Whole home generator

[scottamu]

We had the 20kw Briggs installed with the auto transfer when building our home. It powers everything we need and has a priority smart system for the 3 ac units and major appliances. It’s been great to have it transfer automatically when powers out.

[ROCKET]

I have a few friends that own Tx Star Propane in Plantersville and one in Huntsville , they sell more 22kw Generators than any other size . There are a lot of variables that go into sizing one . You can go on generacs web site and they have a sizing app on their to roughly see what you need . Also I do know that most places are months behind because they can’t get the generator itself . These guys where averaging 4-6 weeks .
Pm if you need more info I can help out .
Or shoot me a txt 936-444-6143

[Johnny Dangerr]

The Generac salesman told me he had a Kohler.

We bought Kohler.

Two things they fail to mention:
You can spend $100.00 a day on NG. Three thousand a month.
And
You need to do an oil change every 7th day it has been running. Run it for a month - change the oil and filter 4 times. I think I bought 6 weeks of oil and filters.............

[MacDaddy67]

The Generac salesman told me he had a Kohler.

We bought Kohler.

Two things they fail to mention:
You can spend $100.00 a day on NG. Three thousand a month.
And
You need to do an oil change every 7th day it has been running. Run it for a month - change the oil and filter 4 times. I think I bought 6 weeks of oil and filters.............

$100/day
that doesnt seem right.....that would be 50 gallons or more per day

[Drycreek3189]

Thanks for all the comments. I talked to a local guy in Tyler yesterday. They’ve been in the business for awhile, but I don’t know anyone who’s done business with them. This is a $10 K purchase so I want my ducks in a row.

He confirmed oil change every 100 hours of use, and also the long wait time. He was talking 4/5 months. He said it wasn’t the generators themselves that were in short supply, but some parts needed to install them. IDK, just repeating what he told me.

His main product was a Briggs, but said he could get Generac also. I’m old enough to remember when Briggs was spelled JUNK. It makes me queasy to spend $10 K on something with Briggs & Stratton on it. Post up if you have had a good (or bad) experience with a Briggs generator.

Edit: Another thing he told me was that a 20 KW would not be enough to run the heat on an average all electric home unless you had a heat pump. Even then they would have to isolate the heat strip and just go with the heat pump side. Maybe that’s the reason some of you have a 22 KW unit ?

[FCoDxDart]

I know this doesn't quite answer what your looking for but I went looking for generators and I knew I'd have to add propane to make it work since our house is all electric. I decided to get a tesla solar system with Powerwalls. It is actually incredible. there was a 24% tax credit last year and I think a 22% credit this year. In my opinion it was worth it. Now I can run off grid for days and my electric bill is lower or non existent.

My thought was I wanted to be able to be completely off grid if necessary.

[Johnny Dangerr]

$100/day
that doesnt seem right.....that would be 50 gallons or more per day

Put a commercial head on my gas meter and ran a 1 1/2 inch pipe to the generator. The $100.00 a day is if you are running it at 100%. Central air and water heater etc. If we had a multiple day event I would turn a lot of stuff off.........

[Hogmauler]

We had a Generac at our home in the Wet Mountains out of Florence Colorado. Ran off of propane. Lost power in the development one night. Our Generac kicked on in about two seconds. Never missed a lick. They also offer monitoring as well
One down side that I heard (can’t vouch for validity of statement) is that during a major storm or emergency they may shut down natural gas. If so your outta luck. Katy has strict building restrictions and I don’t think they would allow someone to install a 250/500 gallon propane tank in backyard. When we moved back we got an instillation estimation for a whole house Generac. Think they came in at $11,000.00. Wife got cold feet so we never pulled the trigger.

[Jackal]

I do not have one but I've been looking hard at them, especially after this last hurricane season. I'm on a FB page for the Lake Charles area recovery after Laura and a lot of people with Generacs had issues and could not get support. Generac is supposed to send more techs to an area after a major disaster to help customers but they never sent them. The two brands that most people had very few issues with were Kohler and Cummins. My coworker that lives in LA has a commercial size Generac that he had to run for 3 weeks straight and averaged less than 2 gallons an hour of propane while powering two houses. Because of the size of his generator it runs at low RPMs for the most of the time burning less fuel. From what I heard most of the 22kw were burning around 4 plus gallons an hour powering one house.

[Gladesgator]

You have a standard 500 gallon propane tank?

I have a 250 gallon tank.

[Gladesgator]

How much propane does it use? Say you didn't curb your electricity usage at all, how long would it run on a 250-gallon propane tank?

My unit uses about 1.20 gallons per an hour, I don't curb my electric usage at all. I have a well insulated 1,900 square foot barndo, with central air and heat, two refrigerators and two upright freezers.

I also have two propane fireplaces that reduce the central heat usage unless it is very cold, in the teens.

[Bayouboy]

No problem at all with our B & S.

[SaintBlaise]

The Generac salesman told me he had a Kohler.

We bought Kohler.

Two things they fail to mention:
You can spend $100.00 a day on NG. Three thousand a month.
And
You need to do an oil change every 7th day it has been running. Run it for a month - change the oil and filter 4 times. I think I bought 6 weeks of oil and filters.............

My father ran his Generac(10 years old) for 22 days straight for Hurricane Laura, powering a 3300 sf house with 2 AC units, even has power at the barn 100 yards from the house. I asking him about the NG bill, but it comes every 2 months. Then next time I asked, waiting for his reaction of a high bill. It was only $150 more than normal. We checked the oil every 3 days, but it was fine. Ended up changing the oil 20 days in.

[Pineywoods]

Anybody have experience with a 20 kw with Briggs & Stratton engine. That or the Generac seems to be the ones most folks use. I’ve been thinking about getting one for several years but I’m ready to pull the trigger now. Appreciate any input from owners.

Yes, I had one with the automatic transfer switch for years until I moved. Mine ran on propane and saved our butt during Harvey. I had zero complaints with it and would install another one on our new place.

[Matt_C]

can you run them on propane....and is their a minimum size tank needed....i have a 250 gal

yes!