Whole house generator

[KitC]

After the bad ice storm we had 3 years ago, I installed two Generac 20kw generators..one for the house and one for my shop...both with full transfer switches. Put a 500 gallon propane tank in the ground and it services them plus the gas log fireplace.

They fire up every Thursday and 0900 hrs and run for 10 minutes...I'm really hoping that is the only time I hear them run..

 

[dstig1]

I still can't get over the 65,000kW... what is that 65 MW? Does that run, like, Connecticut or something? :laughing:

Interestingly I hadn't heard any issues with Generac but I hadn't researched it that deeply. They seem to be the big name in gensets but so is Fram in oil filters (and they have cut quality over the years a ton, best I can tell). Maybe being the big name isn't that great...

Cummins supplied Onan with engines for years, then they bought a stake in Onan, and eventually they bought the whole company, so it is a unit of Cummins now. Not that they only use Cummins engines...

 

[daBear]

Big gensets like the 65KW are not that uncommon at all in larger houses that want the entire house powered. I buddy of mine has a 100KW on his. You would be surprised at how large they actually need to be to run everything with a cushion. My air cooled 20KW Cummins Onan is fine for most of the house with load dropping capability. I have three air conditioners but only hook two to the genset. Both can be dropped one at a time if the unit senses too much demand. My house is only 3500 SF and if I wanted to power everything I would need at least a 40KW liquid cooled unit. Once you get past the 20KW I have you must go to liquid cooled and that doubles the price.

As far as Generac, my experience with them cost me several thousand dollars and I cannot give you a good recommendation on them. They sure pack a lot of features in and have low prices, but you are getting what you pay for.

 

[Dargo]

Big gensets like the 65KW are not that uncommon at all in larger houses that want the entire house powered. I buddy of mine has a 100KW on his. You would be surprised at how large they actually need to be to run everything with a cushion.

Exactly. Mine is nothing special. The good thing when you get in that size range is that I don't see any cheapo Chinese junk. Maybe there are some out there, but everything I saw was powered either by JD, Cummins, Detroit Diesel etc. I have had amazing performance from Yanmar diesels, so I grabbed one that is Yanmar powered. By no means do I have the biggest generator around. There are some really large homes in my area that have well over 100kW.

 

[ultrarunner]

Exactly. Mine is nothing special. The good thing when you get in that size range is that I don't see any cheapo Chinese junk. Maybe there are some out there, but everything I saw was powered either by JD, Cummins, Detroit Diesel etc. I have had amazing performance from Yanmar diesels, so I grabbed one that is Yanmar powered. By no means do I have the biggest generator around. There are some really large homes in my area that have well over 100kW.

Some of the small regional hospitals around here use the 150kw standby rated Onan Cummins units.

Should be able to pick up some bargains as California Air Management Districts are forcing early retirement on units 10 to 15 years old and some only have a couple of hundred hours with full service logs.

I've looked into fining used one of the small kubota powered multi-quip units the rental yards have trailer mounted...

 

[grsthegreat]

Some of the small regional hospitals around here use the 150kw standby rated Onan Cummins units.

Should be able to pick up some bargains as California Air Management Districts are forcing early retirement on units 10 to 15 years old and some only have a couple of hundred hours with full service logs.

I've looked into fining used one of the small kubota powered multi-quip units the rental yards have trailer mounted...

California truly SUCKS,,, hay 2100 posts

 

[ultrarunner]

California truly SUCKS,,, hay 2100 posts

It certainly adds to the cost of doing business...

On the plus side... some of the equipment manufacturers have embraced all the changes... it translates into more sales... up to a point.

Just renewed one of the licenses... need a license to operate a pad mount genset 50hp and above...

$177 yearly permit and 30 non-emergency operational hours per year.

Plus another $250 yearly permit for the 180 gallon double confinement belly tank.

 

[Toyboy]

I just ordered a 20kw NG Generac for our 4k sq ft. home. Should be installed within 2 weeks. I'm debating whether to have the cold weather kit installed also. I'll make that decision when I find out if it's factory installed or dealer. Price is no object for peace of mind when you have a chicken little type wife

 

[Dogballs]

What does the cold weather kit include? I don't know if I have it or not, but my Generac 7kw has started and run fine at 20 below and probably colder. I use synthetic oil and that definitely helps with starting.

 

[aczlan]

Genset is an 1800 RPM with a fully electronic regulated brushless alternator, rated at 11.5 KW.

Out of curiosity, how much do you have into it?

Thanks

Aaron Z