Most reliable whole house generator?

Vermiform · Aug 31, 2012

I want a whole house generator. For me in this case, reliability trumps price. What are some good brands and what should I stay away from?

Sent from my DROID3 using Tapatalk 2

Specularius · Aug 31, 2012

The only one I can attest to is generac. We have had ours for 8 years, been ran for a week at a time for Rita and Gustav. It is still going strong. It is propane fueled so there is no carburetor problems.

themcfarland · Aug 31, 2012

Get something that runs @ 1800 rpms and get something that is water cooled, and get something with a pressurized oil system.. the rest is up to your needs.. these are basic longevity needs..

tas745 · Aug 31, 2012

I have a generac 22kw liquid cooled. The last two days has been its virgin run and it has been worth every penny

kcinnick · Aug 31, 2012

Get a CAT if reliability trumps price. I would look for an 1800rpm diesel gen set, well I should save am shopping for one in the near future, this I not a storm reactionary want.

CY09 · Aug 31, 2012

I have a generac natural gas whole house generator that I had installed after Gustavo and Rita. Installers have been trying to get it to run for 3 weeks. Monday I was lucky enough to buy an $850 gasoline gen to get me through. Still no power from Entergy and no AC. I'm pretty miserable and pissed. Would not recommend what I have!

SVTFreak · Aug 31, 2012

Generac's dominate the market. Kholer and Briggs have some also. People I know with generacs either love them or hate them.
+1 on 1800 rpm, liquid cooled, pressurized oil system. Diesels are probably the most reliable, but getting and storing fuel is still an issue if you have no way to turn it over (nothing else burning it).

PrairieCajun · Aug 31, 2012

I have one and I'm not a brand proponent of any sorts. The ONLY piece of advice I would offer is make sure it runs on natural gas from your gas meter (or your neighbor's gas meter if you can get away with that.) :exnbp:

Not having to source fuel during a storm is paramount. No lines, no shortages, and comfort and convenience is what whole home is ALL about.

Vermiform · Aug 31, 2012

Thanks for the replies. It will be run off of propane. My Dad has a Kholer and has had good luck with it, but I wanted some first hand opinions from some of yall that have to depend on them.

HiCapMag · Aug 31, 2012

Good stuff.... If I may add a question.... How big do you need? I know I saw a calculator somewhere???

Vermiform · Aug 31, 2012

PrairieCajun said:
I have one and I'm not a brand proponent of any sorts. The ONLY piece of advice I would offer is make sure it runs on natural gas from your gas meter (or your neighbor's gas meter if you can get away with that.) Not having to source fuel during a storm is paramount. No lines, no shortages, and comfort and convenience is what whole home is ALL about.

We have several Natural Gas wells where I live, but I'm not allowed to hook up to the pipeline unless TEOTWAKI comes to pass.

I'm live out in the sticks, so every time the wind blows we lose power. It never lasts more than an hour unless we have a major storm, but it gets old after a while. I've decided to just go with a huge propane tank. I'll probably also use the propane to feed an on demand water heater for the bathroom tub and shower, so I'll have to keep up with the tank and make sure to keep it topped off.

nickatnite · Aug 31, 2012

Vermiform said:
Thanks for the replies. It will be run off of propane. My Dad has a Kholer and has had good luck with it, but I wanted some first hand opinions from some of yall that have to depend on them.

You ought to look into the Honda NorthStar line of generators, those come from the factory as a try-fuel power (gas, propane, natural gas). They make them up to 13k in size...

Vermiform · Aug 31, 2012

HiCapMag said:
Good stuff.... If I may add a question.... How big do you need? I know I saw a calculator somewhere???

Not sure as far as wattage. I'll let the salesman / company figure it out for me. I want one big enough to run the central A/C.

Scott.Thornton · Aug 31, 2012

nickatnite said:
You ought to look into the Honda NorthStar line of generators, those come from the factory as a try-fuel power (gas, propane, natural gas). They make them up to 13k in size...

Dude I wish I could afford that, I'd be in hog heaven.

Oh and excellent information all around. This storm has made me want to upgrade to a 10k of some sorts to be able to run a few more items without fear of lugging down my little 5k unit.

Suburbazine · Aug 31, 2012

If you're planning to run a whole house generator off propane, that will be a really big pill tank.

As far as size goes, you take your house's maximum current draw (everything on) and add %40 to it for safe overhead. So for instance, your house pulls 80A on one leg and 85A on the other (use the higher leg for calculation), you have a 110Amp house @ 220 volts. So with that in mind, you will be wanting a 25,000 to 30,000 watt generator. This is example only and your house may pull more or less. Test with a reliable amp clamp.

As far as brand goes, DO NOT go Generac. While Generac is fairly reliable, the company has had some issues of late with fulfilling warranty requests (i.e. just not paying). A recommended alternative is Katolight/MTU Power Systems These generators can come with John Deere diesel engines and have a wide range of outfitting options.

