Generac or Koehler whole house generator?

[sixdogs]

We're thinking it's time for a whole house automatic generator. The local electrician I have known for decades will do the whole thing and works with Koehler and General. I think he favors Koehler. This will run on propane and I'm thinking 15K in size and we have a modern ranch 2300 ft farmhouse.

Koehler or Generac?

I'm thinking about quality, reliability, lifespan and pros and cons. Looking for commentary. Thank you in advance.

 

[Duds13]

I have a 22kw Generac, on the 4th year or so with it. No issues at all, but ever since we got it we're only lost power for a couple hours, lol.

I was going to look at Kohler but in my area the dealer was pretty far away so that factored into my decision to go with Generac.

I think it's one of those things you'll drive yourself crazy researching.

 

[Tpondel]

We have the Generac but think Koehler is equally good. I’d go with best price.

We have the annual maintenance contract. It’s set to start every Saturday around 8am. It’s next to barn so don’t hear anything. I spend time with the maintenance guy since I haven’t a clue how these things work. Was surprised it’s actually a car engine complete with battery. The batt was changed out after four years.

Five years, no issues.

 

[drssg]

I also bought a 22kW Generac about six years ago, and I've been happy with it. Our longest power outage has been three days.

Their standard process is to have two local installers come out and provide an estimate. You can choose a more idiot-proof approach that only activates some of the circuits in the house, or you can just switch everything over to generator power. With the latter approach, it is up to the user to have some common sense and not overload the generator.

 

[ericm979]

In some places the electrical code requires that a whole home generator be able to power everything or that there are automatic load shed devices on some large loads. Generac makes load shed devices that don't need low voltage wiring to the generator and that work with any generator.

 

[EddieWalker]

I'm also curious about what is the better choice for a home house generator. A local guy is selling Cummins, and then you install and maintain it yourself. I like the Cummins name, but I don't know anything about it to say it's better or worse then the other brands.

The Cummins is 20kw for $6,250

I think it's a little small, but it's the only link that I have

https://www.etexcustomauto.com/details/new-2024-cummins-generator-20kw/59736176

 

[jyoutz]

I'm also curious about what is the better choice for a home house generator. A local guy is selling Cummins, and then you install and maintain it yourself. I like the Cummins name, but I don't know anything about it to say it's better or worse then the other brands.

The Cummins is 20kw for $6,250

I think it's a little small, but it's the only link that I have

https://www.etexcustomauto.com/details/new-2024-cummins-generator-20kw/59736176

Cummins (Onan) generators are top notch. You see them installed at commercial buildings. I’ve also seen Generac installed in commercial applications.

 

[Torvy]

I'm also curious about what is the better choice for a home house generator. A local guy is selling Cummins, and then you install and maintain it yourself. I like the Cummins name, but I don't know anything about it to say it's better or worse then the other brands.

The Cummins is 20kw for $6,250

I think it's a little small, but it's the only link that I have

https://www.etexcustomauto.com/details/new-2024-cummins-generator-20kw/59736176

Generac is the top, widely available generator company. As with tractors, there probably isn't a huge difference.

From what I have seen, it will cost about the same to have the generator installed as it will to buy it. I'm looking at the 22kwh dual fuel (propane and diesel) option. I think it was about 10k, but the guys in Tyler wanted another 10k to install.

 

[Racer4]

I'm also curious about what is the better choice for a home house generator. A local guy is selling Cummins, and then you install and maintain it yourself. I like the Cummins name, but I don't know anything about it to say it's better or worse then the other brands.

The Cummins is 20kw for $6,250

I think it's a little small, but it's the only link that I have

https://www.etexcustomauto.com/details/new-2024-cummins-generator-20kw/59736176

The Cummins generators I’ve seen have Briggs engines in them. They have had problems. One the transfer switch went bad and only switched the one leg of the power coming in. Then the battery charger went bad twice. The other Cummins had control board issues.

 

[jyoutz]

The Cummins generators I’ve seen have Briggs engines in them. They have had problems. One the transfer switch went bad and only switched the one leg of the power coming in. Then the battery charger went bad twice. The other Cummins had control board issues.

I imagine they have both homeowner and commercial grade. The Cummins dealer where I get oil filters and other parts for my truck have Cummins generators with small Cummins engines.

 

[Racer4]

I imagine they have both homeowner and commercial grade. The Cummins dealer where I get oil filters and other parts for my truck have Cummins generators with small Cummins engines.

These were homeowner types, maybe 16kw.

Mine is a generac 17kw lp gas. It’s been great over the last 10 or so years. Got 240 or so hours on it. Most of the generators around here are generac.

 

[Duds13]

Generac is the top, widely available generator company. As with tractors, there probably isn't a huge difference.

