I have not been a fan of any Generac brand generators, especially their low-cost, highly marketed residential stand-by generators. Although things may have changed, these were very hard to use with a typical inverter's 2-wire remote start relay, most warranties were voided if used in off-grid applications, and their high speed engines just did not last as long as lower speed engines.
Last year Generac came out with their smaller EcoGen 6 kW propane-fueled model that they claim was specifically designed for off-grid applications. As I understand it, this is a vertical shaft engine operating at 2600 RPM and belt-drives the generator section. The info also claims a simple 2-wire start/stop (like Kohler) which would be a major improvement, and the output can be 100% at 120 VAC which would be a great match to a smaller single 120VAC inverter off-grid solar system. However, anyone have any actual experience with this model? Does it actually hold up to off-grid type longer operating hours? Warranty claim issues? Do electronics require lots of standby power or a separate source to keep from discharging starter battery? (This was a complaint I had with Kohler's model changes which sucked down power in standby mode due to the added electronic monitoring panel not on earlier models.) Any maintenance issues with belt drive? Do I finally take Generac off my "stay away from" list? Thanks, Jeff Yago DTI Solar Inc. _______________________________________________ List sponsored by Home Power magazine List Address: [email protected] Options & settings: http://lists.re-wrenches.org/options.cgi/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org List-Archive: http://lists.re-wrenches.org/pipermail/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org List rules & etiquette: www.re-wrenches.org/etiquette.htm Check out participant bios: www.members.re-wrenches.org
