# Generac



## 2508speed (Jan 6, 2011)

Just had a whole house backup generator installed.
11'000 kw. 
I have a few outages every year and always get worried about if the power goes out in the middle of winter. I've got a boiler system in the house and an outdoor wood boiler, so a lot of water could freeze. Let alone having a well pump for water.
Just wondering if anyone else has one.

$5200.00 installed with the switch.
I didn't think that was a bad price since for me to buy it myself it would be over $3000.00 just for the generator, not counting the switch. And then I would havehad to hire an electrician to put it in. That includes all permits also.

Anyone else have one and how do you like it?
Mine runs off my propane tank.


----------



## SWMbruiser (Jan 25, 2012)

My parents have one. They love it. Lose power quite a bit and with well water after a few days it gets old. Most things get shut off and it isn't enough to power everything. Just enough power to run the fridge, water pump and heat. Theirs runs on gas. Really is nice just to plug it in and throw the switch.


----------



## JUSTCATCHINUM (Feb 19, 2004)

My mom had a 13kw with the switch/breaker panel, runs everything, natural gas 2 years ago, $5600. She loves it. Heck, sometimes she didn't even know she lost power and the generator was on. lol


----------



## 2508speed (Jan 6, 2011)

JUSTCATCHINUM said:


> My mom had a 13kw with the switch/breaker panel, runs everything, natural gas 2 years ago, $5600. She loves it. Heck, sometimes she didn't even know she lost power and the generator was on. lol


She must not have any digital clocks! lol Old school love it.
Mine just fired up on schedule, once a week for 10 minutes to keep the oil circulated and make sure everything works.
Looks like easy maintenance for oil changes.
Do have to adjust the valves so many hours though.
I think I'll just opt for the yearly maintenance schedule they provide for a price.
I can't wait for the first tornado.


----------



## 2508speed (Jan 6, 2011)

SWMbruiser said:


> My parents have one. They love it. Lose power quite a bit and with well water after a few days it gets old. Most things get shut off and it isn't enough to power everything. Just enough power to run the fridge, water pump and heat. Theirs runs on gas. Really is nice just to plug it in and throw the switch.


I figure to just run the basics. They must have a portable if they have to throw a switch.
Mine starts auto after about a 5 second delay.


----------



## JUSTCATCHINUM (Feb 19, 2004)

2508speed said:


> She must not have any digital clocks! lol Old school love it.
> Mine just fired up on schedule, once a week for 10 minutes to keep the oil circulated and make sure everything works.
> Looks like easy maintenance for oil changes.
> Do have to adjust the valves so many hours though.
> ...


Old school, lol. I do the battery and oil for her. I helped my son put in a 16kw. He knows the electrical and gas hookup. Both test run every Wed @ noon. My mom is in the Tawas/Oscoda area. She lost power for several days a few times. I have an 8kw portable with a manual switch in the Au Gres area. Nice to have a backup with a well and heat if needed in the winter.


----------



## 2508speed (Jan 6, 2011)

JUSTCATCHINUM said:


> Old school, lol. I do the battery and oil for her. I helped my son put in a 16kw. He knows the electrical and gas hookup. Both test run every Wed @ noon. My mom is in the Tawas/Oscoda area. She lost power for several days a few times. I have an 8kw portable with a manual switch in the Au Gres area. Nice to have a backup with a well and heat if needed in the winter.


Gotcha. I thought about a portable but kept thinking that when the time came to use it, it wouldn't start because the battery was dead or the carb was messed up from sitting around too long.
Portables are not a whole lot cheaper and I still would have had to install the transfer switch and get permits to be legal.
I didn't want to electrocute a lineman.

Someone I know ruined his dads generator last year when the power came back on because of red neck engineering.
I'm by no way calling you a red neck engineer.
You know what I mean if you know electric and it sounds like you do.


----------



## JUSTCATCHINUM (Feb 19, 2004)

I do some ******* things, but my portable is 100% to code. Someone's life is more important than saving a few dollars with an improper hookup.


----------



## kingfisher 11 (Jan 26, 2000)

I just bought a 7200kw portable from Home depot. I should see it this week, truck delivered. When I bought my house it was wired for a portable. I would like to have one that runs off natural gas but that is not in the cards right now. I am hoping the box is hooked up correct? I see it has isolation breakers for specific areas of the house. If the power goes out and I hook up the portable, do I shut off the main house breaker until I know power is back on? I don't want to fry my portable once the power comes back.


----------



## Luv2hunteup (Mar 22, 2003)

Shorting out a portable generator when the power comes back on should be the least of your worries. Back feeding the power grid and killing or injuring someone should be the first thing on your mind. 

