Residential Generator Reliability

Merry Christmas

Ken_S

Senior Member
Location
NJ
Occupation
Electrician
Residential generators have been around for some time now, I'm curious as to how they've been holding up.

Have they proven to be reliable?
Are most owners performing the necessary maintenance?
 

Birken Vogt

Senior Member
Location
Grass Valley, Ca
Residential generators have been here for 25+ years but only the last 7 in a big way

They take a lot more maintenance than an AC system for sure. I would guess about 50% are maintaining them, the rest wait for a crisis and call everybody in the book. Air cooled generators are cheap and unforgiving of poor maintenance but it gets the bottom line down so that is what everybody buys.
 

hillbilly1

Senior Member
Location
North Georgia mountains
Occupation
Owner/electrical contractor
Generac had an issue with the batteries exploding, the battery they specified required maintenance, and the charger would dry out the battery due to lack of maintenance. Don’t know if they still use the same type of battery and charger. They seem to have a lot of starter failures too. Replaced only two engines, under warranty, out of the couple hundred we installed. I’ve not had any issues with the Cummins/Onans I’ve installed, but have helped other contractors out when theirs didn’t work. Usually too small of gas line.
 

acin

Senior Member
Location
pacific grove california
Occupation
general building contractor est.1984 . C 10 elec. lic.as of 8 / 7/ 2020
Residential generators have been here for 25+ years but only the last 7 in a big way

They take a lot more maintenance than an AC system for sure. I would guess about 50% are maintaining them, the rest wait for a crisis and call everybody in the book. Air cooled generators are cheap and unforgiving of poor maintenance but it gets the bottom line down so that is what everybody buys.
 

tom baker

First Chief Moderator & NEC Expert
Staff member
Location
Bremerton, Washington
Occupation
Master Electrician
Generac are 2 pole, meaning 3600 RPM for 60 hz, but the periodic exercise runs them at 1800 RPM.
Generac are widely advertised, search here for comments on contractor support. Some call them Junkerac. Cummings or Kohler would be better.
I agree with Birkens comment on maintenance. Generators need to be run monthly under a good load
 

PaulMmn

Senior Member
Location
Union, KY, USA
Occupation
EIT - Engineer in Training, Lafayette College
Most of the Generac I see advertised are, I believe, tied into your natural gas line. Which I don't have, and neither does the road in front of my house.
I've seen good comments here about Cummins/Onan and Kohler. Are any of them inverter types? They're supposed to be more efficient... they say.
Of the non-natural-gas generators, I supposed they're gasoline or diesel. Diesel will require heaters for the fuel tank; and special treatment of gasoline (other than 'gas treatment' for 'old' gasoline.
 

mtnelect

HVAC & Electrical Contractor
Location
Southern California
Occupation
Contractor, C10 & C20 - Semi Retired
I bought a "Coleman Powermate 4000" 25 years ago at COSCO. I never have changed the oil, only added to it. Now since this was brought to my attention on the maintenance, I read the manual. It states that you should check the brushes in the generator every year ... brushes should be replaced when they are worn to 1/4 inch. Oh well !
 

mtnelect

HVAC & Electrical Contractor
Location
Southern California
Occupation
Contractor, C10 & C20 - Semi Retired
So, how do you sleep at night with a 350-gallon propane tank in your backyard ? And what do you do when a forest fire is on its way ?
 

hillbilly1

Senior Member
Location
North Georgia mountains
Occupation
Owner/electrical contractor
So, how do you sleep at night with a 350-gallon propane tank in your backyard ? And what do you do when a forest fire is on its way ?
On syrup mills, they light a fire under the tank to get the last bit of propane out to finish the last batch of syrup. Farmers don’t put any more in until next year, because the tank shut off valve tends to have a small leak, and drains the tank before the next year. Usually the high pressure pop off valve will release the gas, and it will burn off there if ignited. Not that common for them to explode unless somebody is doing something really wrong.
 

Strathead

Senior Member
Location
Ocala, Florida, USA
Occupation
Electrician/Estimator/Project Manager/Superintendent
And I have had my Generac for 8 years now, in Florida. It worked last night, no problem. Thanks to hurricane Debby. It runs a test once a week and it still looks and sounds to be in pretty good shape.
 

kec

Senior Member
Location
CT
Occupation
Electrical Contractor
Propane is a common fuel where natural gas is unavailable.
So, how do you sleep at night with a 350-gallon propane tank in your backyard ? And what do you do when a forest fire is on its way ?
Residential generators have been around for some time now, I'm curious as to how they've been holding up.

Have they proven to be reliable?
Are most owners performing the necessary maintenance?
Most of the Residential generators employ basically a tractor engine. Not something I would use for critical life support.
Propane is very common in my area and I have a 500 gallon buried tank in my backyard and I sleep like a baby.
I have installed many of the popular brands and Kohler would be my choice.
 
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