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You should record the 10-15 minute replacement of this Xfer coil, I'd be interested in watching that. How much do you or your company charge for this repair? Do you ever have to go back due to degraded collateral damage? I don't have customers and those I try to help are few in numbers. Just started after the ice storm of 1998 when people were without power for months - been playing with them ever since.

@@snowman6686 No chance of a video now because I retired almost 5 years ago. The shortened process was about having just the right length screwdrivers and for that welded plunger, I used duck-billed pliers to spread the coupling without bending it too much. If the screws weren't too tight, I could do the job "hot". (50/50 chance) I stocked those parts in my truck, along with spare hardware, plungers, couplings, end switches, and odd stuff I saved from tear-out jobs. Helps to have a selection of those small blue wires too. Company charges were out of my direct control, other than saving another travel fee. Billing was a 1 hour minimum. Typical night / after-hours calls were at time and a half anyway. Not sure I ever beat 10 minutes, because diagnosis and gathering what you need easily takes 10 minutes. Let's just call it 15 minutes after that for the test of the repair, then a few more to button things up. BTW, one thing I learned doing emergency repair is ALWAYS do a quick check of the gen itself, which may save another trip. IOW, check fluids, belts, hoses, and fuel before flipping the switch to automatic. Also, double check those little fuses in the TS. A power surge can blow them. (one is for the battery charging) Edit: as for other damage, never had an issue with what *I* repaired because I tested afterwards. I also had a small speech for the customer about damage to items within the home, like digital readouts, answering machines, and stuff that doesn't like power surges. After all, it might be a few days before they use everything and notice something else isn't right.

That happens, even to me. I've even run into the video lagging the voice. I can return and find everything working well

@@snowman6686 Try watching the video, the sound cuts in and out :) Anyways my underspeed error code was because one of the stator mounts broke off the engine block somehow. I replaced the stepper motor, then found out no spark from one of the spark plugs. Had to have an aluminum welder come out and tack it back on, back in business now. Thanks by the way, although I couldn't hear your (Can't hear you still) this video helped a lot.

I did have a cell phone that faded in and out like this but I replaced that phone. Now, I can't view the original because I've discarded that phone. Whether or not this was the old phone, I don't know. I can hear it by adjusting the volume on the video itself and using my device volume but it is annoying with the fading in and out. I usually write an explanation beneath the video which may help. (Less painful that the sound.) My apologies.

It's probably your finger over the microphone

Snowman, I just had the same issue today. The upper coil slightly burned, which is preventing the transfer back to utility power... Even with both Utility and Generator Power off, i couldn't move the lever back to utility. It was doing what it is supposed to do until i turned utility back on....Generator Shut down but the lever never switched back to the utility power. Maybe because the Upper Coil (Utility coil) smoldered it got the Plunger stuck? I was thinking of just reordering the Utility Coil@@snowman6686

My upper Coil melted which is preventing the lever to go back to utility power. My plunger is stuck, because i can not manually move the lever up. Thinking of ordering upper coil, which is the utility coil and plunger.@@snowman6686

Yes, the cable was snapped in two at the bottom of a condulet just before the conduit entered the ground at the transfer switch end. i could only pull back enough to splice all seven conductors. It functions properly but the slack is gone and a 7 conductor cable was snapped in half. Also found the root cause for the "Underspeed 1603" Alarm Code. The wiring to the stepper motor got dislodged from the controller. 'll make a separate video to cover that.

I think so, but I find it hard to believe that a spring would perform any task when run parallel to a rigid control arm. Right now I'm just trying to get the part and spending time on HOLD with Generac. Once I get the part I hoe to know for sure and make a video. I believe the spring acts to prevent overshooting a throttle position and keep the throttle from "hunting". Kind of like a mechanical dead span.. So it should connect to a point where it would slow a fast large move. We'll see.

And so it should be. The manual will tell you how to manually transfer the switch using the yellow lever. I've had one transfer switch refuse to transfer to the generator. This was during a power outage when the generator; saw the loss of power, started up but then failed to transfer to generator power. The generator side of the generator failed to generate the proper voltage which is why the transfer switch couldn't transfer. If the owner would have manually transferred to generator power he could have damaged some or all of his sensitive electronics within the house. Furnaces are electronic along with a host of others. Then you have this video. The owner at least saw the smoke and decided not to stick anything into the transfer switch. His neighbor from a few doors down knew something was wrong and shut his generator down before coming down to see what we were doing. Things can go wrong.

