Stand by whole house generator...

[Advanced Design]

For sure Ray. There have been times the power went out when we were away at work, which put the burden of keeping our pipes from freezing on others. That isn't fair to them when they have their own power problems to deal with.

I did ask about the life expectancy of the engine and the dealer said 5,000 hours. Supposedly due to the industrial design of this engine. Frankly, I don't know if I believe that. That is a ton of hours for most any gas engine.

Pretty slick set up with the control panel and the automation. We opted for the heater kit which keeps the battery and engine oil warm in cold weather and skipped the remote monitoring. The remote monitoring was $1,200 for 3 years which seemed too pricey to me.

[kampfitt]

We put a Generac 10k with the auto whole house transfer switch in my Dad's house. He's had it 3yrs now, like they said runs the whole place including the barn. Our area was out for 3 days last year He ran every thing just like normal even yard lights on the house and barn. We just change the oil every year just before winter, runs on propane so very clean have yet to change the plugs. This was the best setup for them all automatic, nobody even has to be home no freeze ups or floods from sump pump.

['63GENIII]

Ive installed a couple of the Generacs up to 10kw natural gas, 1 B&S that was 7kw nat gas and a whole slew of 2+Mw generators. I have yet to get a call back on the residential models. They seem to run pretty well. One thing that I may suggest is to exercise your generator at least once a month if not more. Some of the Generacs had an exercise timer that could perform the function as scheduled.
Its an important PM that will ensure that your power will come right back up when the utility goes out. The transfer switch needs to be cycled too otherwise they will start to stick and not transfer. It takes about a month to get through all of the generators where I work and we do it 4 times a year lol.
Enjoy the new genset! You made a good choice.

['63GENIII]

Just re read that you got a 16w. That's a big 'un for a house. Id venture a guess that you'll be very happy with it!

[Advanced Design]

That is good to hear about the reliability of the residential models. This unit self starts once a week and runs for 20 minutes so the engine part is good. I will need to check on the transfer switch. Wouldn't be good for that to stick. The 16kw was recommended as it supplies the shop too so I can keep the heat on. No running welders or compressors though!

Thanks for your experiences!