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:<br>
<br>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.<br>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><font color="black" face="Times New Roman" size="3"><span style="font-size: 12pt; color: black;">Sponsored in part
by the Propane Education and Research Council this development was based on the
following design goals</span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1in; text-indent: -0.25in; text-align: justify;"><font color="black" face="Symbol" size="3"><span style="font-size: 12pt; color: black; font-family: Symbol;"><span style="">·<font face="Times New Roman" size="1"><span style="font: 7pt 'Times New Roman';">
</span></font></span></span></font><font color="black" size="3"><span style="font-size: 12pt; color: black;">Propane operation
</span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1in; text-indent: -0.25in; text-align: justify;"><font color="black" face="Symbol" size="3"><span style="font-size: 12pt; color: black; font-family: Symbol;"><span style="">·<font face="Times New Roman" size="1"><span style="font: 7pt 'Times New Roman';">
</span></font></span></span></font><font color="black" size="3"><span style="font-size: 12pt; color: black;">6kW prime rating
</span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1in; text-indent: -0.25in; text-align: justify;"><font color="black" face="Symbol" size="3"><span style="font-size: 12pt; color: black; font-family: Symbol;"><span style="">·<font face="Times New Roman" size="1"><span style="font: 7pt 'Times New Roman';">
</span></font></span></span></font><font color="black" size="3"><span style="font-size: 12pt; color: black;">5,000 life with 500 hour maintenance
intervals</span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1in; text-indent: -0.25in; text-align: justify;"><font color="black" face="Symbol" size="3"><span style="font-size: 12pt; color: black; font-family: Symbol;"><span style="">·<font face="Times New Roman" size="1"><span style="font: 7pt 'Times New Roman';">
</span></font></span></span></font><font color="black" size="3"><span style="font-size: 12pt; color: black;">Minimum 17% efficiency
</span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1in; text-indent: -0.25in; text-align: justify;"><font color="black" face="Symbol" size="3"><span style="font-size: 12pt; color: black; font-family: Symbol;"><span style="">·<font face="Times New Roman" size="1"><span style="font: 7pt 'Times New Roman';">
</span></font></span></span></font><font color="black" size="3"><span style="font-size: 12pt; color: black;">Noise rating of 65dBA or
less</span></font></p>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. <br><br>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.<br>
<br><br clear="all">Phil Undercuffler<br>Conergy<br><br><br><br><div class="gmail_quote"><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding-left: 1ex;"><div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 10pt;"><br>
<blockquote style="border-left: 2px solid blue; margin-left: 8px; padding-left: 8px; font-size: 10pt; color: black; font-family: verdana;">
<div>
-------- Original Message --------<br>
Subject: Re: [RE-wrenches] Kohler Generator Issues<br>
From: jason pozner <<a href="mailto:zzyyzzx11@gmail.com" target="_blank">zzyyzzx11@gmail.com</a>><br>
Date: Tue, March 30, 2010 5:11 pm<br>
To: <a href="mailto:jryago@netscape.com" target="_blank">jryago@netscape.com</a>, RE-wrenches<br>
<<a href="mailto:re-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org" target="_blank">re-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org</a>><br>
<br>
Jeff,<br><br>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.<br>
<br>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. <br>
<br>To answer your question, we have never been contacted by Kohler.<br><br>Jay Pozner<br>Nunatak Alternative Energy Solutions<br><br><br> <hr>_______________________________________________<br>
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