Nashville Electrician for Transfer Switch

[monkeylizard]

Has anyone in the Nashville area had a transfer switch installed on their home for a genny? I could do it myself, but Nashville Metro won't let me pull an electrical permit since I'm not a licensed electrician. I'm looking for a recommendation for an electrician to do the work.

Edited April 8, 2011 by monkeylizard

[mikegideon]

I use A&F Electric for commercial stuff. They have installed several Auto Transfer switches for me.

[dariks]

The penalty for failing to obtain a permit:

What's the penalty for failing to obtain the proper permit? In addition to any other penalty imposed for failure to obtain a permit, where construction of any work, for which a permit is required, is commenced before a permit is issued, the permit fees shall be tripled. (Refer to Metro Code of Laws, Section 16.28.130.)

[hardknox00001]

If you never tell them you did it, how would they know if you had one installed?

[Builder Bob]

Call Dodd Electric, I have used them on several commercial projects. They are both commercial & residential and have had reasonable rates in the past.

Builder Bob

[enfield]

If you never tell them you did it, how would they know if you had one installed?

1. You do it wrong and get yourself electrocuted.

2. You do it wrong and get someone else (like a Nasville Metro lineman) electrocuted.

3. You do it wrong and your house burns down.

[monkeylizard]

4. You do it right then your house floods again and the codes guys are going to find it and it isn't on prior permits.

[Guest Lester Weevils]

4. You do it right then your house floods again and the codes guys are going to find it and it isn't on prior permits.

I'm not against safety or avoiding hassle with town hall. Just a curiosity question.

In a flood that affects numerous houses, and electricians are doing mass turn-on inspections trying to get a section of the city back up, and they see a properly installed transfer switch. Would they really take the time to check the permit record to make sure the govt got a license fee on the work?

Maybe so. Ain't arguing, just curious. I'd have expected they would just check off the house, toggle the breaker on the pole pig, and move on up the street. But dunno much about it.

After all, there are probably vast swaths of houses with grandfathered in knob and tube wiring that no safety-conscious person would live in, that they would be inspecting and powering up.

Edited April 22, 2011 by Lester Weevils

[monkeylizard]

True. In the end, for me, it's all about 2 things: safety and insurance. It's not going to cost me a LOT to have it done vs. DIY, and it could end up saving me the cost of the house in an insurance claim.

[Guest Lester Weevils]

True. In the end, for me, it's all about 2 things: safety and insurance. It's not going to cost me a LOT to have it done vs. DIY, and it could end up saving me the cost of the house in an insurance claim.

Yep I agree.

If I was in a heavy-duty do it yerself mode maybe I'd pre-install the slave breaker box, but would pay an electrician to check everything and install the transfer switch.

Would like to get an LP gas backup generator one of these days. It would be easiest to just pay out for a complete install. If somebody's gonna screw it up, at least have a professional screw it up!

Given lots of money, always figured the ideal system would be a mid-term battery backup bank in a doghouse in the back yard with a long-term LP gas generator that would kick in when the batteries are about to give it up. That way if/when solar panels get cheap enough to pay for themselves in tennessee sun, it would wire right in to what was already installed. I get the impression that AZ or TX sun is strong enough to arguably pay for solar panels today assuming one lives long enough to hit the break-even point, but TN not so much.

[enfield]

The radio shack at the local power company's tower site has a 50 Amp UPS backed up by a Kohler generator. In case of failure, the UPS kicks in immediately and the generator then fires up and takes over the load.

[monkeylizard]

If I was in a heavy-duty do it yerself mode maybe I'd pre-install the slave breaker box, but would pay an electrician to check everything and install the transfer switch.

That's not a bad idea at all. I may go for this approach.

I'm planning on running a tri-fuel genny connected mostly to the natural gas line, but then I could run on propane or gasoline if needed. After the flood, the gas was only cut off when they came to swap out the meter.

[mikegideon]

The radio shack at the local power company's tower site has a 50 Amp UPS backed up by a Kohler generator. In case of failure, the UPS kicks in immediately and the generator then fires up and takes over the load.

Most of the bigger UPS units for mission critical stuff don't actually fire up. If it kicks in, they call it a BPS (backup instead of uninterruptable). They're on line all the time. A lot of my power failure issues are caused because a UPS dies, and there's no automatic bypass.