Customer Reviews

Reliance Controls TCA1006D Panel/Link 100-Amp Utility/60-Amp Generator Transfer Switch For Up To 15000-Watt Generators

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This turned out to be a box with 2 double pole circuit breakers and a ground bar. The breakers are head to head in the middle of the box, just like a normal panel. The switch part is a metal gizmo which sits on top of the circuit breakers between their levers. With the panel cover installed, the gizmo is floating between the breaker levers and prevents both from being on at the same time. When you push one on if the other is on it will be pushed off.

The knockouts on the box are relatively difficult to knock out but you don't have to do very many.

Excellent switch for interconnecting with a generator to an emergency subpanel. Does not include any breakers so it works perfectly when feeding a subpanel with its own breakers.

Since my city power seems to go out every time a mouse farts, I picked up a 10kw generator and all the materials to properly hook it up - including this. The drainage in my neighborhood is poor, so in a decent rainstorm I absolutely need both sump pumps on continuously as it's devastating when my basement floods. I hired an electrician that charged $200 to wire it up.

Last night I was able to use it for the first time. It works exactly as advertised. When the power died, I fired up the generator, killed all the fuses, threw both switches on this DPDT and slowly switched the fuses on. This handled ~1.5kw of draw from each of the 2 sumps, the fridge, the furnace, and all the lighting in the house - probably close to 7kw peak.

You need to know that this unit is not immediately suitable for UL approved portable generators. Although you should consult an electrician on this, you should know that ground an neutral should not be connected anywhere but one location (usually your main panel). If your generator (like my Generac GP8000) has the neutral bonded to ground, you must either disconnect it or switch it. Note that most transfer panels don't switch the neutral.

That being said, with the generator modified, this unit got the job done. I used it in series with a power meter to monitor the power draw on the generator when I turned on each circuit. The neutral bus that came with the equipment is isolated from ground (as it should be), and the lugs were all big enough for the 2-2-2-4 wire used to feed the 100A from the main panel and to the sub-panel. The unit did not come with a ground bar and the standard ones and big box outlets are not a great match.

All in all, it is a well built unit. Its not as good as Square-D or some other units, but the price is unbeatable.

This review has been edited somewhat since I installed the item and started using it.

This is a simple DPDT switch made up of two Cutler-Hammer CH260 circuit breakers connected by a special bar that prevents them from being engaged "on" at the same time. The unit has a neutral (or ground) bar in the upper right corner, and has sufficient knockouts and mounting holes to adapt to any application. In all, it's a simple, effective manual-switch solution that doesn't have a lot of crap on it, like some other switches do.

When I received the unit, I had originally thought "this is a lot larger than it could be." I still think that, but the extra space does allow for easy cable routing inside the box. The top is occupied by the busbar, but the bottom could have several inches lopped off to make for a smaller box.

I was pleased that the breakers used are common styles. CH2xx breakers are available almost anywhere that sells electrical panel equipment, so I decided to change the 60A breaker out on the generator side for a CH220 (20 Amp) unit that more matched my systems capabilities. I figure that I won't have much going during an outage - a tiny freezer and some lights, maybe a laptop, so 20A will hopefully trip before my generator gets outstripped. If you do replace a breaker, remember that CH breakers require a lot of force to engage on their bars. (You have to push HARD, but they remove easily enough.)

The only other real con is the labels they use to identify the sides are tiny. A giant red arrow with "UTILITY" on it would have been better.

In all, however, it does the job I bought it for.

Pros:

Surface mount
Standard breakers
Internal bus bar
Putty color easily identifiable (opposed to standard grey equipment)
Could be converted to a breaker box (albeit an expensive one)


Cons:

Could be a little smaller
Better ID labels
A cover would be nice

The Product from Reliance was fine. My only issue was I ordered a 100 amp utility / 60 amp generator unit and got a 60 amp on both sides. It was shown on Amazon as the 100/60 when reveived from Northern Tool it was the 60/60 and was a returned unit (still had the old return authorizaion paper with the number in the box) It would work for what I wanted, so used it, but I did not get the model in the ad or what I ordered. No response from Amazon or Northern on my email about the issue. Probably won't use the site again.

As others have noted, this is just a CH panel with the bridge between breakers on the cover cut out (not cleanly either) and an interlock added. I would love to see just the interlock made available so you could use it on an existing CH panel. It is the most affordable option I saw given the requirement of a stand alone transfer switch though I'm sure there are cheaper / better options out there if you look.

I am using this transfer switch to switch between my solar/wind generation and diesel generator. Happy with the product.

I purchased this switch earlier this month, along with a Briggs & Stratton 8,550 Watt Generator #030241, and have it installed and working.

As another reviewer pointed out, this is not a transfer switch per se -- it would be more accurate to say that it's a "dual input panel with mechanical interlock". However, it does the job of a transfer switch just fine. My one knock is that the labels for "MAIN" and "GENERATOR" were put on crooked. Otherwise, it was easy to install and gets the job done.

I have two generators at my summer cabin.
I don't need 10Kw all the time. I use a 3K watt for little things.
This Switch is just what I needed. I just don't turn on all the circuits.