Experiences with whole home generators

Cummins replaced the genrac that crashed at office and is highly thought of by most commercial electricians. Don’t get sold on the warranty or service area because if it has to be used during a hurricane and need service it ain’t happening.

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Some have a service procedure after x # of hours, some are also not continuous duty rated. Laura killed plenty here and many failed on start up. Annual service doesn’t guarantee it will run when called on, ours was serviced two days prior to Laura.

I'm looking into a CPE 12.5kW NG unit for my folks. Under $5000 with a 200A transfer panel. Good standard warranty and built in test function. Uses a 24V starting system and seems to be easier than most to maintain.

I heard Kohler was good but it looks the same as Generac to me. I'll probably be shopping for one in a month or so. How much do they charge to install one of these?

They do require maintenance. Like others have said do the yearly service for $150 but also go out and start it once a month and let it run. The biggest issue with Laura is these engines aren’t meant to run 24/7 for 3 weeks. Think of it like this. How long can you run your gas car engine in your driveway at high rpms? 3 weeks straight with no maintenance? Like someone else said. If you’re pushing it that hard for that long it’s got a lot of reason to fail eventually. So plan on letting it rest a few hours a day and checking oil. Then change the oil also. So they’re really convenient but not fool proof. The companies that service them will be overwhelmed during cat 3 or higher hurricanes. If it’s just a small storm service won’t be a problem. Choosing the right company will make it a better experience. Some of the companies in LC have no clue how to service them. The ones that do will service the ones they installed and maintain routinely first. Then work on others but probably won’t even get to those customers bc they have more than they can handle when a major storm hits.

Generac's were famous for breaking crank shafts when they first came out, maybe they changed. I have a Kohler with no problems.

Thanks everyone, as always you guys come through with great information. I will tell him all of your input, because he thinks you just have it installed and you are good to go forever.

I serviced the office gen at 2:00 on 8/27/20, low coolant wouldn’t allow start. Found some coolant, filled and went to house thinking a hot shower and ac that night. Back at 4:30 and it was fubar, was a terrible feeling.

Get a generac and pay $250 a year for them to do the annual service. You will literally never have to touch the generator for 15+ years