We wanted a backup generator for our house. For living in an industrialized area (Dayton), we lose power about as often as many 3rd world countries. When the power goes out, we can't get water (we have a water well in B'creek), we can't get heat (even though it's a gas furnace), and hot water (we have a power-vent gas water heater), among the other normal electric things in the house. I had no idea where to start to get this process going. Out of frustration, I simply called Bonham Electric, since they installed Kohler generators (I preferred those over Generac). Jeff Bonham himself, came out to the house in November 2020, checked our house, did a full electric load calculation (I was wanting a whole house generator - 18KW), explained to me what was needed, and advised me on what size generator was needed and also strongly suggested two "load sheds" for the stove and A/C. (These load sheds hold off power to those two components for 5 minutes after the generator kicks in to reduce the initial power load to the generator, allowing it to "catch-up" with everything else before those items turn on - HIGHLY recommended!) I also asked for a new electric panel, since mine had the older "Push-Matic" breakers. They're difficult to find and expensive if you CAN find them when one breaks or you need an additional circuit run in the house. Jeff advised me it would take until May 2021 before they could get the generator installed due to supply issues under COVID. He quoted me a price of $12,400, to include all equipment, the concrete base for the generator, the plumbing changes (gas line run for the generator), all inspections, and the labor. We agreed and paid half the cost up front. May 2021 arrived and I received a call from them about a week before they arrived. The day of the install meant we were without power for the better part of the day (about 5 hours - we fully expected this). Levi and the other guy that was sent with him worked diligently through the whole process. I offered each of them soft drinks or water and even offered to get them lunch since they worked right through lunch! They denied it all and kept at their tasks. The plumbers (NewPath Plumbing) arrived about an hour and a half after the electricians showed up. They did a full gas line calculation to make certain the gas supply to our house would support the generator along with our other gas appliances (Jeff estimated it would since he's done estimations on probably a couple thousand generator installs). After that was done (about 20 minutes) they set right to work installing a flex-line that exited to the outside, about 4' from the generator. This was somewhat of an ingenious solution instead of running large "hard" pipe through our basement from one end to the other. Within minutes, that flex gas line was run through the basement and connected with a shutoff to the house supply line! No joke! They also worked through lunch, and denied my offering of any drinks! By about 3:00PM we had power restored, a new breaker box installed with new breakers, a new transfer switch installed outside, new power lines run into the house from the meter to the breaker box, a new gas-line run to the generator, and the whole reason for this work - a new generator. Levi and his co-worker from Bonham explained the operation of the generator, what was done, how it was connected and asked multiple times through the explanation if I had any questions. He was really thorough, not to mention very polite! The same applied to both NewPath Plumbing techs that were there too! They were ALL courteous, well informed about what was needed, and explained when I asked Q's about the process as they went along. I tried to back off and let them do their work as much as possible. About 10 days or so after the installation, the plumbers came back for the plumbing inspection (which was done "virtually" by phone with the inspector). About a week later the electrical inspection came up and the electrical inspector showed up physically. We passed both inspections with flying colors. While Levi was here for the inspection, I asked him to change the day of the "generator exercise" to a different day, since the original time set interfered with meetings my wife and I typically have, while we work from home. He changed that within a couple minutes and asked if I had any other Q's. Nope. Real live test: DP&L had people trimming trees along the power lines in our back yard and through our neighborhood. About a week later while my wife and I were working in the house and about 1:30PM, the power dropped. I saw my monitors go black and the room light go off. I looked at my wife and said we just lost power. And just about the time I finished that sentence, the generator kicked on and power came back up! Dang, that was sooooo nice. About 10 minutes later, I walked out on our back patio to see what was going on and I heard a loud POP. That was the transfer switch putting us back on line power. The generator continued to run for a few more minutes to cool down and then shut off. Everything worked as advertised and perfectly! I HIGHLY recommend Bonham Electric to install a generator for you. If they're this good for an install like this, I would trust them with all your electric needs. Outstanding work. It's all neat, clean, works perfectly, and their employees are enjoyable to work with
David J.