From what I have seen, it will cost about the same to have the generator installed as it will to buy it. I'm looking at the 22kwh dual fuel (propane and diesel) option. I think it was about 10k, but the guys in Tyler wanted another 10k to install.

It definitely should not be $20k total.

 

[EarPlug]

I purchased a 26kw Generac Guardian, Propane, with smart switching and load shedding system. $15.8k installed.

 

[ponytug]

We're thinking it's time for a whole house automatic generator. The local electrician I have known for decades will do the whole thing and works with Koehler and General. I think he favors Koehler. This will run on propane and I'm thinking 15K in size and we have a modern ranch 2300 ft farmhouse.

Koehler or Generac?

I'm thinking about quality, reliability, lifespan and pros and cons. Looking for commentary. Thank you in advance.

Do you have electric heat, an electric stove, dryer, run the AC much in the summer, want to run the AC while on backup? Things add up.

I think @grsthegreat is a Generac expert.

Who will do the service on the unit? Will your local electrician maintain the generator?

Around here, Generac separates the generators by size and the larger liquid cooled units are serviced by their industrial technicians. (A+ around here).

I would go with whoever will keep it running better. I think that there are only so many spares that an owner can stock before it gets pricey.

All the best,

Peter

 

[sixdogs]

Do you have electric heat, an electric stove, dryer, run the AC much in the summer, want to run the AC while on backup? Things add up.

I think @grsthegreat is a Generac expert.

Who will do the service on the unit? Will your local electrician maintain the generator?

Around here, Generac separates the generators by size and the larger liquid cooled units are serviced by their industrial technicians. (A+ around here).

I would go with whoever will keep it running better. I think that there are only so many spares that an owner can stock before it gets pricey.

All the best,

Peter

Propane heat. Yes have A/C but have had backup generators for decades years so know the drill and know how to juggle things. My issue would really be the surge to start things. The motivation is advancing age.

My electrician is a friend and this is a close rural community where people take care of others. I would have him "service" the unit but I would change the oil and that sort of thing and would count on him to maintain the electrical aspect. I don't see a problem with that but just as a hedge hope I can retain my 10K/12K plug-in generator as a redundancy. It plugs into a receptacle outside and we flip a switch in the basement to run various circuits.

Someone needs to invent a box that goes in the garage and safely stores a week worth of energy to run things in a short-term emergency. The Tesla battery is pretty close but they need to figure out the safety aspect of the things so it won't burst onto flames or whatever..

 

[kenmac]

I haven't made up my mind to get one. My power rarely goes off and when it does, it's back on pretty quick. Last time it went out, the transformer went out at the pole. They came out to check within an hour. Said they would have to send out a larger truck with a transformer. I was thinking 2-3 days, but they were out within a couple hours and replaced their transformer.
That's the longest I've been out. most times it's about 1-2 hours till power is back on. So I'm struggling to justify the cost of a generator.
If I pull the trigger, It will be a 25 KW liquid cooled generator. Not the air cooled model.

 

[nbking]

We installed a 22kw Generac, 10years ago. I do the yearly maintenance very easy, oil change, filter etc. At 25 hrs needs valve adjustment then again at 400hrs. Those were pretty easy to do. We have almost 500hrs on it. Power goes off here in the winter, and summer. Great investment. Cost $11,000 total. They had to dig and run a propane line about 50'. We went with the biggest air cooled at the time.

 

[sixdogs]

I never thought of the liquid cooled vs air cooled thing. My lawnmower is diesel cooled because I want the longevity and quality that goes into a liquid cooled, which implies commercial application while an air cooled consumer model leads me to think lesser quality and maybe not there when you need it.

I'm very appreciative to be able to discuss this with a group like this that has accumulated knowledge and experience on generators. Every post has something useful and lots of things brought up that most of us don't immediately think of.

 

[Rustyiron]

I haven't made up my mind to get one. My power rarely goes off and when it does, it's back on pretty quick. Last time it went out, the transformer went out at the pole. They came out to check within an hour. Said they would have to send out a larger truck with a transformer. I was thinking 2-3 days, but they were out within a couple hours and replaced their transformer.
That's the longest I've been out. most times it's about 1-2 hours till power is back on. So I'm struggling to justify the cost of a generator.
If I pull the trigger, It will be a 25 KW liquid cooled generator. Not the air cooled model.

This frequency and length of outage is key in deciding.
An outage around here doesn't even count (jokingly) until it's 24 hours.
For those with longer widespread weather related outages fuel type and amount of fuel storage becomes the biggest consideration along with a water cooled power plant.

 

[J&K]

I have a 24K Generac I had put in just over 2 years ago. No problems and think it was $10K installed. Only has 12 hours on it. We have only been out a couple hours since put in lol.