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Yes so far so good !! It seems before I got one the power went out all the time, now 2 yrs and never needed it! Lol. But it’s automatic. The power goes out it kicks on, power on , it turns itself offThinking about getting one. Specifically, Generac. Anyone have any experience with them?
Thank you.
Thinking about getting one. Specifically, Generac. Anyone have any experience with them?
Thank you.
My neighbor got one for 12k. Two years later the power went out and it did not work.
I have a couple portable generators for work. I am thinking about having the electrician do whatever he has to do so I can plug in my generator and have a a couple circuits running if I lose power. All I really need is the heat, a tv and the fridge. He gave me a guestimate of $500-$800.
We installed a Generac whole house (16KW) installed 5 or 6 years ago. Was originally going for a 10 KW, but the installer upgraded us to 16 for no extra charge. Works great. Runs for @ 15 minutes every other week for self maintenance. The longest it has run since installation has been 6.5 hours. Very happy to have the backup power when needed.Thinking about getting one. Specifically, Generac. Anyone have any experience with them?
Thank you.
I have a small generac and it is worked fine. The only advice I would give is to make sure you get enough juice. My generac gp 3250 is underpowered and will pretty much only start up a refrigerator. I got it to help tenants who might lose power. It is reasonably transportable, but not as powerful as I would have hoped.Thinking about getting one. Specifically, Generac. Anyone have any experience with them?
Thank you.
Thinking about getting one. Specifically, Generac. Anyone have any experience with them?
Thank you.
My neighbor got one for 12k. Two years later the power went out and it did not work.
I have a couple portable generators for work. I am thinking about having the electrician do whatever he has to do so I can plug in my generator and have a a couple circuits running if I lose power. All I really need is the heat, a tv and the fridge. He gave me a guestimate of $500-$800.
I thought that was a California thing.Thinking about getting one. Specifically, Generac. Anyone have any experience with them?
Thank you.
an easy hack is to cut (hack!?!) the 110v romex going to your furnace (assuming it‘s natural gas furnace) and splice in a male/female plug/receptacle ( available at any decent hardware or home improvement center, about $10), with the male spliced on the furnace side and the female on the lead from the service panel...
i’ve got a Honda eu2000i suitcase generator that’s quiet as a baby’s ass - and when I lose power ( couple times a year... I’m in a wooded area where most of the utilities are strung ) I can run a decent gauge extension cord to my furnace, unplug the furnace / plug it into the extension cord.... a cheap way to keep you cozy in a winter power outage...
that little Honda will also run my fridge, router, and as many lights as I want to plug in... got me through a 6 day power outage after a epic March windstorm here a few years back ... plus I can use the little Honda for tailgates & camping and whatnot ..
Generac and Kohler are go-to brands... personally I would be wary of Large, hyper-expensive internal combustion mechanicals sitting idle so long, even with the monthly cycle-on Programming...
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My neighbor got one for 12k. Two years later the power went out and it did not work.
I have a couple portable generators for work. I am thinking about having the electrician do whatever he has to do so I can plug in my generator and have a a couple circuits running if I lose power. All I really need is the heat, a tv and the fridge. He gave me a guestimate of $500-$800.
Thinking about getting one. Specifically, Generac. Anyone have any experience with them?
Thank you.
There is no better way of ensuring that your power doesn't go out than to purchase a backup system.
😂😂😂
What kind and how often do you do maintenance?They exercise every week for 20-30 minutes, not monthly. Mine is 9 years old and still running like a champ.
Thinking about getting one. Specifically, Generac. Anyone have any experience with them?
Thank you.
Did he have it set ready to run? He should have realized something was wrong way before two years because they can be programed to run on specific days, time of day and duration.My neighbor got one for 12k. Two years later the power went out and it did not work.
I have a couple portable generators for work. I am thinking about having the electrician do whatever he has to do so I can plug in my generator and have a a couple circuits running if I lose power. All I really need is the heat, a tv and the fridge. He gave me a guestimate of $500-$800.
Where are you getting $200 a day to run it?For years I've considered installing a whole-house generator. I lose power a few times a year and it is indeed a pain. I've got a well, so losing the ability to pump water into my house is the biggest nuisance. I don't have natural gas available, so it would have to be propane or diesel fueled.
But I started looking into the total cost of ownership and quickly realized that I could stay in a hotel for less money per day than the per day cost of running the generator. I would need a 20kw unit and the cost of fuel consumption would easily reach $200/day to run the thing. On top of the $20K upfront cost, I never thought it was worth it.
I do have a small gas-fired generator that I use to run my sump pump in the event of a severe rain event.
So just keep in mind that if you lose power for an extended period, say a week or so, the fuel cost is not insignificant.
Maybe yours is different. My Generac doesn't charge the battery by running. It has an internal charger that keeps the battery charged using power from the utility.Yes so far so good !! It seems before I got one the power went out all the time, now 2 yrs and never needed it! Lol. But it’s automatic. The power goes out it kicks on, power on , it turns itself off
Every week come on for half an hour, to recharge battery etc and check itself out
Glad I went whole house instead of pissing around w a portable. We have like 22 (24?) KW. Does everything including the air
Where are you getting $200 a day to run it?
I have a portable Generac 5500 generator. I had an electrician install a transfer switch so it is wired into the main circuit panel for around $500. Transfer switch prevents having the generator and power lines feeding the panel at the same time, plus it prevents you from electrocuting the linemen for the power company.
