Just stumbled upon this site. Hope someone knows what's wrong...
I have a GENERAC GP5500 generator, (5500 watts running, 6875 watts surge)
I wired a 6 position manual transfer switch (Reliant) in my home. I'll be as detailed as I can.
switch A downstairs bathroom (15a)
switch B T.V, and internet (15a)
switch C Refrigerator (20a)
switch D Furnace (gas hot air) (20a) I used one of the 20a circuits for this, but the breaker for it is only 15A
switch E microwave (15a)
switch F upstairs bed/bathroom (15a)
These loads are pretty well balanced between the "ABC" and "DEF" side. And even if I run everything at the same time, I'm only around 2000-2500 watts. (way less than what the generator is rated at)
I hooked the White neutral wire and the bare ground wire from the transfer switch to the ground bar in the main panel, and installed all the other wires to the corresponding breakers, as per directions.
I ran about 15 feet of 10/2 romex from the transfer switch to my garage, installed an L-14-30 plug on it.
From there, I have a 15 foot extension cable to my generator, just to get it further from the house.
Here's the problem... The transfer switch works properly, in that the generator powers all the circuits I want when switched, but the furnace blower fan, the other small exhaust fan, and both bathroom fans only run at about HALF-SPEED. The furnace IS working. The control unit works, gas ignites, fan comes on, just like normal, and it will heat the house, but not full power. I don't want to burn these motors up.
Here's what I checked... I checked the voltage at the receptacles on the generator, at the extension cord connections, (both legs of the L14-30 plug), at the plastic plugs inside the furnace that go to the blower fan, and all lights, and outlets that the generator is hooked to. THEY ALL READ 121 VOLTS.
Two things that may help...
1. The generator has a ground lug on it's frame, but I did not ground it to anything yet. Would that make a difference???
2. Although all of the things I mentioned that I checked for voltage, all were 121 volts, EXCEPT, when I checked the voltage on the circuits running on "generator" in the panel, I touched one probe on the ground bar, and one on the screw on the breaker itself, (only on the generator powered circuits) and got 153 volts! Why would that be?
Any help would be greatly appreciated. I'm totally lost on this one.
Thanks in advance
I have a GENERAC GP5500 generator, (5500 watts running, 6875 watts surge)
I wired a 6 position manual transfer switch (Reliant) in my home. I'll be as detailed as I can.
switch A downstairs bathroom (15a)
switch B T.V, and internet (15a)
switch C Refrigerator (20a)
switch D Furnace (gas hot air) (20a) I used one of the 20a circuits for this, but the breaker for it is only 15A
switch E microwave (15a)
switch F upstairs bed/bathroom (15a)
These loads are pretty well balanced between the "ABC" and "DEF" side. And even if I run everything at the same time, I'm only around 2000-2500 watts. (way less than what the generator is rated at)
I hooked the White neutral wire and the bare ground wire from the transfer switch to the ground bar in the main panel, and installed all the other wires to the corresponding breakers, as per directions.
I ran about 15 feet of 10/2 romex from the transfer switch to my garage, installed an L-14-30 plug on it.
From there, I have a 15 foot extension cable to my generator, just to get it further from the house.
Here's the problem... The transfer switch works properly, in that the generator powers all the circuits I want when switched, but the furnace blower fan, the other small exhaust fan, and both bathroom fans only run at about HALF-SPEED. The furnace IS working. The control unit works, gas ignites, fan comes on, just like normal, and it will heat the house, but not full power. I don't want to burn these motors up.
Here's what I checked... I checked the voltage at the receptacles on the generator, at the extension cord connections, (both legs of the L14-30 plug), at the plastic plugs inside the furnace that go to the blower fan, and all lights, and outlets that the generator is hooked to. THEY ALL READ 121 VOLTS.
Two things that may help...
1. The generator has a ground lug on it's frame, but I did not ground it to anything yet. Would that make a difference???
2. Although all of the things I mentioned that I checked for voltage, all were 121 volts, EXCEPT, when I checked the voltage on the circuits running on "generator" in the panel, I touched one probe on the ground bar, and one on the screw on the breaker itself, (only on the generator powered circuits) and got 153 volts! Why would that be?
Any help would be greatly appreciated. I'm totally lost on this one.
Thanks in advance
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