Whole house generator - - generac?

kenmac · Sep 23, 2005

It maybe bologney , but that is what the memo said. If you are/ were an installer you would have gotten the memo.I don't care if you use a rabbit to turn the generator. The man asked for info. and this is the info that I got from generac when I was an installer. You don't have to trust what I 'am telling you pick up the phone & call generac. They may have changed their stance on this , I don't know, but this is what it was about 5 yrs. ago.

kenmac · Sep 23, 2005

I guess not , but you can also spend thousands to take them to court to find out. Again this is the info that was sent to me from generac. I f I still had the memo I would gladly fax you a copy,but I got rid of all my generac stuff.

Highbeam · Sep 23, 2005

Don't hide behind the memo, tell us the real deal... do you agree with the memo? If so, why? Whether or not there was such a memo is not bologney, it is the content being discussed.... we don't doubt your credibility here.

I would venture to say that many people, including the poster, intend to or do run their A/C units on air cooled generators so this is important.

Bob_Skurka · Sep 23, 2005

My generator is a Winco, powered by a 16hp 3600rpm natural gas/propane Briggs Vanguard V-twin. I do not have my AC powered by my generator. My electrical contractor advised against it. I don't know enough about electricity, loads, etc to pretend to understand why, but he suggested heavier duty engines (lower rpm/water cooled units) to power the AC. In my climate I worry about power failures in the winter. So I sized my generator to run the gas furnace, well pump, refrigerators, lights, etc. In the summer if we have a power failure it is a nusience, in the winter it is dangerous.

kenmac · Sep 23, 2005

Don't know what you mean "hide behind the memo" ? There is nothing for me to hide . I'am not trying to sell an air cooled gen. to run an entire house.I do agree with them though . What they are looking at here is the these small air cooled engines were not designed for heavy duty use, ie, running an a/c or the amps that is required to run most items on 220 volts makes these small air cooled engines tend to work harder than they should shortening the life of the engine. remember these are 2 cyl. engines . The generator is not the issue here,its the engine. This is the reason they build the gen. with a 4 cyl. liquid cooled engine , not because it runs quieter. It is to hold up to the demands of running high amp equip. This is what I have at my house.If you don't want to or can't afford the xtra money & want to chance it. Hey, go for it & buy the cheap mod. with air cooled engine it may work out for you just fine, but then again it maynot last long. The last time I talked to a company installing a gen with an air cooled motor & telling the cust. it will run a/c , I questioned him, He said mabe the warranty will be out by the time something happens to the gen. Hope this helps ya. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Tdog · Sep 23, 2005

Well kenmac, I've looked at the warranty & see nothing about voiding it if the AC is run. I don't doubt you know what you are talking about, but there's nothing 'upfront' about it on their webpages. [http://www.guardiangenerators.com/PublicPDFs/GUARDIANstby2Year6.04.pdf]
Near as I can tell, the jump in $ from air to liquid cooled engines is fairly large.
Whatever, there are no propane tanks to be had here for over a week, so maybe I've got a little more time. Although I'm going to take the plunge to a stand-by generator regardless of when I get my power back [it will be a month Monday].
Thanks, all, for the feedback. I definitely am planning to run one heat pump at a time on the unit, so I will ask some pointed questions about that.

Jack