Generac Standby Generator Owners?

[grsthegreat]

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?

Boy, that’s a hard one to answer. Ive seen some that were installed as well as a professional, and others that were....” what were they thinking”. I saw one air cooled unit installed in a garage with a vent cut into the wall. Death trap.

Mostly I see units installed too close to an opening of a house. Ive see a few installed with shed covers that were so low I couldn’t open the top of the generator. I went to one a few weeks ago that had a cover and sealed front to keep snow off of unit. I could not even get to the front opening to change the oil.

Electrically I see a lot with too small of wires run from generator to transfer switch. I had to replace a control panel on a brand new unit because homeowner ran all 6 control wires using red #12 THHN wires.... and got a few crossed. Shorted control panel... a nearly $500 mistake.

I replaced a starter on a new unit because homeowner kept trying to start unit over and over..... didn’t turn on the gas.

I always pour a concrete pad for my installs. I see lots of units sitting on gravel. These tend to sink here in Pacific Northwest. Unlevel units have issues with oil flow.not to mention it sucks to drain oil when motor is lower than drain pan.

 

[ultrarunner]

^^^ What a great resource for TBN readers.

I appreciate just being able to put a question out there.

 

[Toyboy]

I purchased my 20kw unit from a local Generac dealer and he did excellent install. He recommended a whole house surge/lighting protector at the same time which I did.
NG Co. changed to larger meter n/c, local plumber did the gas line work $200 ?
I think total cost of everything was under 5k when all was done 6yr ago.
NOW, here's the kicker. When I called him to come back and do some mechanical, he said he could not because he's tried several times to get Generac to send him to mechanical training and they refused.
A lot of dealers are qualified to install and are good at it, but when it comes to mechanical it's out of their ballpark, not allowed.

Generac wants the valve clearance checked/re set @ X amount of hours. Back then the closest Generac tech qualified to do mechanical was 57mi away and charges mileage both ways. I think there was maybe 5 installers, but zero mechanical in my area.

Since then there is one listed in my area to do mechanical but never returns the calls I've made to get him out to give my unit a once over. Total waste of time.
If/when I replace this unit, I will make sure the contractor is qualified to take care of the whole unit not just 1/2 of it.
If not I will keep looking elsewhere at other brands in a heartbeat.
So when you choose an installer, make sure they can take care of both electrical and mechanical before you sign on the dotted line.
It will save you a lot of frustration. I wish I'd been more aware of that.

 

[grsthegreat]

I purchased my 20kw unit from a local Generac dealer and he did excellent install. He recommended a whole house surge/lighting protector at the same time which I did.
NG Co. changed to larger meter n/c, local plumber did the gas line work $200 ?
I think total cost of everything was under 5k when all was done 6yr ago.
NOW, here's the kicker. When I called him to come back and do some mechanical, he said he could not because he's tried several times to get Generac to send him to mechanical training and they refused.
A lot of dealers are qualified to install and are good at it, but when it comes to mechanical it's out of their ballpark, not allowed.

Generac wants the valve clearance checked/re set @ X amount of hours. Back then the closest Generac tech qualified to do mechanical was 57mi away and charges mileage both ways. I think there was maybe 5 installers, but zero mechanical in my area.

Since then there is one listed in my area to do mechanical but never returns the calls I've made to get him out to give my unit a once over. Total waste if time.
If/when I replace this unit, I will make sure the contractor is qualified to take care of the whole unit not just 1/2 of it.
If not I will keep looking elsewhere at other brands in a heartbeat.
So when you choose an installer, make sure they can take care of both electrical and mechanical before you sign on the dotted line.
It will save you a lot of frustration. I wish I'd been more aware of that.

Something is wrong here. GENERAC PLEADS with dealers to take the service class. I got phone calls from my sales rep asking me to take the classes. Air cooled class is 4 days and costs about $600-800 plus travel, room. Plus having to purchase about 3-4 grand worth of parts for dealer stock. Maybe your guy didn’t want to purchase parts and pay for class. I have never heard of anyone not being able to take a class.

Heck, GENERAC home office is based in your state.

 

[Toyboy]

Something is wrong here. GENERAC PLEADS with dealers to take the service class. I got phone calls from my sales rep asking me to take the classes. Air cooled class is 4 days and costs about $600-800 plus travel, room. Plus having to purchase about 3-4 grand worth of parts for dealer stock. Maybe your guy didn’t want to purchase parts and pay for class. I have never heard of anyone not being able to take a class.

Heck, GENERAC home office is based in your state.

How true, you'd think WI would be flooded with both sales & service contractors but not so. I just checked Generac website to locate dealer, and within 75 mi there are 16 listed as Sales, but out of that 16 only 6 are also listed as Service. I,m telling you, it's like pulling hens teeth to get service.
My closest in 1mi away but don't return calls. 2nd is 28 mi away and he jacked me around for 3mo before I told him never mind, After that they are from 47 to 68mi for service. Ridiculous !!

 

[ultrarunner]

Maybe drop by the one that is 1 mile away?

 

[grsthegreat]

How true, you'd think WI would be flooded with both sales & service contractors but not so. I just checked Generac website to locate dealer, and within 75 mi there are 16 listed as Sales, but out of that 16 only 6 are also listed as Service. I,m telling you, it's like pulling hens teeth to get service.
My closest in 1mi away but don't return calls. 2nd is 28 mi away and he jacked me around for 3mo before I told him never mind, After that they are from 47 to 68mi for service. Ridiculous !!

Holy cow. I know I can stay busy as I want to be doing generator service. Now that I’m retiring from electrical I plan on just installing a few new units per year and doing service only. my business is word of mouth mostly. I Service someones unit, they tell their friend, etc.

I personally won’t service liquid cooled units because I don’t want to be an auto mechanic. It’s a 5 or more day class for each series, plus multi thousands in parts. I’ll stick to air cooled.

 

[Toyboy]

Holy cow. I know I can stay busy as I want to be doing generator service. Now that I’m retiring from electrical I plan on just installing a few new units per year and doing service only. my business is word of mouth mostly. I Service someones unit, they tell their friend, etc.

I personally won’t service liquid cooled units because I don’t want to be an auto mechanic. It’s a 5 or more day class for each series, plus multi thousands in parts. I’ll stick to air cooled.

How I wish you were in my area.
I tried the dropping by once, no one there, already out on jobs I guess.?

 

[PILOON]

LOL, couple years back I was offered a Generac set that had ,like 0 compression.
I offered $50 since I believed I could couple to my tractor.
Turned out the valve stems were worn out hence the 0 compression.
As of today it still puts out its advertised power.

 

[shooterdon]

Decide if you need the cold weather package.

If you are running propane, you might need an extra tank to get enough vaporization to supply the unit in extreme cold. That was what my dealer told me.

BTW, my estimate was around $8-9k installed so I decided to go cheap. Bought a dual fuel Champion 7500 watt unit ($850), my propane supplier will run the line ($300) and a contractor will install a transfer switch that feeds to the mains. It will not be "automatic" but simple and affordable. I am going to build a small shed to house it, as well as a spare 5000 watt Generac gas unit that I have used for 20 years. The shed will have doors that can be left open and powered ventilation. Cost for the shed will be about $300. Total cost should come in at less than $2.5k

I really wanted a whole house automatic standby. Install and operating costs were more than I could justify. I do not need continous power during an outage and normally operate for an hour every 4-6 hours. And I did not get a warm fuzzy feeling from the local supplier.

Good luck with your install.