You are not alone. This winter has been mighty tough on the eastern part of North America. I have not worked with Kohler generators for many years but found them to be very good products. Their off shore built portables are another story altogether. The Guardian standbys are attractively priced but the quality is a bit wanting. The cabinets could be a little heavier and the electronics a little less trouble prone. IMHO Briggs and Stratton make a better unit but come at a price. However the Empower 7kw and 10kw models are rather noisy being equipped with single cylinder engines. The 12kw and up air cooled have twins and are much quieter. Regardless of the brand you choose, go with a dealer who knows how to properly install and service the unit. This is really important. Talk to neighbors who have standbys to learn from their experience. A lot of sellers are in it for the initial sale and disappear when problems arise. It is not a plug and play. If you hire your own contractor, make sure he and the gas fitter are familiar with the product. We see a lot of problems with mismatched transfer panels and gas regulators.

OK. I have decided on a Kohler 20RESL. But i am having a heck of a time getting information from Kohler. I am going to buy online... and all Kohler will do is send me to a local dealer for info... which I am not quite sure why they would want to help me when I am not going to buy from them... Does not make sense that Kohler can't answer these questions for me directly. If anyone here can help, I'd appreciate it... 1) The 20RESL comes with a transfer switch. Docs say RRT, 200A, 3R enclosure with no load center. Is the RRT the best Kohler transfer switch? Do their other ones have any other features that I might want to get the generator alone and different transfer switch separately? 2) The 20RESL comes with DC controller... the 20RES (no ATS) comes with RDC controller? Anyone know what the heck the difference is? 3) I want the OnCue software... but the docs imply that it requires an interface board that goes in the generator (ethernet connection). Does that board come with the generator or with the oncue software or separate from both? I have no idea what to order... generatorsdirect and lowes do not list OnCue as accessories at all. 4) Kohler docs say the carburetor heater is recommended for below 32 F... again, I find no listing for it to order. Is this really worth the $$ spent to keep it warm all winter? is 32 really the threshold or will it reliably start without the heater at lower temps? 5) Can these units be run at full rated load continuously? ie. this unit is rated at 18kw on NatGas. Can it run continuously at max load for a few days if it had to without issue, or should all my load calcs be done assuming only 80-90% load? 6) I have been told that an air cooled generator will not have any issue running for days continuously unless the outside temp is > 90 degrees, in which case it might have to take breaks to cool off... is this accurate? So in winter it would be fine with an extended power outage... but middle of summer may have issues? 7) Specs show peak motor starting kVA at 40.5... so I am guessing that if generator is near full load and my well pump or geothermal unit continuous current would max out the 18 kVA during run time, it will still be able to handle the inrush from them starting... is this correct? 8) Can't seem to find out if Kohler has any kind of load shedding devices the ATS can control... ie. an inline switch I can put on my geothermal to shut it down if other more important loads start to exceed full gen load. Most other manufacturers seem to have these device... outside the transfer switch... but I see nothing from Kohler... Thanks for your help!

Recomended oil change frequency is 150hrs or annually. Its had 2 changes already as its 3 years old. I will change it this weekend if the power does not come back. The recomended oil is Full Synthetic 5W30. I called Generac and asked about using Shell Rotella Synthetic 5W40 as we already use it in most everything else and they agreed it was a very good fit in the Houston climate. So that's what it runs. I overstated the engine's oil usage. In a week of run time I have used less than 1/2 gal topping off every day so its not a pint a day, more like 8oz. Still far less than my Onan 6.5KW Emerald on the RV uses. You are also mistaken about the zinc (ZDDP) additive content of synthetic oils. The formulations are different for various blends, has nothing to do with synthetic or conventional. And FYI, Shell Rotella Synthetic has 1200PPM of ZDDP in its formulation. The Onan gen set has well over 2000 hrs on it running this oil so its not a problem for air cooled engines, quite the opposite, its a recomended application. Also, its very hard to compare oil consumption for natural gas engines to gasoline ones due to the very different types of contamination and lack of oil dilution in NG applications. I also went and read the article posted above on the other generac problem. I don't doubt the guy in the article had a blown generator stator winding, but it was not a result of insufficient air flow through or around the generator. I have the same 15kw air cooled model he has and was VERY concerned after reading the article. Went home last night and spent some time really looking over the cooling flow design. First, the generator does not share a compartment with either the muffler or the exhaust pipe. Second all the air that the intake fan on the engine end draws into the enclosure and across the cylinder heads is forced THROUGH the generator housing and out a cooling air port just behind the stator bearing carrier. There is also a discharge air fan in that compartment that helps to draw air through the generator housing, all the air from the engine fan plus additional air from the front air intake vents near the battery compartment. Then the exhaust is blown into the hot air just before it is blown out of the enclosure. Pretty slick design resulting in LOTS of air flow for both engine and generator and a engine oil cooler. Lastly, several articles speaking on the air cooled gen sets report that the generators used incorporate sleeve type bearings. This is not true. The generator only has one bearing and its a true roller bearing. The engine bearings are pressurized oil sleeve bearings like in automotive engine applications. Thanks to this conversation sparking a bit of research on just what I have sitting next to my house, I feel much better about the unit's design.

On shutdown, the carburetor should be drained of fuel. One way is to shut off the fuel line and allow the engine to run until it quits. The other option, if present, is to shut off the fuel and drain the carburetor after the engine is shut off. This latter option is the better one. The object is to empty the carburetor for storage. The second option above is the better one because very likely the engine will quit running before the carburetor is completely empty. The reason for doing this is that the fuel will evaporate leaving behind deposits that can clog small passages. If permitted by the engine maker, its a good idea to protect the fuel stored in the tank with an additive to slow oxidation and deterioration of the fuel. Use what the manufacturer recommends. For my engines, I have had good results with a product called "Stabil". Its available at automotive supply stores. Since all my small engines are compatible with Stabil, I use it in the gas can storing my gasoline supply. This procedure has greatly reduced fuel problems for my lawn mowers, trimmer, and chain saws. The owner's manual for your generator should have recommendations for shut down and storage.