Generac 8KW sttandby generator

I know that Generac sells alot of generator, If the price is right and you think it's worth it( how old is it, how much would it cost to have it serviced), I would buy it.

I work for a generac dealer and I have sold 3 of the 8KW units in the past 3 weeks. It's a nice small unit. Call around to see who works on them in your area. A Generac tech could fix it quickly, I would imagine. How long has he had it because the 8KW has not been available for that long. I am pretty sure it was a 7 KW before.

I have that same unit and have had no problems. I picked that model for the fuel economy. I installed it myself which is fairly easy following the instructions provided. It will run everything you stated. I have mine connected to my downstairs circuits which includes the family room. stove and fridge upstairs. I was told by the good friend who sold me the unit, not to hook it to the AC unit. The gen has trouble starting them when everything is starting at the same time. He has had to repair a unit for that reason only. I have a pair of 100lb tanks that I keep filled and ready. My wife hounded me about spending that kind of money for THAT THING. One day we were home from work because of the snow and the power went out. There was a hush, I heard the gen start everything came back on and I was again the smartest man in the world. Love IT

HI all,
Let me chime in here but there was a post here a few weeks ago warning about using generators for any computer controled devices( like a control board for pellet stoves) and othere delicate electronics( HDTV's) as they produce a "noise" which can harm them and cause them to fail. Just saying.

Absolutely, electronics should be hooked thru a UPS or filtering device

I have had a 7.2KW Generac since 2001 - Propane fuel - no problems. Replaced the battery after 6 years.

I installed it myself - after break-in I put in synthetic oil - change oil and filter once a year.

I agree with tonyd - AC units and refrigerator's should not be transferred - compressors with high head pressure require massive current to start. The small Generac's are self excited, and trying to start a heavy reactive load like a motor can collapse the field - the machine will run but produce no voltage. It does no harm, but requires the removal of load to allow the field excitation to build up. Just a nuisance thing. I installed a manual transfer switch for the fridge.

Generac is a good machine - they are also sold by Sears - I had a number of them when I was in the sound reinforcement business. One big advantage was that I could go to any Sears store near where I was working, and buy filters, plugs, etc. The big white CAT generators that you see at concerts and construction sites are often equipped with Generac alternators - only the engine is Caterpillar.

I have run computers, timing equipment, printers, electronic score boards, all kinds of sound equipment, two-way radio base stations, and repeaters from all sorts of generators for over 20 years, and never had any equipment damaged by a generator. I lost several hundred dollars worth of equipment at a fairgrounds from a utility that lost the neutral wire - and that was spectacular !

Almost all electronic equipment (including my Harman stove) has a power supply that is a far better filter than any external device you can buy. Whether you apply a sine wave, stepped sine, or square wave, it is converted to pure DC to run the unit. The myths about inverters primarily are about motors running too slow or making noises. The Harman uses Triacs to control motors, and they can become erratic when they do not see a sine wave it just causes them to switch at unpredictable times, but doesn't cause drastic problems.

Most consumer UPS units do not filter anything - they are straight thru with commercial power applied. Some do offer limited surge protection, and minimal RF bypassing.

My Generac is as clean as the commercial power - I run 3 computers, a Harman Advance, fax machine, entire Amateur Radio installation, three radio repeaters, water pump, TV, microwave oven, overhead door, and lighting. No glitches, no worries. It ran yesterday for 14 hours - while my neighbors made trips here to get water.

I paid $2495 for it at Home Depot - another $400 for 120 gal. propane tank and regulators - less than the same size portable generator at the time.

Best buy I ever made.

I can't answer for Generac on the warranty - but a lawyer told me that they have to honor it, even if you do your own work. But they can give you a real hard time, and probably would.

The sub panel carries either commercial or generator power to the load - so you can not leave a breaker off - the device connected will be off all the time. That is why I added a manual transfer to mine.

At commercial sites with self excited machines and AC or dehydrater units with compressors, we used a 10 second delay relay on those units.

As you can see in my signature line, I have the "big brother" to the 8kw. I've had the 13kw unit installed in my home since 2004, and besides a magnetic switch that does the switching going bad, I haven't had much in the way of any problems. It starts every time, and will run 3-4 days on a 100Gal. propane tank, depending on the load.

Here's a forum for Generac generators that I belong to....lots of helpful people on there too.

http://zillerelectric.com/forums/index.php

I'm sure if you do some searching, and/or ask some questions of the members there, they can answer the "stator went bad because it ran out of fuel" question, and also give you a pretty good idea whether or not it's worth it to fix the unit.

IN my case my good friend is the dealer I purchased it from. He insisted I had the know how to install the unit. If I had any questions, which I did ,he would get me through it . Worked out fine.