Automatic generator changeover switch (with schematic).

Great video. I just might buy one to play around with. I do wish you had dismantled one of the switches to see if a) these are circuit breakers or just switches and b) the contacts are even close to adequate for the current rating. The Chinese are notorious for claiming a 20A switch contact can handle 40 or 60 A. Of course, they soon burn up.

How e can start get

Ive had two of these now and both have failed at the breaker/switch internal contacts. They get hot and warp which causes them to lose contact. It would be great if someone found a properly rated replacement breaker.

Hi thanks for the video 👍🏻 can you make a video of the ac/dc inverter minisplit they automatically switch from ac to dc solar, that will be good to see how they work

For our American panels, you can get what is called a generator interlock kit, where you have the breaker from the generator input (and also a proper twist-lock male power connector on the side of the house that actually plugs into the generator), as well as a piece of metal that will go on the main breaker and the generator breaker, and prevent both from being on at the same time, so you can't backfeed and can't get a shock from the exposed metal on the male power connector.

It is probably hackable to put a reputable DIN rail switch inside, so you could feel better about actually installing it, although I still wouldn’t recommend it.

if the motor failed, during a transfer.... is it possible for the two banks of breakers to be closed?

How can I turn on my generator inverter with a two wire auto generator start with an ATS?

Could they of used an inverter ic to make the relay work?

Landed Hi Again Clive: That looks interesting what you’re Doing Philosophy😃

Hi this is Troy - I would like to use one of these as I want to power SOLAR during the day to my house PC and Monitor and others - then for it to change over to my extension lead drawing power from my mains electric can you tell me how and can you send an email with a diagram layman terms please
Thanks Troy

thought u said 20 watts

Haloo, you must allways short circuit the workin line into the ground ! It is occupational safety ! Idiotic Dum Heads !

Kindly help here,,,can this device be connected to a generator such that it can ignite a generator when the primary power us of

Fantastic Video, Exactly what I was looking for. Thanks,

I’ve done something similar with a solar water heater changeover switch using two motorised valves, to switch between a combi boiler and a solar heated water tank dependent on water temp. My relays are off in the default state which is predominantly solar tank is hot and I can turn off all power to save the relay coils. I also have a manual override for winter.
I think the design of the power transfer switch could be improved by only energising the relays when the generator comes on, and use a normally closed relay using no power when on grid power.

Love your tutorials btw you’ve been an inspiration albeit mostly above my level of knowledge.

That's cool

Could you demonstrate a suitable IPS battery system to eliminate the momentary drop out of power during switch over for use with computers and/or sensitive equipment? Would such a system risk backfeeding at all or are they safe to use? A schematic would be ok a actual demonstration would be excellent. Just in case you need a video idea or because you want to do it, thank you for yet another wonderful video.

After watching this video I bought one of these and I must say it has worked extremely well. It is for my camper and switches between the solar system (inverter) and shore power. I forgot what the green terminals were for so I returned her to find out. Super glad I did. It is 3 years now and still works great. Not bad for $14.
Now I see that the green terminals are just for indicator lamps. Perfect. That will go on my control panel which is remote to the switch.

remembered a funny reddit story where a couple were having issues of the wiring in their vaca house being stolen and just power being cut in general so they installed a backup powersystem and shortly afterwards got a call because three chared bodies were found in the house. cracked me up that a couple trying to keep the power on for one of their homes ended up killing three people by accident.

Is it ok to just leave the Earth wire out?

How would this perform under load i.e.50A-60A?

as a electrician, that relais is gonna burn out. why dont they reverse it to be off for mains power and on for generator-mode

Was wondering to buy this but will make a decision after watching this video. 😂

TOMZN no longer sells that style of automatic transfer switch. Reviews of the various ampacity rated models state that the internal contacts are the same regardless of ampacity rating. Many failures are reported and TOMZN is an unreliable company, no response, no refund, etc.

Wouldn't it make sense to connect this the other way round? With the generator on the left side? That way, the relay would not be powered all the time, the device would switch to the generator when it is powered up and only switch back to mains when the generator is switched off. You need a way to switch the generator on and off depending on the state of the main power anyway, and this way, the switch follows the generator state that inversely follows the main supply. You also avoid that "switch back to an unstable main supply" issue that was mentioned.

I'm not the biggest fan ever of Chinese kit so to see this was a real surprise. BTW, was the gin from your air still? Mine is!

