Roy and all,
While I appreciate the dialogue that my request has generated, not a
single post has addressed my question. So I'll give it one more try:
What kind of runtime hours have you seen with the Kohler 8.5 RMY?
Also, in a recent Home Power "Ask the Experts" column, I spoke
positively about the new Generac "EcoGen" 6 kW model as a
well-designed and well-engineered unit specifically for off-grid
residential applications. It's quite different from their mainstream
models, designed specifically to hold up under off-grid usage.
Having been involved with this list since about 2000, you can bet I
have read plenty negative about Generac over the years. So both the
Home Power recommendation and a previous post speaking positively
about it were carefully considered before they went out (my wording
in Home Power was "it
has
caused me to favorably reconsider Generac for your type of
application"). I have had one of these units in my own off
grid home for about a year, and am quite favorably impressed with
it. It has to date performed without flaw, has very good built-in
diagnostics and a record of usage history, and runs cool and quiet.
So I am encouraging those who have had bad experiences with Generac
to take another look at this particular model. We have needed this
on the market for several years now, ever since the generator
manufacturers began focusing on "home standby" as the next growth
market.
Allan
Allan Sindelar
[email protected]
NABCEP Certified Photovoltaic
Installer
NABCEP Certified Technical Sales Professional
New Mexico EE98J Journeyman Electrician
Positive Energy, Inc.
3201 Calle Marie
Santa Fe, New Mexico 87507
505 424-1112
www.positiveenergysolar.com
On 4/4/2012 1:20 PM, Roy Butler wrote:
Roy's quote:
"Friends don't let friends buy a Generac"
On 4/4/2012 2:45 PM, [email protected]
wrote:
ditto that question.
i have only installed
one genewreck... an 8 kW unit installed as grid backup. it
sees very little use, but it is a total piece of shit.
i have replaced the
starter motor casting mount twice... of course they never
bothered to redo the poor initial design, so replacing a
broken defective design with a non-broken defective designed
part is just stupid, because it is designed to break.
the voltage regulators
have failed three times... taking out appliances in the
customers home in the process each time.
the battery charger
module came miswired from the factory. i spent about 3 hours
troubleshooting the wiring to fix it... with reimbursement
promises from their horrible 'factory support' which never
came.
i have heard similar
horror stories from others. i will never touch or recommend
a genewreck generator again... never ever!
beware!
todd
On Wednesday, April 4,
2012 7:22am, "Dana" <[email protected]>
said:
Hey Chris - I am curious how
the Generercs are doing I have had nothing but dead,
on fire, or in the shop stories from clients. I only
know of one, a 30 KW water cooled that is healthy to
this day..
Thanks
Dana Orzel - Great Solar
Works, Inc - E - [email protected]
- V 970.626.5253
F - 970.626.4140 C -
970.209.4076 web - www.solarwork.com
"Responsible Technologies for
Responsible People since 1988"
P Please consider the environment before
printing this email
I
installed two Kohler 12RES about five years ago, before
we switched brands to Generac. The Kohler units had a
couple of electrical control problems, minor issues,
easily repaired, nothing mechanical. Residential backup
generators are in one of two states, working, or broken.
If it has not broken down, then it is working. End of
story. When the break, you get a new one.
On Tue, Apr 3, 2012 at 11:28 PM, Allan
Sindelar <[email protected]>
wrote:
Wrenches,
We sold and installed a few Kohler 8.5 and 11
RMY generators in the first half of the last
decade. We found over the years that followed
that they held up quite well, with very few
problems if cared for.
We have a customer whose off grid system we
cared for for about a decade before she sold
her property and moved on. The buyer, with
whom I have never spoken, did little research
on the property or the PV system before
purchase, and is now dissatisfied with the
system and has sued the seller. I have been
asked to provide some history and guidance to
the seller. The system includes an 8.5 RMY
Kohler that, when the property was sold, had
about 2,000 hours on it and was working well,
I recall being told. The buyer has claimed,
among other things, that it was "old and near
the end of its service life."
What kind of life have others seen from these
units, and how have they held up in your
experience?
Thank you,
Allan
|
