Comparison Home Stand By Generators

[check]

Several dealers have told me that Cummins/Onan is the best, and my friend who is an electrical engineer and uses all kinds of generators in his business, got one for his cottage. It is quite a bit quieter tan the Kohler that I have.

 

[GManBart]

So... To get back to the original question.... Which are the best Standly generators?

So far, we have My earlier comment that the dealers felt that Generac generators when I was purchasing mine, and one other poster who said that his neighbors have had problems with Generac.

I myself have a Kohler RES17 (17 kw), and I have had a couple problems with it.

Anyone else want to chime in?

My 20kw Generac (on NG) has been flawless over the past 3 years. The longest it's run has been around 24 hours, but it handled it with no issues, and we enjoyed AC when it was really hot

In a previous thread here (exact same topic) there was a member who installs generators, and has for many years...he said he's never had any serious problems with Generac units that he's installed (he said it was hundreds of them). My electrician says he does almost all Generac units and essentially has zero problems with them. Last year during the arctic chill he said there were a couple of units he had installed that didn't want to start (like 10*F below zero, or colder) and all that was required was using a gloved hand to essentially choke the engine for startup.

This is why I've been known to beat the dead horse about people doing a search, and then continuing ongoing threads, rather than starting new ones over and over....all of this discussion was covered in the previous thread just a few months ago. It's better to have all the information in one place so good details or informative posts don't get lost to time.

 

[K man]

Is your kohler diesel? I find my Generac very quiet to the gasoline ones that some friends of mine use. In fact they even commented on how quiet it is. I can't hear run unless I got outside to about 20 ft from it. Now that is quiet.

 

[imported_OWDouglas]

Also Note, on the Westinghouse history no credit for A/C power to the true Genius, Nikola Tesla.

 

[GManBart]

Same basic discussion with some additional good information:

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/...stand-generators-post3606302.html#post3606302

 

[K man]

My 20kw Generac (on NG) has been flawless over the past 3 years. The longest it's run has been around 24 hours, but it handled it with no issues, and we enjoyed AC when it was really hot

In a previous thread here (exact same topic) there was a member who installs generators, and has for many years...he said he's never had any serious problems with Generac units that he's installed (he said it was hundreds of them). My electrician says he does almost all Generac units and essentially has zero problems with them. Last year during the arctic chill he said there were a couple of units he had installed that didn't want to start (like 10*F below zero, or colder) and all that was required was using a gloved hand to essentially choke the engine for startup.

This is why I've been known to beat the dead horse about people doing a search, and then continuing ongoing threads, rather than starting new ones over and over....all of this discussion was covered in the previous thread just a few months ago. It's better to have all the information in one place so good details or informative posts don't get lost to time.

That is one of the reasons why a winter package ( battery warmer, oil pan warmer etc ) should be installed on generators in the North where the temps can go down to 0 f or more. just saying

 

[GManBart]

That is one of the reasons why a winter package ( battery warmer, oil pan warmer etc ) should be installed on generators in the North where the temps can go down to 0 f or more. just saying

The cold weather kit can't change the incoming air temps, so it won't influence starting the way I described above. The cold weather package is still a good idea, but won't fix the starting issues I mentioned.

 

[K man]

The cold weather kit can't change the incoming air temps, so it won't influence starting the way I described above. The cold weather package is still a good idea, but won't fix the starting issues I mentioned.

True, but does it not have an automatic choke? I thought that was the reason for automatic start up. I guess I will have to wait and see when the cold gets here. I mean where I live it can get to -25-30 C.

 

[GManBart]

True, but does it not have an automatic choke? I thought that was the reason for automatic start up. I guess I will have to wait and see when the cold gets here. I mean where I live it can get to -25-30 C.

I'm sure they have an automatic choke, but at some point it might get too cold for that to be enough. He did tell me it was only a couple of generators that had the problem, and mine started just fine when it was in the ballpark of -25*C. It's possible they were older units that hadn't been properly serviced.

 

[buickanddeere]

The warmer engine will spin faster while cranking and require less choke to start .