Buying Advice Diesel generator for home back up use

[lutt]

To the op, check into CK power in St. Louis Mo, they put gensets together from small to large. I took my John Deere generator training there for work. I seem where you were interested in a Kubota unit. They sell those also. They are good people to deal with and know there stuff. LUTT

 

[huntgrouse]

Okay, here is a little input based on the feedback so far.
I live in a rural area. Tight valleys, lots of trees down when the snow and or freezing rain drops crap on all the lines. Plus the outages have become more frequent and longer lasting. If it were just me, ****, candles, a fire pit and some canned food would be all I need. But let痴 be realistic. If you have a significant other, I don't care how much she is your best friend, soul mate, etc. ; take away their comforts for so long and they turn into ........!!!!...... so as far as rouging it with a minimal generator capacity that allows me to run the freezer and fridge and then rotate to cook on the electric stove and a few lights, that's not happening. Then throw an elderly mother who lives a couple of miles away who comes and stays with us when the power goes out, that compounds it more.
1. Based on what I gather from several KW calculator sites, my BX 25 is not really suited for a PTO generator of 10K size. On top of that, normally during winter, I need the Kubota for other things like snow removal and dicking around with a PTO generator, and then disconnecting to plow/blow and back to the other is not my idea of fun.
2. My power requirements are: Fridge, freezer, stove, lights, and oil fired furnace which includes tank less coil so all hot water comes from this, water well pump, computer, TV. Obviously, all of these things won稚 be operating at the same time and some can be disconnected to run others. I do not burn wood.
My son in law, who is a licensed commercial electrician went over all of my electrical demands etc. and came up with the 10KW requirement. Not pie in the sky hypothetical estimate.
3. This would not necessarily be 24 hour operation. It would have to depend on the situation but I don稚 foresee 24 hr. ops except maybe in the winter if my elderly parent is there (for heat)
4. Another option other than the 10KW Kubota Generator or similar is to get one from here: PRO-SERIES Diesel 7000-Watt Generator with Digital Control Panel and Remote Start-GENSD7D at The Home Depot . While this is a Chinese manufactured generator, At least with HO, there is somewhere to go through for parts and they have a warranty.
6500 Watts continuous. At this price I could buy two if needed!! LOL. With veterans discount, take off another 10% and it seems like a decent price considering what good quality gas jobs go for.
5. Availability of fuel. Diesel definitely gets the nod. With two 275 Gal. tanks on site and a third waiting to be installed, I have more than enough fuel capacity for a long term situation. The realities are that with at least one kid still at home (in school), plus the elderly mother issue, I need more than bare basic. But I also understand the laws of diminishing returns with regards to cost/ benefit of the 7KW vs. the 4X more expensive 10KW.
6 Anyone have any experience with the generator listed above that HD sells

 

[aczlan]

6 Anyone have any experience with the generator listed above that HD sells

I have the same generator in Aurora paint, picked it up for $300 from a construction company, has a battery draw when off that I need to find as it eats batteries (enough that I disconnected the battery), but it seems like a decent unit.

Aaron Z

 

[samjohnsonus]

Thanks everyone for sharing the answer.

 

[grsthegreat]

Nope. His was (over) sized to code and installed by an electrician. I believe its a "20":laughing: kW as well.

He's not the only one. Generacs have a very high failure rate.

actually, they dont. there the largest supplier of residental units, so a larger number of failures does not mean there the worst brand. Generac supplies units rebranded as Guardian, Siemens,etc. As a ratio to number of units installed, they are very reliable.

I have installed many different brands of gen sets over the years, and ive had Kohler units fail also. I have a small Honda unit that im thinking of using as a boat anchor. personally i think its the fact that people forget there installed and dont maintain them. never change the oil, etc

 

[doxford jim]

I have a 12kW Kubota system installed at my house. It sits in a shed and has a mechanical change over switch - all installed by an electrical company.
This was installed by the previous owners.
In the time the previous owners had it, it was never run on load or serviced. When I bought the place I replumbed the fuel system from the 250gall. storage tank and got the machine running properly. Changed out the oil at 4 hours due to it's age and replaced with new oil. The generator now has around 140 run hours and another oil and filter change etc. at 100 hours.
This machine has run without any problems and supplies all the power the house needs during a blackout. The 12kW is enough to run heat pump, electric stove etc and based on my calculations, uses about 1/2 gallon of fuel an hour at around 60% load.

