kirpra garritt raffey
Earlie Schwoyer
I have a six circuit transfer switch wired in with a power inlet box outside. Everything is wired in and I am doing the final check before hooking up the generator. For checking the wiring, I am doing a continuity check between all four conductors. When the transfer switches are all in the "Line" position, I have continuity between neutral-ground and none in the other five combinations (L1-L2, L1-N, L2-N, L1-G, L2-G). With the transfer switches set in the "Off" position, I have the same continuity readings.
If you are testing continuity at the generator inlet plug with the transfer switch in the GEN. position, you will be measuring continuity throughout the entire circuit. If you look at this image, you should see why you're getting the readings you are.
Have the installation inspected by a certified licensed electrician before using the generator, to make sure the transfer switch is installed properly. Remember, peoples lives could be on the line here (pun intended). Back feeding caused by improper transfer installation, can kill linesmen trying to restore electrical service to your home during an outage.
Whole home Gas generator was installed with an automatic transfer switch. Wondering about bonding requirements for this panel.
The original service panel had the bonding strap removed, and a new four wire feed from the transfer, but It does not appear that the neutrals are bonded at the new transfer panel.
The meter feeds the transfer panel first, (making it the new service panel), and then goes to the distribution panel and generator from there.
However, the transfer panel does not have a physical main disconnect, other than the auto switch.
So, since there is no disconnect breaker, does this now qualify as the service panel? In which case the neutrals should be bonded, but it does not look like they are. Pretty sure I know the answer, just wanted to make sure before recommending the bonding at the transfer panel.
(service conductors enter from the back of the panel at the right, the left hole goes out to generator)
Thanks
They hacked it up, it needs to be corrected, forget the bonding. Tried to save few bucks by not using a proper transfer switch. At this point I would not prescribe any methods to correct it, let an electrician figure it out.
I didnt try that. But perhaps they are bonded at the generator, since they are not at the transfer, or at the distribution.
There are two EGCs in the transfer box, one going to the distribution panel, and the other going to the generator.
(I know that would be incorrect, but it would explain the tester results)
Sales of portable generators tend to spike around major storms. But getting a portable generator up and running in a hurry often means bypassing the recommended installation procedure and making do with extension cords.
The switch itself is installed by an electrician, usually alongside your main circuit breaker panel. The electrician can help you figure out which circuits you want to power during an outage. Heating and cooling equipment are essential, as are water heaters and well pumps.
Without this switch installed, you need to run outdoor-rated extension cords from your generator into the house. And yes, multiple cords: Because extension cords can be overloaded, you need a dedicated cord for anything that draws a lot of power, like a space heater or window air conditioner.
To reduce the risk of carbon monoxide poisoning, some new generators feature a built-in sensor that triggers an automatic shutoff if the CO in an enclosed space builds up to dangerous levels; some models emit less CO in the first place. Test data from CR shows that these safety features are likely to save lives.
map the start switch to an external 3 position switch. i am using the honeycomb alpha mag & start switch for it. when switching from START to ON the apu gen turn to OFF. i have to keep the APU on START to keep the generator on and the switch visibly cycles on and off.
I have got it to work properly.
Mapping:
Master Alt: ALT ON; Master BAT: MASTER BAT ON; Avionics Bus 1: No assignment; Avionics Bus 2: TOGGLE EXTERNAL POWER; Ignition Off: APU STOP; Ignition R: APU SET; Ignition L: APU START;
Cold aircraft:
Bat Sw ON; ALT Sw OFF: Start APU
Bring up Elect synoptics; APU Gen is on line. BTB Closed.
Start Engines; CAS MSG :Gen OFF L&R, Gen open.
Select ALT ON: Gens come on line, APU drops off line: CAS: GEN OFF APU Gen is now off line.
Shut down APU: GEN OFF APU mag disappears.
ALL is now normal.
If this does not work, recheck for other bindings that might be interfering.
Note this also works if A/c is using gnd pwr. The Avionics bus 2 switch needs to be momentarily selected as it is bound to a toggle function.
ENG Shutdown with APU running:
ALT Master Sw to OFF: A/C Gens drop off line & APU gen comes on line.
