quote:

Originally posted by sourdough44:
A smaller portable Honda I can rotate important stuff with. Our power is fairly reliable, though we did lose for 6-ish hours during an ice storm last Winter.

Same here, with a Yamaha 2.4kW generator.

 
I bought a 20kW Onan in 2003, before Cummins acquired them. It is installed with a 200amp transfer switch that lights up the entire 200amp service breaker panel. The switch is DPDT, so it is either on utility power or genset power. 20kW is slightly less than half enough to provide a full 200 amps, so I do have certain high amperage breakers marked to turn off during an extended outage, mainly so my wife doesn't try to use the oven or dryer. We can run a couple of our mini splits plus all lighting, refrigeration, and computers.
 
The Onan is powered by a 4cyl Ford Ranger water cooled engine, so maintenance parts for the engine are easy to obtain at the local NAPA. The unit is quiet because it runs at 1800rpm, and consumes less propane because of that.
 
And yes, there is a whole house surge protector in the main panel, thanks to Skins' recommendation.

IIRC, the total cost for installation (in 2003) was around $11k. $1k for the genset, $250 for the transfer switch, and another $300 for the electrician. I trenched and installed the conduit myself. The genset pad is only a few feet away from the main panel.

quote:

Originally posted by bigdeal:

make sure to check out Cummins/Onan. They're new to the home generator market, but their units are very nice, and Onan has been around forever.

Their website is not easy to navigate, in terms of finding a local dealer / installer. Do you know of a good one? I am in the 32714 zip code, west side of Altamonte Springs (towards Apopka), general vicinity of the Altamonte Springs location of Costco, if that pins it down for you.

My wife and I had a conversation last week and decided that this would be A Good Thing to do over the winter. We have been through a few hurricanes during the time that we have lived here, and a couple of them left us without power for a week or so. Air conditioning would be nice in the hot humid aftermath. Natural gas is not available in our area, so the kitchen is all electric.

quote:

Originally posted by V-Tail:

quote:

Originally posted by bigdeal:

make sure to check out Cummins/Onan. They're new to the home generator market, but their units are very nice, and Onan has been around forever.

Their website is not easy to navigate, in terms of finding a local dealer / installer. Do you know of a good one? I am in the 32714 zip code, west side of Altamonte Springs (towards Apopka), general vicinity of the Altamonte Springs location of Costco, if that pins it down for you.

My wife and I had a conversation last week and decided that this would be A Good Thing to do over the winter. We have been through a few hurricanes during the time that we have lived here, and a couple of them left us without power for a week or so. Air conditioning would be nice in the hot humid aftermath. Natural gas is not available in our area, so the kitchen is all electric.

Here are the Cummins/Onan dealers around you. I use a lot of Cummins/Onan generators and they are very good units. I'd probably prefer one over a Kohler, but they're both top notch. You'll want a large propane tank most likely installed.

Powersecure Service, Inc.
Authorized Dealer Locations
Approximately 3.3 Miles from 32714
377 Maitland Avenue
Suite 1010
Altamonte Springs, Florida 32701
407 628-8186
http://www.powerprotech.com

Free In-Home Assessment
2
Tech Services Specialties, Inc
Authorized Dealer Locations
Approximately 4.4 Miles from 32714
168 Dog Track Road
Longwood, Florida 32750
407 925-3462
http://www.techservicesspecialties.com

Free In-Home Assessment
3
Colonial Generators
Authorized Dealer Locations
Approximately 4.4 Miles from 32714
501 N Orlando Avenue
Winter Park, Florida 32789
844 376-9374

Free In-Home Assessment
4
Zabatt Power Systems, Incorporated
Authorized Dealer Locations
Approximately 4.5 Miles from 32714
4477 Clarcona-Ocoee Road
Orlando, Florida 32810
904 384-4505

Free In-Home Assessment
5
Cummins Sales and Service
Cummins Distributor Locations
Approximately 5.1 Miles from 32714
4820 N. Orange BBlossom Trail
Orlando, Florida 32810
407 298-2080

Free In-Home Assessment
6
Back Up Power Service
Authorized Dealer Locations
Approximately 8.9 Miles from 32714
1540 Tropic Park Drive
Sanford, Florida 32773
407 839-0522

Free In-Home Assessment
7
Colonial Generators
Authorized Dealer Locations
Approximately 10.9 Miles from 32714
417 Central Park Drive
Sanford, Florida 32771
407 878-2516

Free In-Home Assessment
8
Complete Power Resources
Authorized Dealer Locations
Approximately 12.3 Miles from 32714
695 Garden Commerce Parkway
Winter Garden, Florida 34787
407 293-7158
http://www,tksoutheasr.com

Free In-Home Assessment
9
Complete Power Resources
Authorized Dealer Locations
Approximately 17.3 Miles from 32714
9707 Bachman Road
Orlando, Florida 32824
407 554-7360

Nice buyers guide at that link

https://www.electricgenerators...andby-Generator.html

It also has a sizing application on the web page so you can customize based on your homes needs.

