How much should it cost to have a transfer switch installed?

[DanKellFla]

For some odd reason a friend of mine has a 100-Amp Automatic Transfer Switch w/ 12 Circuits that he is giving to me. It is a lot like this:
http://www.electricgeneratorsdirect.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=21_97_111&products_id=362
I have a 5600 Watt Craftsman generator a lot like this:
http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/product.do?cat=Electrical+Shop&pid=07132561000&vertical=TOOL&subcat=Generators+%26+Accessories&BV_UseBVCookie=Yes
I know that the Transfer switch is overkill, but it is free. I got a quote of $1000 to install the switch. Is that reasonable? It seems a bit much to me. My brother had bought a manual transfer switch and had it installed for a total cost of$400. His switch was much smaller because his generator is about the same size as mine.
Obviously, I am not looking to use the "automatic" feature of the switch. I also won't have the 240 circuits hooked up so I will only have 8 circuits, not 12. Which will be more than enough for what I want.
Thanks for any input.

[StormWatcher2]

There would be more time and expense involved to install the automatic switch than the manual switch because the automatic transfer switch appears to include a power inlet box that would also need to be installed. That would require additional time and material.

I don't know if $1,000 is too much or not. Get another quote or two.

But, to achieve the same end result it will cost a cash outlay of $1,000 with the free transfer switch or $400 for the manual switch. If you anticipate a new generator in the future that could utilize the automatic switch, then I wouldn't hesitate to spend the extra bucks now.

I have a manual switch and I can tell you that no matter what you decide to do in this case, it is very nice not having to walk over that huge mess of power cords strung all over the house for several days.

Good luck.

[Nyceane]

1000 bucks is around the list price, which brand r u buying?

if you can provide me the information on your generator, i can give u the best quote

feel free to email me at pma@asco.com
Peter