Installed Transfer Switch in House

[MDH]

Has anyone looked into the Generlink (Generlink.com) transfer switch is compatible with the Ford Powerboost 7.2 KW generator. This transfer switch is mounted right behind the utility meter supplied by the power company.

Specifically, I wonder is Generlink mode MA23 (30-Amp) will resolve the grounding issue on the Ford Powerboost.

Thoughts?

Update: Message From Generlink

This is the message I received from Generlink:

Mark,
Sorry but The F150's generator is not compatible with the GenerLink. This generator has a full panel GFCI and will not work with the GenerLink. Thanks.

Frank Hughes
Global Power Products

So I continue to look for a viable solution to power my maine panel with the Powerboost 7.2 generator in a safe and efficient manner by selecting which breaker I want to energize up to the capacity of the Powerboost generator.

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[grog]

Can someone clearly write out why the powerboost generator won't work with a typical interlock switch in the main panel, in a way that a reasonably competent electrician (that hasn't spent hours reading this thread) would understand?

I just had an electrician at my house to discuss setting up the powerboost as a whole house backup generator, and despite my mentioning other people have had problems with ground faults due to the "bonded neutral" generator on the truck he was not dissuaded at all and was confident an interlock on the main panel would work.

Also:

This video made a surprising amount of sense to me but I still don't understand why having neutral and ground bounded in two places (the home's panel and the truck) is a problem when having them bonded in only one place (the home's panel) is not, nor do I understand how the truck detects that condition. Is it checking for a "ground - neutral continuity" in whatever is plugged in to the receptacle?

I suspect that youtuber answers my question at 22:50 where he temporarily "bonds" his generator and measures current on the ground wire between generator and home panel. Interestingly, his generator does not detect this as a fault and continues functioning.

 

[UGADawg96]

Can someone clearly write out why the powerboost generator won't work with a typical interlock switch in the main panel, in a way that a reasonably competent electrician (that hasn't spent hours reading this thread) would understand?

I just had an electrician at my house to discuss setting up the powerboost as a whole house backup generator, and despite my mentioning other people have had problems with ground faults due to the "bonded neutral" generator on the truck he was not dissuaded at all and was confident an interlock on the main panel would work.

Also:

This video made a surprising amount of sense to me but I still don't understand why having neutral and ground bounded in two places (the home's panel and the truck) is a problem when having them bonded in only one place (the home's panel) is not, nor do I understand how the truck detects that condition. Is it checking for a "ground - neutral continuity" in whatever is plugged in to the receptacle?

I suspect that youtuber answers my question at 22:50 where he temporarily "bonds" his generator and measures current on the ground wire between generator and home panel. Interestingly, his generator does not detect this as a fault and continues functioning.

The reason your electrician is confident (and wrong) is because he doesn't understand the difference between neutral bonded vs neutral floating concepts.

 

[Gros Ventre]

First: the Powerboost electronics senses the neutral-ground bond inside your house as a "gound." Thus is shuts down the generator.

If you break the ground wire between the truck and the house it'll work fine. However that violates the NEC.

The NEC requires only one neutral-ground bond because odd circulating currents can be setup if there is more than one neutral-ground bond. As I understand it those circulating currents can get large enough to be dangerous...

The simplest fix is to convert the truck generator to a floating neutral (ie no neutral-ground bond). Interestingly that is how the 2.0 kW generator in a non-Powerboost F-150 is set up. So Ford knows how to do this.

The Powerboost generators are set up for contractor on site support. OSHA requires the neutral-ground bond, not the NEC.

I have approached Ford via my sales & servicing dealer. Ford responded with a put off answer. The dealer has gone back to ask for a better answer.

If you can find a knowledgeable (licensed) electrician, he could make that conversion for you. Simplistically, it is as simple as disconnecting the ground cable from the neutral cable somewhere in the truck. That is not necessarily the best way to do it, so I'm awaiting Ford to make a serious technical response.

Alternatively you can install a neutral switching box in your house. This breaks the neutral-ground bond inside the house. Most setups only switch the two hot wires from line to generator, but a neutral switching box also switches the neutral from line to generator. Some do this and setup a limited number of circuits to be powered off the F-150 generator.

 

[grog]

First: the Powerboost electronics senses the neutral-ground bond inside your house as a "gound." Thus is shuts down the generator.

If you break the ground wire between the truck and the house it'll work fine. However that violates the NEC.

The NEC requires only one neutral-ground bond because odd circulating currents can be setup if there is more than one neutral-ground bond. As I understand it those circulating currents can get large enough to be dangerous...

The simplest fix is to convert the truck generator to a floating neutral (ie no neutral-ground bond). Interestingly that is how the 2.0 kW generator in a non-Powerboost F-150 is set up. So Ford knows how to do this.

The Powerboost generators are set up for contractor on site support. OSHA requires the neutral-ground bond, not the NEC.

I have approached Ford via my sales & servicing dealer. Ford responded with a put off answer. The dealer has gone back to ask for a better answer.

If you can find a knowledgeable (licensed) electrician, he could make that conversion for you. Simplistically, it is as simple as disconnecting the ground cable from the neutral cable somewhere in the truck. That is not necessarily the best way to do it, so I'm awaiting Ford to make a serious technical response.

Alternatively you can install a neutral switching box in your house. This breaks the neutral-ground bond inside the house. Most setups only switch the two hot wires from line to generator, but a neutral switching box also switches the neutral from line to generator. Some do this and setup a lmited number of circuits to be powered off the F-150 generator.