They can certainly be that way. I make my posts so that people can get a basic understanding of what's going on. The owners manual explains how to manually move from utility power to generator power and vice versa.. In this case, forcing a manual transfer could result in damaging the mechanical linkage of the manual transfer which could cause further damage to the transfer switch. I've always preferred this switch and have the same one in my basement. This however concerns me.

I think i have a top coil failure this morning. I can manually switch it (for he city power) but nothing flows thru. I am stuck running the generator all weekend or longer til it gets fixed. Any insites?

@@WayneTX254 ... if there's no black marks and you can manually move the switch all the way but there's no power the whole contactor may be no good... but let's not jump the gun just yet. You can try resetting the main breaker just in case that has tripped. (it may be outside) You can also take a look at the meter outside. If the meter is blank, then your power is actually out. If the digital display shows numbers or is flashing, then you likely have power to that point and something else is wrong between the meter and the transfer switch. If I was there, I could probably track the issue within 5 minutes. It's something I did for over 25 years. BTW, you can also call the power company and they will verify things up to the meter.... but inside repairs are between you and your electrician.

@@rupe53 power company said i have power. There are 2 outside breakers, one for a pool and one for a separate garage. They are working with generator off. Everything else- through the xfer switch and into panel box in the garage - is not working from the grid. The solenoid is not switching on its own. If i manually switch it, it only works on generator side. It was all installed by a reputable electrician. I'll be calling them monday morning. Gonna burn up some propane til its fixed.

@@WayneTX254 .... unless you are a real good DIY type I wouldn't dig much deeper into it other than perhaps a test light or test meter to figure out where the power stops. By code there should be a disconnect / breaker BEFORE the transfer switch, which is worth checking. That said, you can shut the gen off while you sleep, and the fridge will keep for 8 hours. During the day you can run 3-4 hour cycles to maintain other things as well, while saving quite a bit of fuel. BTW, if you decide to cycle the gen set, always stop / start with the generator circuit breaker in the off position. This prevents wild voltage swings as it comes up to speed.

@@rupe53 I only spent 12 years on a fire brigade achieving the position of Lieutenant. What do I know?

That I haven't seen. Needing 240V to transfer I'm surprised it even tried. With the Brown Out, it had the path just the wrong voltage. This year I'm seeing a lot.

@@snowman6686 I worked for a utility and if a customer lost a leg the transfer switch would get hot and burn up. You could get strange voltages if the service would burn open in a tree.

@@CaptainCornBurner I'm not saying that you're wrong. This particular transfer switch uses 240V to transfer. One 120V leg being present on one side of the coil. When the coil is commanded to transfer the other 120V leg is provided to the other side of the coil to complete the 240V path. Once that coil performs the transfer and the arm is thrown it hits a limit switch - relay - which disconnects 120V from one side of the coil. You can see the limit switches to the right of the coils. The blue wires attaching to them. The home owners living in the area told me that they suffered a prolonged brown out. I do know some Utility Workers that work in this area. I'll ask them what they found wrong that day. I did witness the Utility Company pickup trucks scurrying around but I was gone before the bucket trucks ever arrived - if they ever did. I still find your information valuable. If not for this particular transfer switch then for another, and I will verify the utility fault. Thank you for contributing.

@@snowman6686 It also depends on the primary side of the customers service, if the primary is Delta and one phase is lost you can experience really high voltage one one side of the customer service buss and low voltage on the other. The contractors in our area were installing the transfer switch inside the home next to the panel, and when they would fail it would fill the home with smoke. The brown out you are referring to may be on a Delta primary feed.Brown outs can cause a lot of damage, modern equipment does not like high voltage or low voltage.

This is a single split phase piece of service equipment for residential use. I'm not worried about commercial or industrial applications at this point.@@CaptainCornBurner

@@snowman6686 ... as a 25 year service tech on these things I can safely say the fuel consumption has hardly changed over the years. You had another problem.... probably a leak.

