Generac or Kohler standby generator

[Anonymous]

Which brand would you recommend? We need a a 22KW most likely for our 4000 sq ft house.

[Anonymous]

I would not go with Generac.

[Anonymous]

Why not consider a battery back up system? Are you expecting power outages for long periods of time?

[Anonymous]

Kohler is supposed to be better

[Anonymous]

Neither. But definitely not Kohler. That's a garbage brand overall, with a big marketing budget. Think of it like the Tito's of vodka world. Overhyped junk.

[Anonymous]

I've had a 22KW Generac for 14 years, has 300 hours of run time on it. Outside of the yearly maintenance (oil change and spark plugs, battery replacement when needed) its been trouble free. Not sure what I will replace it with when the time comes. Generac had a ton of quality control issues when demand surged around covid. Supposedly its been sorted out? Kohler, while having a better reputation for build quality, has a much smaller footprint of service providers. Same can also be said for Cummins.

[Anonymous]

We have z 22KW Generac since 2021. We had a crap install from the company we got it from. Our service contractor fixed the code violations and the installer paid us back. We use Vance to maintain it twice a year.

[Anonymous]

We have a generac. It’s only a couple years old but no issues in that time.

[Anonymous]

Kohler is supposed to be marginally better. I have a Generac 22kw that has run for around 3 four day power outages and it's been perfect. I get it serviced twice a year (I used to do it myself but decided to have a company do it, as they use a vacuum to extract the oil which gets more out than I can by the gravity drain). We have a 400amp service and dual transfer switches with the one unit powering multiple panels (but obviously you restrict usage of items, but I run two 5 ton a/c compressors and an electric oven and water heater and we haven't had issues).

[Anonymous]

Last 4.5 day outage cost around $60 in natural gas, fyi

[Anonymous]

I’m very happy with my Generac.

[Anonymous]

Op - thanks all! Any estimate on how much it costs? I think around $15,000 for an 18kw generac?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Last 4.5 day outage cost around $60 in natural gas, fyi

You would’ve lost way more than that with everything you’d have to throw away from your fridge and freezer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Last 4.5 day outage cost around $60 in natural gas, fyi

You would’ve lost way more than that with everything you’d have to throw away from your fridge and freezer.

But you've spent far more on the generator and maintenance than you'd ever have lost in costs for spoiled food.

Consider solar with storage batteries. Likely higher up-front costs, but less maintenance and greater savings over the long-term since your routine need for power from your utility company will become much less. Also, inquire into how long residential generators can operate continuously, you may be surprised to find they cannot run indefinitely, even when powered by natural gas, which can be shut off during a natural disaster.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Op - thanks all! Any estimate on how much it costs? I think around $15,000 for an 18kw generac?

We got a Kohler which at the time was supposed to be much better than Generac about 10 years ago. It was about $18,000. It powers our entire 6000 sq feet. We really haven't had to use it for more than a few hours, but it's nice to have. No issues. We get it serviced annually.