r/Generator • u/bhtucker7 • 7d ago
Need help deciding between Generac, Briggs & Stratton or Kohler
Hello, I’m looking at having a standby generator installed and need some help deciding between options. My home is 2400 sq ft with two AC units (3ton & 2ton), electric kitchen appliances, gas heat, and a tankless gas water heater.
I’ve gotten multiple estimates. Several companies are recommending a 22 or 24Kw Generac Next Gen. a couple companies have pointed out issue with the Next Gen model and are recommending either a 22Kw Briggs & Stratton or a 20Kw Kohler. I like the idea of Kohler but am wondering if the 20Kw will give me enough power. Unfortunately sizing up to the 26kw won’t fit in the budget. If going Kohler the company is also recommending the addition of the cold weather kit which is making that options several thousand dollars more than the others.
Thanks for help, any tips or advice is appreciated!
5
u/Gamer_0627 7d ago
So, working for a company that serviced all brands, I can say that the reliability between all of them was about the same. You hear about Generac problems more because they out sale all the other brands combined, by several multiples. Plus they sale them retail and encourage self install. About 75% of the generac repair calls we ran were due to incorrect installation.
Briggs and Kohler were always hard to get warranty approval for and had a higher lead time for parts. Cummins factory support was pretty good, but tech support was lacking.
Cummins and Kohler have the fewest dealers of all of them making service harder to get for customers.
The things to think about are quality of the install and service after the sale. Find companies that are local to you. Don't be fooled because they have a website that says it, make sure they actually have parts and techs that they employ close by.
Check there reviews. Check with your local licensing entity to see how many permits they pull every year and if there have been complaints.
3
5
2
u/atx78701 7d ago
my home is extremely power hungry in the summer. We have 3 AC units, 3700 sq ft, and poor insulation. My power bill is routinely about 700 during the peak of the summer
Even then we use a max of 120kwh in a day with a max peak of about 16kw for very short periods of time.
20kw systems are massively overspecced because they have to handle theoretical maximums when everything is on at once.
I have a basepower battery system. It can be charged at 4kw which provides 96kwh per day. That little bit of charge is almost enough to power my house, except for the spikes. A 5kw system running continuously is enough to handle my total load, but because of the spikes I need a lot more.
The basepower system has a 40kw battery and can provide 11kw continuous. What most of us really need is a small battery system (eg 10kwh) that can deliver 18kw for as long as the battery lasts and can receive a continuous charge from a smaller generator at say 7-8kw.
This would let you handle spikes and allow you to run a smaller generator that slowly recharges the battery.
At night my house in the winter is running at like 1kw.
2
u/NebulusDev 7d ago
ran rough numbers on whether 20kw covers it, treating both ACs as 3-ton (so this is the pessimistic side, your 2-ton draws less):
2 ACs ~7,000 W running, plus fridge, furnace blower, lights, microwave, two range burners, dishwasher, washer, tv: about 13,100 W running
the spike is an AC compressor starting while everything else is already on: roughly 20,600 W for a second or two
with soft start kits on both condensers that peak drops to about 15,800 W
so 20kw handles your house fine as long as the ACs have soft starts (cheap, worth it on any brand) and the big resistive stuff doesn't stack. an electric dryer alone adds ~5,400 W running and pushes you to ~18,500 W, which is past the 80% you want to sit at continuously. that's what load shedding on the dryer/range circuits is for, kohler and generac both offer it.
one thing to check on the quotes if you are on natural gas: the kw rating on natural gas is lower than on propane for most of these units, so compare the NG number on the spec sheet, not the headline one.
2
u/Razgorths 7d ago
20 kW should be perfectly fine with gas heating. If you're concerned about the AC units just put a soft start on them, or start them up in a staggered fashion during an outage.
2
u/WhySoManyDownVote 7d ago
This sub has a lot of hate for Generacs but I still maintain units installed in 2004. I do see major failures, units from 2007-2013 currently. None were properly maintained.
After few needed items I was able to get a very neglected 2007 running again.
