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My 17kw generac [not capitalized -- they should not be respected] generator failed during Hurricane Sandy. The generator is fully maintained, oil and filter changed after 1st 8 hours of operation. The generator is less than a year old. The authorized generac service company made three visits. They could not fix it nor is generac people helping them. The field people get little or no support from the company. At this time the generac 17kw is still down and the authorized service people do not have a clue as to why [generac does not help]! I called generac directly and you can only reach phone reps that have no technical knowledge and you cannot talk with any technician or engineer. All they do is refer more authorized electricians -- all of which are shops without the generac expert. Authorized dealers/service companies only receive TWO days training with generac.

So, the bottom line, if anyone is considering purchasing a whole-house generator DO NOT RECOMMEND generac! I would recommend Kohler. I know of people who have Kohler's and new Kohler's do not go down!

Please pass along all this information -- do not buy generac.

Monmouth County, NJ

Monetary Loss: $7000.

Location: Middletown Township, New Jersey

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Guest

Posted my experience with Generac/Honeywell today. I would not recommend this company nor its products...

Keith

Guest

Im really sorry to hear about the problems you are having with your Generac generator. We are a local dealer located in Wall, NJ.

We have a great team of Generac Techs and staff on hand that would be willing to help in anyway.

Please let us help take care of any needs and problems that you may have.

Aggressive Power Systems

Mark Eiflander

(732) 681-****

Guest

I can fix you Generator over the phone.

Guest
reply icon Replying to comment of Guest-683155

i have a 17kw and it has started a squealing noise at times especially when you shut it down.

Guest

15 year electrician here, 32 years old , if you can buy a 22 kw standby genset for 4-5 grand it's a piece of garbage . It's amazing, I install a 600 amp industrial backup generator , around 150,000$ , it never fails , someone buys a kit from loews depots for 3500$ it craps out.

My advice, man up like the old days when there was no electricity, .

Just kidding , buy solar, no wait , invest in wind farming, harness the power of the river of bs . You get what you pay for, don't cry when you cheap out, tears cost you too much.

Guest

Alerg, replace it? with what??

surely you would not want another one of their boat anchors! repalce it with cash would be the only answer!

the old rule applies here people...you get what you pay for...if these things were remotely reputable for the cost they dump them at, real co's like kohler and onan or winco wouldnt be able to sell any product! hmmm think about it

Guest

Generac does provide tech support to it's certified dealers and if your technician couldn't figure out the problem its time to call someone else. We did our homework on companies when purchasing our generator and have been pleased with the Generac product and our service/install company.

We have a friend who sells large industrial electrical jobs and his company sells Kohler. He has a Generac 20kw at his house.

Lori T Hrq

I have to agree. I have a three year old Generac 17KW that has NEVER worked except to start up long enough to break.

It has been broken 9 times in 3 years and the company does not feel this is a lemon. If this is not a lemon, then that means this is how they expect their products to work.

That being said, DO NOT BUY A GENERAC!

alagenerac

As previously stated, my 17Kw Generac failed after three days [during Sandy Storm]. Finally, after my utility power was restored and after the fourth visit from a authorized Generac dealer, the generator was repaired. However, they could not explain why it failed [being almost new] and could not explain why it took them four visits and over 7 hours and four visits to fix it.

The main problem stills exisits: Generac owners are at the mercy of a very small dealer network -- who are very small companies [electricians] -- who are very busy during emergency/storms and get little or no support from Generac. The chances of getting service on your generac are two -- slim and none.

What failed: the brushes!

Why: they do not know!

But this I do know, the brushes were missed aligned. Although there is no adjustment for the brushes [they just bolt in w/ 2 screws], and after replacing them 2 prior times, they placed small washers on each screw [it appears a Generac tech finally told the dealer to try this] to move the brushes so they would contact the armature correctly. How is that for terrible/poor quality control! The question is: how many Generacs are out there with the same problem and how many more will fail next time they are needed. How long will my last next time?

This product and company cannot be trusted -- they should replace my generator.

Guest
reply icon Replying to comment of alagenerac

Fixed 10 generators with that alignment problem. The person that machined the bearing carrier took too much metal off where the brushes are attached. That was generacs fix instead of sending out new correctly made parts

Guest
reply icon Replying to comment of Guest-824292

Any chance you could post the details of the fix?

I'm a bit skeptical of using my local Generac dealer.

When I was describing a problem I discovered while doing the valve lash adjustment after 6 months, he asked 'why are you doing valve lash?" When I told him the manual said it should be done after 6 months for engine life, he said he'd never heard of that.

The place who installed it, a different dealer farther away (new house, builder contracted them) wants $800/year for a service contract. It included 2 full pages on what they check, more than half of it dedicated to the fluid cooling system...on my air cooled generator.

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