Here is my project idea: when my pressure tank switch tripps I would like to
choke on //I will have a car door lock mechanism connected to choke and run by relays
Generator on
Generator start
If the generator run light is on turn choke off
If the generator light is Off repeat start (max 3 times)
wait 30 seconds for generator to warm up
Turn on well power
Turn on house power
continue till well switch is tripped off
Turn house power off
wait 15 seconds
Turn generator off
Still there are safety issues like having a friend coming while you are on vacation, he turns the inverter on, a power socket blows, inverter's safety cuts its power, unaware friend tries to fix the socket, evil code thinks it's the right moment to start the inverter.
A code that powers on/off a house makes the programmer liable for whatever accidents might happen.
A relay can be switched on by the generator power - so when generator runs, pump is powered directly by generator, when generator does not provide power, pump is powered by inverter. So arduino code needs to check only if inverter is off and pump float switch has turned on (how?) , otherwise delay generator restarts.
breakdown start cycle to each individual step.
Choke might be optional. I think you should look at RPM to know that the motor has started and is running and that the power should be removed from the starter.
In addition I would offer monitoring current usage with a current Transformer. it's something in the cottage is running you may not want to turn power off but rather wait until it is completed and then turn power off that way things like the dishwasher or clothes washer or even refrigerator won't be shut off in the middle of an operation.
scheme doesn't make sense. You only want to power the house when the well tank level is down (vacumn bladder switch is closed)? Then you want to turn generator (house power) off when pump has replenished tank? where does an inverter come into play? What is powered by the inverter (battery supplied) and when?
Makes sense that you need the generator to power the well pump (too much draw for most inverters, unless you have a commercial solar setup driving commercial inverters). But what are you powering in the house that needs to be on only while the well pump is running?
I think the biggest problem will be figuring out a reliable start sequence that can detect when it is appropriate to disconnect the starter motor and whether a second (or third) attempt at starting is required.
Ok the house runs off batteries through invertor. Normally very little load, fridge propane.
I'd like the generator to fill the water tank, while filling it sends power to invertor which charges batteries. Totally off grid.
I have written some code. Not sure how to get it to turn everything off if attempts 3 times to start generator and fail (j=3)
Here is code
Your code looks as if it would work to me. An additional thing I would try (just to get feedback) would be to count the rpm of the motor. This would tell you a number of valuable things like if the engine stops or if it is being overloaded. You could do this by counting the times the engine fires or counting the revolutions of a pulley (I do this with mine). If you use millis() instead of delay it will make your sketch much more flexible to be modified. You could also sense hi side current flow by use of a choke and a Hall effect sensor just for icing on the cake.
My 35hp diesel engine only requires the starter to run for about 1 or, at most, 2 seconds. IMHO your Arduino needs to shut off power to the starter motor when the engine starts and not after a period of time.
It should terminate when the motor starts - which means you need a system to detect that. There are lots of variables that may affect how many revolutions of the crankshaft are required before an engine starts on a particular occasion - for example air temperature or humidity or the state of charge of the starter battery. Petrol (gasoline) engines can also have problems with fuel loss in the carburettor in very hot weather so that some part of the cranking time is just pumping petrol to replenish the carburettor.
Ideally the starter will make several attempts with different sequence and timing strategies (choke, ignition-on time etc), and determine run state from some form of feedback (RPM, existing 'run' indicator etc)... the sequencing is different for diesel and gas powered engines.
Windows 11 Home Z790 AORUS Elite AX motherboard i7-13700K 64GB Corsair Vengeance DDR5 memory @ 5600MHz Samsung 990 Pro 1TB SSD for OS, Samsung 980 Pro 2TB SSD for DCS MSI GeForce RTX 4090 Gaming X Trio 24GB Virpil WarBRD base with VFX grip, Thrustmaster A10c and F/A-18 grips VKB Gunfighter Mk4 and MCG Pro Thrustmaster Warthog Throttle VKB STECS Throttle Virpil TCS rotor base with Shark and AH-64D grips MFG Crosswinds Total Controls Multi-Function Button Box Pimax Crystal
c01484d022