Looking for whole house generator

SouthernOntariosportsman

SouthernOntariosportsman

Well-Known Member
Happy Easters to all!!!!
I'm looking for a generator to run a house off of for when the power goes out, I'm not rich so a generator in the 10's of thousands is out of my reach, can anyone fill me in on certain brands and models to look and compare at? does not necessarily have to do a whole house , but just big appliances etc.
 
Costco has good deals on them. You can get them in the $6000 or under range. Not including install. The cost between one that will only do part or one that does the whole house is minimal. I recommend going with the whole house transfer switch as well and not the load shedding models of transfer. Much less labour to install the whole house transfer as well so the cost will probably balance out.
Recommend the Generac or Honeywell (made by generac). You can also google generac dealers for your area and see what kind of $ they are selling and installing for.
 
Depends on what you plan to run off the generator but after looking at how much a whole home generation system was going to cost $5,000 and up + installation I decided to look into a portable alternative. I live in the country so power outages are more common than the city. Most everything in my house is on natural gas so I was more concerned with having power to run a fridge, freezer, sump pump, furnace, 2 TVs, PC, a few lights etc. and found this 4450 peak watt generator does it all easily and more. If you plan on using 220 volt which this will power one at a time for electric stove or dryer without anything else hooked to it then I suggest getting something in the range of 8,000 - 10,000 watt or more depending on your needs. This unit runs everything I need to get me through until the power is back on and runs for 18 hours on a 23 liter tank of gas. Firman generators have great reviews and I bought it at Home Depot for just $300 when on for half price. It works like a charm starting whenever I need it. Hope that's of some help. :)

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there is a gadget called Generlink, fits behind your hydro meter and you plug your generator into it, removes the need for a transfer switch and powers your whole house, as long as your generator wattage will cover what you need. guessing here but price runs between $700 and a G.
 
Koehler and Briggs & Stratton both offer good home standby units. It would likely end up costing close to $10000 for a fully automatic standby unit. Having an manual transfer switch and receptacle outside to plug in a portable unit would be far more budget friendly. Be careful if you go portable if the power isn’t “clean” many new appliances may not even work. I would recommend you find a contractor in your area to supply and install the complete system if you go the full standby route. The reason for this is to eliminate any warranty related issues.
 
can't miss said:
there is a gadget called Generlink, fits behind your hydro meter and you plug your generator into it, removes the need for a transfer switch and powers your whole house, as long as your generator wattage will cover what you need. guessing here but price runs between $700 and a G.
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We have one as well;sold @ Vector Electric 519 773 5533 . Everyone is allowed one meter removal @ no charge. They are the Cats Ass .No extension cords, run the whole house on a 6500/5500 Champion. Best thing we ever bought!!!!
 
Turtle is right about clean power. Electronics will suffer as well. I was wondering about that Generlink and as to what happens when the power comes back on.
 
I have a Generac 11KW Natural Gas generator, it powers my whole house, we do have to shut off the AC if we are using our Conduction cook top. You are in for about 5- 6g for the generator and transfer switch plus about 1500 for install depending how close your natural gas line is and how close you can place the generator to your panel. Mine was directly on the other side of the wall.
It is very nice to have... we live on the shores of Lake Huron so there have been many times in the last 3 years where it was needed for more then a few hours at a time, couple times were much longer 8 or so hours. Was nice to be able to offer neighbors a place to charge their phones and run an extension or two to their fridges
 
Heres mine that i installed. No fuss, Just auto tranfers safely after about 15 seconds when the power goes down. As was said in one of the above posts 4500 to 6000 with a transfer switch and $1000-1500 for install is correct and its inverted clean power for all the electronics.
A good portable with the same current capacity will cost you approx the same $
In the past and it still happens people used to backfeed into their panel using a welding plug but that can be dangerous for several reasons4993B1AF-D330-455B-BA87-9F56EA1D8C0B.jpeg
I would also stay away from the Chinese knockoffs if you go with a portable.
 
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Had a look on Kijiji , cause were else can you get good reliable info?? or not
Brand new 7500 watt Generac generator, electric start, 20 ft of cable, and the Generlink meter base transfer sw, $3000. Add was in Barrie, but contractor's here should be able to match.
If you consider this, just watch what your contractor charges you, his part, phone call to set up yrly free disconnect, and less then 5 minutes to install?
 
The advantage of the home standby is I don't have to be home to start the generator.In my case I need my sump pump so I went home standby. If i'm not home my home is protected and as a bonus my wife doesn't have to drag out a generator. I went 11kw with the sub panel that powers the sump pump, furnace, fridge freezer, well pump and microwave outlet. If I want to run something else we unplug the microwave and plug whatever into the outlet. If you go whole house you will need it to be large enough to power everything that may start up when the power switches to the generator or the main breaker in the generator might open and you have no power. I bought mine on sale at lowes and used local gas and electrical contractors. The american dollar hasn't helped the price of these.
 
Generlink is a good option, as questions above, when the power comes back on, the power switched back as before. You need Hydro to shut down your line coming in to install though but it takes about 10 minutes total and hydro will do this without charge. The units are about $1k You can buy the generator to suit what you want to run and turn the other breakers off to not power unnecessary items up. You can then buy the generator to suit what you want to run, I bought a Honda, not the cheapest by far but it will throttle up and down as demand requires more or less. I believe my generator was around $3.5k but this way if I ever want I can take it where I want to as it is portable.
 
Oh they will charge you. Hydro always charges for service disconnect and reconnect. You will also need a permit. They will not likely wait. So you will be without power from morning till late afternoon.
 
rastam4n said:
Oh they will charge you. Hydro always charges for service disconnect and reconnect. You will also need a permit. They will not likely wait. So you will be without power from morning till late afternoon.
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Not for generlink 5 mins no permit as long as electrician is on ACP list
Also one free cut/reconnect per year
Genrac has to have permits and hydro inspection prior to reconnect
 
Call Somners generators in Stratford. Canadian made (in Stratford) and better quality then Generac. Price is the same or better and you are getting a way better unit. I have had mine for 10 years and it has been flawless. Best money I ever spent.
 
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