Home generators

[Charlie M]

After our last power outage a couple of weeks ago I'm thinking of getting a home standby generator. I only need to power two freezers, refrigerator and sump and well pumps, maybe couple of lights and the TV. I'm wondering what everyone who owns one experience is and with what brand. I currently can do that with a portable generator I've owned for years but I have to carry it out of the basement and hook it up. Getting older is making that harder to do and what happens if we're not home to catch the outage. We lucked out on our last one as my wife had the day off and called me at work. We don't loose power often but seems like when we do it lasts several hours, a few times it lasted a few days. I'm on propane so I have a fuel source.

 

[Dean]

I have a 20 KW Kohler whole house back up generator.

Installed in 2014. No significant issues with unit.

Dean

 

[glennster]

billy schafer is the go to guy here for generators, he will prolly chime in with his recommendations.

 

[Bama Ray]

We have a Generac standby had it for two years. We live out in the county sometime we loose power for hours at a time. You can count on power going out with every heavy storm and sometime with sun shining. Ours runs off propane we love it I would never be without one. Comes on in just a couple of minutes after power goes off.

 

[jeffcat]

Only down side...just make sure you have one of those really big LP tanks. Nothing like your own back yard power plant. Several neighbors have Generac standbuy and another has a Kohler. All of them have been just fine. My little 3300 Generac portable has worked perfectly for three years when ever needed.

 

[David G]

The cost difference of going bigger on standby is very small, just put in a 20KW with ATS and be done with it.

It will handle anything you want.

 

[Billy Shafer]

My advice. Stay away from Generac. I know there are people that have them with good results. But there are more people with scrap piles sitting in the yard. Poor construction,warranty,high prices,support from Generac. What they sell you today. May be obsolete in the morning. I have seen it done. From what I have seen lately. They are having rotor problems.A very costly problem for the owner.

Kohler or Onan would be the ones I would look at.

What you need to do. Is have a total amp load done. If you show to need 15 KW get a 20 KW. Better to have a little to much power than not enough. Get an automatic system. This will have a transfer switch that will control everything. Once it is installed and set up. You will not have to do anything. Any time there is a voltage problem. The system will see it and switch you over to generator. When power becomes stable. It will switch back to normal power.

Contact a dealer and they can explain it all in more detail. Or give me a call 903-536-2816.

 

[Butch(OH)]

I agree with Billy Shafer on sizing. The only time a 15KW units hurts is when you buy it, the too small units hurt every time you have to use them. We built up our 15KW unit with a diesel engine and belt driven 15KW head. Runs the whole house like when on line power and uses about a quart of fuel an hour on average. Its good you have propane as gasoline would be my last fuel choice. Like you our power seldom goes off but when it does it is off for a while.

 

[john *.?-!.* cub owner]

I used to have a 4800, carrying about the same load you listed, and it would do it, but really strained it if anything else was running when the well pump came on. Now I have one 8k surge, and 6500 continuous, but have not had occasion to use it other than routine runs in the 6 or 7 years I have owned it. LOL

 

[Dusty MI]

Many years ago I was told that a good freezer would keep food safe for 3 days, without power, if you kept the door closed, and didn't keep checking it.

 

[jm.]

Charlie , there are several on here that will tell you Generac is junk . Here is my actual experience. Seven years ago we built a new house here on the hill. We are very remote and at the end of the power line. Had experienced several outages of day or more. I installed a 20 kw propane powered Generac unit. It self exercise ever week and kicks on within 12 seconds of power failure. To date it has been flawless . Have changed oil as recommended and at this point it has 356 hrs total run time. Several of the runs have been in excess of 24 hrs but most just 3 or 4 hrs or so. Trying to attach a photo of the set up. We have the housed divided to essential and non essential and it runs all the essential well.

 

[Billy Shafer]

jm I will be the first to admit. Generac did produce some very good units. I really liked the 30 KW diesel unit. They produced for the industrial side.The main problem has always been with the factory. No support from them. Even to their dealers. I have been dealing with Generac since 1980. I have had more than my share of fights with them.It is very hard to tell a customer. That his one month old Generac with the rod out the block. That he just shelled 5000.00 dollars for. Is not covered under warranty

Or to be told. That the unit you just installed. Per the factory. Is obsolete and they don't have the parts you need. To finish the install.

