Harsh Winter in USA

[Larry L.]

Larry - The previous owner of the house I bought was a Paraplegic and on an oxygen machine so he had this 22kw generator installed. Supposedly it is linked by internet and cellular to monitor it. Since he has passed away, I need to do a hard reset of the system to get all that stuff hooked / linked up in my name... He died with all the codes and the keys to many things were lost.. It should be sufficient to supply 100amps worth of current until the large propane tank is empty..

You might want to have that GENERAC checked out B4U actually start depending on it.
I had one (not a 22kW). Long story short, its stator puked after a total of about 12 hours running time over 4-5 years. 'Was told by the dealer that the stator could not be replaced(!)...which made absolutely NO sense to me, but, that's what he said. Perhaps that's unique to the GENERAC brand's design, I dunno.
Anyway, I believe I'll be going with a Kohler unit. 10kW should run the things we'll want to run with plenty to spare...but. I might 'upgrade' depending on what my chat with our local dealer uncovers.
FIRST thing I'm going to quiz him on is the flippin' stator!!! ;-)

 

[Brian Kissel]

As Larry said,I have heard of many many people with the same stator problems. They say they run good on the weekly and monthly startups, but when they needed them the stator failed. Lots of negative reviews out there. Not just Genrac. Kohler has one of the better reputations in our area.
Regards Brian

 

[Randy V]

You might want to have that GENERAC checked out B4U actually start depending on it.
I had one (not a 22kW). Long story short, its stator puked after a total of about 12 hours running time over 4-5 years. 'Was told by the dealer that the stator could not be replaced(!)...which made absolutely NO sense to me, but, that's what he said. Perhaps that's unique to the GENERAC brand's design, I dunno.
Anyway, I believe I'll be going with a Kohler unit. 10kW should run the things we'll want to run with plenty to spare...but. I might 'upgrade' depending on what my chat with our local dealer uncovers.
FIRST thing I'm going to quiz him on is the flippin' stator!!! ;-)

It’s on some sort of schedule where it starts and runs once a week for 15 minutes. If it takes a crap on me I will probably not replace it. We have a small motorhome with a generator and we can just use that until the power comes back on.

 

[Jim Craik]

A little over a year ago we put in a 20KW Kohler, we have used it several times, including 4 days last summer... so far it has worked perfectly.

 

[Neil]

Nobody is putting in a solar or wind backup system?

 

[Larry L.]

It’s on some sort of schedule where it starts and runs once a week for 15 minutes. If it takes a crap on me I will probably not replace it. We have a small motorhome with a generator and we can just use that until the power comes back on.

Ya...the periodic starting is supposed to keep the stator FROM puking...something about ensuring the magnets in the unit don't create some issue or another by just SITTING there in one place. 'Was explained to me once about 20 years ago...buuuut, I can't recall what I had for breakfast this morning, so...

 

[Larry L.]

A little over a year ago we put in a 20KW Kohler, we have used it several times, including 4 days last summer... so far it has worked perfectly.

As I recall, you live way out in the 'boondocks' somewhere, right?
Having a generator in a locale such as that is a darned smart idea. I'd almost consider have one as being mandatory.

 

[Jim Craik]

As I recall, you live way out in the 'boondocks' somewhere, right?
Having a generator in a locale such as that is a darned smart idea. I'd almost consider have one as being mandatory.

Hi Larry, not really the boondocks but we live in the Santa Cruz Mountains. Plenty of ways to lose power.

 

[Tom]

I had thoughts of tapping into my oil tank to run a diesel generator - they are perfect for this kind of thing. Instead just put a big plug in the side of the house, and run a 7K portable to keep essentials running, though it won't handle AC.