These essential circuit remote transfer switches are 100 Amp panels. They are used on multiple sizes of Generac generators as long as their current rating is not exceeded. This particular generator is only an 8KW and can only supply 33 Amps at 240 Volt. You want to match the Utility circuit breaker to the breaker in the generator or the generator won't be able to support the circuits in the essential circuits panel. I don't like the generator to run flat out so I install the next size circuit breaker rounded down, or in this case a 30 Amp Double Pole Breaker.. You're looking at the wire gauge. Yes, I used a larger wire gauge to bring in the Utility Power. A #6 rated for much more current. A #10 to bring in the Generator Power. As long as the circuit breaker is manufactured to accept the larger wire size it's copacetic. As it looks like a company name, I'm guessing you knew that. Fair question just the same. I did get sidetracked. I showed how the Utility Power comes in on the top of the Transfer Switch and travels straight through when operating on Utility Power. I wish I had explained that in a Utility Power Loss the transfer switch automatically transfers to the Generator Power which comes in on the bottom and goes right back out on the bottom to the breakers - when operating on generator power. Next time I'll use an Audio Visual Voltage Detector as well. My Amprobe model seems a bit camera shy. Thank you for your question.

I only ever use Mobil 1 Synthetic 5W 30. You might notice the containers in the video. For my area it's an all temperature oil that performs for me. I only use the Generac oil filter 070185E which is an industrial oil filter for hydraulic oil. That one oil filter is used on ALL of the Air Cooled Residential Auto Stand-by generators. (That could change in the future. Right now it simplifies support of the products. Like that Group 26R battery.) I typically order the maintenance kits from electricgeneratorsdirect.com

@@snowman6686 thank you! 👍🇺🇸👍

An "Overload" normally refers to a demand for more power than the generator can provide. On the "Essential Circuits Transfer Switch" you normally avoid this by installing the same size circuit breaker, in your main panel, that you find on your generator. (If you don't trip this breaker on "NORMAL" power then you shouldn't trip your generators breaker on "EMERGENCY" power.) On a "Whole House Transfer Switch" you need to; size your generator correctly, use the "Load Shedding" circuits, refrain from using high power consumption items like electric ranges and such OR manually remove unnecessary loads by shutting off circuits you really don't need. IF you don't feel that there "really" is an overload then you may want to verify your current draw by having an electrician test the current draw. (A faulty CT could trigger the alarm.) You will have to acknowledge the alarm in order to remove the red light and get back to a "Ready To Run" condition with a green LED. The "History" will store these faults, along with fault codes, in the event you require warranty service. In this video I refer to a "You're not going to get any more than you have". That means that you are not going to get any more power than the generator can provide with the type of fuel you use. I normally advise people not to run their generators at 100% load because there are intermittent loads that can appear and force an overload condition. Hope this helps.

Generator choice should not be done based on square footage of a home. It should only be based on power consumption. I ask clients to think about what they feel they would want to be powered up DURING a power outage. Me; Heat to keep my house warm and my pipes from freezing.This also provides my hot water., Sump Pump to keep my cellar from flooding, My Refrigerator and Freezer to keep my food from spoiling, Microwave to cook food if you have an electric range because they consume a great deal of power, Gas stove because they need power for the oven - the burners you can still light with a match. Some lights that I deem necessary, Security system, Living room because I usually get visitors in a long outage, bathroom and bedroom. Now you know how much power you will need. Add 20% so that your generator isn't running "All Out" in a prolonged outage. MOST power consumption is incidental - meaning they don't need power constantly as they turn on and off as a standard. Lastly I tell clients the required fuel consumption at partial demand and running all out. This is just so they are aware and don't think I was hiding the cost. The exercise cycle is barely noticeable and can be adjusted from weekly to monthly. I like a twin cylinder generator. I explain it as "a single cylinder engine powers the piston down and it "coasts" back up BUT a twin cylinder engine is powered throughout the revolution. So if you have anything that requires a strong surge of power to start - like an air conditioner - you'll want the power a twin cylinder provides. Yes, my explanations are as long as my videos, I hope to get better. It's not the size of your home, it's your electrical needs when the normal power is gone.