Generac Back-Up Power

[HBarlow]

I noticed a post by member Remington yesterday in which he self-identified as a certified Generac tech.

Reminton, if you see this please reply.

I bought a home in WV three years ago with an installed 22kw Generac whole-house motor-generator. I didn't receive an owner manual or any guidance on proper use and care so I've improvised.

I have a local authorized Generac dealer change the engine oil and filter every spring which makes sense.

I was advised to set the Generac to start and run for 10 minutes weakly but I wonder if that caused a lot of unnecessary wear on the engine. It pains me to start a cold engine and immediately rev it to high rpm and load it for ten minutes then shut it off. I don't like doing that.

What do you advise?

 

[Admin]

 

[WagginTail]

@Remington

 

[WagginTail]

@HBarlow put the @ symbol before someone's name and it will notify that person that they was mentioned

 

[Scoop]

That's referred to as "exercising" your generator and it's absolutely normal. This helps ensure that an issues that may arise will occur during exercise and give you the opportunity to address them before you actually need the genset to provide power. Imagine letting it sit idle for two years before the power goes out in the middle of a cold winter night. That's not the time you want to find out it needs some repair work.

 

[Remington]

Sorry, just seen this. Thanks @WagginTail
ok, @HBarlow yes Im a Certified Gernerac tech.
To answer your question, Yes you do want it to exercise once a week. That is a 12 minute on board test for the engine and the computer in the generator. It does NOT transfer power during this time. These test are very important because if the gen has any kind of fault as in no start, RPM sence loss, under voltage etc. it will give you A fault alarm on the control for me but most importantly the LED located side of the gen will be red to call a tech to check it out So the issue is fixed before you loos power. Because what good is an AUTOMATIC Stand by Gen if it dosnt start Automatically right? Lol

As for ware and tear on the gen doing exercise? practically none what so ever. The Run Hours are so minimal (12 a year if only exercise is done) its Nowhere near the ware when your running in stand by
(gen power with a load) your gen should be using FULL SYNTHETIC
5w-30 oil 2 qts. This also protects with against ware. be Sure your service guy is using this oil AND the GENERAC OIL FILTER as well. Its a special fire retardant oil filter for the contained box. Its also larger to accommodate the full 2qts of oil.
I also recommend to have the valve lash checked in a V-twin
(is what u have) every 250-300 run hrs. And proactively change the battery (most common issue of most no start calls) every 4-5 years.

I hope i didnt overload you too much? If u have any other quations about your Gen, please dont hesitate to ask. Ill be glad to help

 

[Remington]

@HBarlow One other thing i just noticed and would suggest. The shrub in front of your gen either needs to be cut back or removed. The gen needs a minamum of 3’ on ALL SIDES cleared of building structures and plants the gen makes alot if heat and could cause a fire, its a building code as well. Its also good for us techs when were trying ti work on it as well

 

[HBarlow]

@HBarlow put the @ symbol before someone's name and it will notify that person that they was mentioned

OK, thanks.

 

[HBarlow]

@HBarlow One other thing i just noticed and would suggest. The shrub in front of your gen either needs to be cut back or removed. The gen needs a minamum of 3’ on ALL SIDES cleared of building structures and plants the gen makes alot if heat and could cause a fire, its a building code as well. Its also good for us techs when were trying ti work on it as well

Thanks for the response.

I realized that shrub was too close yesterday when I went out to get a photo of the Generac. I'll cut it growth back.

 

[Montecresto]

I noticed a post by member Remington yesterday in which he self-identified as a certified Generac tech.

Reminton, if you see this please reply.

I bought a home in WV three years ago with an installed 22kw Generac whole-house motor-generator. I didn't receive an owner manual or any guidance on proper use and care so I've improvised.

I have a local authorized Generac dealer change the engine oil and filter every spring which makes sense.

I was advised to set the Generac to start and run for 10 minutes weakly but I wonder if that caused a lot of unnecessary wear on the engine. It pains me to start a cold engine and immediately rev it to high rpm and load it for ten minutes then shut it off. I don't like doing that.

What do you advise?

