Whole House Generator

[WWDog]

My electric company has predicted that we may have power outages this summer due to the hot weather. I have been looking for some time at standby generators and have narrowed it down to two candidates. Cummins and Kohler. The heat and the potential for civil disruptions which could lead to power failures are incentive enough for me to get serious. If I never have to use it, then I will be thankful. I just want peace of mind that we will be covered if needed.

The Cummins I am looking at is the RS20AC which is 20 Kw and runs off of either natural gas or propane.
The Kohler is the 20RESCL‑200 also a 20 Kw that runs off of either natural gas or propane.

All the Kohler generator dealers are out of stock. I found a place about 30 miles south that has the Cummins in stock. The Cummins guy will be here Saturday to assess the situation. I had a Kohler dealer out last month to assess.

Both generators get good ratings and reviews on line and are comparable in price. The Cummins gets good ratings for being quiet.

If any of you have any information or testimony on either of these units or similar units, please sound off before I make my decision.

[RowdyDawg]

My experience is with Generac. I've not heard bad things about either of those models.

You're lucky to have found one that's actually in stock. Our office had one put in this past winter and we had to wait 6 months for delivery. Our vendor said the bigger the generator, the longer the wait. Good luck!

[Dwayne From Minden]

I installed a 22kw Generac with a Kohler engine in February 2017 - air cooled runs on LP

Have a 500 gal tank buried in my front yard - should run 10 days full bore on an 80% fill (can't fill lp tanks to max cap)

I have it placed in the doggie yard behind the master bedroom suite so I can hear that baby kick on and purrr when everyone else is in the dark

Best $7,000 - I every spent

[Amos Moses]

I installed a 22kw Generac with a Kohler engine in February 2017 - air cooled runs on LP

Have a 500 gal tank buried in my front yard - should run 10 days full bore on an 80% fill (can't fill lp tanks to max cap)

I have it placed in the doggie yard behind the master bedroom suite so I can hear that baby kick on and purrr when everyone else is in the dark

Best $7,000 - I every spent

Does the $7K include the 500 gl. tank and it's burial?

[Dwayne From Minden]

Does the $7K include the 500 gl. tank and it's burial?

Nope -

Had that before I installed the generator

That was generator, extended warranty, ATS and installation

I know folks around here are quoting $11 to 12k for same package now installed

I will offer this point of advice - pay for a professional installation from a good company who has a good service track record and have it SERVICED every year - don't try to do it yourself

[WWDog]

Thank you all for the reply.

[techman05]

Make sure the supply line for NG or LP is big enough to service the unit. Sometimes, the supply line installed is too small and the unit will shut off because it doesn’t get enough fuel. You won’t know until you need it because the weekly or monthly testing doesn’t use enough fuel for it to stall.

[WWDog]

Thanks for the tip. I met with the company who will probably do the job on Saturday. He is the only one tell me that the gas meter and gas line needs to be moved which I already knew from years ago. The house was built years before we got annexed and the county did not require spacing from the electrical. I am just waiting for his quote and see if it is reasonable. As far as knowing what they are doing, all his answers and indications seem to be on target.

[dawg80]

1. Kohler

2. Briggs & Stratton

[JAY]

We had a natural gas generac at our previous house. it would run every Sunday afternoon just to "exercise" - but eventually the battery would go bad. I quit changing batteries in it and I would just jump it off with my truck when I needed it. Worked great.