Thank you for a well presented and complete explanation of the system. I bought a switch from China but it came without installation instructions. Fortunately I found your site and the excellent explanation. Thanks again from South Africa where we have continuous power outages due to the unfortunate government policy of self enrichment rather than equipment maintenance. Yesterday (Sunday) we had 10 hours of no electricity during a 12 hour period and this has motivated me to connect the generator to the house. Power outages are a daily experience here. Thanks again

Entertaining, informative and even a bit charming.... not a term usually applied to men who have favorite soldering irons :)

♥

Hi Clive, yeah we across the pond call it a 'suicide cord'. I do this Clive, BUT before I even go to
the shed where the gen is, I go to the pole and beneath the meter is a double breaker. I shut it off
and put a lock on the box. I also shut off MAINS in panel in house. This way there is NO way to
backfeed to the grid. ALSO some utility companies might decide to to NOT give service to
that house if they find a gen improperly hooked up, backfeeding into the grid.

i now have to pull mine apart, im using it to run my solar setup whenever the inverter is powered it switches off the mains and uses the inverter.
something has failed in the control circuitry and immediately trips the breaker that feeds mains into the transfer switch.
currently having to switch off the mains supply then actuate it manually to get round the problem

how do you wire it so it works on its own

Really surprised after all this time taking things to bits, someone would have sent him a couple of screwdriver/ torx carousels.

Dear Clive, what happens when the breaker trips, considering now that the lever is now stuck in the motor mechanism?

Nice piece of equipment, what happens if one of the Relais fails? Any back up safety?

HI amazing video good i want some thing for my home i want when the electric cut from the station of the country i want the master key in my house go down and when the electric come i want to upload the keys manually

So relevant now!!! There are a bunch of these on ebay. All look like 63A! A lot of folks are gonna be running their generators this winter when the blackouts and Brownouts kick in. Welcome to 2020+2!!

Here in Japan the distribution voltage is 6.6kV. The US is generally around 13kV.

This Tomzn transfer switch looks economical. I know installing a turn key auto transfer switch to your house is quite expensive and involve adding several more control boxes outside. In case you want to know , for Canada, the high voltages outside on the pole starts at 4160V, then double that to what we call 8000v and double again to 13 -8V etc. The dryer is not the biggest power outlet in most homes at 30 amps , most homes have stove outlet rated at 50 amps that we put on 40 amp breakers. But some who have gas ranges had the outlet removed or converted to a regular 120 V outlet. A gas stove still need 120V. In UK, when power is available (had to put that line in) it is 220 v with one line to ground, or neutral. In Canada , you need 2 live lines together to get 208 or 240 V The neutral is necessary if you want 120V from either voltages. Many motors or heaters will just work without the neutral. being a electrician for decades, it is against my religion to shell out big bucks for a transfer switch. I can use a "suicide" cord, or I just back feed the breaker, but I highly doubt I get zapped. Linesmen working on outside lines either assumed the line is live or they been grounding it for decades. It is extremely rare to see one of them hurt on the job.

you stated an inaccuracy that in the USA, the 30A dryer outlet is the highest power connecter. we also have NEMA 14-50 (50 amp) and NEMA 14-60 (60 amp) outlets. this NEMA 14-60 is our highest power 2-phase outlet & plug. but the 30A dryer outlet is commonly the highest power outlet in some homes. (but this is only with homes with an electric dryer. gas dryers are very common too, which only use 120V circuits.) But now with more popularity of Electric Vehicles, more and more homes are getting wired for higher power & higher amperage 240V circuits.

Interesting, Congratulations.

Where can I bay this

Hi Clive, I am struggling to find anything which would be UK compliant which is not at stupid prices, any recommendations?

In a power outage , usually a whole street or neighborhood is losing power.
Remember they have some or all their loads connected to the grid.
If you "backfeed" power from your generator , you suppose to feed the whole neighborhood.
99.99% in the cases your genset will die off, not being able to provide the current for the overload..
In case you have a 100 KVA generator than you probably not backfeeding through a dryer plug :)

Does UK have two or split phase system like USA?

Really intresting !!
Is there any device to make sure to swap power source at the same peak of frequencies or is not a problem?

He almost sounded like my PSHE Teacher from my school.

I've designed, wired and tested dozens of changeover systems, typically 2000A 400V or 10kV, with up to 6 timing relays, voltage monitors, trip contact supervision, 20 aux relays.
This one is clearly done as simple and cheap as possible. Fun to see.