FYI: It takes me ~2.6 gallons of diesel per hour to run 16 tons of A/C cycling normally along with lights, drainage pump, pool pumps and other consumer loads. Generator is sized at 50,000w. Natural Gas or Propane in the same wattage genset will burn in larger amounts.

geoney · Aug 31, 2012

Suburbazine said:
If you're planning to run a whole house generator off propane, that will be a really big pill tank.

As far as size goes, you take your house's maximum current draw (everything on) and add %40 to it for safe overhead. So for instance, your house pulls 80A on one leg and 85A on the other (use the higher leg for calculation), you have a 110Amp house @ 220 volts. So with that in mind, you will be wanting a 25,000 to 30,000 watt generator. This is example only and your house may pull more or less. Test with a reliable amp clamp.

As far as brand goes, DO NOT go Generac. While Generac is fairly reliable, the company has had some major issues of late with fulfilling warranty requests (i.e. just not paying). A recommended alternative is Katolight/MTU Power Systems These generators can come with John Deere diesel engines and have a wide range of outfitting options.

How would you even test something like that or get that kind of info from?

Thanks

Suburbazine · Aug 31, 2012

geoney said:
How would you even test something like that or get that kind of info from?

Thanks

Get something like this

http://www.radioshack.com/product/i...ce=CAT&znt_medium=RSCOM&znt_content=CT2032235

and clamp it over each big black wire coming into your house from the power pole. If you cannot access them or are not comfortable coming near them (some people just aren't, understandably) you can get an electrician to tell you what your needs are.

Each big black wire is a 110v "leg" coming in. On single phase residential you have 2 of these to get 220v. On 3 phase (very uncommon to find on a residence) you have 3 of these black wires coming from the pole. Just clamp over each wire separately with the ammeter and see what the current value is.

Oh, the single phase calculation formula:

(Highest single leg amps)*(1.40)*(220volts) = Required Wattage

The reason for the 40% overhead is to allow room to start heavy motor loads like pumps, fans and compressors without stalling the generator or exceeding 80% power capacity. Exceeding 80% output will significantly shorten the life of the generator head as well as cause excessive fuel consumption and carbon buildup in the engine.

The other thing that can happen is getting too much generator for the job. If you oversize the generator or run it for extended periods of time without much load, your generator will suffer from "wet stacking" where unburned fuel is sprayed into the exhaust. (this problem is more prevalent in diesel gensets than natural gas/propane).

geoney · Aug 31, 2012

Suburbazine said:
Get something like this

http://www.radioshack.com/product/i...ce=CAT&znt_medium=RSCOM&znt_content=CT2032235

and clamp it over each big black wire coming into your house from the power pole. If you cannot access them or are not comfortable coming near them (some people just aren't, understandably) you can get an electrician to tell you what your needs are.

Each big black wire is a 110v "leg" coming in. On single phase residential you have 2 of these to get 220v. On 3 phase (very uncommon to find on a residence) you have 3 of these black wires coming from the pole. Just clamp over each wire separately with the ammeter and see what the current value is.

Oh, the single phase calculation formula:

(Highest single leg amps)*(.40)*(220volts) = Required Wattage

The reason for the 40% overhead is to allow room to start heavy motor loads like pumps, fans and compressors without stalling the generator or exceeding 80% power capacity. Exceeding 80% output will significantly shorten the life of the generator head as well as cause excessive fuel consumption and carbon buildup in the engine.

The other thing that can happen is getting too much generator for the job. If you oversize the generator or run it for extended periods of time without much load, your generator will suffer from "wet stacking" where unburned fuel is sprayed into the exhaust. (this problem is more prevalent in diesel gensets than natural gas/propane).

Thanks sir. That is very helpful. DO I literally need to turn everything on like my washer, dryer, TV's, etc?

Suburbazine · Aug 31, 2012

yes, otherwise you could very well undersize the generator by accident. An electric dryer packs a MASSIVE parasitic punch, most <8000w portables can't run them for more than a couple of minutes. And if you figure that you'll just remember to turn off the dryer when on generator, just remember that accidently leaving it on may suck for you big time as you could do anything from simply tripping the breaker to burning out the windings (extreme, but possible).

Taiaut · Aug 31, 2012

themcfarland said:
Get something that runs @ 1800 rpms and get something that is water cooled, and get something with a pressurized oil system.. the rest is up to your needs.. these are basic longevity needs..

The three things you mention just about doubles the cost of the generator. I am not sure longevity is a factor when I expect my generator to run a few, less than 10, hours during the year,
and maybe 3 or 4 days every 2 or 3 years when there is a storm. Am I under estimating the expected usage ?

Most reliable whole house generator?

The Best online firearms community in Louisiana.

Member Benefits:

Free Candy!

Well-Known Member

tactical hangover

Well-Known Member

Training Ferrous Metal

Well-Known Member

Huh?

Ima let dat pass dis time

Free Candy!

Well-Known Member

Free Candy!

Crybaby Hater...

Free Candy!

Well-Known Member

01001000 01101001 0011111

Well-Known Member

01001000 01101001 0011111

Well-Known Member

01001000 01101001 0011111

Well-Known Member

Log in

Forum statistics