 12,000V when you back feed the first transformer)

Trying to save a few bucks for the approved and tested device is not worth the risk you are putting onto others.

 

[danpik]

The scary thing about that instalation is tha someone randomly drilled and put screws into that dead front. Part of the UL listing that approved devices get include the install instructions for the particular panel it is to be installed on. A homeowner engineered device like that could come in contact with the bus bars inside the box with less than favorable results.

 

[puttster]

Okay, watch the screws vs the bus bars? Now we're getting somewhere. Unbelievable the level of brain-deadedness here.

 

[Jim Port]

Okay, watch the screws vs the bus bars? Now we're getting somewhere. Unbelievable the level of brain-deadedness here.

What is unbelieveable is that you appear to have ignored numerous people that have told you that making your own interlock is in no way correct code-wise or liability-wise. I guess you are just one of those that keeps going until they get the answer they want. :furious:

 

[tylernt]

Okay, watch the screws vs the bus bars? Now we're getting somewhere. Unbelievable the level of brain-deadedness here.

The code is there to protect human life. If you think saving lives is "brain-deadedness", there is nothing we can do to help you.

Just FYI. If you get the interlock kit made by your panel manufacturer, the cost is far lower than the interlockkit ones. The Square D QO2DTI, for example, retails for $28.39. So by the time you add up the labor and materials making an illegal interlock, it would be faster, cheaper, and easier to just buy the legal one.

Not to mention safer.

 

[puttster]

I have a new Siemens panel, 150amp, series A, type 3R.

I wouldn't mind buying a lockout kit but can't find the one for my panel, though maybe it's just bacause I don't see one that suits my budget and eye.

 

[khfactor]

Could you please advise me where in the NEC that says the interlock has to be "listed" ? There is a lot of discussion going on in the "Electrician Talk" forum and everyone has a difference of opinion. If you know where it is "SO" stated, could you please share that article section? Thanks

 

[k_buz]

I'm over at that site quite a bit, and I don't remember a discussion about generator interlocks not being listed.

90.7 Examination of Equipment for Safety. For specific
items of equipment and materials referred to in this Code,
examinations for safety made under standard conditions
provide a basis for approval where the record is made generally
available through promulgation by organizations
properly equipped and qualified for experimental testing,
inspections of the run of goods at factories, and servicevalue
determination through field inspections. This avoids
the necessity for repetition of examinations by different
examiners, frequently with inadequate facilities for such
work, and the confusion that would result from conflicting
reports on the suitability of devices and materials examined
for a given purpose.
It is the intent of this Code that factory-installed internal
wiring or the construction of equipment need not be
inspected at the time of installation of the equipment, except
to detect alterations or damage, if the equipment has
been listed by a qualified electrical testing laboratory that is
recognized as having the facilities described in the preceding
paragraph and that requires suitability for installation in
accordance with this Code

 

[AandPDan]

Puttster,

What is the complete model number of your panel. Siemens makes a variety of interocks for most of their lines.

I just put one on my Murray panel. It's VERY easy. Almost the same as installing any other 30 amp breaker.

For the curious, it also has a nice little UL sticker right on the interlock.

 

[Speedy Petey]

I wouldn't mind buying a lockout kit but can't find the one for my panel, though maybe it's just bacause I don't see one that suits my budget and eye.

For a Siemens panel that new just look on the cover sticker. It will list the part number of the factory interlock.
You do not always have to spend $150 at interlockkit.com for one of these things.

Sorry if you think you cannot find "one that suits your budget or eye", but that is just how it goes. DO NOT diy hack something together.
I already get the impression that you are the type to do whatever you want regardless of the consequences so I'll just leave it at that.

 

[puttster]

Model number W4040L. Hey, and while I was looking at the cover sticker I found the interlocks it accepts! ECSBPK01,02,03,05,06 or 07. Prices range from $20 to $60. I guess I'll go for the cheapest one, why not?

Thanks for all the help - those of you who did!

puttster

 

[Speedy Petey]

Model number W4040L. Hey, and while I was looking at the cover sticker I found the interlocks it accepts! ECSBPK01,02,03,05,06 or 07. Prices range from $20 to $60. I guess I'll go for the cheapest one, why not?

That is exactly what I was talking about, the part number of the interlock. Most companies do make factory interlock kits for a fraction of the cost of aftermarket.

 

[Arnold Ziffel]

Could you please advise me where in the NEC that says the interlock has to be "listed" ? There is a lot of discussion going on in the "Electrician Talk" forum and everyone has a difference of opinion. If you know where it is "SO" stated, could you please share that article section? Thanks

The kits made by interlockkit aren't UL listed, and that may be what they're discussing at Electrican Talk.

Here's what their site says:

Tested for use with UL 67 Listed Panelboards
Ref. Wyle Laboratories Test Report T52431-01
Wyle is a Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratory authorized by OSHA for UL standard 67 and recognized by all 50 US States.
http://www.interlockkit.com/warranty01.htm

Wyle is no longer a Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratory. I believe it was when they did the testing on interlockkit's products.

***

That has nothing to do with interlock kits made by other companies.

This also doesn't necessarily mean that the interlocks made by Interlock Kit don't work. I have read somewhere that some inspectors won't pass them because they are not UL listed, however, and that they have had trouble getting them permitted for jobs in one state (I believe it is Washington). If someone with real experience can shed light one this, that might help some other readers.

 

[COLDIRON]

Model number W4040L. Hey, and while I was looking at the cover sticker I found the interlocks it accepts! ECSBPK01,02,03,05,06 or 07. Prices range from $20 to $60. I guess I'll go for the cheapest one, why not?

Thanks for all the help - those of you who did!

puttster

"Everyone who replied helped whether you think so or not" Be thankful that people care MR. Sarcastic"

 

[dougp23]

What COLDIRON said in his first post: don't get too confident when you're messing around with your main entrance. Lot of amps in there will mess you up real bad - real fast. Be careful! Paying an electrician $100 to install this is so much cheaper than getting injured. Had a friend wiring in a new circuit to his main panel, touched a conductor in the box accidentally, it shocked him and sparked a little. He reacted instinctively by pulling back very quickly and when he did, knocked his head on the nearby stair riser so hard he fell over almost knocking himself out and breaking his finger when he fell! Again, just be careful. That DIY interlock thing on youtube looks like a complete hazard.