Tag Archives: generator

‘Generac’ Whole-House Backup Generators Have A MAJOR FLAW. No Means To DELAY Turn-Off.

Leave a reply

by Anura Guruge
on March 18, 2024

Follow Anura Guruge on WordPress.com

I am AGHAST that Generac claims that they have NEVER encountered this ISSUE!

What is THE ISSUE.

Generator turns off as SOON as it detects that mains power is back.

You, if you are not a veteran of power failures, might THINK that this is good. Great. Exactly what you want.

NOT SO!

Often times the power can splutter, go-on-and-off, BEFORE it is fully on. What is called a ‘rolling brown-out‘. Various ‘switches’ in the overall power system are getting back to normal. Yes, basically the power can FLICKER, a few times, before it is ON, permanently.

But, Generac has no means to cater for this.

It follows the power blindly.

Yes, it will come back ON AGAIN — but, alas, & ironically, there is a built-in START-UP delay.

So, what happens is, generator is SHUTTING DOWN ….

Power goes out (again) …

Generac detects that power is out again …

But, there is this start-up delay …

YOU ARE IN THE DARK.

With my old portable generators, I kept them going for 30-minutes AFTER the power came back on.

Yes, it is but for a few minutes BUT it VIOLATES the Generac promise.

Yes, I have tried to get it fixed. NO LUCK.

Hence, this post.

Hope Generac gets my message.

Most Welcome Sight — A ‘Irving’ Truck Delivering 200 Gallons Of Propane For The 24kW ‘Generac’.

Leave a reply

by Anura Guruge
on July 3, 2023

Follow Anura Guruge on WordPress.com

FINALLY, FINALLY … FINALLY.

Yes, the ‘Generac‘ went fully online last Thursday, June 29, 2023. But, we only had 40 gallons (if that) of propane in the tank. The Generac needs around 4 gallons an hour. So 50 gallons would only have given us ~6 hours of operation. That wasn’t much.

Before they would deliver more propane Irving had to come & check the installation. Much to my delight they sent a tech. over, right away, on Friday. That was quick. We had some ‘issues’ but they all got sorted out. Within an hour we were approved for delivery. That was a reief.

This morning the truck was here around 10:30am. WOW. I was delighted.

I had started on this journey, i.e., trying to get a Generac, last October. BIGGEST problem was getting a propane — or to be precise, having a 500-gallon propane tank INSTALLED. Propane companies are not very helpful during the winter. They tell you that upfront. Too busy. They all told me call us back in the Spring. That was the biggest delay.

But, now it is FINALLY, FINALLY DONE.

Now have enough for 60 hours, 2.5 days. In the Summer I can deal with that, i.e., 2.5 days. In the winter the tank will ALWAYS be filled ahead of bad weather. 400 gallons. That will give us just over 4 days. IF power is gone for that long — I will be long gone to a hotel as well.

NOT CHEAP. The 200 gallons cost $790!

The 24kW ‘Generac’ Whole-House Backup System Is NOW Fully Hooked-UP & Online.

Leave a reply

by Anura Guruge
on June 29, 2023

Follow Anura Guruge on WordPress.com

Click images to ENLARGE.

All done — FINALLY.

Yes, it was from the start, planned to be a 3-day ‘installation’ given that the town had to approve the gas piping.

Today the propane was finally hooked up so that the generator could be cranked up for the first time. It started. We tested it. All seems to be working fine. The crucial ‘GREEN‘ light is on. (You can see it in the pictures, above).

‘Moriarty Electric Co.‘ in ‘Eliot’, Maine, did us proud. Very pleased. Very happy. Excellent. Very professional & a DELIGHTFUL crew. Got to meet 6 of them & it was an honor & pleasure.

Today we had the outstanding husband & wife pair that did the initial delivery, set-up & excavation for the pipe. They were great. Good. Good. Good.

Lot to learn about the Generac, but it is a relief to have it online.

The 24kW ‘Generac’ Whole-House Backup System — 2nd Day Of 3; Having The Electrical Done.

Leave a reply

by Anura Guruge
on June 28, 2023

Follow Anura Guruge on WordPress.com

Click images to ENLARGE.

