Reliance Controls 31406CWK transfer switch review

The six-circuit kit that turns a portable generator into house power, legally and without killing anyone.

Specifications

Specifications above come from Reliance Controls' published listing. Treat pricing as approximate, since Amazon pricing moves.

What it does well

• It solves the actual problem. A transfer switch physically prevents your generator from feeding power back into the utility line, which is the difference between backup power and a fatality.
• Six circuits is the right number for most households: the furnace, the fridge, the well pump if it fits the rating, a lighting circuit, the sump pump and one convenience circuit.
• Reliance Pro/Tran is the long-established name in this category and electricians recognise it, which makes the installation conversation shorter and cheaper.
• It is manual, which sounds like a limitation and is actually a feature at this price: fewer parts, nothing to fail, and no electronics to sit dormant for a decade.
• Sold as a kit rather than a bare switch, so the parts an electrician needs are largely in one box rather than sourced separately.

Where it falls short

• 30 amps and 7,500 watts is a real ceiling. If you have bought a 9,500 or 12,500-watt generator, this switch cannot use most of it, and you should be looking at a higher-amperage kit or a panel interlock instead.
• Six circuits means choosing your circuits in advance, in daylight, with an electrician, months before the storm. Households routinely pick the wrong six and discover it during the outage.
• It is manual, so somebody has to be home to start the generator, plug it in and throw the switches. It does nothing for a house that is empty when the power fails.
• The kit's supplied cord is 10 feet according to the listing, which is short. A portable generator must sit well away from windows, doors and vents, and 10 feet frequently is not enough distance to satisfy that. Plan on a longer cord.
• Reliance publishes almost nothing useful in this listing's feature bullets, which is unhelpful for buyers. Get the model's own installation documentation and give it to your electrician before ordering, and confirm the kit matches your panel and your generator's outlet.

What owners report

Owner reports on Reliance Pro/Tran kits are consistently positive and consistently boring, which is what you want from a switch. Electricians recognise the product, installations go smoothly, and the switches work years later. The most common piece of owner advice is to have it fitted before hurricane or winter storm season rather than during it, because electricians are unavailable exactly when everybody wants one.

The recurring complaints are about circuit selection and about the amperage ceiling. Owners who bought a large generator and a 30-amp switch report frustration at not being able to use the machine's full output. Owners who chose six circuits hastily report wishing they had included a different one. Both are planning problems rather than product faults, and both are avoidable if you sit down with the load list first.

Who it suits

• Anyone who owns a portable generator up to about 7,500 watts and currently runs extension leads through a window.
• Households wanting the furnace, the fridge and the sump pump powered properly rather than improvised.
• People in storm-prone areas who want the electrical work done before the season rather than during it.
• Anyone whose insurer or local code requires a proper generator connection, which is most places.

Who should skip it

• Owners of 9,500 to 13,000-watt generators, who should specify a higher-amperage kit or an interlock.
• Households that are frequently empty during outages, which need an automatic transfer switch and a standby generator.
• Anyone intending to install it themselves rather than hiring a licensed electrician.
• Battery system owners whose manufacturer supplies a matched smart transfer switch, which is usually the better integrated option.

Alternatives worth considering

Common questions

Why can I not just plug my generator into a wall outlet?

Because it can kill somebody. Feeding a generator backwards through a receptacle, usually a dryer outlet, sends power out through your service panel and into the utility line, where it can energise conductors that a lineworker is working on believing them to be dead. It is illegal in most jurisdictions, it will void your insurance, and it also risks a fire in your own house. A transfer switch or a panel interlock installed by a licensed electrician is the only correct answer, and there is no clever exception.

Do I need an electrician to install a transfer switch?

Yes. This device connects to your service panel and it is licensed electrical work in essentially every jurisdiction, normally requiring a permit and an inspection. Beyond the legal position, the practical one is that getting the neutral and bonding arrangements wrong on a generator installation creates exactly the hazards the switch exists to prevent. Hire a licensed electrician and follow your local code.

Is a 30 amp, six-circuit switch enough?

For a generator up to 7,500 watts, yes, and six circuits is enough for a furnace, a fridge, a lighting circuit, a sump pump and a couple of convenience circuits. If your generator is bigger, this switch wastes it, and you want a higher-amperage kit or an interlock instead. Work out which circuits actually matter using the generator size calculator before your electrician arrives, because the circuit choice is the part you cannot change afterwards without another visit.

Transfer switch or interlock kit: which is better?

An interlock is a mechanical device on your existing panel that prevents the main breaker and the generator breaker being on at the same time, and it gives you access to every circuit in the panel rather than six. It is often cheaper, but it requires a compatible panel and it is not permitted everywhere. A transfer switch works with any panel and makes circuit selection explicit. Ask your electrician which is appropriate for your panel and your local code, and take their answer over anything you read online.

Where should the generator sit when I use it?

Outdoors, on a level surface, well away from windows, doors and vents, and never in a garage even with the door open, even briefly, even with the door up and a fan running. Carbon monoxide is odourless and it kills people every storm season. That clearance requirement is why the 10-foot cord supplied with most kits is inadequate and why a 25-foot cord is a sensible purchase alongside the switch. Our Westinghouse 12500 review and Champion 11,000-watt inverter review cover the machines this switch is normally paired with, and our dual fuel versus inverter comparison covers how to choose one.

Keep reading

• Dual fuel vs inverter generator
• Generator size calculator
• Whole house generator calculator
• Westinghouse 12500 review
• Best emergency generator guide

This review draws on published specifications, manufacturer figures and the consensus of verified owner reviews. We have not tested this product ourselves, and we say so rather than implying otherwise. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.