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Started By
Message
re: Generac generator crapping out
Posted on 9/2/21 at 9:13 am to DownshiftAndFloorIt
Posted on 9/2/21 at 9:13 am to DownshiftAndFloorIt
quote:
I've been shopping for a good deal on a used portable diesel for years now. They are damned hard to find anymore and I have good connections in the standby power industry. Companies just don't get rid of those things until they are damn near dead. Government auction is the only chance these days I think.
A good 1800rpm liquid cooled diesel unit is the only way to get ultra reliable continuous backup power for extended periods. Keep fuel in it and it'll run for years non-stop if you need it to.
diesels are awesome but liek you said hard to find. other thing is, man it can become hard to get the deisel after a storm like ida or laura.
2
Posted on 9/2/21 at 9:13 am to lsu777
If it doesn't cool down unloaded than that enclosure has serious airflow problems and probably a big reason these people are having theirs shite out on them
Posted on 9/2/21 at 9:18 am to Enadious
quote:
I work with a guy who followed the 10,000 mile oil change. Around 100,000 miles, had engine issues and brought to shop. Was told to either sell it or be prepared to buy a new engine. It was a Ford F-150.
BMW pioneered this. They had longer oil change intervals so that they can appear to have lower maintenance costs. They didn’t care about long term issues so long as the car lasted beyond the warranty. Ford is really just following them. Volvo does it now too. Now Toyota, Honda, VW, and GM are doing it.
When it comes to full home generators, consider the cost of maintenance plan as an insurance policy if you are on the gulf coast (or even the rural mid west with the hard freezes). Especially if you don’t have the time to do maintenance yourself. Costs of maintenance is less important than ensuring that the generator will be working when you absolutely need it.
Posted on 9/2/21 at 9:24 am to dewster
quote:
consider the cost of maintenance plan
I think this is one of the biggest mistakes actually. Generac isn’t sending a guy to your house every 3-4 days to change your oil after a hurricane. If you can’t do it yourself and stay on it, then you should just plan to evacuate or consider other options.
You need to learn how to do things by practicing in normal times. Problem is people drop the $7500 on a unit and the maintenance plan and don’t think anything of it. Hurricane hits and they don’t know shite. This is the exact issue.
The reality is unless you have a 250 gal diesel tank with a commercial diesel air cooled generator and a groundskeeper to maintain it, then you need to learn some shite about your shite and plan to not use some stuff until your utilities are back.
Otherwise you are falling prey to marketing gimmicks.
Posted on 9/2/21 at 9:32 am to OLDBEACHCOMBER
I've noticed that Home Depot has several availble home genny's some of which are Briggs&STratton.
They offer a 25kW liquid cooled model for $13k and it includes the xfer switch.
But B&S? Aren't they the same company as Kohler now?
They offer a 25kW liquid cooled model for $13k and it includes the xfer switch.
But B&S? Aren't they the same company as Kohler now?
Posted on 9/2/21 at 9:38 am to jbgleason
quote:
be able to run 24/7 for weeks- but they just aren’t made for that.
quote:
What the hell are they made for then?
They are small engines and running 24/7, for comparison, look at a lawn mower, even a nice one like a zero turn. a week of running 24hrs a day is like 5 years on your mower, but you arent running all day, non stop for a week or more
Posted on 9/2/21 at 9:39 am to Tempratt
quote:
I've noticed that Home Depot has several availble home genny's some of which are Briggs&STratton.
They offer a 25kW liquid cooled model for $13k and it includes the xfer switch.
But B&S? Aren't they the same company as Kohler now?
dunno if B&S is same as kohler but bother are considered step ups from generac and slight step below cummins.
13k for liquid cooled and xfer switch isnt terrible for a 25kw.
prolly cost you around 3-7k on install depending on what needs to be done.
did that price inlcude the pad or no?
Posted on 9/2/21 at 9:40 am to baldona
quote:
baldona
quote:
I think this is one of the biggest mistakes actually. Generac isn’t sending a guy to your house every 3-4 days to change your oil after a hurricane. If you can’t do it yourself and stay on it, then you should just plan to evacuate or consider other options.
You need to learn how to do things by practicing in normal times. Problem is people drop the $7500 on a unit and the maintenance plan and don’t think anything of it. Hurricane hits and they don’t know shite. This is the exact issue.
The reality is unless you have a 250 gal diesel tank with a commercial diesel air cooled generator and a groundskeeper to maintain it, then you need to learn some shite about your shite and plan to not use some stuff until your utilities are back.
Otherwise you are falling prey to marketing gimmicks.
this is the biggest issue. thinking they can run 24/7 at these temps with zero maintenance. not gonna happen.
Posted on 9/2/21 at 9:44 am to OLDBEACHCOMBER
I’ve had my generac for 4 years now, no issues. Mine ran for 3 days until we got power last night and the only time it shut down was due to low gas pressure.
My FIL on the other hand bought one last week, hooked it up the day before the storm and it blew an oil gasket after running for 2 hours.
My FIL on the other hand bought one last week, hooked it up the day before the storm and it blew an oil gasket after running for 2 hours.
