Which 20kw whole house generator would you recommend and why

   / Which 20kw whole house generator would you recommend and why
  • Thread Starter
#11  
Technician came by today and looked the 15kw Generac unit over. This is what he found:

* Coil/ignition wires were dry rotted and that was the cause of the hard starting
* Passed compression test
* Oil on cylinder walls

He plans to come back and perform a leak down test, which he expects will fail due to the oil observed in the cylinder bores. He also plans to do a load test when he returns. He said that in order to replace the ignition wires, the engine has to come out and be almost completely disassembled. Seems like a terrible design if true.
 
   / Which 20kw whole house generator would you recommend and why #12  
Both my house and my mothers has a 320/400A meter based that feeds 2 200A panels. By going with a single 400A transfer switches (wired between the meter base and the 2 200A panels, the generator would be able to power all the circuits that were active on *both* 200A panels. Neither my place nor my mothers would likely ever pull more than 83.3 amps concurrently. Such an arrangement would completely eliminate the need to move circuits between panels to get all the "important ones" consolidated into a single panel. Of course the downside is the cost of a 400A transfer switch over that of a 200A one.

without the ability to load shed, youd be surprised how easily you can use up 83 amps. the start up load on ONE heat pump or a 5 ton AC unit can exceed 110 amps.
 
   / Which 20kw whole house generator would you recommend and why #13  
Does anyone know why portable gensets have two wattage ratings and permanent mount standby units don't?
Example, a portable might be rated for 5000 watts with a 6500 watt surge, standby units only show one wattage rating for continuous use.
 
   / Which 20kw whole house generator would you recommend and why
  • Thread Starter
#14  
without the ability to load shed, youd be surprised how easily you can use up 83 amps. the start up load on ONE heat pump or a 5 ton AC unit can exceed 110 amps.
Daum. I'll have to double check the tonnage on my mothers unit again. The 15KW unit she has now might now be worth fixing if it is never reliably going to allow her AC to run during summer outages.

I know I have a 5 ton AC unit (my furnace is propane fired for heat), so perhaps I would be safer sticking with the 30kw JD unit I have been looking at vs. the 25kw Kubota.
 
   / Which 20kw whole house generator would you recommend and why
  • Thread Starter
#15  
Tech came back already and did a leak down test. Cylinder 1 was 28, which is borderline fail. Cylinder 2 was 48, a big time fail. He's going back to work up an estimate. He did say that new sales guy that came out and gave the $1500 estimate was low balling. We'll see what he comes back with. If its north of $3k, we are likely going to pass and look at a new 20KW unit, which was the original plan.
 
   / Which 20kw whole house generator would you recommend and why #16  
Tech came back already and did a leak down test. Cylinder 1 was 28, which is borderline fail. Cylinder 2 was 48, a big time fail. He's going back to work up an estimate. He did say that new sales guy that came out and gave the $1500 estimate was low balling. We'll see what he comes back with. If its north of $3k, we are likely going to pass and look at a new 20KW unit, which was the original plan.

When you say 28 on # 1 and 48 on #2.. your refering to percent leakage correct??? When he was doing this where did the air escape from ??? This is very important to know,,
If it comes through the carb you check the intake valves if it comes out the exaust you check the exaust valves if it comes out the breather then you check the piston rings.. It can also come out the cylinder head telling you the head gasket is gone...
 
   / Which 20kw whole house generator would you recommend and why #17  
Both my house and my mothers has a 320/400A meter based that feeds 2 200A panels. By going with a single 400A transfer switches (wired between the meter base and the 2 200A panels, the generator would be able to power all the circuits that were active on *both* 200A panels. Neither my place nor my mothers would likely ever pull more than 83.3 amps concurrently. Such an arrangement would completely eliminate the need to move circuits between panels to get all the "important ones" consolidated into a single panel. Of course the downside is the cost of a 400A transfer switch over that of a 200A one.
Howdy,
You have a existing 400 amp service and 2 200amp panels? The amount and re-work to put in the proper transfer switch is crazy $$$$$. I had the same situation. With the lugs in the meter box, they are split there to the 2 200amp panels via underground service, and 100amp shop panel, and 100amp barn panel. I would have to use a few transfer switches. That is why with the method I used, with the utility mounting and installing it, was the absolute best choice for me. That collar right behind the meter, mounting the second box with the brains, and generator feed lugs, and I can power it all. And with true power usage, my 30kw pto generator does it all without issue. The PSP Products item has a few options for 2 wire auto start and such. So even with buying a LPG, diesel, or any other fully automatic generator can be sent a start command when there is a power failure. I would suggest you keep bugging your local utility about a behind the meter connection like mine. If you need anything else let me know.
generator-transfer-switch-connection-choices
 
   / Which 20kw whole house generator would you recommend and why #18  
I think Generac used to use Brigs motors, and then started having somebody build there own motors. My generator and lawn mower have the same brigs motor in them, so only one set of filters and plugs to buy in the spring, and two spare sets in the garage.

Before I spent anything more than $1000 to rebuilt the generator you have, I would want to see in writing that it would start the AC unit when rebuilt, or that they would give you credit on it toward another machine.

In the 20 KW price range, I would pay the extra for the Kohler or Cummins extra warranty time. The Kohler has a transfer time of 5 sec (I think), which is pretty short. The Kohler has a block heater to prevent cold starts, which I don't like (but I'm in Florida) because it's another energy consuming item. With the oncoming glut of natural gas, fuel consumption would probably not be my highest priority.
 
   / Which 20kw whole house generator would you recommend and why
  • Thread Starter
#19  
When you say 28 on # 1 and 48 on #2.. your refering to percent leakage correct???
I'm not sure. I have those numbers 2nd hand from my mother. I'll follow up with them.

When he was doing this where did the air escape from ??? This is very important to know. If it comes through the carb you check the intake valves if it comes out the exaust you check the exhaust valves if it comes out the breather then you check the piston rings.. It can also come out the cylinder head telling you the head gasket is gone...
Excellent points. I'll be sure to discuss that with him when he presents the quote.
 
   / Which 20kw whole house generator would you recommend and why
  • Thread Starter
#20  
You have a existing 400 amp service and 2 200amp panels? The amount and re-work to put in the proper transfer switch is crazy $$$$$. I had the same situation. With the lugs in the meter box, they are split there to the 2 200amp panels via underground service, and 100amp shop panel, and 100amp barn panel.
Fortunately my meter base and 2 200A panels are all within inches of each other with wide conduits between them running individual cables. Everything is very easy to get to, but I agree, it would still be expensive to incorporate a single 400A switch. My mothers setup is very similar, but no conduits unfortunately.

I would suggest you keep bugging your local utility about a behind the meter connection like mine. If you need anything else let me know.
generator-transfer-switch-connection-choices
Thanks. I left them another message. I agree that would be the easiest and cleanest solution.
 

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