Quality Standby Generator for Residential

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Davisteam

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Granite City, IL
Saving for a Standby Generator and transfer switch for my home and was wondering if there is any particular brand that stands out, above the rest, in regards to quality?
 
I’ve installed several Onan’s in the past couple of years, and have not had any issues with them or the transferswitches. Wish the internet connection was wireless though. Usually a pain getting an Ethernet cable over there if it’s not new construction, but it’s not required unless you use the app.
 
I know they aren't high end. I've installed a few Generac's over the years and one last spring. Easy to install easy instructions, wifi ready has an app and have not had any call backs or complaints.
I'm in the process of installing the to three 20k Cummins generators for three different customers I'll let you know how I feel about them when they're completed.
 
What’s wrong with Generac?

I’ve heard mostly good things about them, except on this forum.

Not being a smart ass, genuine education opportunity.
 
Got a 60 KW single phase unit sitting right now with a bad rotor. Less than 40 hours on it. Had two 12 KW’s that the batteries exploded. One 12 KW I had to replace the starter on, another one a rotor. Another, the motor. Several controllers. Tech support very bad even when your a dealer. Got a brand new (six or seven years ago) Sitting at the warehouse that nobody will buy. (Yeah, they want you to give to them for nothing, highest offer so far was $300) It has less than 2 hours on it.
 
I love Generac I’ve installed many of them. I have a 22KW at my home. I’ve had it installed for a few years now and haven’t had any issues. I’m in the process of installing a 22 KW for my in-laws. Easy install and internet ready


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I've had a 10 KW Generac since Hurricane Irene. It's performed every time it was called upon to do so. However, so far I've had an oil leak because Generac used incorrectly sized bolts for the oil pan and last year the brushes in the alternator burnt out and I had them replaced. I've installed mostly 10 KW through 20 KW and haven't had any real problems other than the ones at my own house. During the past hurricane in August my generator ran for 4 days without any problems. I also ran an extension cord to both my neighbors so their refrigerators would run.

That said, if your customers are the types that take mass transit to work, then a Generac is priced right for them. If they are Cadillac drivers then sell them a Kohler or a Cummins
 
tom baker said:
Definitely not generac.
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Depends on the Generac. There smaller units come from a different line (that they acquired).

I have had an 80 KW Generac in operation since 2008 on my house. It's been trouble free. 90% of the maintenance is easily done (oil changes and coolant changes are trivial the way they installed the drains). Getting the "car" battery out when that needs to be replaced is a little challenging but not hard. The only real stupidity in the design is that the cooling fan belts are not installed behind one of the readily openable panels. You have to remove a dozen screws to get to it.

I put a Raspberry Pi monitoring box on mine because the alarm is a rather feeble sonalert that I can't hear unless I'm right next to the thing. The one warning is that the later controllers Generac has taken to encrypting the MODBUS port, so the open source monitors won't work. You'll be beholdedn to Generacs remote monitor service.
 
My O JB 7.5 is the one for my house
1800 rpm, quite and rugged.
Built in 1977 but will outlive me
 
sparky1118 said:
I love Generac I’ve installed many of them. I have a 22KW at my home. I’ve had it installed for a few years now and haven’t had any issues. I’m in the process of installing a 22 KW for my in-laws. Easy install and internet ready


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Is yours something like the generic 7043?

is there really a big difference between the ones say at City Electric or another supplier vs a box store?

I’m wanting one for my house also. ~20-22kW range..

would LOVE to have model numbers or highly recommended units from you guys in the know.
 
Anyone have any experience with Briggs and Stratton?

Local mobile diesel mechanic is a dealer, and he loves them.

Says the warranty is far better than Generac.

Id like to install for him, and get some first hand experience, still working on that.
 
Seven-Delta-FortyOne said:
Anyone have any experience with Briggs and Stratton?

Local mobile diesel mechanic is a dealer, and he loves them.

Says the warranty is far better than Generac.

Id like to install for him, and get some first hand experience, still working on that.
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Remember reading that Briggs & Scrappn' filed for bankruptcy protection, that would cause me to think twice, but I won't buy any portable equipment with a B&S engine on it, Honda for me.

Here is story from Doomberg, https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...ne-maker-briggs-stratton-files-for-bankruptcy
 
Thats what he was saying, is that it was a reorganization, but they are still in business.

I know that nearly every manufacturer of Wildland Firefighting water pumps, uses B&S engines. WS Darley, Waterous, Wateraxe, Hale, etc.

If every wild land truck depends on them, they must not be all bad.
 
Many companies with good products have gone through bankruptcy and remain in business. Unless you think they’re in danger of closing, I wouldn’t worry about that aspect.

B&S makes different grade of engines. The industrial have pretty good reputations.

Personally, I have a hard time badmouthing those old 3.5HP engines that came on a hundred dollar lawn mower. People rarely took care of them and they seemed to run forever. The decks would fall apart before the engine quit.

A guy I worked with saved the old oil from his car oil changes to use in his lawnmower! I know he had it over 10 years.
 
retirede said:
Many companies with good products have gone through bankruptcy and remain in business. Unless you think they’re in danger of closing, I wouldn’t worry about that aspect.

B&S makes different grade of engines. The industrial have pretty good reputations.

Personally, I have a hard time badmouthing those old 3.5HP engines that came on a hundred dollar lawn mower. People rarely took care of them and they seemed to run forever. The decks would fall apart before the engine quit.

A guy I worked with saved the old oil from his car oil changes to use in his lawnmower! I know he had it over 10 years.
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I had one of those $100 mowers that I bought in the 80’s, it was sitting in my scrap pile outside the shop, put some gas in it about five years ago, pulled the cord twice, and it fired right up! Too bad the deck was all rusted out.
 
hillbilly1 said:
I had one of those $100 mowers that I bought in the 80’s, it was sitting in my scrap pile outside the shop, put some gas in it about five years ago, pulled the cord twice, and it fired right up! Too bad the deck was all rusted out.
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When I was in high school, I mowed lawns for spending money. Our town had a once a year cleanup where people would put their junk curbside for pickup. I’d ride my bike around town and grab the junked mowers. Three junkers would normally yield enough parts to build a working mower. A good deck was usually the hardest thing to find.
 
Seven-Delta-FortyOne said:
Anyone have any experience with Briggs and Stratton?

Id like to install for him, and get some first hand experience, still working on that.
Click to expand...

We install Briggs, maybe a dozen a year. No issues at all, except the 30kw (I think that’s the size) it has a inline 4, the water pump gasket was bad. Transfer switch’s seem good, but up until last year we installed the Milbank transfer switch ( wish they still made them), that was a good switch, have many around up here, no problem with them.


“ shoot low boys their riding shetland ponies”
 
How often do y'all experience power outages and how long do they last? My last one was a few months ago when a hurricane came near and it lasted 9 hours from about midnight to 9AM. The one before was a hurricane that sat on us for a couple of days and we were out for about 5 days. Before that one was quite a few years ago and short duration. I don't remember an outage from a non storm event.
 
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