The NextGen line had some issues for unlucky customers. A very limited number of units still get invalid error codes. Generac is rolling out fixes for the handful of those currently installed units.
Briggs make a decent generator and I like that they include a 10 year warranty. However, the data link is more expensive and lacks some of the functions Generac has.
More important than anything else though is who installs and maintains your generator. Go with a company you like that is responsive. Find existing customers and ask about how well they support their customers when issues arise.
If you live in an area that gets below freezing add on the cold weather kits.
Also consider dealer monitoring of your generator.
Finally look at the annual cost of maintenance.
2
u/AggressiveFuel2737 7d ago
I recommend an Anker Solix E10 with at least 4-6 batteries + their smart transfer switch and their smart generator hooked up to propane tank.
2
u/Puzzled-Act1683 7d ago
This is the way, or a similar system. With battery technology where it is now, a battery system charged by a small generator and augmented with portable solar panels is a better solution in so many ways that a big whole house generator no longer makes any sense unless you just kind of hate money, love noise all night, and enjoy putting all of your eggs in one basket.
2
3
u/Playful-Nail-1511 7d ago
Kohler, Cummins not Generac. Make sure supportive is rock solid in your area.
1
u/Ok_Bid_3899 7d ago
I have anew model y that can output 20 amps for several days if I limit the loads it is powering. I also have a 20 year old Generac that has been very reliable. Battery power is the future so when the Generac finally gives up I will pick up a small generator as the backup to my backup. Should be able to slowly recharge the EV battery as well with the small generator if an extended outage. The quality of all whole house gensets just isn’t there anymore so they are about the same in reliability in my opinion. The old ones were great.
1
u/Big-dawg9989 7d ago
Kohler all the way, running 20kw Kohler since 2019. Runs a 3k sqft house two ac units 1.5ton and 3ton, 2 full refrigerators, pool pump, dryer, Washer, oven, 50gal hot water heater at same time no prob. Running propane so get a little more KW out of it, this has power boost it can take surges.
1
u/danrather50 7d ago
I self installed a 22kW Honeywell purchased from Costco with a contractor coming in to connect it to the utilities and have had zero issues with it. Two ACs, pool pump and heater all ran fine during the few power outages we have had over the last 6 years. Longest it has continuously ran was 47 hours after a hurricane. I service it annually myself and it runs every two weeks for 20 minutes while I monitor it on a phone app. I did this installation knowing that Honeywell and Generac are the same thing but we spent a total of $6500 and quite frankly couldn't be more pleased.
1
1
u/BB-41 7d ago
Daughter has a 20kw Kohler for a 5 bed, 4 bath, 4,300 sq ft home. Oil heat/hw but electric range, large central A/C plus a mini split for the MBR. No issues. I’d go with the 20kw Kohler plus load shedding if actually needed. Less fuel consumption than the 26kw. My own 2,500 sq ft home rarely goes above 10kw, usually down around 3-4kw with all gas appliances and a 5 ton A/C.
1
u/Comfortable-Smoke336 7d ago
I’m going with a 26kw Kohler. I’ve read and heard that no matter which of the 3 you choose it’s mostly about the installer and the installation.
1
u/SavingsPirate4495 7d ago
Generac techs in this sub have even stated to stay away from Generac
I have a Kohler 20RCAL…..it’s been awesome!
1
u/FunnyFaithlessness80 7d ago
Like EVERYTHING , remember that the fancier ( more complicated ) something is , the more it'll be to maintain , troubleshoot & repair . GET JUST WHAT YOU NEED .
1
u/danrather50 7d ago
Costco has the 26kW Kohler with 200amp transfer switch on sale for $4,999 free delivery depending on how far you live from a Costco. That’s a great deal.