View attachment 310341

I have the same set up. Mine is programmed to come on and run for 20 minutes once every two weeks. It doesn’t transfer any power at this time because it usually happens when there is no interruption, and it doesn’t run at full or even high rpm. There is a USB port on it however where you are supposed to be able to hook up a lap top I think and do some programming and (with WiFi) even control it from away from home….🤔 Wish I could learn more about that…Also Generac will send you a manual.

 

[HBarlow]

Sorry, just seen this. Thanks @WagginTail
ok, @HBarlow yes Im a Certified Gernerac tech.
To answer your question, Yes you do want it to exercise once a week. That is a 12 minute on board test for the engine and the computer in the generator. It does NOT transfer power during this time. These test are very important because if the gen has any kind of fault as in no start, RPM sence loss, under voltage etc. it will give you A fault alarm on the control for me but most importantly the LED located side of the gen will be red to call a tech to check it out So the issue is fixed before you loos power. Because what good is an AUTOMATIC Stand by Gen if it dosnt start Automatically right? Lol

As for ware and tear on the gen doing exercise? practically none what so ever. The Run Hours are so minimal (12 a year if only exercise is done) its Nowhere near the ware when your running in stand by
(gen power with a load) your gen should be using FULL SYNTHETIC
5w-30 oil 2 qts. This also protects with against ware. be Sure your service guy is using this oil AND the GENERAC OIL FILTER as well. Its a special fire retardant oil filter for the contained box. Its also larger to accommodate the full 2qts of oil.
I also recommend to have the valve lash checked in a V-twin
(is what u have) every 250-300 run hrs. And proactively change the battery (most common issue of most no start calls) every 4-5 years.

I hope i didnt overload you too much? If u have any other quations about your Gen, please dont hesitate to ask. Ill be glad to help

Thanks much, Reminton. That's all very helpful information. I didn't know any of those things.

I replaced the battery two years ago because it died. I don't know how old the generator is, when it was installed or what it's service history is other than it has had regular oil and filter changes by a Generac tech.

I'll ask about a valve lash adjustment next spring when it is serviced again.

 

[HBarlow]

That's referred to as "exercising" your generator and it's absolutely normal. This helps ensure that an issues that may arise will occur during exercise and give you the opportunity to address them before you actually need the genset to provide power. Imagine letting it sit idle for two years before the power goes out in the middle of a cold winter night. That's not the time you want to find out it needs some repair work.

That makes sense. I see now why it's necessary. Thanks.

 

[Scoop]

@HBarlow One other thing i just noticed and would suggest. The shrub in front of your gen either needs to be cut back or removed. The gen needs a minamum of 3’ on ALL SIDES cleared of building structures and plants the gen makes alot if heat and could cause a fire, its a building code as well. Its also good for us techs when were trying ti work on it as well

That particular model is like the 20K model I installed @ my last house in 2014. It was rated for 18" minimum clearance from non-combustible structures (and suggested 36" on all other sides for servicing). Also had to be 5' away from any operable structure window. But you already know this ... 😁

 

[JACKAL]

I noticed a post by member Remington yesterday in which he self-identified as a certified Generac tech.

Reminton, if you see this please reply.

I bought a home in WV three years ago with an installed 22kw Generac whole-house motor-generator. I didn't receive an owner manual or any guidance on proper use and care so I've improvised.

I have a local authorized Generac dealer change the engine oil and filter every spring which makes sense.

I was advised to set the Generac to start and run for 10 minutes weakly but I wonder if that caused a lot of unnecessary wear on the engine. It pains me to start a cold engine and immediately rev it to high rpm and load it for ten minutes then shut it off. I don't like doing that.

What do you advise?

View attachment 310341

I have the same 22KW unit for 6+ years now. Mine is set to run weekly for 15 minutes, all it does is run the engine up to Temps to avoid condensation build up as well as test automated functionality. I change my oil, air filter, spark plugs annually and has been trouble free. My power goes out frequently for hours, typically runs 50 hrs per year. Just keep fresh oil in it, if you have a long outage like 20 hrs plus I would recommend changing oil that day due to heat build up of continuous running.

When these air cooled units get tested after a hurricane etc. They will burn themselves up in a week of 24/7 without being serviced. For true 24/7 emergency a person needs the 4cyl 1.5L water cooled models.

 

[The Green Goat]

I've got an 11kW whole house that I had installed a few years ago. The install could have been better (was kind of a hack job), but the generator itself has been flawless. I love the thing. My power doesn't go out that often, or for that long, but when it does it sure brings a smile to my face stepping outside in the evening and having the only lights on in the neighborhood.

