Generac GP 7000e feedback or general Generac Feedback

[BrianO]

I found this forum while searching for info on Generac generators so any advice you could give on my model or Generac in general would be greatly appreciated.

I am looking for a 7000w portable generator to power the heat, fridge, sump pump and some lights, etc. in my house during emergencies. I have been researching the generators available at Home Depot and Lowe's and more importantly where I can get service for various brands they sell if I ever have a problem. No matter the brand, all refer me to a local equipment dealer located not far from my house. I call him and he not only services all generators but only sells Honda and Generac and recommended the Generac GP 7000 with electric start (model # 5626) for my application. It costs a bit more than some of the models I'm looking at (Honeywell, Multi-Power) and at least as much as others ( Rigid, Powermate). The local guy says he's seen them all and only sells what he stands behind which I believe and I'd prefer to buy from him and even pay a bit more so he stays in business and is there when I need him.

My big concern is that there are many posts on the internet about how hard Generacs can be to start, especially if the electric start feature fails and whenever its cold (which is in New England). I asked the local store about this and he says its all about how well you maintain them and how often you start and run them. I've got no problem maintaining or starting it periodically but I do not want to be stuck in another ice or snow storm in the cold or without a running sump pump.

So my question to any of you with Generac experience is, are they very problematic to start, especially in the cold or are they reliable when maintained?

Thanks,

-Brian

[BrianO]

Forgot to mention, the Generac I'm looking at has a B&S engine and I'm not considering the Honda as it is significantly more $$ then I want to pay.

[Billy J Shafer]

If he says he will back the Genajunk unit. Have him sign it in blood,have a Notory Public seal it and the file it with the county clerk.

I have worked on Genajunk units for over thirty years. They are well known for being a money pit. Factory support is very poor,the price of parts is out of site and they are very unreliable. Plus it is very hard to get anyone to work on them.

He is correct about maintaining them. Any unit will have problems starting if you do not take proper care of them. On natural gas you should not have any problem starting in the cold. Some engines do have hot air intake systems on the for cold weather. If it were me I would go with another brand. There is a Genajunk unit not for from my house. Been down for three months now. Owner is still not sure when the repair man is going to show up.

[Isaac-1]

As much as we all bash Generac around here (and for good reason), I suspect in the small portable consumer generator market there are many worse products. At least Generac is a generator company unlike some of the units you see on store shelves, where the brand name is far better known for making hand tools, or kitchen appliances than generators, and you just know it was built by some factory in China you have never heard of. Having said that I think Honda makes some of the best small portable generators on the market today, just make sure you are buying a unit built by Honda, now just "powered by" where is will have a Honda engine and someone elses generator end. Seeing a Honda/Generac dealer is sort of like seeing a Toyota/Yugo dealership, for the people that want cheap there is the Generac, for people that want quality and don't mind paying for it there is the Honda.

Ike

[Wayne 440]

Originally Posted by BrianO

...the Generac I'm looking at has a B&S engine and I'm not considering the Honda as it is significantly more $$ then I want to pay.

"You get what you pay for". We had a huge ice storm here 18 months ago, and I saw that well worn, but very true saying play out many times.
Most of the Generac sets I saw began leaking oil from a crankshaft seal, governor arm seal or both after a few hours.

If you want a generator, the Generac with B&S is fine. If you need a generator and are determined to get a Generac, at least get the Honda engine.

If he says he will back the Genajunk unit. Have him sign it in blood,have a Notary Public seal it and the file it with the county clerk.

+1 for what Billy said above.

[BrianO]

Thanks for all the feedback. Are the Briggs and Statton generators and Generac generators one and the same? I read somewhere on this forum that B&S took over the small generator division of Generac. So are B&S generators better / worse / same as Generac?

Anyone have experience with small Honeywell generators? The chain stores are selling Honeywells with Honda engines and the local Costco type stores have that and a PowerMax with Honda engine.

I don't know if I'm better off with a B&S, Generac or one of the chain stores foreign made jobs with Honda engiines???

[Wayne 440]

With those three to choose from, I do not think you will note much difference in quality between any of them. FYI, the "Honeywell" branded set has only one connection to Honeywell International of aerospace fame, the connection is that $$ were (or perhaps more correctly should have been) collected by Honeywell for the use of the name.

