Generac

Nine years ago we purchased a Generac liquid cooled 25kw standby generator from Premier Power Systems in Jacksonville, FL. The complete purchase and installation cost upward of $15,000.00 dollars. A friend had recommended PPS and we needed a generator fast and so, unfortunately, did not do enough research. PPS sells only Generac Generators which is a widely known manufacture of both standby generators and portable generators and one of the first that "pop"up on a "google search". Some sites quote that Generac supplies 60% of residential home standby generators. A cursory search will yield positive results and you will feel comfortable buying and relying on a Generac Home Standby Generator. I urge you to to look further into the company and the brand. Many websites and reviews state that the generator should last 30 years and 3000 to 5000 hours. However, if look for the not so good reviews you will find that the generators last less than 10 years and 200 hours despite costly ($700.00/year) and regular maintenance. This is what happened to us. The failure was not of the engine, radiator or cooling fan. The failure came from a loose screw that held the pulley system that ran the fan. The pulley and the flex plates then broke because of vibration and subsequently the rod the pulley was attached to broke fracturing the fire wall; the belt that spins the fan jumped off the pulley and the fan stopped. The system overheated and shut down - as it was supposed to- thus saving the engine. The problem - PPS says that it will cost $4000-$6000 dollars to fix and the parts will only have a 90 day warranty so I might as well by a new generator - and I should consider a smaller unit that is air cooled and therefore has fewer parts that need to be maintained and thus less risk of failure and I can get it for $5600.00? Really? Then why does Generac make this generator and why did you sell it to me? No thank you. Generac has been very unresponsive as well - both to me and to their dealer PPS. Their answer is that I am outside the warranty period and therefore no concession will be made - without even having a technical rep look at my unit or talk to me in person. In my opinion this is an obvious design/manufacturing defect and given that they promote a product that should last 30 years and 3000-5000 hours they should consider some concession given the fact that my unit is only 9 years old and has less than 200 hours. I am not looking for free - maybe charge me for only the parts or labor (my maintenance contract says I only pay for parts - apparently unless it wil require a lot of labor then I have to pay for labor too) and guarantee the parts and labor for more that 90 days. Needless to say, after much research, I will be replacing my generator with a Cummins Standby Generator - better design and better reviews by Consumer Reports, Generator Blogs and online Generator Stores that sell Generac, Cummins, Koehler, etc.

I purchased it from Generac directly. They have a list of installers they do business with. They go down through the queue to find providers. We wanted someone close to where we live so they could service our generator. You have to be careful about the recommendations for the electrician, but other than that, it's fine. Because I went through the internet, they gave me a warranty. If you call them up directly then you get the warranty. If you call the electrician, you do not get that. We haven't had any issues with it running. If we are out of town and there is a problem, the electrician gets a message and they come running in to fix it. I understand electronics and electrical wiring pretty well. It's well made. It's over-rated for our house, which is good. You want something that's going to coast along and not struggle with anything.

Don’t buy this product. There is no backup warranty. This manufacture the product, but they don’t deal with any problems with the product. They are very rude and the first time you call you will most likely be disconnected. If you can’t read the manual you’re in trouble and they won’t help. There customer service is awful. They have little or no customer service available (online or the phone). You deal with the manual and the manual only, if you need help there is none. Generac has electricians, locally sub-contractor that has prices very costly. Generac dealers are all electricians, but you need a plumber also to install the unit properly. Generac has no department that handles warranties at all. There is no extended warranty at all. I strongly suggested that others look elsewhere. Generac is a poor choice for stand by power equipment for your home.