My 11kW is just BARELY enough for my 2000sf single guy/dog household. It's rated at 50a and I had to rebalance my main panel to even out the sides and it just squeaks by (like, 49.4/48.7 each if the stars line up and everything kicks on at the same time [HVAC, Water heaters, well pump, fridge/freezer compressors, sump pump, etc.]). My biggest worry is it going out while I'm at work and my basement flooding during a torrential downpour. I ordered the 11kW with the 8 circuit switch, but the HVAC company in all of their wisdom installed a whole house switch instead. I brought this to their attention after I caught it but they gave me this befuddled look when I told them the reason I ordered the 8 circuit switch is because 11kW probably wouldn't be enough to run the whole house in case of an outage and would trip the breaker on the generator, but, they couldn't seem to figure out what I was talking about. So, I personally had to rebalance the panel to make it work. In hindsight, I should have just installed the damn thing myself like I originally planned or forked out the money for a bigger genset.

 

[Scoop]

The whole house units are fairly easy to install. Service from the meter gets moved from the main panel to the ATS, then back from the ATS to the main panel (ATS becomes your service disconnect). Connect the generator to the ATS. Connect your fuel supply (make sure the meter can support it all) and you're golden. If you're not knowledgeable enough, hire it out, but be prepared to spend as much on the install as you did for the genset/ATS.

Oil changes every 20 hours? Not here. First service after the first 20-30 hours, then no sooner than every 100 hours at most. If you live in dusty or similar conditions, perhaps slightly sooner.

When an air cooled unit is running, we shut it down every 8 or so hours for a couple hours. We never let it run when we sleep. These air cooled models aren't intended to be run for long continuous periods of time.

We moved in 2020, so I'll be installing one here soon. Likely much larger, liquid cooled, as this place is 2x the size of our last house. Biggest roadblock is that we are on propane (we were on NG at the old house). My worry is that it won't take long to go through even a full 500 gallon tank (filled to 80% max) in not much more than a couple days at half load - and thanks to Joe Brandon Xi, the price of propane has nearly doubled in just the past year here in Michigan.

 

[Remington]

but the HVAC company in all of their wisdom installed a whole house switch instead

Thats why there not Generac certified! We see alot of electricians do this as well. Noting against them, but they seem to be the worst I've seen. You cant run and shouldnt run an AC on an air cooled gen. Im also first and formost an HVAC guy. But this is why the whole house gen transfer switch has a load shedding module. To she things like ac and other 220v appliances that should be shedded while the gen is under load. Its the start up amps and volts not the run amps of AC’s that kill the rotor and stator of the gen and slowly the internals of the AC. An elect WH take 9kw to run it. So think about that? Lol. Ive seen so many gens with blown rotors or stators from these things being overloaded Particularly with AC’s hooked to them. Theres a reason the load shed module is in the transfer switch. When non cirtfied techs or homeowners install these units themselfs they dont understand the sinewave of the gen and the sophistication of the processor/control. Appliances dont know when they dont have enough power so they keep on cugging and then 💥.A 20-22kw air cooled will run everything yes, but only when it is hooked up correctly to the load shed. If there not, they will run fine for a while but soon catastrophic failure will help happen, and if your under warranty when this happens, generac wants pics and the setup. If its not withen spec anyplace, they will void that warranty. Ive seen it before!

 

[Remington]

It was rated for 18" minimum clearance from non-combustible structures

There recommendations. Not with the michigan building code. Thats what we go by When we install them

 

[Scoop]

When ... homeowners install these units themselfs they dont understand the sinewave of the gen and the sophistication of the processor/control.

Most don't. Some do. Some also have best friends who are/were HVAC guys.

The kids that bought our old house were pleased as punch when, last week, their house was the only house lit up during a moderate length power outage.

 

[Remington]

Catastrophic failure of one of many air cools that I have run into From running either an air conditioner or electric ovens water heaters etc. This was an air conditioner

 

[Scoop]

There recommendations. Not with the michigan building code. Thats what we go by When we install them

Livingston County (MI) was fine with it when i showed them the Generac docs. Electrical and Mechanical inspections passed without issue.