Generac Standby Generator Owners?

[ededic]

HOLY CRAP! $2000 to install on a house that already had the transfer switch? Did you have it installed in the next county and trench 2/0 cables?

~$2,300 to be closer. Because I put it in three years after I built I needed to pull another electrical permit and final inspection (glad to have it inspected). Connecting to the Propane, Electric run all buried, hand dug, drilled through the wall of the house. Professional installation and activation was required for the 10 year warranty.

Sounds like you have done this before and have experience with all of the installation requirements here so yes, I probably paid too much.

 

[grsthegreat]

it all depends...... electrical and gas permit cost money. A propane regulator cost money. if you used the underground steel wrapped 90 stubs on the gas they cost a good deal. When i install i have to sub out gas because i am not licensed in state for gas. There are only a few companies that even want to do generator gas in my area, as their profit margin is too low to mess with small gas extensions. The last one i had bid i needed less than 15 feet of pipe mounted to wall, a few 90's and a regulator from 2# input to generator... the lowest bid i got was $1,100

 

[cold1313]

I planned on buying the unit direct from a website, as they are cheaper than my local dealer. Have an electrician do the wiring (the local dealer subs it out to them anyway)

Unit will sit next to the house, so it's an easy mechanical install.

Just curious if people have shopped around and found the best price.

 

[LouNY]

2/0 is not big enough......should be 4/0 ?

Actually that is only 100 amps, so depending on the wire,
a #2 could be more then sufficient.
2/0 aluminum is rated for around 135 amps,
4/0 aluminum is 180.

 

[ededic]

Actually that is only 100 amps, so depending on the wire,
a #2 could be more then sufficient.
2/0 aluminum is rated for around 135 amps,
4/0 aluminum is 180.

My cable was TCER7-16 Composite Cable

 

[grsthegreat]

i can care less if my customer buys their own generator or gets it thru me. I dont make squat on the unit. I only supply them as a courtesy. My money comes thru the installation parts and labor. When i give a bid the line items for generator are spelled out. But if the homeowner supplies the generator it HAS to be located on the gen pad and off the pallet and un-crated before i arrive. When i supply the generator i have a small charge for delivery to site, moving to install location, uncrating and setting unit. Those units weigh about 500 pounds.

I have a special delivery cart that cost me about $1,000. it allows 1 man to move and set generator. I don't bring that to a job unless i supply generator.

Generac DOES NOT require a GENERAC dealer to do service in order to protect warranty. Even a homeowner can do their own work with proper record keeping to prove work. HOWEVER it DOES require only a GENERAC TRAINED service tech to do any repairs that require generac to supply parts and labor. This is the same as most companies paying a dealer to repair their units.

Theres more parts than you think that go into a generator installation. I cant tell you how many times ive had customers tell me that they cant believe how much work and parts it took to complete the job. "No wonder it was so expensive".

In my own case, i've been told by several potential customers that my install price is too high. and to those i politely tell them good day. I never do check back to see how the job went. But i did get called back to 1 job that i had bid years earlier for a service call on a non working generator. The install was so poorly done, i refused to do the repair. The wires feeding house were too small, the gas piping to unit was WAY to small and they never increased the size of the gas meter to accommodate the generator,.I told them to call back the original installer to fix it. I can tell by the sour look that he probably did the job himself.

 

[LouNY]

Generac TCER7-16 cable;
3) #3 (1) #6 (6) 18AWG
Will work for up to 100 Amp installations

 

[cold1313]

i can care less if my customer buys their own generator or gets it thru me. I dont make squat on the unit. I only supply them as a courtesy. My money comes thru the installation parts and labor. When i give a bid the line items for generator are spelled out. But if the homeowner supplies the generator it HAS to be located on the gen pad and off the pallet and un-crated before i arrive. When i supply the generator i have a small charge for delivery to site, moving to install location, uncrating and setting unit. Those units weigh about 500 pounds.

I have a special delivery cart that cost me about $1,000. it allows 1 man to move and set generator. I don't bring that to a job unless i supply generator.

Generac DOES NOT require a GENERAC dealer to do service in order to protect warranty. Even a homeowner can do their own work with proper record keeping to prove work. HOWEVER it DOES require only a GENERAC TRAINED service tech to do any repairs that require generac to supply parts and labor. This is the same as most companies paying a dealer to repair their units.

Theres more parts than you think that go into a generator installation. I cant tell you how many times ive had customers tell me that they cant believe how much work and parts it took to complete the job. "No wonder it was so expensive".

In my own case, i've been told by several potential customers that my install price is too high. and to those i politely tell them good day. I never do check back to see how the job went. But i did get called back to 1 job that i had bid years earlier for a service call on a non working generator. The install was so poorly done, i refused to do the repair. The wires feeding house were too small, the gas piping to unit was WAY to small and they never increased the size of the gas meter to accommodate the generator,.I told them to call back the original installer to fix it. I can tell by the sour look that he probably did the job himself.

What do you find to be the most over looked or unplanned items/expense/work that the DYI guys run into? Instead of having you do the install?

 

[ededic]

Generac TCER7-16 cable;
3) #3 (1) #6 (6) 18AWG
Will work for up to 100 Amp installations

Since the 22k generates roughly 92 amps, I guess that will do just fine.

 

[ededic]

Generac DOES NOT require a GENERAC dealer to do service in order to protect warranty. Even a homeowner can do their own work with proper record keeping to prove work. HOWEVER it DOES require only a GENERAC TRAINED service tech to do any repairs that require generac to supply parts and labor. This is the same as most companies paying a dealer to repair their units.

Theres more parts than you think that go into a generator installation. I cant tell you how many times ive had customers tell me that they cant believe how much work and parts it took to complete the job. "No wonder it was so expensive".

In my own case, i've been told by several potential customers that my install price is too high. and to those i politely tell them good day. I never do check back to see how the job went. But i did get called back to 1 job that i had bid years earlier for a service call on a non working generator. The install was so poorly done, i refused to do the repair. The wires feeding house were too small, the gas piping to unit was WAY to small and they never increased the size of the gas meter to accommodate the generator,.I told them to call back the original installer to fix it. I can tell by the sour look that he probably did the job himself.

Learn something new everyday. Don’t think I would change the way I did this one. I like the local Generac guy and everything is working great so far.