Posted on 9/2/21 at 9:46 am to baldona
quote:
You need to learn how to do things by practicing in normal times. Problem is people drop the $7500 on a unit and the maintenance plan and don’t think anything of it. Hurricane hits and they don’t know shite. This is the exact issue.
A bigger problem I’ve seen is people not maintaining their system at all (either a temporary generator or a full home system), and pay no mind to it for years because they don’t need it. Then have to scramble to handle deferred maintenance or even make repairs while a storm is approaching or even after it’s already hit.
Probably less of an issue in rural areas where power shortfalls are more common and the owners of these systems are at least more conscious about it. But they sell a lot of these to suburban Home Depot dads that are either too busy to handle maintenance reliably or don’t really pay any attention to it most of the time.
IMO the value of a maintenance contract is that you’ll at least know that it will probably work when you need it. Someone shows up, tests it, changes the fluids, and keeps it running even when you forget to. I do agree that everyone should know how to do basic troubleshooting, how to turn it off/on to cool it down, and top off the oil (or coolant if it’s liquid cooled) at a minimum.
Posted on 9/2/21 at 9:50 am to subMOA
Generac is the traeger of whole home generators.
Posted on 9/2/21 at 9:50 am to lsu777
Oil changes aren't the problem. The engines aren't flying apart. The problem is overworking the electrical side.
Posted on 9/2/21 at 9:51 am to lsu777
quote:
and its so the person can go back after a day or two and everything in the freezer is still good to go. so they can half arse live. sorry about your dads stuff but you in general during a hurricane if you are goign to evac....should turn it off and come back next day or 2 days and turn it on.
Well, my dad was prevented from returning until yesterday, and had no way of knowing he’d be barred from returning until then.
Posted on 9/2/21 at 9:52 am to OLDBEACHCOMBER
Should probably use 10W-30 full synthetic oil instead of 5W-30 yankee oil
This post was edited on 9/2/21 at 9:52 am
Posted on 9/2/21 at 9:52 am to baldona
quote:
Generac isn’t sending a guy to your house every 3-4 days to change your oil after a hurricane
My dealer will. I just have to pay for it and be on their list.
I do it myself because I can so that others that can't can get service.
Posted on 9/2/21 at 9:53 am to Revelator
quote:
Well, my dad was prevented from returning until yesterday, and had no way of knowing he’d be barred from returning until then.
i get it, sorry that your dad lost the freezer, really am.
Posted on 9/2/21 at 9:54 am to DownshiftAndFloorIt
quote:
Because that run time is probably at 25% load, which is almost nothing since the parasitic loss will get you most of the way there. More load = more gas. Turn some stuff off!
Actually the box says it will run 16 hours at 50% load and 16 hours at 25% load. I was nowhere near 50% load at any time. Plus, my neighbor has the exact same generator, was running more appliances than me, and he was getting 10 hours run time. Your explanation is bunk.
This post was edited on 9/2/21 at 9:55 am
Posted on 9/2/21 at 9:57 am to DownshiftAndFloorIt
quote:
Oil changes aren't the problem. The engines aren't flying apart. The problem is overworking the electrical side.
umm you would be surprised. know of a couple that locked up due to not checking or changing the oil.
but in general yea electric side is getting overloaded. which leads to the stepping motor running the engine at the highest rpms it can and then in turn burning oil faster than expected.
also people need to understand...its onyl 100 hours of continuous use between oil changes and that is at 77 degrees not 90+.
also more than likely like you alluded to....thats prolly at 75% average load, not 110%
early you mentioned the enclosure...dunno how familiar you are with them, but they are just aluminum boxes with the aluminum lined sound dampening material inside. traps heat like a mother fricker and if you go out at night, the whole generator side will be glowing orange from the heat after only 2-3 hours of continuous run time. its crazy how hot they get.
Posted on 9/2/21 at 9:59 am to baldona
quote:
The problem with things like service plans and sales pitches of being “hands off” and “easy to maintain” is that they are while they are not used. But using them in this situation is not a situation where you can be ignorant and not actively work to maintain them.
They automatically crank once a week to charge the battery and do a systems check. There is a maintenance light that is either green, yellow, or red. When something needs to be done.
I’ve had mine for 6 years and it’s helped me through 3 hurricanes. One time for a week and a half we ran it. As noted above, I keep about 4 sets of oil change kits at all times just in case. I also stopped it every 100 hours to change the oil when running for long periods.
The poster above has a great point on opening up the box when running it. I’ll do that going forward.
Also, I have a separate tank for mine. The gas company comes out and tops it off when needed. That way I’m not beholden to any service outside of my control.
This post was edited on 9/2/21 at 10:06 am
Posted on 9/2/21 at 10:00 am to Revelator
quote:
Actually the box says it will run 16 hours at 50% load and 16 hours at 25% load. I was nowhere near 50% load at any time. Plus, my neighbor has the exact same generator, was running more appliances than me, and he was getting 10 hours run time. Your explanation is bunk.
you may have a bad generator but his explanation is correct in theory.
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