Thanks for the detailed response! It sounds like there are some transfer switches mentioned in this thread that accomplish the necessary neutral - ground bond break in the house.

 

[Gros Ventre]

Yes, you can find neutral switching panels and if you're wiring your house new and want an Emergency Power panel that has a limited number of circuits powered when on the generator... that is the way to go. But that entails probably $500 more for parts and some cost for an electrician to set it up ($1000?). Yet the reality is if the F-150 Powerboost were changeable to a "Floating Neutral" arrangement, all you'd have to do is install an interlock (Square D for example) between the generator input breaker and the line input breaker along with a male input box (Home Depot for example) and a 30 amp 240 Volt 4-wire cable (again Home Depot for example) and you're setup with the whole house powered. 7.2 kW is plenty of power, ya know...

 

[cool rod]

Update: Message From Generlink

This is the message I received from Generlink:

Mark,
Sorry but The F150's generator is not compatible with the GenerLink. This generator has a full panel GFCI and will not work with the GenerLink. Thanks.

Frank Hughes
Global Power Products

So I continue to look for a viable solution to power my maine panel with the Powerboost 7.2 generator in a safe and efficient manner by selecting which breaker I want to energize up to the capacity of the Powerboost generator.

I think what you're asking is "How can I hook up my house circuit breaker panel to my PowerBoost generator in a simple way and still be safe." The only way I've heard of is an extension cord with its ground disconnected and there are some reports on here of people doing that successfully and safely. If that is safe it's the way to go, and using an interlock switch lets you access all the circuits in your panel. The electricians on here will red flag that idea though.

I went the other way and had an electrician install a Generac transfer switch and the whole job cost about $1500 for parts and labor. If I could do it over I'd use a Reliance X-Series transfer switch instead, it gives you more circuit options. They make some that take an extension cord right to the transfer switch, no need for installing an input outside your house. But other than the extension cord and interlock I haven't heard of any way to use all the circuits in your home panel.

 

[Ajzride]

The cost of a compatible transfer switch is so high, I opted to get a roll around generator that I added a tri-fuel conversion kit to. It connects to the whole house through a simple interlock so I can pick and choose which circuits to power, puts out 10kw continuously (50% more than the PB), and runs off a virtually endless supply of natural gas from the house. It even has a remote starter. The whole setup cost me about $1600 installed myself, but it is a very simple install, probably only $200-$300 for a pro.

The upsides are that I have more power, can leave the house with my truck and the family still has power, and I don’t have to refill it if there is an extended outage (I had no power for 21 days after Katrina). The only real downside is how noisy it is.

I know that solution isn’t for everyone, just something to consider since the PB isn’t setup well for what we are trying to do.

 

[grog]

The cost of a compatible transfer switch is so high, I opted to get a roll around generator that I added a tri-fuel conversion kit to. It connects to the whole house through a simple interlock so I can pick and choose which circuits to power, puts out 10kw continuously (50% more than the PB), and runs off a virtually endless supply of natural gas from the house. It even has a remote starter. The whole setup cost me about $1600 installed myself, but it is a very simple install, probably only $200-$300 for a pro.

The upsides are that I have more power, can leave the house with my truck and the family still has power, and I don’t have to refill it if there is an extended outage (I had no power for 21 days after Katrina). The only real downside is how noisy it is.

I know that solution isn’t for everyone, just something to consider since the PB isn’t setup well for what we are trying to do.

That makes sense. My house uses heating oil. The nice thing about that is it requires minimal electricity to keep running and coupled with well /septic can be habitable completely "off grid" indefinitely. The F150 would've complemented this setup nicely but given the cost and apparent difficulty of alternatives I suppose it's worth it (to me) to learn enough about the truck's wiring to set something up to switch between bonded and floating neutral easily. Unfortunately I probably won't get to it for a while.

 

[Gros Ventre]

If you check, you'll likely find that your roll around generator is a floating neutral, thus when you hook it up to your house it powers the whole house. This is because it doesn't need the transfer switch. I have one of those, a smaller unit that won't power my hotwater heater, dryer & oven... So I had hoped my 7.2kW generator in the Powerboost would do so. However... the bonded neutral has so far short stopped me...

 

[jeffcrum]

If you check, you'll likely find that your roll around generator is a floating neutral, thus when you hook it up to your house it powers the whole house. This is because it doesn't need the transfer switch. I have one of those, a smaller unit that won't power my hotwater heater, dryer & oven... So I had hoped my 7.2kW generator in the Powerboost would do so. However... the bonded neutral has so far short stopped me...

Your powerboost will not power your water heater, dryer, and oven either.

 

[Bocephus87]

Your powerboost will not power your water heater, dryer, and oven either.

Why not a water heater? Assuming proper load balancing taken into consideration.

 

[UGADawg96]

Your powerboost will not power your water heater, dryer, and oven either.

We have a Rinnai natural gas on demand that only needs 110v @ 1a for the control panel. Hot showers baby!!!! LOL

 

[Gros Ventre]

Hot water heater... 4400 watts... oh yea, the Powerboost 7,200 watt generator will run it...

 

[Way2qk4u2c]

We have a Rinnai natural gas on demand that only needs 110v @ 1a for the control panel. Hot showers baby!!!! LOL

same here brother! 2 tankless water heaters and I had my pool pump running with interior of the house on and still had room to go! Love the powerboost generator.

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