What's the best home generator solution?

[CORVETTE]

I've heard the Generac generators are not all that great, long term and need a LOT of maintenance. I have no experience with whole home generators, and am considering adding one (natural gas model) and want to be sure I get it right.

TIA

[Chuck A]

Originally Posted by CORVETTE

I've heard the Generac generators are not all that great, long term and need a LOT of maintenance. I have no experience with whole home generators, and am considering adding one (natural gas model) and want to be sure I get it right.

TIA

i have heard they are good to have but most of the time they are hardly used, especially since having a licensed electrician wire them up could cost a fortune

[markids77]

Kohler. However, any genset will require at least annual maintenance, perhaps more depending on size and fuel choice. They are definitely not a "set and forget" proposition.

[ZipZap]

Just installed a Generac 22kW natural gas generator. The generator install itself isn't terribly expensive, but the dedicated wiring is pricey if you go that way. Luckily mine was on new construction so it was not a big deal.

Maintenance is part of the deal on any emergency device, and generators are no different. If you live on a well, you're SOL without power. I would never be without some type of generator when I'm on a well.

If you want to skip the cost of a whole house generator, just get a transfer switch installed so that you can plug in a portable and control the feeds from your existing panel. Not the ease of a whole house solution, but much cheaper.

[6spdC6]

Originally Posted by ZipZap

Just installed a Generac 22kW natural gas generator. The generator install itself isn't terribly expensive, but the dedicated wiring is pricey if you go that way. Luckily mine was on new construction so it was not a big deal.

Maintenance is part of the deal on any emergency device, and generators are no different. If you live on a well, you're SOL without power. I would never be without some type of generator when I'm on a well.

If you want to skip the cost of a whole house generator, just get a transfer switch installed so that you can plug in a portable and control the feeds from your existing panel. Not the ease of a whole house solution, but much cheaper.

That what we did 11 years ago when we moved way out here in the boonies, Had a 5,000 Generac and when needed take her out plug her in and got by very nicely. Generator was handy when I need to do some boat work, just threw it in truck and went to the beach or when my kids power went out let him use it for a day.

Getting older and we decided to go with a "whole house unit"(propane powered , we also heat with propane, but do have a pellet stove in the living room) We bought a Gererac and the service contract and while a bit pricey seems like the best option, shit we "aint" getting any younger. Power out can happen anytime out here but much more prevalent when it goes sub zero or we get a huge snow storm or worse yet ice storm.

FWIW I still have my little portable 5,000 and if for some reason the big one is not working I still have a chance of power.

[Mike Mercury]

Natural gas, propane, gasoline, diesel.

Many go the nat. gas route. But, if your area is prone to large scale "events" (say... earthquakes) then nat. gas may not be the best choice. The authorities can turn off entire natural gas trunk lines during these situations. This is about the only negative with natural gas.

Gasoline/diesel seem like a good solution; though if the power outage is in a large area, gasoline stations may not be dispencing either. And there's long term storage/spoilage issues.

Propane is often recommend; has no "shelf life" issues.
A friend of mine has a Generac with dual Propage/natural gas capability. From everything I've read... this seems to be the premier setup.

[Bill]

My neighbor, who just died, had a gas fired Generac 17kW unit installed after Hurricane Ike rolled through and we were without power for 15 days. It was designed to run once a week for maybe 10 minutes, just to keep everything in operating shape, but after the first few months, I don't think it operated automatically. It did chew up batteries, and my neighbor finally just stopped buying them. Of course, since Ike, we haven't really had any outages.

[Mike Mercury]

I have a Generac 12kw (16kw peak) unit on propane.
https://www.thevettebarn.com/forums/o...got-lucky.html

Like most installations, it's next to one wall of the house near the utility room. I ran battery cables from the generator to the inside the house, and have the battery located there instead. I can check the battery condition - in my pajamas - if desired.

On a gas-fueled generator, the battery is one of the most critical maintenenace item, right after oil & filters.

[6spdC6]

Originally Posted by bill_daniels

My neighbor, who just died, had a gas fired Generac 17kW unit installed after Hurricane Ike rolled through and we were without power for 15 days. It was designed to run once a week for maybe 10 minutes, just to keep everything in operating shape, but after the first few months, I don't think it operated automatically. It did chew up batteries, and my neighbor finally just stopped buying them. Of course, since Ike, we haven't really had any outages.

The Generac unit I have the battery is on a internal tender and is supposed to keep it up just like we do with our Vetts for winter storage.

Mine lights off at 2 pm every Wednesday for 15 minuets. I assume that time is enough to bring it up to normal running tempt to prevent condensation problems. Mine also has a warming kit for the battery and oil systems as it can go to - 30 on a bad night

[Frizzle]

For home use generac units running off of natural gas is just fine. Heck I've wired up a generac for a target store that ran off of NG, the engine was a ford v10.

Now, for anything in large scale and for reliability (data centers, hospitals eat...) they run off of diesel. The manufactures are Cats... And I've seen Cummings at one jobsite.

[Dave]

Convince a neighbor on the same power leg as you to buy one. The power will never go out again.