 

[Fawteen]

Another Kohler here. 14KW, propane, autostart, autotransfer. Zero problems and has run for 3+ days continuously. Some of the best money I ever spent.

 

[gmcdeadhead]

i have two portable generac generators, one is a 5500, and the other is 10,000. i never had a problem with either of them , maybe just lucky i guess

 

[Billy Shafer]

Depends on how big the load is. I have been in homes where a 20KW wouldn't run the kitchen.

 

[kcm.MN]

Well, I'm gonna be a bit different from the mainstream. But then, what else is new?!?

Right now(!!), I have a 4,000W made-in-China generator that saved our butts about a month ago when the power was out for quite a while. That one, little generator was able to run the full-size fridge, a medium-size upright freezer, a 5,000BTU window A/C, 3/4hp well pump, PC, tv, and lights. I never would have dreamed it, but that little thing never even broke a sweat. I used about 2 gal of gas in about 6 hours.

Now, that little generator was temporary - and will soon be for portable use. A while back I bought (3) cheap 18hp gas engines with elec start. I will set them all up the same, so that any engine can do any job I need. I also have a 10Kw generator head from Northern Tool that I will power with one of the 18hp engines.

I'm in the process of building a welding trailer, which will have (1) gas engine, the 10Kw gen head, welders, plasma cutter, grinders, and other tools. When needed, can pull the trailer to the power pole and connect to house through the Power-Company-supplied transfer switch. If an engine won't start or fails, I'll have two more.

As crazy as it sounds, that's the best plan for my current situation.

 

[jm.]

Billy I pointed that out first, I was only testifying to my personal experience and am sure you have more as you have been in the business for years. I suppose I am on bored time but as I said I live in a very remote area and before I made the purchase check with others around . Guess we are lucky seems there is a good dealer that gives good service if needed and I got lucky and got one that runs or at least has ran for several hours.. Who knows.

 

[Dsmythe]

Charlie;
We have a Kohler. We LOVE it. My wife loves it even more. It is 20kw and we have propane also. You can count to seven and it is on, then when the power is restored it is back off and we don't even notice. I have UPS units on our computers so they don't go off but that is the only thing I would recommend. I had to go to TN a while back. My wife could not go because of her health, of course the power went out while I was away. No problems at all...and SHE was grinning like a possum when I returned home. It sure makes my life easier. I hope you find what you want and the installation goes seamlessly. YOU WILL LOVE IT. Dsmythe

 

[Billy Shafer]

As I said most of my problems was with the factory. Kohler and Onan have both had their share of duds. But at least they took care of them.If you have a good dealer. Hang on to him. They are getting hard to find.

I had one customer that had two generacs. One serial number apart. One ran perfectly no problems at all. The other ate parts like candy. Always something wrong. Glad you have had good luck with yours

 

[buickanddeere]

. Champion makes a 10,000 / 8,000 watt dual fuel that should work . Ensure it is 459cc displacement .
I assume there is a proper transfer switch ?

 

[buickanddeere]

https://www.championpowerequipment.com/product/100297-8000-watt-dual-fuel-generator/

 

[jeffcat]

Need to modify my report. Was talking to my backyard neighbor and he said oh no, there are almost Seven Generac home units around here. He told me most were 15 or 20K units and all worked fine. There is one that is a 7.5K. Smallest auto start they make as far as I know. Really do think that if you have a really good dealer who stands behind the product you should be fine. So with home units and little portables there are ten in my area.

 

[showcrop]

Follow Billy Shafer's advice. It is based on very long and very broad experience as opposed to experience with one or two sets.

 

[Billy Shafer]

Thank's. I started in 1968. After Navy bootcamp. After fifty years I think I have worked on a few. Never claimed to be an expert.
Experts scare me. Just trying to pass on what I know and been through. Try to learn something every day. I believe there is no such
thing as a dumb question. If you knew you wouldn't be asking.

