Best Home Standby Generator?

I recommend a much cheaper portable generator, around 12,500-15,000 watts that you can hook up via a n inlet box whenever there’s an extended outage. It’ll be way cheaper and you can still run almost everything except the central ac - just not all at the same time. This was my set up during after Ida and it worked flawlessly with the exception of an impatient and sometimes ungrateful wife . I’ve heard nothing but bad things about those whole house generators.

I have a Generac 24kw. Just got it a couple months ago and just got the operation monitoring app set up today. Hopefully I made a good choice but time will tell.

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I recommend a much cheaper portable generator, around 12,500-15,000 watts that you can hook up via a n inlet box whenever there’s an extended outage. It’ll be way cheaper and you can still run almost everything except the central ac - just not all at the same time. This was my set up during after Ida and it worked flawlessly with the exception of an impatient and sometimes ungrateful wife . I’ve heard nothing but bad things about those whole house generators.

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Have buddy who ran his whole house including his central air with a Ryobi 8500. He has a soft start on his house.

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He says do not get a Generac. He claims they have more problems than any other brand.

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I’ve heard the same thing but only in regards to the whole house generators. I have multiple Generac brand things and have never had a single problem with any of them. My portable is a Generac as well and it worked flawlessly, started on the first try every single time after Ida for 12 straight days. It ran probably 18 hours a day each of those days. Changed the oil about five or six times, of course. Generac is a great brand just not for the whole house generators.

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Have buddy who ran his whole house including his central air with a Ryobi 8500. He has a soft start on his house.

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I’ve heard about the soft start things but I have nowhere near the size of balls required to run an entire central ac unit on an 8500 watt generator with one

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Kohler, Generac is for poors

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Well shoot where were you guys with your advice back in Feb when I ordered this.

I did the same - 8kW running, 10kW starting capacity. If I managed loads correctly, I could start and run the central air. You want to put a soft start kit on your outside unit, but it's pretty cheap and easy to DIY. Much cheaper than a larger generator unit.

I would burn about half a gallon an hour that I ran the generator. I have a smaller 2kW inverter unit that I would run overnight to keep a smaller window unit on + the fridge. Burned maybe a gallon a day on the small one. Would only start the bigger machine from about noon-7/8PM to cool the whole house down, make dinner, etc. Didn't want to run the large one 24/7 cause it's loud as shite and I have close by neighbors.

On the large unit, I did some good ole fashioned redneck engineering to wire it in.. added a 30A breaker to my panel and ran some 8/4 SOOW cord from the panel to the generator. Had to float the neutral on the generator to prevent GFI from tripping. Physical lockout/tagout on the main the whole duration of the outage. When running the small one, I just ran a heavy extension cord in through a window.

Can't say I recommend, it was a pain in the arse. Would obviously much prefer a whole home standby unit, but it's simply not in the budget right now. If I were to go that route, I would look for a liquid cooled unit. air cooled engines just don't work great in the south Louisiana heat following a storm. I would argue liquid cooled is a lot more important than brand. And being familiar with the machine, how to do basic repairs, and having parts on hand is more important than anything else.

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I’ve heard about the soft start things but I have nowhere near the size of balls required to run an entire central ac unit on an 8500 watt generator with one

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It doesn't take balls I am not a electrician so someone could explain it better. Basically it takes a big surge to start a central air compressor but not very much to keep it running. The soft start to my understanding delays the start and builds up enough charge to start the unit. There is also a hard start that can be installed that will also work but it is alittle more stressful on your A/C unit. Hard start cost about 75 bucks, soft start cost about 350 ( no pun intended )

I’ve found that the most economical route is my parents’ Generac. And my momma cooks for us.

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Yeah the soft start is a game changer. Fully recommend. Zero issues starting and running with an 8kW unit.

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My AC went under water during Ida and will be replaced soon, it will have a soft start put on.