Whose happy with their standby generator....

[bandit67]

Guys, Im looking to purchase a propane stand by gen for my shop house. Looking in the 20 KW range unit. I do not want the automatic switching at the panel feature. Main concern is a good quality unit with parts availability down the road. Im in whats considered a warm climate so use would be mostly occasional during winter storms. Definitely want the weekly or monthly automatic test run feature. The two brands that have caught my attention are Generac, seems the most common, and Kohler. I have experience with large , commercial Kohlers, but not these smaller ones.
What do you have, how long have you had it, are you happy with your purchase and would you buy it again, thanks much.

 

[Gary Spaid]

I have a Generac 22kw whole house unit with auto switching. Had for about 7 years. Has worked flawlessly. I have had lightning strikes take out the controller twice. But we live on a hill and often have strikes. The standard unit will cone with program so you can set up your test starts for weekly, biweekly, etc. And you can set the time it does this. Two neighbors also have similar units and no complaints.

 

[Richard Cranium]

In have two Generacs in my MA & NH homes. Both are permanently mounted. One I've had for about 10 years & the only issue I've had is with the choke solenoid issue & is still on the original battery. The other is 4 years old & has had no problems other than a battery replacement.

 

[copper67sat]

We put in a Generac 22kw with auto transfer 2-3 yrs ago. Wife does a happy dance every time the grid power goes out, the generator kicks on and we're back in business 30 sec later.

 

[Cranky]

My Generac finally died after over 20 years of use. It wasn't dual fuel but worked well until the gen section smoked. 7500 with 12,500 start capacity. Have a smaller Westinghouse gas rig now but it was one that was available when the hard freeze hit here a couple of years back. Too new to say how good it is. Have a dual fuel Predator but have never fired it up but here lately have been hearing bad stuff about them.

 

[bandit67]

Thanks Guys, it seems most are pleased with their Generacs so I will do some serious checking on them. Now to find a good dealer to deal with. Seems with the dual fuel units that use either gasoline or propane/natural gas is that LPG makes less power thus lower wattage output. Guess that means one needs to over rate power needs in order to not be short. Does that sound right?

 

[old guys rule]

I have a Generac 22kw whole house unit with auto switching. Had for about 7 years. Has worked flawlessly. I have had lightning strikes take out the controller twice. But we live on a hill and often have strikes. The standard unit will cone with program so you can set up your test starts for weekly, biweekly, etc. And you can set the time it does this. Two neighbors also have similar units and no complaints.

Do any of these generators need to be installed by an electrician? Especially dual fuel. Thanks in advance, Dave

 

[copper67sat]

We had ours installed by an electrical contractor that specializes in generators. They had to schedule the final install with the electric co. because they had to shut off the power to make the connections. We worked with one of the propane companies to install and fill the tank.

Wattage needed was driven by local codes. It's based on the total wattage for the major power draws - a/c's, water heater, dryer, kitchen appliances, well pump, pool pump plus so many watts/room and probably a safety factor. Code called for 27kw for our house. We installed 4 smart modules to reduce the total load so we could use a 22kw and reduce install cost by $8-10k. The smart modules are on the 2nd a/c, water heater, dryer and pool pump. Those circuits are disabled for 15 minutes when the generator kicks on and then powers them in priority order if there is demand and capacity.

 

[old guys rule]

We had ours installed by an electrical contractor that specializes in generators. They had to schedule the final install with the electric co. because they had to shut off the power to make the connections. We worked with one of the propane companies to install and fill the tank.

Wattage needed was driven by local codes. It's based on the total wattage for the major power draws - a/c's, water heater, dryer, kitchen appliances, well pump, pool pump plus so many watts/room and probably a safety factor. Code called for 27kw for our house. We installed 4 smart modules to reduce the total load so we could use a 22kw and reduce install cost by $8-10k. The smart modules are on the 2nd a/c, water heater, dryer and pool pump. Those circuits are disabled for 15 minutes when the generator kicks on and then powers them in priority order if there is demand and capacity.

Thanks, Dave

 

[dadsbee]

AFAI'm concerned. Battery back up for your computer and it's equipment so it doesn't take a hit when the power goes out and a portable generator and associated cords to run your fridge and freezer and a few desk lamps. I also have a cord made up to feed 240 to the well pump if needed, but toilets flush just fine with a small bucket of water stolen from the pool.

 

[copper67sat]

AFAI'm concerned. Battery back up for your computer and it's equipment so it doesn't take a hit when the power goes out and a portable generator and associated cords to run your fridge and freezer and a few desk lamps. I also have a cord made up to feed 240 to the well pump if needed, but toilets flush just fine with a small bucket of water stolen from the pool.

Agree, but depends on how long the power might be out and your tolerance for roughing it. After a hurricane, the power might be out 2-3 weeks where we are. 1000 gal propane tank will run our whole house for 2 weeks or more and it's easy to get a refill vs filling 5 gal gas cans every day to feed a portable generator.