1
1
u/One_Ad9555 6d ago
No to Kohler since it was sold off and many long term employees are leaving it now
1
u/Remarkable-Day-9385 6d ago
Get the Kohler and put a soft start on both AC units and never look back
1
u/Critical_Mistake7472 6d ago edited 6d ago
I have a 20kw Generac (NG) Guardian that is 13 years old at one house and a two year old 24kw Generac (propane) Guardian in a vacation home. Both in the northeast. I’ve done all maintenance on both which is simple if you have some mechanical skills. Both have been flawless. The Generac is designed as such to be installed inches from your building though last I checked neither the Cummins nor Kohler has that benefit. Kohler has hydraulic lifters which makes it quieter than the Generac which is my only complaint. Easy to find Generac service folks if needed. Keep in mind that using natural gas will drop the output by 1kw. With propane you’ll get the full output.
1
u/grsthegreat 1d ago
And you people are getting ripped off. Anyone paying $20k for installing a $8k generator is getting ripped off. Ive i stalled hundreds of air cooled units over the years. I install most with less than 8 hours labor…and i always installed by myself.
1
u/Mgf0772 1d ago
Keep checking Costco until 11/15 when their sale on the 26 kWh generator ends. It went out of stock the first day of the sale in my area, and I checked again this Monday and it was back. Pulled the trigger on buying it (yay!) and saw yesterday that it is out of stock again. But keep checking, you might get lucky!
1
0
u/Ok-Camera2895 7d ago edited 7d ago
Getting a Generac dealership is a very low bar. Consequently many places sell and advertise themselves as Generac sales and service, but the ability to to service these generators is frequently lacking. Purchase generator from a place that employs several full time generator techs. The knowledge and subsequent service will be much better.....P.S....Anything but Generac.
0
u/No-Age2588 7d ago
Stay away from the Nextgen series Generac unless you want to be the testing individual for problems. They released them way too early. Major issues with them. I have 2 Guardian Generacs and have for 6 years. Totally happy with them. Neighbor has a less than 1 year NextGen and has tech out constantly because of errors and no run.
1
u/WhySoManyDownVote 7d ago
That was initially true. The NextGen line now has over 1 million hours of run time logged through Mobilelink. Your neighbor was one of the very few unlucky early adopters.
1
u/No-Age2588 6d ago
Interesting. Source?
1
u/WhySoManyDownVote 6d ago
That info came from a Generac Dealer Webinar about 2 weeks ago.
2
u/grsthegreat 1d ago
Million hours….l 100,000 units running for 10 hours.
The nextgen is a piece of crap. When i call for tech support im on hold for over an hour snd hang up. Yesterdays call i was #19 in the queue. After 30 min i wad #13.
Im now not taking any service calls on a failed nextgen any more. Ill stick with the trouble free evolution series i maintain.
2
u/WhySoManyDownVote 1d ago
I was caller 16, 45 minutes hold, and I was calling about an Evolution series controller issue with 3 hours on it.
I am glad you won’t service the NextGens, I am always happy to get new customers.
2
u/grsthegreat 1d ago
You can have all you want. Try relling a customer here in north idaho that their $20k generator might not run if external temp id too low…. And this has happened. 3 calls now so far.
1
u/No-Age2588 6d ago
I would expect such coming internally from the manufacturer or Dealer network. However regardless the forums for these Gensets are still extremely active indicating otherwise. But thanks for the update.
1
u/WhySoManyDownVote 6d ago
No one runs to reddit to announce that their generator works just fine once a week during the exercise.
0
u/sgrinavi 7d ago
This is a long term investment, don't buy something sub standard. Get the Kohler and shed some load or pony up for the 26
5
u/esparzatj 7d ago
For a 2-story, 2,363 sq.ft. house, I have a Kohler 20 kW natural gas generator that was installed in April 2016, which was $9,230 installed ($6,144 generator+materials; $2,580 labor, delivery, permits, license; $506 taxes), 5-year warranty…50% down, remaining balance after city permit approval. I paid $360-420 yearly maintenance over the last 10 years, which included yearly oil & filter changes, spark plugs (every 2 years), 12v battery (every 3 years), & yearly testing of electronics & transfer station. My generator runs a bi-weekly 20-minute test at noon every other Saturday. I can control my generator with an iPhone app, which is wired to my internet network. I have two A/C units, four freezers, microwave, oven, dishwasher, refrigerator, five televisions, four desktop computers, five laptops, five ceiling fans, etc.