My grandson is building a rather large house on our farm.  It is down in hilly country where they lose power often.  I’m thinking about getting him a backup generator.  Generac is all I have heard about.  Any of you have a backup generator?

We have a whole house generator.  we considered general, Cummins, and Koehler.  We went Cummins in the end but our installer does all three and is broadly happy with all three.  Ours is automatic in every way- power goes out and it comes on.  Power comes on and it turns off.  Weekly test fire and run for 20 minutes.  Ours is on natural gas and plumbed to the mains.  Fuel source will influence what you do as will how much power you need and how critical it is to have power all the time.  That all feeds into what the cost is.  Ours was around $15k 5 years ago.

 

My father in law just has a manual lockout and switch on his breaker box.  Then he has a smaller portable generator that he has to feel fuel into.  WAY cheaper 

The big question is how much power to do want to supply? Whole house with automatic transfer switch (ATS) can be pretty expensive.

 

I have a home on the beach in Maine and I had a dryer that was on a 30 amp circuit. My wife wanted a washer/dryer front load combo that only took a 15 amp circuit - actually draws less. The 30 amp dryer circuit was on the outside wall so I was able to remove the outlet and installed an electric blank over and used the rough box as a junction box so I can put the outlet on the out side wall.

 

I got a portable generator (generac) that supplies 30 amps (7,500 watts) and use that outlet. My house panel is rated for 200 amps - my house is 100% electric. I can't do the whole house at the same time but if I play breaker bingo I can take a hot shower, cook a hot meal on the range and have heat. Those 3 items are my biggest electric consumption. So all 3 have to be separate and still have my refrigerator going at the same time. 

 

The Generator takes either propane or gas. A propane tank the size you would use for you outdoor grill lasts 6-8 hours. I forget the gasoline capacity but will get that for you if you need it.

 

My total cost for:

7,500 watt generator

Power wire from the generator to the house

Generator cover

Outlet covers - 1 blank and 1 weatherproof cover

1 specialty outlet

3' of 30 amp rated wire - I think #6 x 4 conductors

1 Interlock for the panel

2 hours electrician time

 

less than $2,000

Thanks for the info.  I’m thinking it will have to be a big sucker since the house is over 4000 sq ft with a 5 car garage with a 400 amp service.  It will have to be totally automatic because my grandson is a swat sniper and his wife is a domestic violence detective.  They keep really odd hours and much of the time neither one is at home.

 

Why do you test it so often?

I had a Generac whole house unit added to my former home in Northern Illinois;  hooked up to natural gas and it kept me from flooding several times.  Now in Arkansas, I had a Generac installed and purchased a 500 gal. propane tank to fuel it.  Recommend the brand, but you should have the same person or company install it as who will provide annual checkups and repairs.  If that someone is not Generac certified, he will probably not have access to parts or warranty service.  A backup generator is like insurance : costly, but worthwhile when needed.  Buy a unit larger than actually needed, both of mine were 22,000 watt;  he will need more than 22,000 watt unit if he includes the garage.

39 minutes ago, Jig Man said:

Why do you test it so often?

They automatically test once a week. I assume it’s to make sure it’s running in tip top shape when it’s needed during a power outage.

 

My parents have had one at their last two houses and have been glad they spent the money. Generac is what they have.

Guess it depends on how much you want to spend.

I mauled over it and decided I really didn't need the whole house generator.

We live in the mountains in a 4600 sq ft home and lose power semi often.

What I did that has worked well for us is simply run a a couple of 12 ga wires from the panel box with plug-ins on the items I want to run.

Runs all the frig/freezers and the pumps to the outside wood boiler.

We also have gas stove and 2 sets of gas logs.

A 5000 watt portable for a couple hundred does the Job.

Runs 24 hours on a gallon of fuel on eco mode.

A guess the bigger question would be,

Does the entire house need to be supplied with power during an outage ❓

The longest we've gone without power was 48 hrs.

52 minutes ago, Jig Man said:

Why do you test it so often?

To add to @12poundbass post, it’s recommended by the manufacturer so there a warranty component. 
 

There’s also a battery component that turns the generator on which in turn flips the ATS over to generated power. So having the intermittent test you’ll instantly know if your battery is dead. 
 

The battery is an important component to the system

Lots of info here thanks.  Keep it coming as my decision has to be made soon.