I don't know what the previous owner paid for the setup - I am sure it wasn't cheap. However, I am more than happy with how it works.

Sorry I can't answer some of your questions but thought you might be interested in my setup.

 

[s219]

Nice setup Jim! What is that used for the exhaust piping -- a flex tube and through-wall thimble? Does it just poke out the other side?

 

[GManBart]

I don't know what the previous owner paid for the setup - I am sure it wasn't cheap. However, I am more than happy with how it works.

Definitely not cheap...nice setup!

 

[dave1949]

Okay, here is a little input based on the feedback so far.
I live in a rural area. Tight valleys, lots of trees down when the snow and or freezing rain drops crap on all the lines. Plus the outages have become more frequent and longer lasting. If it were just me, ****, candles, a fire pit and some canned food would be all I need. But letç—´ be realistic. If you have a significant other, I don't care how much she is your best friend, soul mate, etc. ; take away their comforts for so long and they turn into ........!!!!...... so as far as rouging it with a minimal generator capacity that allows me to run the freezer and fridge and then rotate to cook on the electric stove and a few lights, that's not happening. Then throw an elderly mother who lives a couple of miles away who comes and stays with us when the power goes out, that compounds it more.
1. Based on what I gather from several KW calculator sites, my BX 25 is not really suited for a PTO generator of 10K size. On top of that, normally during winter, I need the Kubota for other things like snow removal and dicking around with a PTO generator, and then disconnecting to plow/blow and back to the other is not my idea of fun.
2. My power requirements are: Fridge, freezer, stove, lights, and oil fired furnace which includes tank less coil so all hot water comes from this, water well pump, computer, TV. Obviously, all of these things won稚 be operating at the same time and some can be disconnected to run others. I do not burn wood.
My son in law, who is a licensed commercial electrician went over all of my electrical demands etc. and came up with the 10KW requirement. Not pie in the sky hypothetical estimate.
3. This would not necessarily be 24 hour operation. It would have to depend on the situation but I don稚 foresee 24 hr. ops except maybe in the winter if my elderly parent is there (for heat)
4. Another option other than the 10KW Kubota Generator or similar is to get one from here: PRO-SERIES Diesel 7000-Watt Generator with Digital Control Panel and Remote Start-GENSD7D at The Home Depot . While this is a Chinese manufactured generator, At least with HO, there is somewhere to go through for parts and they have a warranty.
6500 Watts continuous. At this price I could buy two if needed!! LOL. With veterans discount, take off another 10% and it seems like a decent price considering what good quality gas jobs go for.
5. Availability of fuel. Diesel definitely gets the nod. With two 275 Gal. tanks on site and a third waiting to be installed, I have more than enough fuel capacity for a long term situation. The realities are that with at least one kid still at home (in school), plus the elderly mother issue, I need more than bare basic. But I also understand the laws of diminishing returns with regards to cost/ benefit of the 7KW vs. the 4X more expensive 10KW.
6 Anyone have any experience with the generator listed above that HD sells

Glad you stuck with us HuntGrouse. It can get to be a bit like a family reunion after a few beers here.

I don't have any experience with the HD generator you linked. Some observations though.

1. I would put zero $ value on a 90 day, non-returnable warranty.
2. Big Box warranty service and parts can be very uneven or impractical. How many repair parts for that unit does HD have hanging on their wall that you could buy when you really need them, for example?
3. The continuous output rating of that unit needs to be verified. In one place it says 6300 W, lower down on the page it's 5500 W.
4. Either 5500W or 6300W is skimpy for your load IMO due to the electric range and no-swapping requirement, and well below your SIL's calculation.
5. You could save on the generator costs, and [probably] get along with the HD generator if you can safely, and are willing to, use an alternative cooking method during an outage. Something like a grill with a gas side burner, Coleman camp stove or the like.

 

[buickanddeere]

The BX25 will do an entirely respectable job on a 15KW generator loaded up to 12KW.
Sometimes the small 12.5KW or 15KW pto units come up for sale at very modest price . Something for use right now or to keep in the shed for backup.
Portable too if power was required at the MIL's to protect her property or contents.