Standby Generator

[PPBart]

At age 67 I'm getting too old to wrestle with portable generators in the event of an extended power outage. I'm looking for user experiences with whole-house standby generators -- specifically, recommendations for brand and installer. Any members in the BR -- Hammond area willing to comment?

 

[CHW2021]

I am on Northshore, but my experience with the Generac equipment was very positive. You will need to have an electrician size the unit to you power needs and it will affect the price accordingly. Wiring the unit for auto transfer is fairly straight forward but will depend on where and how the breaker panel is positioned, that is for the electrician to judge. You will likely need a plumber to connect to gas service if you go with city gas, lp units are available, so whatever you have you got options.
Look at Generac, talk to dealers about installers or talk to an electrician of your choice (I used Double D of BTR) and start getting prices.

Above all, you must service the unit, it will automatically exercise it's self, but oil and filter changes can not be ignored. Given recent flooding, where the unit is located may be of concern. Watch where you put it, outside of the bedroom may not be the best choice.

 

[Ellis1958]

Put a whole house generator in last year. Less than a week after the keys were turned over a thunder-bumper came in and knocked power out. Unit did its job automatically starting and switching over to gen power. When the mains was restored a few hours later it quietly shut off and has been standing guard ever since.

My contractor was Chustz Electric in Port Allen. He handled it all. Permits, plumbing, electrical, installation. Very satisfied and recommend highly. Their generator guy does over 100 installs a year so he and his crew know what they are doing.

Unit installed is a Generac 22kw and to echo CHW2021 you do have to remember to keep up with the service. However I spend way less time keeping up with the Generac than I did with the portable generator.

 

[Firearmfanatic]

I dont have a whole house stand by generator, but all of my neighbors that do have them, have the Generac units and swear by them.

 

[Suburbazine]

I recommend MTU Onsite Energy. Been using a diesel 50kw for 7 years now, very reliable aside from a run of defective fuel filter housings from John Deere.

I do not recommend natural gas generators, particularly if your neighborhood or area has a large number of gas consumers. A power outage will cause fuel starvation as the gas lines can't keep up, a natural disaster may cut fuel altogether.

Natural Gas Generac's are quite good as well, but stay away from their diesel stuff, they had a bout of warranty claim denials years ago and I would never recommend them on that alone.