My grandpa ('49) is looking at getting a whole home generator installed on their house in Lake Jackson. They were very lucky to not lose power during the freeze but as he (93) and my grandma (86) have some health issues that could be impacted by an extended outage.

My dad has put me in charge of getting some estimates. Most of the places I've seen deal only in Generac but from what I've seen Kohler units seem to be a little higher quality.

Would appreciate any recommendations. TIA

Do a generator search on this board.

I feel like someone posted after/during snowmageden about an electric shop in Houston (and maybe a branch in College Station) that they were affiliated with that was a dealer for one of the better brands - Onan or Koehler or ____?

Pretty sure it was not Generac or one of the often heard brands.

We used these guys without issue. They deal in both generac and Kohler

Quality Home Products of Texas
555 E Airtex Dr, Houston, TX 77073
(713) 677-2177 https://g.co/kgs/HfzBiV

You're probably aware, but don't be surprised if there is a wait of several months. Heard several people say generac is a 4-6 month wait. Not sure about kohler, but might be something similar.

RCR06 said:

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You're probably aware, but don't be surprised if there is a wait of several months. Heard several people say generac is a 4-6 month wait. Not sure about kohler, but might be something similar.

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Yea. I have been trying to manage my grandpas expectations but he is one to want exactly what he wants when he wants it.

I was able to locate a 12kW Kohler that will probably run 95% off their house without any issues. Also found a few 38kW units which would probably power their house along with both their neighbors.

I think me and my dad are just going to install the 12kW one and he can replace it in 9months if it doesn't work out.

Thanks. I'll give them a call.

Its not the generator supply holding the Houston installs, its the inspections for the cables and gas lines and pad. Houston is 4-6m behind on getting out to inspect and approve the installs.

I live in Beaumont. A coworker ordered a 22 kw generac in February that just came in last week. She just ordered a generator without install, couldn't tell you where she ordered it from. She has relatives that are electricians and plumbers that are going to do the install for her.

If you want a 22 KW Generac order online from Lowe's.
One week lead time.
My company has installed over 40 with insane lead times until we went to Lowe's. Funny how that works, guess big box store got more clout.

We just set a 60 KW Generac in place of our 16 year old smaller capacity Generac. I picked Generac over other brands because it was immediately available and parts and service for Generac are so much more available than for Koehler or Onan in our area. Maybe in a city like Houston, that's not a factor, but it is a real and important factor in our medium size city. Our old Generac worked very well for 16 years. We just wanted a unit that would serve our entire home.

I had also heard Koehler was the highest quality and many decades ago, as a young engineer, I was told by my field supervisor that Onan generators were "a little light in the ass end". I never knew exactly what that meant but every since then I've thought Onan generators were a little light in the ass end and I didn't want one.

pfo said:

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We just set a 60 KW Generac in place of our 16 year old smaller capacity Generac. I picked Generac over other brands because it was immediately available and parts and service for Generac are so much more available than for Koehler or Onan in our area. Maybe in a city like Houston, that's not a factor, but it is a real and important factor in our medium size city. Our old Generac worked very well for 16 years. We just wanted a unit that would serve our entire home.

I had also heard Koehler was the highest quality and many decades ago, as a young engineer, I was told by my field supervisor that Onan generators were "a little light in the ass end". I never knew exactly what that meant but every since then I've thought Onan generators were a little light in the ass end and I didn't want one.

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That is definitely my grandpas mindset. I am kicking myself for diving into the details too much and saying it technically wouldn't run every circuit in their house at wide open. Perfect has definitely become the enemy of the good in this case. He still has the ideal engineer mindset even at 93.

Get with Luke at Coastal Power Products in Danbury area.

They installed mine with transfer switch etc. Fantastic people. I can DM info if you can't find them.

"....go fix me a Turkey pot pie!!!"