It always seems to get really hot and humid after hurricanes so a/c is practically must-have for us. After the last big storm before we put in the generator, we had to go sit in the car with a/c on for an hour or so to cool off enough to go to sleep. Luckily some friends got their power back the next day and invited us to stay with them until ours came back on 5 days later. That storm wasn't even a direct hit.

 

[Cranky]

Thanks Guys, it seems most are pleased with their Generacs so I will do some serious checking on them. Now to find a good dealer to deal with. Seems with the dual fuel units that use either gasoline or propane/natural gas is that LPG makes less power thus lower wattage output. Guess that means one needs to over rate power needs in order to not be short. Does that sound right?

The only thing that was a downer on my Generac was it was loud.....but so is my diesel pickup. Every time the hood is opened, the hearing protection goes on!

 

[ksurfer2]

AFAI'm concerned. Battery back up for your computer and it's equipment so it doesn't take a hit when the power goes out and a portable generator and associated cords to run your fridge and freezer and a few desk lamps. I also have a cord made up to feed 240 to the well pump if needed, but toilets flush just fine with a small bucket of water stolen from the pool.

I agree. I have a portable generator that is large enough to run the fridge, lights, and a roll around a/c unit (you may not need it in Canada, but it is a must-have in FL). I had an electrician install a plug that would allow the generator to run my well....showers are also a must in FL when the power is out for days/weeks after a storm. I fill 6, 5 gallon fuel jugs in mid august as peak hurricane season approaches, anything not used by the end of September starts going into the mower or the car.

 

[MarPar]

I have a 14kw Nat Gas Generac + Auto transfer panel that I had installed 12 years ago. I have only had to use it once for an extended period. lol The power used to go out at least 5 times a year (for 2 days or more) because of the crappy power wires and I got tired of have to deal with that, so i got the gen. Of course the same year as I had it installed, they changed all the damn wires.

Regular maintenence and a new battery every 5 years. Fires up on the 2nd kick. Im happy with it; even though I don't get to use it. lol

 

[440+6]

We have two separate 6,000 watt generators portable, and I have a transfer switch on the outside near the meter where I can switch from Edison to my generator.
6,000 Watts runs my whole house including air conditioning if I really want too.
We rarely loose power even in the worst weather, I start my generators the 1st of the month and maintain them well.

 

[patrick66]

I have a 20-yo 7500W 120V/240V Generac portable generator I bought new, the day after I got smoked in the May 2003 tornado. It was run 24/7 for 33 days, until we got power back on the property. I start it twice a year to keep things going on it. All I've had to do to it is two oil changes and a fuel filter change; and of course, gas. I have a transfer switch on the house, so all I have to do is shut all of the breakers off on the house panel, plug the generator in, power it up, flip the switch, and turn on only the circuits I absolutely need. It's been put to use maybe 20 times in 20 years, and has an estimated 1,000 hours total use. Pretty impressive unit.

 

[Don selleck]

generac 24k about 2 years now, runs everything. runs on propane starts every wednesday at noon. no problems so far, auto switch, beats dragging the generator out. well worth it in my opinion

 

[68-500]

Something that hit me when we had the big valentines day cold snap a couple years ago. They were about to shut off the natural gas because pressure was getting to low. That and rolling blackouts. I decided right then that lpg was the only viable option. If I don’t have enough on hand thats on me. Not power or gas company.

 

[bandit67]

Agree, but depends on how long the power might be out and your tolerance for roughing it. After a hurricane, the power might be out 2-3 weeks where we are. 1000 gal propane tank will run our whole house for 2 weeks or more and it's easy to get a refill vs filling 5 gal gas cans every day to feed a portable generator.

Copper67, you say 1000 gal tank will run your gen. 2 weeks or more. Was that a 24/7 run or do you just run the unit several hours at a time when needed. Longest I have ever gone with out power was five days. I just used my portable a couple hours in the morning and few at late evening.
Guess Im asking if these units are DESIGNED to be run for days/weeks at a time continuously . Wow, just wondering how long a continuous run they can do. thanks...

 

[copper67sat]

Copper67, you say 1000 gal tank will run your gen. 2 weeks or more. Was that a 24/7 run or do you just run the unit several hours at a time when needed. Longest I have ever gone with out power was five days. I just used my portable a couple hours in the morning and few at late evening.
Guess Im asking if these units are DESIGNED to be run for days/weeks at a time continuously . Wow, just wondering how long a continuous run they can do. thanks...

I think the longest outage we've had since we got the generator was about 13-14 hrs, but it ran continuously and powered the house as if we were still on the grid. Supposedly designed for 500 hrs continuous operation which is almost 3 wks. Ours has on-board diagnostics that alert when maintenance is needed.