Generac or Koehler whole house generator?

[RSKY]

When I had the choice I went with Generac due to the dealer. THAT made all the difference. I got the 22k unit. Before I did my disabled neighbor got the Kohler 14k and paid half again what I did. The dealer he bought from took advantage of him. That made my decision for me. Who you buy from is as important as the brand you buy.

RSKY

 

[tradosaurus]

Natural Gas seems like the best fuel because it shouldn't run out. I understand that something can happen to the pipeline, but there are more chances that you won't be able to get gas, diesel or propane then the Natural Gas Line not supplying it.

MY current generator is a 10,000 watt starting 8,000 watt running Champion generator that also used propane, but the rating decreases to 9,000 watt starting and 7,200 watt running rating. I have several propane bottle for it because it can be challenging getting gasoline here when we have a Hurricane/Tropical Storm, or even worse, an ice storm that closes the roads. When the power is out, most of the gas stations shut down because they do not have generators. The last outage, I had four 5 gallon gas cans filled up and I used 3 of them. A couple years ago, we lost power for a week because of an ice storm, and I used up all my gasoline and didn't have any propane, so I had to drive around to find an open gas station. I think I found gasoline somewhere around my 20th gas station.

For me, if I'm going to spend the money on a whole house system, I want it to run off of Natural Gas.

I have the same generator and I typically keep 10 gallons of non-ethanol on hand since I use it for my zero turn.
My issue is that I don't have natural gas available in my area so would have to have a large propane tank to feed a house generator.
If you haven't yet get a soft-start for your A/C that will lower your starting amps from about 90-100 amps to about 20-30 amps. This will allow you to run your A/C off of your 10,000 watt generator.

 

[tradosaurus]

You’re just digging yourself in a deeper hole. Don’t try to reverse engineer a misprinted, or miss-written bogus number.

View attachment 898608

The 13 kw NG numbers I’ve now circled in blue look reasonable.
See the difference?
Now look again at the 10 kw numbers. You really think you can get double the power for only 25% more fuel…and at maximum load?
Of course not. ICE engines don’t work like that.

Do you own a generator or are you speaking out your *** as usual?

 

[Buppies]

Very informative thread we have a 7500 generator that just gets us by we lose power three to four times a year.

Sixdogs years ago I had not been on here very long we lost our golden you responded and made our loss much easier to bear. I will never forget it thank you

 

[geteh]

I dont have much experience with the Kohler line. But there supposed to be pretty reliable.

I dont know anything about kohler manual remote start and stop. I do inow its never a good thing to stop a running generator while its under a load. If the manual switch doesnt cut off the load prior to start or stop you let out the magic smoke…… i mean literally..you can smoke the generator.

A transfer switch automatically cuts the feed and thus the load and allows the generator to operated unloaded for some time prior to shutting down. The reverse is true for starting up. .
Very informative thread we have a 7500 generator that just gets us by we lose power three to four times a year.
McDonald's Menu
Sixdogs years ago I had not been on here very long we lost our golden you responded and made our loss much easier to bear. I will never forget it thank you

have a whole home generator, what brand do you have, and have you had any issues with it?
Or if you are a tech, or installer, which brand do you suggest?
Thanks

 

[sixdogs]

I expect that something like this Kohler 20kW unit is what I'm going to end up getting.

Please keep us posted. I'm very undecided on what I want to get for my place.

I believe Kohler goes from 16K with the next gap at 20K. 16K is probably OK but 20K seals the deal and covers all the improbable things that happen during emergencies.

My guy is working up a price for 16K and one for 20K and he told me the incremental price difference is not that big of a deal. We'll see.

 

[Torvy]

The complaints about Texas natural gas are mostly political games.

The root problem a few years ago was a series of decisions that all hit at the same time.

It hasn't been a recurring problem. Most Texans read the 'Tribune' as comedy relief rather than as news.

I wish I could have run NG here. I have a 250 gal propane tank and a great local dealer.

 

[grsthegreat]

have a whole home generator, what brand do you have, and have you had any issues with it?
Or if you are a tech, or installer, which brand do you suggest?
Thanks

Ive installed most brands, large and small. From hospital diesel units to 7.5 kw small home units.
Right now i only work on generac air cooled brands. For me, i have very few issues with the generac twin cylinder sized units. Ive had some issues on the smaller single cylinder jobs.

I cant tell you of the reliability of other brands , cause i dont service them.

 

[coobie]

I am a retired electric lineman of 38 yearS of service.Here are my thoughts I have owned 2 generac whole house units (17 & 18 kw)with ZERO problems over a 14 year period.In my travels I have seen more generac generators more than any other brands.

 

[sixdogs]

I am the OP and have come to believe that both Koehler and Generac are good quality generators.