Connecticut Electric EmerGen Transfer Switch Kit - 30 Amp, 10-Circuit, 10-Foot Cord, 7500 Watts, for Generator

Update for Sept 2020: Transfer switch has been working well when I have outages. Needed to use it the other day for a 30 hour outage. One of the rocker switches was not working. I contacted Connecticut Electric and they are sending me a new switch under warranty. Can't complain about that. It would be better if had not broken. I also bought an extra one. You can get replacements here on Amazon (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01LYCWB8P/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&psc=1).Did some reading that indicates these switches are prone to failure. I hope that's not the case. If you need to replace 10 of them that's almost the cost of a new transfer switch. I bought 2 new ones so I have have a spare. Leaving this at 5 stars. Losing 1 switch out of 10 after 5 years does not seem like a big issue.Original review below:Overall a very nice transfer switch that works as expected. As others have noted, it seems to be more solidly built than most others and less expensive. Installation is fairly straightforward and not difficult if you have basic wiring understanding or experience. It’s a matter of being comfortable getting into your electrical panel or not. If not, this would be very easy for an electrician. The instructions are good and made the electrical work go quickly. You need to have some basic home maintenance skills to install the box and generator inlet (finding a place to put the switch, mounting it, mounting the inlet box and wiring it up, etc.).This switch feels substantial and is well thought out. A couple of things could be done better - see my comments below. But I would use this one again relative to the others I looked at (Reliance, Generac, etc.).Mounting the transfer switch and running the wires into my panel were by far the hardest part of this. My electrical panel is flush mounted in a wall so I had to cut drywall and hole-cut some studs to get the wires run. Not too difficult, but took some effort and I had to do some drywall patching when I was done.Several people have complained about the short generator power inlet leads. These aren’t meant to connect to the generator power inlet. The instructions make it clear that they expect you to run those to a junction box and then run that to the inlet. There’s no way for the manufacturer to know where your inlet will be relative to the panel – it could be 6" away or 60'. They'd couldn't possibly include the materials needed to make the inlet work for everybody (Romex, conduit, junction boxes, or whatever a specific installation may need). One trip to the hardware store does not seem unreasonable to get this thing wired up.One complaint I have is that the generator inlet box is meant for external use only. The documentation makes it clear that the box is not meant for indoor use. I’m not sure why this would be, or if this means it should not be used in a garage. Given that mine is in the garage I ordered a new inlet. It worked out better because I didn’t want to deal with a downward facing connection when the power is out. But not clear at all why the provided inlet is meant for external use only.One big improvement (for my use) would be an option to move the generator inlet into the switch box itself. I installed my switch in the garage near the power panel. It would have been far more convenient for me to have the inlet on the front or side of the switch. (For example, look at the Reliance Controls 310 CRK. It has an external inlet box but also has a cutout for the inlet to be mounted in the transfer switch.) This is a minor issue and it cost me $35 to get another inlet and put it in a box next to the transfer switch. Just something to consider if they ever update this product.This box connected well and works as expected. It could not be much easier to install and works with my 7500W generator perfectly. I printed out instructions and attached them to my generator handle so anybody in the house reliably and safely get the house on generator power when needed.This switch is well priced and easy to install. It's a much better and safer option than using a suicide cord or powering your entire panel and dealing with power management issues.EDIT: Did some reading. I suspect one reason they don't have an option for the inlet on the box is that they don't want people putting the inlet indoors or in the garage due to the potential for carbon monoxide poisoning if a door or window has to be left open to run the inlet cable. This is a real concern and has me reconsidering my setup where I put my generator in the garage with the door open. I'm now adding two CO detectors in the garage so I'll know if CO ever builds up in there.

I got it for like $283.95 free shipping....but needed a way to hook up easily my whole house with selections of what circuits to use....After having my installation certified by a local electrician, and a generator test to the box, only a week and a half our power went outfor 11 hours and we got to use the box and we were excited how easy it was to just flip switches to select what we wanted to use in the house.We actually ran everything we needed..all our plugins and refrigerators....a ceiling fan..the 50 " tv...our internet, charge up our kindles and laptop.This product is built tough as nails. Set up was easy...andusing it was even easier..we had to clap and laugh at how easy it was to operate. and when the power came back on....we simply shut down the generator outside and unplugged it from the house.. went into the basement and flipped the switches back from Gen to Line..and didn't miss a peat..and didnt have to reset any of our clocks.I did not realize our 5700 watt generator ran everything in our small home except the two refrigerators on the same side of the breaker.. so i will rewire them to the left side of the EmerGen box so the load on the generator will be even. You have to balance the load of the generator left and right side of the EmerGen box within 1000 watts of each other so you don't tax the one side of the generator because that can ruin your generator useless.We can run the furnace in the winter...but have to watch again the load on either side of the EmerGen box within 1000 watts. so you may have to shut off some switches on the same side so there is not alot of load on the furnace side..etc. I would not suggest you run the A/C units.. because unless you have a very big wattage generator. . . you may not be able to balance the loads on the left and right wattage meters and possibly damage the generator. So you will have to either fix this by wiring some heavier usage units on one side only...or shut off other switches on that same side so the bigger users can operate and you can balance the load on the wattage meters on the EmerGen box.I can only wish I was knowledgeable earlier years ago and wasnt so scared to do this install. Earlier we just ran the generator and ran extention cords all over the house..and ran the two refrigerators each two hours then unplugged it and plugged it into the other refrigerator..what a pain.We had power to operate our microwave. .. our gas stove with electric start..make oatmeal..coffee...toast...then go watch the morning news..while surfing the internet..and have the living room ceiling fan on(because i did not wire the A/c into the box.).The next thing we need to do is build a sound proof box to put around the loud generator..we had to wait untill 5:30 in the morning so we wouldn't wake up the neighbors.. by that time.. our refrigerators were in serious need to be ran.. and after setting up the generator..it was quick and easy... This EmerGen Box is perfect if you have a portable generator already.. and don't want the expense of a natural gas unit set up next to your house permanently.Buy one today. We purchased our on www.amazon.com free shipping ..new in box...i installed it myself.....electrician came to certify it..and i sent a copy of the certification to my home insurance provider... made my life most livable after knowing it works like a charm and easy to understand. comes with instructions and a generator start up proceedure sheet laminated with a chain to hang on or near the box.WONDERFUL PRODUCT!