Kohler or Generac Whole House Gen

[Passport1]

Hurricane season has me thinking maybe need a standby generator.

Probably ~20KW unit. Kohler and Generac available here on the SE coast. I have a 500 gallon in ground propane tank to fuel it. Want a reliable, long lasting unit. Cost a factor but not determinate. Might be the classic Honda v. Toyota question.

Opinions?

or

 

[Opelman]

No question, avoid Generac like the plague. They have a reputation for poor parts and tech support after the sale. Go with Kohler (Rehlko) or Onan. 1800 rpm machine if you can swing it.

 

[QwikKota]

There is a fancy gated community in our HOA and a lot of people there had issues with their Generacs during Hurricane Beryl. They were without power for several days and quite a few had their carburetors have issues. The technicians would tell them these things are really only meant to provide power for a few hours, not days.

 

[Killer223]

If you want power for days on end, get a small water cooled unit, cummins makes a few. they also have a whole home air cooled unit.
Aurora diesel generators are another option. designed for days on end of power delivery.
the only other one I would consider would be Kohler. and they are rather low on the list.
I won't consider generac. ime just not reliable enough.

also worth thinking about are the battery power stations. watt cycle, and eco flow both have whole house backup systems. then you would only have to runaway generator part time to recharge batteries if needed or solar. kind of a hybrid setup. you could get away with a smaller portable unit. and only run it for a few hours to recharge the batteries that can run a house for a few days.

 

[doitmyself]

No question, avoid Generac like the plague. They have a reputation for poor parts and tech support after the sale. Go with Kohler (Rehlko) or Onan. 1800 rpm machine if you can swing it.

For many years Kohler (now Rehlko as of 2024) and Onan (Now Cummins) were the go-to's for excellent units, service, and parts. I wonder how this will play out moving forward? We know what happens when greed is the motivation for take overs.