 

Bird it is not about money.  It’s about security and convenience.

 

The longest our area has been without power is 8 days and we are up on the flatland in a metropolitan area.  Down where the farm is located it is very rural with only one close neighbor and power outages are frequent.

Sounds like a whole house standby is a no brainer for you.  We have a generac and its invaluable. 400 amps is a big house, double the size of a typical house. 

Thanks a lot guys.  I contacted a dealer who is meeting me at the site, looking at the floor plans and taking measurements so he can determine what they need.  He said that he can start on Monday.  
 

That is good because the electricity isn’t run to the house yet and he can use the pipes that the builder has installed.

I just use my camping stuff when the power goes out, we stayed on an island in the middle of summer with no power for a week and it wasn’t any trouble 

 

in 1993 we had 24” of snow and the power was about for maybe 2 weeks , just played a lot of cards and board games by candle light 

 

nowadays they don’t let the power stay out for much more than a couple days 

 

At work, we have 5 generators. The one at our main bldg is massive, a caterpillar that came off a boat. 
 

They all start themselves automatically, usually around midnight so nobody is around (they are really loud). They run on diesel and they recommend off-road fuel with no dye 

TN river-  I'm normally with you on this one.  I pushed back on getting it at first but my wife was insistent for the peace of mind.  In our case, we have well water.  No power = no water.  The first summer there was a bad noreaster and we lost power for 5 days.  Fortunately, the pool was open and we could use buckets of pool water to flush the toilets.  If it was winter we would have been in a bad way- no electricity mean no water and also no furnace (central air).  We have a fireplace that could heat one room and that's about it.  

@casts_by_fly, I rented a log cabin that was that way. The power didn’t go out often but the old lady that lived near the well pump never paid her electric bill so they would cut the power all the time and my water would dry up 😂 

 

The weird thing about that island we camped on, Lake Superior has beautiful clear water. But apparently you can’t just filter the water and drink it. Some sort of bacteria lives in there and you have to use drops or tablets to treat it. Here locally, we can just filter creek water and drink it when camping 

Our house is on ~3 acres in a "village" outside of metro Omaha. We have been here 8 years now, and only lost power four times. But the last outage was in the winter. Thankfully my neighbor is SUPER handy, and works HVAC. He helped me wire in my furnace to a 4500 watt portable generator we use with our 5th wheel camper. Kept the house warm for a few days. @casts_by_fly, we are on well water, it was a little challenging. 

 

Buddy works in electrical supply, and believes he can get me a Generac whole home for around $7k. I' am all for it...but the wife is hesitant. 

 

 

On 12/6/2025 at 10:19 AM, Jig Man said:

Lots of info here thanks.  Keep it coming as my decision has to be made soon.

 

Bird it is not about money.  It’s about security and convenience.

 

The longest our area has been without power is 8 days and we are up on the flatland in a metropolitan area.  Down where the farm is located it is very rural with only one close neighbor and power outages are frequent.

Whoever you select as a supplier or installer should be able to determine the size unit needed.  Run additional supply lines to the fireplace, kitchen stove,  and barbeque grill;  it is best to complete installation during construction, not after.

@DaubsNU1- That's about right for the generator itself.  You'll also need the transfer switch, wiring, and fuel lines/install (presumably you have natural gas).  I bet you'll be close to $10k in the end if he's giving you the friendly discount.  

6 minutes ago, casts_by_fly said:

@DaubsNU1- That's about right for the generator itself.  You'll also need the transfer switch, wiring, and fuel lines/install (presumably you have natural gas).  I bet you'll be close to $10k in the end if he's giving you the friendly discount.  

 

We are on propane. I would be very happy at $10k for a whole home Generac.

 

Thanks for the suggestions.  I doubt that there is any natural gas anywhere in the county.  This place is in the hills north of Table Rock lake.  There are no fireplaces and he is adamant about grilling with charcoal.

sounds like the perfect place to have a generator on hand.

 

also sounds like a pretty perfect place to live.

For my grandson it is perfect.  He was living in the farm house and loving it until he go offered his dream job (swat sniper).  It is 43 minutes from swat headquarters and they can’t be more than 30.  So he had to move and my daughter moved into the farm house.  He just recently got a transfer which will enable him to move back but he has to have a house.  We gave him 10 acres and said go for it.