Good morning!!!!

[buckeyefarmer]

I recently got an estimate for either an 18kW or 20kW unit.... about $9K plus you'll need a propane tank installation if you don't have one...plus the transfer switch. If I went for it, I'd want to automatic transfer switch. All told, it would cost $13K-$14K
We never had an extended outage in Vermont...we did have a 4-day outage once in Pennsylvania.
I have a 10kW portable (gas or propane) that has done the job...if a more extended outage, I think we'd just go to a motel

What 10kw generator?

A 22kw generac with transfer switch is advertised around $6k not installed. I can see it exceeding $12k pretty easy, which I’ll say no thanks. Like you we have few outages. What I really want is not to run extension cords so am looking at 10-12kw (50 amp) but will probably settle on a 30A 9KW one with inverter. Most of the non inverter (but not all) have terrible THD ratings which can kill electronics. I want <5% THD.

 

[buckeyefarmer]

I bought mine (22kw Generac) on line, just before the collapse of the supply chain, and paid $4200 delivered. That was without a transfer switch, as I was replacing my old unit which was inside the shed that the new one sits behind.
I did the installation myself, and already had the propane tank. So I saved a ton of money over doing a complete install today.

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Thanks, I looked at them. Now $6100 with transfer switch.

 

[RedNeckGeek]

RNG, pulling cable thru conduit can be so much fun.

Has anybody ever told you that you have a talent for understating things, David?

Today I laid out the 900' remainder of the pair of Ethernet wires I'm running up to the cul-de-sac along the driveway. The boxes were so roughly handled in shipping that it broke the reel/dispenser hardware inside the boxes, giving my arms a fantastic workout paying out the cable. To keep things from getting to tangled up, I put a couple wraps of electrical tape around the cables every ten feet or so. Real fun trying to get the tape to stick to the cables after they got a dust bath on the gravel driveway. Once that was done, I uncoiled four 100' rolls of flex conduit so they could be straightened out and soften in the sun. I capped each one with duct tape to keep the dirt and rocks out. Fished the cables through the first one, which went pretty smoothly this time mostly because the conduit was straight and I gave the fish a shot of lube at the start. For some reason pulling the cables down that 100' of conduit wasn't working so well with me standing on the end of the couduit and heaving on the fish tape. That's when I got the idea of parking the RTV on the fish tape and dragging the conduit up the wire. Longest game of tug-o-war I've ever played, and I think my arms are a couple inches longer now. I got the first five or six hundred feet of cable through that section of conduit, but by then the temps were in the mid 90s and I was badly over heated. So I pushed all the wires and conduit to the side of the driveway and am taking the rest of the day off. I'll get back to it next week...

 

[LouNY]

Instead of fighting with a fish tape if you get some jet line or similar cord,
Southwire 500 ft. 210 lbs. Tensile Strength Poly Line 58280640
Then tie a small piece of rag to it and use your shop vac to suck it through. And thats your pull string.

 

[RedNeckGeek]

I bought mine (22kw Generac) on line, just before the collapse of the supply chain, and paid $4200 delivered. That was without a transfer switch, as I was replacing my old unit which was inside the shed that the new one sits behind.
I did the installation myself, and already had the propane tank. So I saved a ton of money over doing a complete install today.

In the FWIW department, back when I was shopping for a whole house generator, it wasn't long after Hurricane Sandy. I read lots of reports of people with Generac generators that wouldn't start or quit running during the disaster. I also couldn't find any shops locally that sold or serviced them. One even told me outright that they wouldn't touch one because of bad experiences with Generac. I ended up with a Cummins 22 kW unit, but even buying online it cost almost twice what you paid for your Generac. For the extra cash I got a four cylinder cast iron block that is liquid cooled, runs at 1800 RPM, and a local shop that has some experience fixing them. I also spoke with a Cummins certified dealer a couple hundred miles away, and they were informative and helpful, and said they'd have no problems making a house call should it be needed. I also did the installation myself, all except for the regulator which was handled by my propane company when they installed the 1000 gallon tank. So far after more than two years it hasn't missed a weekly test run, and I've racked up a few tens of hours running the house off it during Public Safety Power Shutoffs inflicted by the infamous Pacific Gas and Electric utility. I'm sure another round is just around the corner...