We have had about 50 whole house generators installed in our houses and with one exception they have all been Generac (the other was a Koehler because his BIL was a sales rep for them)

We have had zero callbacks or any issues with them.

I would strongly suggest you hire a qualified electrician to install the ATS and get one with load shedding capabilities. He should also be able to size the unit for you but it is surprising how big some people recommend (i.e. 20kW)

Most of our houses were between 5000 and 7000 SF and we are able to use 12-14kW units. Of course this is in an Energy Star rated home so your usage may be different.

quote:

Originally posted by Skins2881:
Sold, serviced, and installed generators for years. In my area it's $11-13k (22kw) installed depending on distance between gas/electric/generator. Since you are an all electric house you will also need load shedding and if it's cold enough to use emergency heat (15-20kw by itself) you'll be serverly limited on what you can run with EM Heat. Once you get gas furnace and hot water heater, then you'll be able to power most homes like there isn't even an interruption in power.

He knows what he is talking about and helped my out last year.

quote:

Originally posted by Skins2881:

quote:

Originally posted by bigdeal:

quote:

Originally posted by Chris42:
Another vote for Kohler over Generac, but that might depend on local service availability. Go with a reliable local company.

Before you pull the trigger on either of these, make sure to check out Cummins/Onan. They're new to the home generator market, but their units are very nice, and Onan has been around forever.

They are not new. They are considered one of the best there is, but you need to have a servicing company local, which is the tricky part.

I'm a bit confused by this statement. Onan is most assuredly not new, and Cummins (unto themselves) has also been around forever. However their joint venture into home generators is somewhat new as these specific units have only been available for a couple/few years. Had they been available when I bought our Generac, I'd have opted for one of these instead.

quote:

Originally posted by bigdeal:

quote:

Originally posted by Skins2881:

quote:

Originally posted by bigdeal:

quote:

Originally posted by Chris42:
Another vote for Kohler over Generac, but that might depend on local service availability. Go with a reliable local company.

Before you pull the trigger on either of these, make sure to check out Cummins/Onan. They're new to the home generator market, but their units are very nice, and Onan has been around forever.

They are not new. They are considered one of the best there is, but you need to have a servicing company local, which is the tricky part.

I'm a bit confused by this statement. Onan is most assuredly not new, and Cummins (unto themselves) has also been around forever. However their joint venture into home generators is somewhat new as these specific units have only been available for a couple/few years. Had they been available when I bought our Generac, I'd have opted for one of these instead.

Onan used to make home generators (prior to Cummins) and got out of the market a while ago to focus on the marine market which is their bread and butter. Onan has producing generators for the marine market for at least 50 years that I know of. They're very good. Then cummins bought them a few years back. They're still the same in the marine market and great generators, but Cummins figured out you can double the price of all of the consumables (belts, fuel/oil filters, etc.)

quote:

Originally posted by V-Tail:

quote:

Originally posted by bigdeal:

make sure to check out Cummins/Onan. They're new to the home generator market, but their units are very nice, and Onan has been around forever.

Their website is not easy to navigate, in terms of finding a local dealer / installer. Do you know of a good one? I am in the 32714 zip code, west side of Altamonte Springs (towards Apopka), general vicinity of the Altamonte Springs location of Costco, if that pins it down for you.

My wife and I had a conversation last week and decided that this would be A Good Thing to do over the winter. We have been through a few hurricanes during the time that we have lived here, and a couple of them left us without power for a week or so. Air conditioning would be nice in the hot humid aftermath. Natural gas is not available in our area, so the kitchen is all electric.

Tech Services Specialties, Inc
Authorized Dealer Locations
Approximately 4.4 Miles from 32714
168 Dog Track Road
Longwood, Florida 32750
407 925-3462
http://www.techservicesspecialties.com

This is the guy who sold me my Generac several years ago (didn't have Cummins/Onan at the time). Owner's name is Cris Cass and he's terrific...if you can reach him. Last person I sent his way told me he had a 4/5 month backlog of installs to do before he could get to him. So I guess if you're not in a hurry, go with Cris. He's good people. And if you do use him, tell him I sent you his way.

quote:

Originally posted by jimmy123x:
Onan used to make home generators (prior to Cummins) and got out of the market a while ago to focus on the marine market which is their bread and butter. Onan has producing generators for the marine market for at least 50 years that I know of. They're very good. Then cummins bought them a few years back. They're still the same in the marine market and great generators, but Cummins figured out you can double the price of all of the consumables (belts, fuel/oil filters, etc.)

Onan has also been, and continues to be, a major player in the RV market.

I had a Briggs & Stratton 22KW, natural gas installed, with 400 amp auto transfer switch, after hurricane Matthew three years ago. Didn't need it in hurricane Florence last year.

Fired up yesterday and ran for about an hour thanks to hurricane Dorian.

Power went off, generator cranked up, and about a minute later, power from the generator comes on, all while I am sitting on my ass.

I love it when something works like it is supposed to.!!!