[RE-wrenches] Request for Gennie Recommendation

[Ray Walters]

I have only limited experience with the GIllette, but I was impressed 
with the specs on that 15 Kw unit, it was a water cooled 4 cyl running 
at 1800 rpm, just what your customer needs, but probably way more than 
they want to spend.
Can you add more PV to reduce the generator run time?

Ray

On 1/14/2012 7:06 PM, Allan Sindelar wrote:
> Thank you for the good responses. Here's what I have learned so far:
>
> Re Onan: as I had mentioned in my original post, "The 6 year old 
> system has worn out two Onan residential standby generators."  This 
> was before our initial visit. Both generators were air-cooled 3600 rpm 
> units, as I understand. Neither was designed for the hours it was run. 
> However, the customer is not very pleased with Onan because of this 
> experience, even though I'm not sure how much of the experience was 
> Onan's fault, beyond the initial recommendation. Certainly, selling 
> the customer a home standby unit with heater and battery 
> charger/controller AC loads was not wise. But apparently the 
> distributor is buying the most recent failed unit back from the 
> customer. I would like to recommend an Onan RS20000, as these are 
> excellent units, but the customer may resist this after bad 
> experiences with the RS12000, even though it's a completely different 
> unit.
>
> Re Kohler: Kohler's 15kW unit is that it too is for home standby 
> application. The local Kohler service rep had no model to recommend.
>
> Re Olympian (made by Caterpillar): the smallest model sold in this 
> country is a 25kW, well larger than we need.
>
> Re Generac: while I am quite impressed with the 6kW EcoGen unit, 
> that's a special model, developed for the purpose, and too small for 
> this application. I'm hesitant to use one of their standard units.
>
> That leaves Gillette, who makes a 15kW LP with a GM engine. I'm 
> waiting for a quote.
> Allan
>
> *Allan Sindelar*
> _Allan at positiveenergysolar.com_ <mailto:Allan at 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_ <http://www.positiveenergysolar.com/>
>
> *
> *
>
>
>
> On 1/10/2012 10:15 AM, Randy Brooks wrote:
>> Allan,
>>
>> Check out Cummins/Onan units too.
>>
>> Randy Brooks
>>
>> Brooks Solar, Inc.
>>
>> */Solar Power for People/*
>>
>> 140 Columbia View
>>
>> Chelan, WA98816
>>
>> 509-682-9646
>>
>> Randy at BrooksSolar.com <mailto:Randy at BrooksSolar.com>
>>
>> www.BrooksSolar.com <http://www.BrooksSolar.com>
>>
>>
>> On Jan 9, 2012, at 7:59 PM, Allan Sindelar wrote:
>>
>>> Wrenches:
>>> We have cautiously agreed to take on a substantial upgrade and 
>>> rehabilitation of a poorly designed 48V off-grid system. Our upgrade 
>>> will include a substantial array addition, battery replacement, and 
>>> charge controller/safety disconnect replacement. But the immediate 
>>> need is for a generator. The 6 year old system has worn out two Onan 
>>> residential standby generators; the second one just now (at winter 
>>> solstice) has failed completely.
>>>
>>> We expect to keep the two SW5548 inverters. The site is at 7,800' 
>>> elevation. The fuel must be LP. The customer is willing to pay for a 
>>> high-quality unit. We expect only to specify or recommend the unit, 
>>> but not resell it, so there's no profit motivation involved; we just 
>>> want the best solution..
>>>
>>> I am looking for recommendations of a low-speed, liquid-cooled, 
>>> commercial- or industrial-grade LP generator, of at least 12kW and 
>>> preferably around 15kW, with a good reputation for long-term 
>>> reliability, and that is not designed for home standby use (with 
>>> phantom-load heaters and controls). It will be located outdoors, so 
>>> must have a weather enclosure.
>>>
>>> I occasionally am asked to answer this same question by Home Power 
>>> readers, who assume I know the answer because I wrote a primer on 
>>> generators for HP awhile back. Truth is, I don't have any good 
>>> recommendations in this size range, and I'm really hoping that some 
>>> of you experienced off-grid Wrenches who have done larger systems 
>>> can help here.
>>>
>>> Thank you,
>>> Allan
>>> -- 
>>> *Allan Sindelar*
>>> _Allan at positiveenergysolar.com_ <mailto:Allan at 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_ <http://www.positiveenergysolar.com/>
>>>
>>> *
>>> *
>>>
>>>
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