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re: A few questions for the home standby generator experts of the OT
Posted on 6/25/15 at 4:07 pm to 777Tiger
Posted on 6/25/15 at 4:07 pm to 777Tiger
I live in cut off and can go weeks without power after a storm. A standby generator is a necessity down here.
Forgot to put link to the site where I bought my unit and type
norwall.com
0
Posted on 6/25/15 at 4:13 pm to ruzil
quote:After Katrina I had a 30kw generac natgas unit installed - I had a plumber hook it up to the meter and a electrician install another box in the garage next to the current load system with a interlock system - all of this was permitted through EBR. I have two four ton units and gas water heaters and stove - no trouble so far - I have Valentine do the PM work every year on it.
A few questions for the home standby generator experts of the OT by ruzil
Posted on 6/25/15 at 4:14 pm to bigrob385series
quote:
serious?keeps refrigerators frozen and sewage drop tanks flowing.
different philosophy I guess, I lived in FL for a while and had the eyes of three 'canes go over my house(just built the house was considering a generator) the last big season we were there, I learnt quick there's no reason to be there when the storm passes, curfews, nothing's open, no groceries, fuel, restaurants, it's like a war zone, and to me a generator would seem to be a target, sun goes down, only sound/lights are you generator, opted for family vacation and come back when everything's mostly back up
Posted on 6/25/15 at 4:14 pm to ruzil
(no message)
This post was edited on 6/25/15 at 4:17 pm
Posted on 6/25/15 at 4:24 pm to ruzil
i work for a generator manufacturer but we do not sell home standby units, only industrial.
but i can tell you that generac builds a nice and cheap package. generac is poo if you are buying diesel but you cannot beat the bang for your buck when going with them for this application. don't buy a kohler. check out briggs and straton as well.
make sure that whoever you buy it from, is authorized to perform warranty work. also, play hardball with them on the installation price because they will try to bend you over.
Call Arcco or LINK
but i can tell you that generac builds a nice and cheap package. generac is poo if you are buying diesel but you cannot beat the bang for your buck when going with them for this application. don't buy a kohler. check out briggs and straton as well.
make sure that whoever you buy it from, is authorized to perform warranty work. also, play hardball with them on the installation price because they will try to bend you over.
Call Arcco or LINK
This post was edited on 6/25/15 at 4:28 pm
Posted on 6/25/15 at 4:35 pm to 777Tiger
quote:
opted for family vacation and come back when everything's mostly back up
I have tossed around the idea of a generator and, somehow, the price of plane tickets to Las Vegas still holds a lot of appeal to me.
Posted on 6/25/15 at 5:15 pm to meauxjeaux2
quote:
Kohler Command have head gasket issues early and often
Was leaning toward the Kohler, please tell me more.
Posted on 6/25/15 at 5:20 pm to Ziggy
quote:
How big is your house?
3900 sq ft. Gas water heaters, heat but stove and ovens are electric. IIRC three ac units (5 ton and two 4 ton).
400 amp service and house is prepped with extra meter and gas and electric at same location.
Posted on 6/25/15 at 5:24 pm to 777Tiger
quote:
different philosophy I guess,
I currently live in The Crescent and our house is in Southdowns. Over the last year we have lost power for a day or two on at least three separate occasions. Other times we have lost power for a few hours at a time.
It seems, every time someone farts, we lose power.
Mrs. Ruzil works from home and needs to have power for business communication and I'm tired of hearing her complain.
A hurricane is the last of my worries.
This post was edited on 6/25/15 at 5:42 pm
Posted on 6/25/15 at 5:30 pm to ruzil
quote:
I'm tired of hearing her complain.
worth whatever it costs
even though it's a temporary fix
Posted on 6/25/15 at 5:35 pm to ruzil
quote:Please tell me you already have her business electronics on a nice UPS. Beware of cheapie UPS units (first hint: they're cheap) as they often will not play nice with the not-always-perfect power that a generator puts out. Have my whole electronics stack on a nice 1500W APC and never have a problem.
Mrs. Ruzil works from home and needs to have power for business communication
quote:Hello neighbor.
