Whole house generator

M

MrsReefK

New member
Hey guys!

We just came out of a 14.25 power outage in very cold temps. Power has only been back for about an hour, I'll know more later on how the tank faired from the situation.

We currently have a small portable generator (failed to stay running during this power outage). We have been talking of purchasing a whole house generator that will automatically kick in when power is out. Looking for any advice on brands or any suggestions at all for those with experience with them.

We have an installer lined up already, so that portion is taken care of. I want to come in below around $4500 on the generator itself if possible. Will go more if I have to. I know a lot of the cost depends on our usage, I have to get a hold of our power company to get a summary. Without that information, any advice, anything to avoid, anything to make sure we have, etc.


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When I was installing mine a few years ago, from talking to techs I was told repeatedly that Kohler generators are more reliable than generacs. They told me that they receive many more service calls for generacs. I ended up installing Kohler. It is best to have it hooked up to your natural gas line if you have one, unlimited and cheap fuel, always available during power outages. I also got a load control module for it. There are only two sizes for kohler residential, 14kw and 20kw. Subtract 2kw if running on natural gas instead of propane. I'd say if you have a 2000 sqft house, 14kw would probably be sufficient. 3000+ sqft would need a 20kw. Primarily because of lights throughout the house and the AC.

Overall, I'm happy with my generator. But I did have one annoying issue last year. I have it set up to run a weekly 20 minutes test to make sure it's operational. There was a firmware glitch which, occasionally, caused it to incorrectly assume that the weekly test failed and put it in the fail safe mode instead of the standby. Which prevented it from starting when there is an actual power outage. At which point it would have to be reset and started manually. This is not what I bought the whole house generator for. A firmware update fixed the problem eventually and it never came back since then.
 
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No installer could find a place for the Kohler I wanted. It needed to be at least 4 feet from the property line, four feet from the house and four feet from any window. The natural gas line had to be run underground as did the electric lines. There was no such location on my property. Bummer.
 
jmm said:
No installer could find a place for the Kohler I wanted. It needed to be at least 4 feet from the property line, four feet from the house and four feet from any window. The natural gas line had to be run underground as did the electric lines. There was no such location on my property. Bummer.
Click to expand...



Man, that's a bummer! What a let down! That's another thing... no natural gas here for us.

I know the electric lines will have to ran underground, no problem with that on our end. Same with the restrictions you had, we would be ok as well.


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Pittsburgh said:
When I was installing mine a few years ago, from talking to techs I was told repeatedly that Kohler generators are more reliable than generacs. They told me that they receive many more service calls for generacs. I ended up installing Kohler. It is best to have it hooked up to your natural gas line if you have one, unlimited and cheap fuel, always available during power outages. I also got a load control module for it. There are only two sizes for kohler residential, 14kw and 20kw. Subtract 2kw if running on natural gas instead of propane. I'd say if you have a 2000 sqft house, 14kw would probably be sufficient. 3000+ sqft would need a 20kw. Primarily because of lights throughout the house and the AC.

Overall, I'm happy with my generator. But I did have one annoying issue last year. I have it set up to run a weekly 20 minutes test to make sure it's operational. There was a firmware glitch which, occasionally, caused it to incorrectly assume that the weekly test failed and put it in the fail safe mode instead of the standby. Which prevented it from starting when there is an actual power outage. At which point it would have to be reset and started manually. This is not what I bought the whole house generator for. A firmware update fixed the problem eventually and it never came back since then.
Click to expand...



Awesome! Thank you for the info. I was leaning more towards the generacs, not Kohler for no reason other than knowing the name over the other.


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my parents have a Kohler on their house, it has automatic scheduled monthly tests where power is tripped to the house and the generator takes over to ensure that everything is seamless and then issues reports to my parents to if it was successful or not. There have been many instances now of power outages where they haven't experienced more than a flicker of lights.
 
CafeReef said:
my parents have a Kohler on their house, it has automatic scheduled monthly tests where power is tripped to the house and the generator takes over to ensure that everything is seamless and then issues reports to my parents to if it was successful or not. There have been many instances now of power outages where they haven't experienced more than a flicker of lights.
Click to expand...


Love it! I didn't realize there's monthly tests you can program. (Shows you how early I am in the research stages).


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The kohler has the better engine. I'm going with the 20kwh unit. Could go to the 17 but the cost difference is so little why not... Natural gas all the way.

Propane or diesel are really you're best options if you don't have NG. Propane won't last as long during run time but will be less troublesome to store the fuel. Diesel gensets don't run well when not loaded. Do you already have a large propane tank?
 
I would NOT Get a Generic Generator or anything with a Briggs engine.

Kohler or Honda for small Engines.. Kohler is what i have but its not a whole house. its a 8kw on wheels Natural gas/LP....

I have used them all and only Kohler seems to stand up...
 
tkeracer619 said:
The kohler has the better engine. I'm going with the 20kwh unit. Could go to the 17 but the cost difference is so little why not... Natural gas all the way.

Propane or diesel are really you're best options if you don't have NG. Propane won't last as long during run time but will be less troublesome to store the fuel. Diesel gensets don't run well when not loaded. Do you already have a large propane tank?
Click to expand...


No large propane tank here, plan on this coming into the picture with the install of the generator.


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ericarenee said:
I would NOT Get a Generic Generator or anything with a Briggs engine.

Kohler or Honda for small Engines.. Kohler is what i have but its not a whole house. its a 8kw on wheels Natural gas/LP....

I have used them all and only Kohler seems to stand up...
Click to expand...



Thanks for the input. I was leaning towards a generac or kohler.


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Just to be sure you realize what you are getting into. Generators, much like any other equipment with an engine, require regular maintenance. Oil, filters, spark plugs. You can either do it yourself or have a service contract, usually with the same company which installed the generator.
 
Pittsburgh said:
Just to be sure you realize what you are getting into. Generators, much like any other equipment with an engine, require regular maintenance. Oil, filters, spark plugs. You can either do it yourself or have a service contract, usually with the same company which installed the generator.
Click to expand...



Thanks for the advice. My husband is very handy with things that need maintenance.


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jmm said:
No installer could find a place for the Kohler I wanted. It needed to be at least 4 feet from the property line, four feet from the house and four feet from any window. The natural gas line had to be run underground as did the electric lines. There was no such location on my property. Bummer.
Click to expand...

LOL. Those can't be TX state regulations...
I have mine installed 1ft away from the house, right under the window, with both gas and electric lines running above the ground.
 
I have had a generac for 14 years and no issues. Even kicked in yesterday for an hour or so power outage.


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