Do it right and hire a licensed electrician!


----------



## hawgeye (Mar 3, 2011)

kingfisher 11 said:


> I just bought a 7200kw portable from Home depot. I should see it this week, truck delivered. When I bought my house it was wired for a portable. I would like to have one that runs off natural gas but that is not in the cards right now. I am hoping the box is hooked up correct? I see it has isolation breakers for specific areas of the house. If the power goes out and I hook up the portable, do I shut off the main house breaker until I know power is back on? I don't want to fry my portable once the power comes back.


Kill the main, then it can't back feed to the grid and your generator won't get damaged when the power comes on. No biggie.


----------



## 2508speed (Jan 6, 2011)

kingfisher 11 said:


> I just bought a 7200kw portable from Home depot. I should see it this week, truck delivered. When I bought my house it was wired for a portable. I would like to have one that runs off natural gas but that is not in the cards right now. I am hoping the box is hooked up correct? I see it has isolation breakers for specific areas of the house. If the power goes out and I hook up the portable, do I shut off the main house breaker until I know power is back on? I don't want to fry my portable once the power comes back.


I'd have an electrician that is familiar with the switches look at it. My new one has an automatic switch that senses when power goes out and comes back on.


----------



## kingfisher 11 (Jan 26, 2000)

The box was professional installed I am told. It has a meter and if I know the formal owner, he did not cut corners. I will have an electrician friend look at it.

I guess the only simple answer was Hawgeyes


----------



## Luv2hunteup (Mar 22, 2003)

2508speed said:


> Just had a whole house backup generator installed.
> 11'000 kw.
> I have a few outages every year and always get worried about if the power goes out in the middle of winter. I've got a boiler system in the house and an outdoor wood boiler, so a lot of water could freeze. Let alone having a well pump for water.
> Just wondering if anyone else has one.
> ...


I have a 12kw Onan that's for dedicated loads not whole house. 
Does yours have a block heater, if not consider getting one? It will help on with start up on those cold mornings.
Automatic or manual transfer switch? Both work but the automatic will function when you are away.
Read the manual especially the part about oil and filter changes. If you have a long outage changing the oil and filter may be required. Weekly exercise on some units uses about half of your annual usage between oil changes.
Be mindful of your load when you are on generator power. Even at full load you are not producing 100 amps.


----------



## hawgeye (Mar 3, 2011)

I can run my 1600 sq ft. House off of 6500 watt generator. It rarely comes off idle. I have a 220 well and 220 dryer. I can run my whole house no problem. If you can't run your whole house off of 12kw, it must be a mansion. A whole house rarely draws 100 amps of power and that would only be momentarily if it did. Most house pull 20-30 amps continuously.


----------



## Luv2hunteup (Mar 22, 2003)

hawgeye said:


> I can run my 1600 sq ft. House off of 6500 watt generator. It rarely comes off idle. I have a 220 well and 220 dryer. I can run my whole house no problem. If you can't run your whole house off of 12kw, it must be a mansion. A whole house rarely draws 100 amps of power and that would only be momentarily if it did. Most house pull 20-30 amps continuously.


Hardly a mansion but well over 3 times the size of your house. I've have verified the load calculations per NFPA 70E since that is what I did for a living prior to retirement. Yes, I'm licensed through the state of Michigan.


----------



## 2508speed (Jan 6, 2011)

Luv2hunteup said:


> I have a 12kw Onan that's for dedicated loads not whole house.
> Does yours have a block heater, if not consider getting one? It will help on with start up on those cold mornings.
> Automatic or manual transfer switch? Both work but the automatic will function when you are away.
> Read the manual especially the part about oil and filter changes. If you have a long outage changing the oil and filter may be required. Weekly exercise on some units uses about half of your annual usage between oil changes.
> Be mindful of your load when you are on generator power. Even at full load you are not producing 100 amps.


I don't know about a block heater. I have to read up on it. It has the trickle charger on it and it's an automatic switch. It's programmed to start once a week for 10 minutes.


----------



## justincasei812 (Dec 30, 2012)

We bought a house within the past 6 months that had a Generac 14kw installed. We have used it twice so far and I will say it is well worth the investment. Both times we needed it were during two bad snow storms and we were with out power for at least 24 hours each time. We hunkered down and enjoyed the weather knowing there was no place we had to be. Didn't need to find a place to stay or get on the roads looking for warmth. The only thing I do not like is when they put it in they had an electric stove and it will not work with the generator running. I am not sure why they did not buy a gas range so they could cook if the power is out for any length of time. There is always the grill but what an oversight that we will change over for our own peace of mind.


----------