 

[RoyJackson]

In the FWIW department, back when I was shopping for a whole house generator, it wasn't long after Hurricane Sandy. I read lots of reports of people with Generac generators that wouldn't start or quit running during the disaster. I also couldn't find any shops locally that sold or serviced them. One even told me outright that they wouldn't touch one because of bad experiences with Generac. I ended up with a Cummins 22 kW unit, but even buying online it cost almost twice what you paid for your Generac.

That was also a factor...Generac has not received good reviews at all.
IMHO, if you can afford it, diesel is the way to go...but it's going to be pretty expensive

 

[RedNeckGeek]

Instead of fighting with a fish tape if you get some jet line or similar cord,
Southwire 500 ft. 210 lbs. Tensile Strength Poly Line 58280640
Then tie a small piece of rag to it and use your shop vac to suck it through. And thats your pull string.

I tried a redneck version of that, Lou. I had a spool of nylon paracord, and used my shop vac powered with a small inverter running off the side-by-side. I payed out all of the reel of paracord, but came up short. Switched to some fairly thick fishing line, and got it through, but broke it trying to pull the cable. Then I got the idea of tying a bit of paper towel on the end of the fish tape and using the vacuum to suck it through, but it got stuck not far from the far end. Maybe I used too much paper towel. What finally worked was a generous shot of lube inside the conduit, repeated several times during the time when the fish was being fed. Still had a heck of a time pulling the cables through, but maybe I wasn't careful enough to keep the bend radius gentle when I buried the conduit. I'm running the rest of the conduit laying on the surface of the driveway with no bends in it, and at least today, the fishing was fine...

 

[Popgadget]

. One even told me outright that they wouldn't touch one because of bad experiences with Generac. I ended up with a Cummins 22 kW unit, but even buying online it cost almost twice what you paid for your Generac. For the extra cash I got a four cylinder cast iron block that is liquid cooled, runs at 1800 RPM, and a local shop that has some experience fixing them.

When I was looking for a new generator, I reached out to a friend in the generator business for advice. He said that they avoid the residential market entirely, and only sell 1800 rpm liquid cooled units like you got. However, he recommended the Generac, for my application. and said that was he had at home. I said that Generac was always regarded as a POS, he said that they still are, but now that Cummins (Onan) and Kohler have entered the residential 3600rpm market, theirs are worse. He said that Generac has been building POS stuff for so long, they have actually gotten pretty good at it.
How is that for a backhanded compliment?
They now actually use their own engine manufactured in Wisconsin with details like a totally electronic governor that looks at frequency, and adjusts the throttle with a stepper motor. By not using off the shelf parts, it’s actually a clean and simple design, there is no charging system on the engine, a smart charger on the 240v output handles that task.
Time will tell whether I made a prudent choice. I do have a 25kw pto generator and cables to plug right in if the Generac goes the way of its predecessors. So far it’s performed flawlessly. And that’s with my homemade integration with my old Onan switch.

But I do agree that a liquid cooled 1800 RPM unit definitely is going to be better, especially for an extended run.

 

[check]

I recently got an estimate for either an 18kW or 20kW unit.... about $9K plus you'll need a propane tank installation if you don't have one...plus the transfer switch. If I went for it, I'd want to automatic transfer switch. All told, it would cost $13K-$14K
We never had an extended outage in Vermont...we did have a 4-day outage once in Pennsylvania.
I have a 10kW portable (gas or propane) that has done the job...if a more extended outage, I think we'd just go to a motel

Hoo boy! That is pricey. Home Depot has a 22 kW guardian on sale with a 200 amp transfer switch for $6147.

 

[check]

Actually, I would never buy a Generac. I got a Kohler 17 kW with an automatic transfer switch that goes inside the cottage, end it has performed well over the last 10 or 15 years. Can’t remember exactly when we installed it. But, to my surprise, all my neighbors tell me that it is very very quiet compared to theirs. by the Westinghouse 9500 for the rental property, and man oh man, is it noisy compared to mine! also, neighbor built a new cottage from scratch, and put in a Generac. First thing, a part failed, and he had to wait forever for the replacement.

So far, so good! it starts almost instantly when there’s a power outage, and so I don’t have to worry about it. just have to reset the clocks on the stove and the microwave.

I must say it is such a pleasure to not have to do anything when there’s a power outage.