Generator transfer switch

Alright TW, need a little help here. In the process of buying a house. The house is located in Guam and Guam doesn't have the most reliable power service. It's also common to have a typhoon knock out power.

Here's the question. The house has a generator transfer switch installed. I have searched all over the house and can not find where the generator would actually connect at.

Here is a couple photos of the switch, does it look like the switch was actually wired for a generator, or is the work incomplete?

Current owners don't remember where the connection is at.

 

Something's obviously missing. You should have 3 sets of wires: load - wiring to panel, normal power - from street, and emergency power - from generator.
There are only 2 sets of conductors in there.

Edit: as is, the transfer switch only serves as a disconnect. There's nothing to actually transfer to the load wiring.

 

That's what I was thinking. Missing to generator side of the wiring. I think it should be coming into those two bottom lugs.

Well, cool that a transfer switch exists, not cool that they never actually wired it.

Looks like I'll be running some wire.

Thanks for the reply.

 

That lugs at the bottom is where the gen power would connect. I suspect the conduit with the duct tape is for entry of the gen power line.

 

This is a manual transfer switch. Currently, the handle is in the normal position, as the power would be coming from the utility. The conductors attached to the top of the transfer switch are the from the utility company. The conductors in the middle go to the electric panel to the left. The empty lugs at the bottom are where the generator conductors would attach to. It also appears that the taped conduit opening at the bottom of the enclosure may lead to where the generator should be located. Push a snake through that conduit and you would should find that location.

 

Thanks for the confirmation. Hopefully that conduit actually goes somewhere! Once I close in a couple weeks, I'll update what I find.

 

Can you trace where the taped over conduit goes/comes from? A little fishing expedition is in order.

 

Reviving this post. I have finally had time to trace the conduit in the ground, do more trenching, pour a concrete pad and now getting ready to wire this up.

Most importantly, I want to make sure I do this right first for the sake aofsafety and not frying some powerline worker during the next storm clean up and power line restoration.

Running a 50amp wire set from the generator to the transfer switch.

2 hot wires to the 2 of the 3 lugs at the bottom of the switch picture.

Question is the neutral? The neutral isn't part of the switch and goes to the same bar as the other neutrals?

Just want to make sure that the neutral doesn't provide a path back to the grid...

And then ground wire going to the same lug same as the other ground.

 

correct.

the neutral is always the return path, so they all get connected together to ensure the return path always exists, regardless of load switching.

ground is more of an 'emergency return' path, which is why it connects similarly, but is a separate wire.

 

A proper transfer switches the Neutral as well as the Hot legs to prevent backfeeding to the utility pole and potentially hurting the line crew

 

This

backfeeding

 

better call generac!



a properly grounded and bonded neutral system is returning to ground at the service entrance point.

 

If both hot legs are isolated then a N at ground/zero potential represents no backfeed threat