Southdowns. Over the last year we have lost power for a day or two and at least three separate occasions
Posted on 6/25/15 at 5:44 pm to DoctorTechnical
quote:
Please tell me you already have her business electronics on a nice UPS. Beware of cheapie UPS units (first hint: they're cheap) as they often will not play nice with the not-always-perfect power that a generator puts out. Have my whole electronics stack on a nice 1500W APC and never have a problem.
You don't know how long it took me to convince her to lock down the wifi. Now you're asking me to hook up her computers to a UPS. Maybe I'll tell her it's Prada.
I heard an AC guy claim that standby generators reduce the lifespan of compressors. Any truth to this.
This post was edited on 6/25/15 at 5:46 pm
Posted on 6/25/15 at 5:48 pm to ruzil
quote:
Mrs. Ruzil works from home and needs to have power for business communication and I'm tired of hearing her complain.
When I'm there she's powerless and working overtime, but I haven't heard her complain once.
Posted on 6/25/15 at 6:11 pm to ruzil
quote:If the weekly generator-exercise cycle includes running it on full load -- thus hard-switching your house power every week while your AC is running -- I can see support for that argument. EZ solution is to exercise the generator without load (basically making sure it will start up and runs long enough to trip alarms on any problems like low coolant). Twice a year -- start of hurricane season and start of SEC football TV-watching season -- run it on full load to put the whole system to the test. Including that Prada UPS.
I heard an AC guy claim that standby generators reduce the lifespan of compressors. Any truth to this.
Posted on 6/25/15 at 6:13 pm to ruzil
We've had both in my family and much better luck with kohler. The kohler has been running a really good size house + boat house for ~15 years and the only thing we've replaced is the battery other than getting it serviced yearly. It's not near the bedrooms or the living areas, so it's hard to say how loud it is. But it's not horrible. And during/after a storm, it's the best sound you've ever heard. It's run everything, for at least a week straight after storms without one problem. Now that I've said that it will probably crap out the next time the whole family is stuck under one roof during a storm. The generac never ran reliably and was replaced with a kohler while it was still under warranty. It's hard to get people to work on a generator during or after a storm. And that one was at a place in the middle of nowhere. It was either a lemon or they have terrible quality control.
Posted on 6/25/15 at 8:22 pm to DrinkDrankDrunk
I'm starting to lean toward Kohler, as the comments for both are about the same.
The Kohler has a GM 6 cylinder engine while the Generac has a Mitsubishi 4 cylinder.
The Kohler has the better warranty, 5yrs vs 2yrs, and also is being sold and serviced by a company as their primary business. The Generac is being sold/serviced by an electrician as one of the services they provide.
Any other brands I should look into?
Thanks
The Kohler has a GM 6 cylinder engine while the Generac has a Mitsubishi 4 cylinder.
The Kohler has the better warranty, 5yrs vs 2yrs, and also is being sold and serviced by a company as their primary business. The Generac is being sold/serviced by an electrician as one of the services they provide.
Any other brands I should look into?
Thanks
Posted on 6/25/15 at 8:35 pm to ruzil
The 30KW Kohler I have has the GM 4 cylinder.
No head gasket issues that I know of, but I've only had it 18 months or so.
No head gasket issues that I know of, but I've only had it 18 months or so.
Posted on 6/25/15 at 8:47 pm to ruzil
Onan/Cummins make very reliable generators, they are quite expensive though.
Posted on 6/30/15 at 7:59 pm to redfieldk717
Any recommendations on Kohler vs Cummins.
I got a quote on a 30kw cummins vs 38kw kohler. 30kw will be enough for house per installer and the cummins is actually a little less money.
The Kohler jumps from 24kw to 38kw and the larger one would be overkill and I assume cost more to run because of it's larger size (I am assuming this though).
I've heard Cummins is the best, is this the case in your opinion.
Thanks,
I got a quote on a 30kw cummins vs 38kw kohler. 30kw will be enough for house per installer and the cummins is actually a little less money.
The Kohler jumps from 24kw to 38kw and the larger one would be overkill and I assume cost more to run because of it's larger size (I am assuming this though).
I've heard Cummins is the best, is this the case in your opinion.
Thanks,
Posted on 6/30/15 at 8:23 pm to ruzil
Some may disagree with me but you want to use the smallest generator possible to conserve fuel. Cummins/Onan are highly regarded as far as quality is concerned and have better parts availability long term too.
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