 

[Dusty MI]

If I remember right when you convert a gasoline engine to LP it then puts out a little less hp.
So does a generator that is bought new have 2 different watt output ratings?

Dusty

 

[taem]

Surprised this being a tractor forum that no one is mentioning PTO driven units. I have an Onan 25K unit that powers either the house or barn or both if necessary when power is out. Runs with my JD 2740. Don't bother with it for less than 4 hour outages, but when it gets beyond that, we need water for the cows and power for the freezers, so I run it for 8 hours for awhile and use kerosene lamps, computer UPS, water to the house comes by gravity to a tank in the cellar to give it a rest and save some diesel, then back on if we need to. More than enough for the job and cheap enough from a farm auction

 

[Texasmark1]

Half a dozen years ago (or thereabouts) I saw this picture you posted. It made me think about the name of the company: Generac.....generator of AC power. Made sense. Being 77 this September doing without electricity is really not an option. Texas started cutting off customers at peak times for several hours, spreading around their lack of capacity, and bad weather was getting worse (lightening strikes killing REC power). I was tired of pulling out the portable and the gas cans and extension cords which was also a Generac 10 hp I bought from Home Depot years ago when we had an ice storm. Decided it was time to upgrade.

Bought this brand and any body that says they are junk are guilty of "Fake News". Over the years the company has built more than 1 Million (per their advertisements). I think they know what they are doing. Wink!

 

[Texasmark1]

Mine doesn't need service that I can't give it, like regular oil changes, battery checking and overall look-see. I bought the units, unloaded off the bobtail delivery truck at the road, put it on the pad I made for it, hung the transfer switch on the side of the house, took their instructions, hooked it up, got the LP guys out there with a new tank, gas and that hookup, got the power co ok and that was that. Had one problem over the years and that was a small leak at the metal seal on the original oil filter and I attest that to the fact that factories, care not, car, boat, this thing, lawn mower, you name it, torque the filters at the factories and this one didn't like it. The new one got the ? turn after contact like is recommended on the case.

 

[Gene Davis (Ga.)]

I have a 20 Kw Onan with manual transfer switch. Bought it used from Flint Energy Electric Co-op and it has performed perfectly. Even with manual transfer switch I can have emergency power with in 3 minutes when needed.

 

[Billy Shafer]

All I can say. Is you haven't had to deal with them like I have. There is a reason they are called Genajunk. Every company has problems but Generac is the worst. They sell more because they sell cheap. They make claims that are not true. It is a shame because they have put out some good units.

 

[showcrop]

(quoted from post at 05:05:37 08/02/18) Half a dozen years ago (or thereabouts) I saw this picture you posted. It made me think about the name of the company: Generac.....generator of AC power. Made sense. Being 77 this September doing without electricity is really not an option. Texas started cutting off customers at peak times for several hours, spreading around their lack of capacity, and bad weather was getting worse (lightening strikes killing REC power). I was tired of pulling out the portable and the gas cans and extension cords which was also a Generac 10 hp I bought from Home Depot years ago when we had an ice storm. Decided it was time to upgrade.

Bought this brand and any body that says they are junk are guilty of "Fake News". Over the years the company has built more than 1 Million (per their advertisements). I think they know what they are doing. Wink!

Texasmark1, Who called Generac Junk? I have looked all through this thread and I can't find it. Are you spreading fake news? You should cool down and play nice.

 

[61-4010]

Love my PTO generator. I have it on a trailer at the ready so within a few minutes, I can have my home powered. We use a 12kW which is good to handle most everything without the need to play breaker jockey. The only thing it won't handle is our heat pump in the winter. In those cases, we break out the portable heaters and use the fireplace. One thing I love about the PTO generator is it's portability....can use it around the farm with ease.

 

[Spook]

I’ve had a Generac 15kw, propane unit for 14 years+.
The only complaint I have is the the metal cabinet started to show some rust. The new ones have a plastic enclosure. We lose power, several times a year. Sometimes for a week or more