[RE-wrenches] Kohler Generator Issues

Phil Undercuffler solarphil at gmail.com
Thu Apr 8 15:57:21 PDT 2010


At the risk of jump-starting a flogged horse, if you'll forgive my mangled
metaphors, I wanted to chime in on this thread with some new information.
Generac has been working to develop a generator specifically for the
off-grid market.  I don't know much about it and we don't carry generators
so I'm not trying to sell it, but I think that any company that's willing to
develop products specifically for our market and not void warranties for
normal operation should be commended.  I have a preliminary spec sheet that
I would be glad to send to any who request off-list, but the bullet points
would be:

PURPOSE BUILT FOR RENEWABLE ENERGY APPLICATIONS. Designed specifically to
interact with off-grid renewable energy applications, Generac introduces the
first generator intended for alternative energy interaction. Capable of
tying into an inverter and battery storage system, this provides the
cleanest running, low emission solution to recharging house batteries.

Sponsored in part by the Propane Education and Research Council this
development was based on the following design goals

·        Propane operation

·        6kW prime rating

·        5,000 life with 500 hour maintenance intervals

·        Minimum 17% efficiency

·        Noise rating of 65dBA or less
It's a 2600 rpm (not a typo -- that's really half-way between 3600rpm
screamers and the old-fashioned 1600rpm thumpers) air cooled, two-wire start
unit, 6kVA continuous.

I'm trying to dig out more information about any tare loads, electronics or
chargers, and release date, and will pass that along as I find out.


Phil Undercuffler
Conergy




>  -------- Original Message --------
> Subject: Re: [RE-wrenches] Kohler Generator Issues
> From: jason pozner <zzyyzzx11 at gmail.com>
> Date: Tue, March 30, 2010 5:11 pm
> To: jryago at netscape.com, RE-wrenches
> <re-wrenches at lists.re-wrenches.org>
>
> Jeff,
>
> When we purchased a 12K unit for a client, the distributor conveniently
> waited until after the purchase to mention the fact that Kohler wouldn't
> warranty off-grid usage, and to instruct our customer to not ever mention
> anything other than it was used for grid-connected standby.  To pacify the
> perfectly crafted words I had for him, he mentioned that Kohler had an off
> grid unit coming available in the next couple of months addressing all of
> the fore-mentioned concerns.  This was about 2 years ago, and I now see
> where he intended his smoke to go.  I have never heard of such a unit again.
>
> When that same client needed another generator we shopped around and found
> Cummins-Onan to be great to deal with.  Simple start up procedure, quieter
> than that Kohler 12K, 2-wire start, and their price for a 30K generator was
> 800.00 cheaper than my Kohler distributor could give to me even though it
> was our first purchase with them. Thus far I have been pleased with Onan.
>
> To answer your question, we have never been contacted by Kohler.
>
> Jay Pozner
> Nunatak Alternative Energy Solutions
>
>
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