Re: [RE-wrenches] Kohler 8.5 RMY question - and Generac

[Roy Butler]

Allan, Thanks for the positive feedback on Generac.....maybe this old dog really can learn new tricks. But in the mean time, I'll live vicariously through you and others who purchase these gensets. Thanks for testing these for the rest of us! ;-) I have one Kohler 8.5 RMY in the field, still running from 1997 with 4,210 hours on it. It's the air cooled, 3600 rpm unit, so I was surprised at the longevity. It has been serviced regularly by the homeowner and had a couple of minor parts replaced. I would not consider that 8.5 RMY to be at the end of it's service life at 2,000 hours IF it has had regular service. Are there service records on site? Roy Butler NABCEP Certified Small Wind Installer® NABCEP Certified Solar PV Installer® NYSERDA eligible PV & wind installer Four Winds Renewable Energy, LLC 8902 Route 46, Arkport, NY 14807 607-324-9747 www.four-winds-energy.com Join us at the 8th Annual Small Wind Conference A Gathering of Installers, Manufacturers, Dealers, & Distributors June 12 and 13, 2012 in Stevens Point, Wisconsin www.smallwindconference.com Although no trees were killed in the sending of this message, a large number of electrons were terribly inconvenienced. On 4/5/2012 5:47 PM, Allan Sindelar wrote: Roy and all, While I appreciate the dialogue that my request has generated, not a single post has addressed my question. So I'll give it one more try: What kind of runtime hours have you seen with the Kohler 8.5 RMY? Also, in a recent Home Power "Ask the Experts" column, I spoke positively about the new Generac "EcoGen" 6 kW model as a well-designed and well-engineered unit specifically for off-grid residential applications. It's quite different from their mainstream models, designed specifically to hold up under off-grid usage. Having been involved with this list since about 2000, you can bet I have read plenty negative about Generac over the years. So both the Home Power recommendation and a previous post speaking positively about it were carefully considered before they went out (my wording in Home Power was "it has caused me to favorably reconsider Generac for your type of application"). I have had one of these units in my own off grid home for about a year, and am quite favorably impressed with it. It has to date performed without flaw, has very good built-in diagnostics and a record of usage history, and runs cool and quiet. So I am encouraging those who have had bad experiences with Generac to take another look at this particular model. We have needed this on the market for several years now, ever since the generator manufacturers began focusing on "home standby" as the next growth market. Allan Allan Sindelar al...@positiveenergysolar.com NABCEP Certified Photovoltaic Installer NABCEP Certified Technical Sales Professional New Mexico EE98J Journeyman Electrician Positive Energy, Inc. 3201 Calle Marie Santa Fe, New Mexico 87507 505 424-1112 www.positiveenergysolar.com On 4/4/2012 1:20 PM, Roy Butler wrote: Roy's quote: "Friends don't let friends buy a Generac" On 4/4/2012 2:45 PM, toddc...@finestplanet.com wrote: ditto that question.   i have only installed one genewreck... an 8 kW unit installed as grid backup. it sees very little use, but it is a total piece of shit.   i have replaced the starter motor casting mount twice... of course they never bothered to redo the poor initial design, so replacing a broken defective design with a non-broken defective designed part is just stupid, because it is designed to break. the voltage regulators have failed three times... taking out appliances in the customers home in the process each time. the battery charger module came miswired from the factory. i spent about 3 hours troubleshooting the wiring to fix it... with reimbursement promises from their horrible 'factory support' which never came.   i have heard similar horror stories from others. i will never touch or recommend a genewreck generator again... never ever!   beware!   todd       On Wednesday, April 4, 2012 7:22am, "Dana" <d...@solarwork.com> said: Hey Chris - I am curious how the Generercs are doing I have had nothing but dead, on fire, or in the shop stories from clients. I only know of one, a 30 KW water cooled that is healthy to this day..     Thanks Dana Orzel -  Great Solar Works, Inc -  E - d...@solarwork.com -  V 970.626.5253 F - 970.626.4140     C - 970.209.4076     web - www.solarwork.com "Responsible Technologies for Responsible People since 1988" P Please consider the environment before printing this email     From: re-wrenches-boun...@lists.re-wrenches.org [mailto:re-wrenches-boun...@lists.re-wrenches.org] On Behalf Of Chris Mason Sent: Wednesday, April 04, 2012 6:16 AM To: al...@positiveenergysolar.com; RE-wrenches Subject: Re: [RE-wrenches] Kohler 8.5 RMY question   I installed two Kohler 12RES about five years ago, before we switched brands to Generac. The Kohler units had a couple of electrical control problems, minor issues, easily repaired, nothing mechanical. Residential backup generators are in one of two states, working, or broken. If it has not broken down, then it is working. End of story. When the break, you get a new one.     On Tue, Apr 3, 2012 at 11:28 PM, Allan Sindelar <al...@positiveenergysolar.com> wrote: Wrenches, We sold and installed a few Kohler 8.5 and 11 RMY generators in the first half of the last decade. We found over the years that followed that they held up quite well, with very few problems if cared for. We have a customer whose off grid system we cared for for about a decade before she sold her property and moved on. The buyer, with whom I have never spoken, did little research on the property or the PV system before purchase, and is now dissatisfied with the system and has sued the seller. I have been asked to provide some history and guidance to the seller. The system includes an 8.5 RMY Kohler that, when the property was sold, had about 2,000 hours on it and was working well, I recall being told. The buyer has claimed, among other things, that it was "old and near the end of its service life." What kind of life have others seen from these units, and how have they held up in your experience? Thank you, Allan -- Allan Sindelar al...@positiveenergysolar.com NABCEP Certified Photovoltaic Installer NABCEP Certified Technical Sales Professional New Mexico EE98J Journeyman Electrician Positive Energy, Inc. 3201 Calle Marie Santa Fe, New Mexico 87507 505 424-1112 www.positiveenergysolar.com _______________________________________________ List sponsored by Home Power magazine List Address: RE-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org Options & settings: http://lists.re-wrenches.org/options.cgi/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org List-Archive: http://lists.re-wrenches.org/pipermail/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org List rules & etiquette: www.re-wrenches.org/etiquette.htm Check out participant bios: www.members.re-wrenches.org

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