GENERATOR BUYING

[Gary Fowler]

I am looking to put in a whole house emergency generator. I considered the tractor driven ones but finally decided that an inplace full time with automatic transfer switch that runs on Propane would be better. Lots of issues discussed here with the pros and cons of tractor vs standalone.
My question is one of opinions on the Generac 20KV 5896 generator that Lowes sells. Has anyone had personal experience with Generac generators. There seems to be only about 3 choices on the market for residential generators and that is Generac, Briggs & Stratton and Kohler with the later 2 being about $500 or more higher than Generac for the same size. I would love to have the water cooler versions, but they are outside my price threshold so I am sticking with the air cooled versions and the largest of them is 20KW.
Any info on these before I put in my order for this Generac on reliability etc?
How about the Nexxus automatic load monitoring transfer switch?

 

[Gale Hawkins]

Based on input from RV users I would spend the extra $500. It seems the electronics has been their weakness. Maybe they have turned that image around.

 

[Elviscaretaker]

I have an 2001 generac 6500kw that has been fine, uses a little oil but no other issues.
Know nothing about the Nexxus though, I use a manual switch. I also bring it along for work when I have no power so it's been used a bit, just not at home much. We have a vent kid in the area so our power is back pretty fast.
But 20 kw!? What are you planning on running of it? Granted I have gas heat and water but both draw power and I've had no issues from lacking juice. A 10 should be plenty even with well etc. I'd think. 20 and you can power it all and do some welding on the side
Before you buy check out the unit Costco sells with the included the auto transfer switch, You might like it and save a few bucks. They are on-line and I think they have more of a presence on the east coast now. Good luck hunting!

 

[Gale Hawkins]

Generac Generator Problems | eHow.com

Maybe the negatives is due to them being the number one maker of home generators.

20KV would be min I would want for a whole house system but we are all electric household. AC units can be demanding.

 

[Elviscaretaker]

Forgot about AC! We pretty much never need that here Only the heat and our raincoats for the most part. LOL

 

[Gary Fowler]

The 20Kw is minimum size that I can use to power the house. It is a total electric and the sizing charts list 26Kv as needed size for my particular case. With the load managing transfer switch, the 20 kv is supposed to handle up to 2 Central AC units running at once.
FYI to commenters: I am not talking about those little portable pull around units that are 6500-8500 watts or even 15Kw. I am talking the Guardian series whole house permanently placed type. The model I am looking at is a Generac # 5896

 

[Gary Fowler]

I wanted to add that one of the reasons for getting this size and type is that it is automatic and no switching, starting etc. I am out of country a lot and I know my wife would not be able to switch the supply over, hook up a portable generator and keep if filled with fuel by herself. I will put in a minimum of 200 gallon propane tank to fuel this generator since I dont have natural gas available. With the 20Kw size it will run the HVAC and hot water heater with no problem. Wife will be able to use her electric range by just turning off the HVAC without over loading. So with just some common sense power management she can continue to function normally. We just this week had a power line down and it took the electric company 18 hours to get it back on and it was just a tree on the line not far from my house. They didnt even come out till after 9am the following morning and it went out at 8pm the previous night. Not the best service. Luckily this time the weather was mild.

 

[Gale Hawkins]

Gary that is the only class of system we should get for use when we are not around. The hack systems are not so cool as the years pass either.

 

[hr3]

The 20Kw is minimum size that I can use to power the house. It is a total electric and the sizing charts list 26Kv as needed size for my particular case. With the load managing transfer switch, the 20 kv is supposed to handle up to 2 Central AC units running at once.
FYI to commenters: I am not talking about those little portable pull around units that are 6500-8500 watts or even 15Kw. I am talking the Guardian series whole house permanently placed type. The model I am looking at is a Generac # 5896

The Nexxus is good but it doesn't really run 2 ac units at once.. As the unit sees the load build up it will drop one unit out then cycle the 2 units until the load from the rest of the house goes down enough to run both again,,

 

[Gary Fowler]

That is the way I understand it also. It manages the power for you so you dont overload the generator. I only have one unit, but could relate it to AC and electric range although at 83 amps would likely run both at the same time. I did consider at one time a deal I found on Craiglist for a 30Kv but at 7.9 GPH fuel consumption and 4.9 at 1/2 load, I thought that was a lot much to spend for very little more need. The 20Kw runs about 2.9 GPH so at $3.50 gal (estimated since I havent bought bulk yet) runs $150-250 per day for electrical service if the gen set runs all the time. I suppose partial run time would cut the cost down considerably.