The ‘Generac’ automatic TRANSFER SWITCH below our electric panel.
N.B. Two MANUAL transfer switches for the portable generators.
YES, I am still keeping those. I will continue to have THREE (3) generators.

Again we had two crews (& hence 2 trucks). Given the non-stop rain they erected this CUTE pop-up tent by the Generac so that they could be relatively dry.

The ‘WHOLE HOUSE SURGE PROTECTOR’ (on left, in BLUE) — by Generac. It protects the panel from a surge.

The Generac being delivered on June 20, 2023.

‘Moriarty Electric Co.‘ in ‘Eliot’, Maine, always had it has a 3-day job. I was told this upfront. So, no surprises. Just as expected.

All has gone swimmingly. Very happy, so far.

Tomorrow is supposed to be the FINAL day. Getting the propane hooked up so that it can be started.

Today was electrical. Two electricians & their apprentices. Very impressed.

They were here for less than 6 hours.

More importantly, they only turned off the power, while they made the requisite electrical connections, for less than 40 minutes. WOW. We were happy. Minimal disruption.

Fingers crossed. Having this will be a relief.

The 24kW ‘Generac’ Whole-House Backup System Was Delivered Today.

Leave a reply

by Anura Guruge
on June 20, 2023

Follow Anura Guruge on WordPress.com

Click image to ENLARGE.

I am happy. The 24kWatt ‘Generac’ is now physically installed though not connected to the propane or the house circuits. That is OK. That is next week.

Getting it all done via ‘Moriarty Electric Co.‘ in ‘Eliot’, Maine. They are exceptional & exemplary. They are handling all of it, soup-to-nuts (including the financing through Generac) — & I can’t be happier. It is, as far as I am concerned, a turn-key operation. They, starting with the owner, Mr. Mark Moriarty, sure know what they are doing.

The husband & wife crew that handled today’s installation, including all the trench digging, were OUTSTANDING. So good, so hardworking, helpful & pleasant. They will be back next week to do the connections ONCE the town has inspected the trench. All good. I am HAPPY.

It has taken me 7-months to get to this point. But, nearly all of that though had to do with getting a 500 gallon propane tank. Managed to finally have that delivered on June 1, 2023. And now today. So far, so good.

I will keep you posted. They are going to be working on it again, for 2 days, next week.

FINALLY, Today, Got A 500 Gallon Propane Tank Delivered For The 24kW ‘Generac’ I Am Getting. Took Me 7 Months!

Leave a reply

by Anura Guruge
on June 1, 2023

Follow Anura Guruge on WordPress.com

Click image to ENLARGE.

I November of last year I, FINALLY, decided that we HAD TO GET a whole-house, backup generator. Though I own THREE (3) portable generators, & have done so for over a decade, I no longer was willing to deal/cope with all of the prolonged power outages we get, in this neck of the woods, in the winter. I am getting too old for this. I wanted a fully-automated, WHOLE HOUSE (with 20% to spare) ‘Generac‘ system that could run non-stop for at least 4 days.

We could get by with a 20kW generator but at full-load, IF it ever came to that, the generator would be running close to full-load. Given my 50-year background in ‘electronics’ I know that that while ‘OK’ is not acceptable. Best to have a generator that is never cranking at full-load. In the scheme of things the price differential between a 20kW & 24kW is not that ‘significant’. {It is all relative. SMILE.}

We only use propane for cooking. So we have 2 small tanks. Those two tanks, at best, would run a 24kW Generac for 18 hours. I wanted a 500 gallon tank.

WOW. It has taken me from November to TODAY, 7 months, to get that to happen. It has been absolutely amazing & astounding.

For a start nobody was willing to install a new tank during the winter — until all the snow was gone. Then there was a BACKLOG because of all the people waiting for new tanks.

Finally. Even then it was a comedy of errors. They were supposed to deliver it between 8am to 1pm. They were here at 6:30am! Then they JACKKNIFED their crane — i.e., accidentally bend it backward on itself. I couldn’t believe it. They had to go back & use ANOTHER crane to disentangle the mess they had got themselves into. They were back 2 hours later.

Finally, we have a 500 gallon tank with 50 gallons of propane in it. The tank is NOT hooked up.

Now I am waiting on the Generac. The company I am getting it from is going to do the trenching and the propane hookups. Well, that is another day, another story. But, at least ONE STEP forward.