Steps to follow when switching to generator.
Turn off all breakers
Flip transfer switch
Start generator
One by one turn on breakers
NOTE: Do not turn on refrigerators, hot tub and ac simultaneously. Each is a power hog when initially plugged in so they will overload the generator.
I have NG hot water, furnace, dryer, stove, oven, fireplace and grill so I don't need a bigger generator.
an easy hack is to cut (hack!?!) the 110v romex going to your furnace (assuming it‘s natural gas furnace) and splice in a male/female plug/receptacle ( available at any decent hardware or home improvement center, about $10), with the male spliced on the furnace side and the female on the lead from the service panel...
i’ve got a Honda eu2000i suitcase generator that’s quiet as a baby’s ass - and when I lose power ( couple times a year... I’m in a wooded area where most of the utilities are strung ) I can run a decent gauge extension cord to my furnace, unplug the furnace / plug it into the extension cord.... a cheap way to keep you cozy in a winter power outage...
that little Honda will also run my fridge, router, and as many lights as I want to plug in... got me through a 6 day power outage after a epic March windstorm here a few years back ... plus I can use the little Honda for tailgates & camping and whatnot ..
Generac and Kohler are go-to brands... personally I would be wary of Large, hyper-expensive internal combustion mechanicals sitting idle so long, even with the monthly cycle-on Programming...
upload images
The only thing I know is to change the oil when told, which for me is about once per year. It has 3 lights green no worries yellow maintainice needed red get it down nowWhat kind and how often do you do maintenance?
Thanks , I planned on getting it done in the spring after my 29 hours of running.The only thing I know is to change the oil when told, which for me is about once per year. It has 3 lights green no worries yellow maintainice needed red get it down now
That’s it
An even easier hack - if you have an electric dryer that has a 30A 220 outlet, just get a dryer cord and connect it to the generator. Plug it into the dryer outlet, and voila - 30A at 220V at your disposal.
Just don't forget to open the main breaker.
I know how to open the main, but wondering if there is negatives/downsides to this approach for a novice like me? I've never heard this option before and it sounds pretty easy. I know one would need to manage what they operated relative to the size of generator and some things come on on their own due to thermostat controls, which requires managing the load very important e.g. if the electric water heater, a/c, refrigerator all cycled on at once.
I've got a gasoline powered generator with 4500/7000 surge watts.
I have a 16 kw Generac. I was between the Kohler and Generac. I work in commercial construction, so I was leaning towards the Kohler. It was a little more expensive...but the electrician (who sells both) steered me towards the Generac. The key factor was service. Generac outsells all others by a wide margin and repair parts are always available. He said it sometimes takes weeks for Kohler parts.
I also have 2 load sheds and whole house surge suppression.
It's been a year and it's kicked on probably a half dozen times.
We have crazy outages at times where power goes in and out...not a brown out because we actually lose power, but it comes right back on...just to repeat. We had an instance where the generator kicked on and off 4 or 5 times in a 10 minute period. I had the electrician modify the settings so mine doesn't kick on until power has been out for several minutes.
I would also suggest you set the exercise time for the middle of the week during the day...when people aren't around.
No regrets. I grew up in a rural area in Southern MD. We lost power when a mouse would fart, and on well and septic...it sucked. I don't want to deal with that again and we elected to build in a neighborhood fed by overhead lines and mature trees...and a generator needed to be part of the discussion.
Most of our neighborhood has Generacs, but 1 has a Cummins. It's smaller and I think a little quieter...for what it's worth.
Where I live in Chester County is the end of the PECO lines. If our own trees don't snap wires during even moderate storms- somewhere East of us does. We got the 23 Generac so it can power the whole house. Runs 10 mins/week on Saturday at 11am. I pay my electrician neighbor $100 and a few beers on the patio for annual maintenance. I live at the bottom of a hill in an area just above a creek so the water table can get high quick. I NEED the power to start my sump pump whether I happen to be home or not. There is a bit of a "luck of the draw" on the machines. Mine has been awesome- but another neighbor- who bought the same size gene and had our same friend do the install/maintenance has had big issues and ended up with a Generac Warranty issue after paying multiple repair guys big $ and missing our on use of power during a week long outage. That hurts. A luxury for sure- but well worth the money for the piece of mind!An electrician friend told me he has done this before. You are essentially backfeeding the panel through the dryer breaker. Consider it to be the "main" in this instance. Most dryer outlets are 30A, 220V, so the max load you could serve from the panel would be 220V X 30A = ~6KW.
Where I live in Chester County is the end of the PECO lines. If our own trees don't snap wires during even moderate storms- somewhere East of us does. We got the 23 Generac so it can power the whole house. Runs 10 mins/week on Saturday at 11am. I pay my electrician neighbor $100 and a few beers on the patio for annual maintenance. I live at the bottom of a hill in an area just above a creek so the water table can get high quick. I NEED the power to start my sump pump whether I happen to be home or not. There is a bit of a "luck of the draw" on the machines. Mine has been awesome- but another neighbor- who bought the same size gene and had our same friend do the install/maintenance has had big issues and ended up with a Generac Warranty issue after paying multiple repair guys big $ and missing our on use of power during a week long outage. That hurts. A luxury for sure- but well worth the money for the piece of mind!