Onan RV QG LP for home back up generator.

theoldwizard1 wrote:

enblethen wrote:
Someone needs to calculate your house's load which you plan on connecting to genset. You need to specify exactly what Onan genset you have, model!
You can get a genset transfer switch from many big box stores.
Transfer switch kits

CarolynandBob wrote:
I have an electrician that is going to handle all of that.

I don't like those Reliance/Generac kits. You have to decide up front exactly which circuits you want to use in the case of a power outage.
Automatic transfer switches, by code, require a generator capable of handling the entire house load, including A/C ! (Unless the transfer switch has "load shedding". More complicated, more money)

I highly recommend a generator interlock. Not too expensive and easy to install. All of the circuits in your house remain active and you decide what items to turn or off before the generator breaker trips !

I DO like the Generac kits with ATS, and that’s exactly how mine is installed, and met code at time of install about 10 years ago. I don’t need every circuit in the house energized during an outage. I need the critical circuits energized, and for my purposes that doesn’t include any 220 volt circuits. If it’s not connected to the ATS, the generator doesn’t need to support its load. Are you sure about that being current code?

I don’t have electric heat, clothes dryer or water heaters. The stove is gas, I can live without the electric ovens, and for that matter I can live without the air conditioning as well. Most long outages around here are during heating season, rather than AC.

I need to have enough circuits/lights to get ready for work, be able to keep my refrigerators running, power enough 110 volt appliances to prepare food, do laundry, run my furnaces and wood stove, and power my garage door lifts. I also have the circuits that power the home network and a few TV’s on the ATS.

Since the time I installed it, I always swore that if we ever had a long outage during the summer, I’ll just go buy an inexpensive 110 volt window AC and at least have a cool place to sleep. I finally had to do that about a year ago. We actually came home from vacation once during a power outage, and didn’t know it until we got in the house because the power garage doors opened normally!

My unit is 10KW and it’s never shut down because of overload. I would have needed a 20 KW to support the entire house including air conditioning. It runs on natural gas, starts and stops itself when utility power drops and is restored, and tests itself once a week. It’s run as long as 10 days straight, it has never once failed to start for an outage, and the only problem it’s ever had is a failed over-temp sensor on the engine that shut it down for a false over-temp. A bigger generator would have also required making some changes to the natural gas delivery to the house so it could supply more btu/hr.

My neighbor has a larger and newer Cummins/Onan unit, and he’s had numerous issues with it. I bet I’ve seen it being serviced about a dozen times over the last 2-3 years after not starting when it should, or failing while running.

What can I say, it’s auto-magic and it works!

:):)