generator for home
- Thread starter hawkeye23
- Start date
- Status
masterinbama
Senior Member
- Location
- Huntsville Alabama
If you are asking about whole house Generac and Kohler are both good.
I have however started having the customer buy the unit and the associated warranties and paying me for the install only. That way it is up to them to file any warranty issues and get reimbursed.
Unless it is a 20KW or larger, then I go through an authorized dealer with a good reputation for backing what they sell.
I have however started having the customer buy the unit and the associated warranties and paying me for the install only. That way it is up to them to file any warranty issues and get reimbursed.
Unless it is a 20KW or larger, then I go through an authorized dealer with a good reputation for backing what they sell.
- Location
- Chapel Hill, NC
- Occupation
- Retired Electrical Contractor
If I had to choose between Kohler and Generac I believe I would choose Kohler. The only reason I say this is that I had a portable generac that fell apart early in its life and my friend was a trained generac technician and he quit selling them because the support was not there. He also said he had lots of call backs on them. That was years ago so who knows.
gar
Senior Member
- Location
- Ann Arbor, Michigan
- Occupation
- EE
121103-1704 EDT
hawkeye23:
For the typical uneducated homeowner I suspect that an oversized automatic backup generator is the way to go. Very inefficient. Durability and quietness would be major concerns. If natural gas is low in cost in the area, then the generator should at least run on that source. A dual fuel might be a consideration.
My own needs could be supplied with a 3 kW unit and not really produce any great limitation in life style. I have a 5 kW portable, and it worked fine for the various outages I have encountered. Between my son and myself we have 4 about 5 kW portable units. Some better than others. Two were free and only required a little repair. Thinking of converting at least one to natural gas. These can be used at my daughter's, son's, my home, and the shop. Or at the neighbors. A lot of flexibility with portable generation.
Noise is a real problem with the portable units. Virtually no muffler, and 3600 RPM are the problem.
Motor inrush current is a problem with small generators, and the limitation is a result of very little inertia (flywheel), and the capacity of the engine to handle a very short large load.
You can see my power load profile when operating on the grid at http://beta-a2.com/energy.html . See the graphs at the end of the web page.
Between Kohler and Generac I would choose Kohler.
.
hawkeye23:
For the typical uneducated homeowner I suspect that an oversized automatic backup generator is the way to go. Very inefficient. Durability and quietness would be major concerns. If natural gas is low in cost in the area, then the generator should at least run on that source. A dual fuel might be a consideration.
My own needs could be supplied with a 3 kW unit and not really produce any great limitation in life style. I have a 5 kW portable, and it worked fine for the various outages I have encountered. Between my son and myself we have 4 about 5 kW portable units. Some better than others. Two were free and only required a little repair. Thinking of converting at least one to natural gas. These can be used at my daughter's, son's, my home, and the shop. Or at the neighbors. A lot of flexibility with portable generation.
Noise is a real problem with the portable units. Virtually no muffler, and 3600 RPM are the problem.
Motor inrush current is a problem with small generators, and the limitation is a result of very little inertia (flywheel), and the capacity of the engine to handle a very short large load.
You can see my power load profile when operating on the grid at http://beta-a2.com/energy.html . See the graphs at the end of the web page.
Between Kohler and Generac I would choose Kohler.
.
hillbilly1
Senior Member
- Location
- North Georgia mountains
- Occupation
- Owner/electrical contractor
I have a 30 kw Kohler (1800 rpm) that is offline right now (muffler rusted through at the base and filled the motor with rainwater) it is very quite and also dual fuel, though natural gas is not available in my area. (I run it on propane) while it is down, I'm running a 12 kw Generac (3600 rpm) in it's place. Much louder of a unit.
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This question comes up all the time. This is the only thing I would recommend. These are 120 volt only. If they absolutely need 240v, I would consider one of the bigger inverter Yamahas. For me, I would add a small transformer to this unit and make the 120/240 with the transformer. There is also a third party propane conversion kit for these. What you are paying for is short term high efficiency, long term reliability, and super easy no BS service. Throw it in the car and drive it to any Yamaha dealer as needed. These are built for 3x the running hours of a typical Briggs engine and they sip fuel lightly.
http://www.yamaha-motor.com/outdoor/products/modelspecs/475/0/specs.aspx
Honda makes similar units but I have always had Yamaha and been well treated for it.
Believe it or not you can find smaller bumblebee sized units like this for $80 brand new and they are not bad. One version is a chinese copy of a Yamaha design and is very good.
Next step up is a stationary Isuzu diesel in the 6 Kw range.
It has been impossible for me to have the customer see the light. They already have their hearts set on junk Briggs units in the 6.5 kW range or Generacs, telling me "the Generac website says it will run my central A/C".
Open Neutral
Senior Member
- Location
- Inside the Beltway
- Occupation
- Engineer
Natural gas is by far the best answer, if available. The carb does not clog up. You don't need to keep gallons of gasoline around, a fire hazard at best. It will keep going as long as you pay the bills. Fewer oil changes are needed; no gasoline washing down the cylinder walls.
One downside is they may need electric start; it may take engine vacuum to suck gas through the carb. [But I use a spritz of starting fluid, it runs for 10-15 seconds on that, and that draws in gas...]
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