[armandh]

I have one of the afformentioned brand of questionable quality.
I only connect 2/3s of the "rated" continious load.
It is a "portable" and has a "simple" relay [not processor] engine control.
I have changed the filter and oil on a regular early interval.
I have the 12 volt system on a deltran battery minder.
the last 12 hour outage it ran the house and smallest AC unit just fine.

[smallen]

the 5626 uses the generac gh410 engine, check with your dealer again before you buy thinking its a briggs engine, or download specs from generac

this generator and engine is manufactured by generac power systems and is not part of briggs & stratton power broducts

any parts,warranty service is by generac

[K D Redd]

Generac and Briggs are some what connected. I think the breaking point on the engine used it 12KW. Anything under 12 KW is a Briggs engine. Anything over 12 KW is a Generac engine.

Kent

[smallen]

there is no break point for briggs and generac, engines are two different engines,not made by the same company or support by the same
generac did use some briggs v-twins on the 8-10kw that where labeled generac and still had the briggs tag with model.type and code on them
they also used some in the older rv units that was labeled as a GN-570
the GN series engine is used on the newer generators that are produced by generac power systems, they also now use an engine that is an imports that is a clone of the honda engine, parts service and warranty is provided by generac on these

after briggs purchased the portable division, they used some of the generac GN engine on a few portable generators and pressure washers, but not anymore

after a non compete clause expired generac was able to go back into the small portables again, these are the one you see now in home depot and lowes

[hiboyford]

I am a factory trained B & S, Honda, Gelette, and Also a Generac Tech. i have been working on generators most ofr my life. I am sorry for the guys that have had bad luck with Generac. I can and will help all that need it be it on a small portable or a large industrial stand-by unit. In my area we are a large generac dealer and you don't wait weeks for us to come and check your unit usually only 24-48 hours at the most and we are always on call. I would recommend the generac unit to any one and I will stand behind it all the way. But I also believe that the Briggs units are very good be it a portable of home stand-by. Keep in mind the kind of service people and weather you have in your area. These Guys on here are mostly Onan Guys and they are very helpful besides doggin on generac.

[armandh]

I think that the old boys here think anything running 3600 rpm is not going to last even with a full oil / filter system.

having both 1800 and 3600 only the 3600 coleman 5kw with a 10 Hp lawn mower power /dip splash lube "oil system" has failed [since repaired]

so far they are right on

nor do they trust sales inspired ratings for mission critical duty, but I am glad you service what you sell
and you probably do it well

the problem is what the equipment is asked to do in relation to its real ability
not the pr departments belief

[K D Redd]

hiboyford,

A little story about the local Generac Dealer. A friend of a friend ask me to look at a 20 KW/GM Four cylinder LP fueled Generac generator for him. They had bought it use from Florida. Hate to think what they paid in shipping here to the mid-west. This unit had every conceivable safety system on it. Even a alarm for low coolant level. I think but do not know that the new owner, in an Alcohol fuel moment, decided to work on the electronics/control system even though they knew nothing about electricity or electronics. They had the local Generac dealer look at it after their repair attempt. His comment was, All of the boards you need are no longer available, LET ME SELL YOU A NEW GENERATOR.
When I went to look at it, it was only putting out half voltage. I told them I needed it at my shop. After digging deeper into this unit, I found the had bootstrapped the 12 volt engine battery into the AC end's field Regulator was not connected. They had a new voltage regulator. They also had a service manual with this unit. After a couple of weeks of on and off working on the generator, I had the regulator correctly connected. It was making 120/240 volts 60HZ and I had a simple low oil pressure shutdown safety of my own design to protect the engine somewhat. The last time I saw this unit it was happily generating away powering the lights/PA system at his go-kart, garden tractor pulling, lawn mower racing track. Running the generator was cheaper than the $50.00 buck a month the REA wanted for utility mains at this track that was only used once a week in the summer time.
The local dealer was more interested in selling new unit than fixing old ones. He most likely thought he could make more money selling a new unit than fixing an old one.

Kent

[armandh]

yes but

the dealer probably knows that his staff has not the talent to fix it at all

there is a big gap between fixing something as a chalenge or as a job
most won't or can't spend the time to possibly have no billable results.

first one has to understand how things work then make them work
if you know how the job is easy [and the owner is ticked about the charges]

I'm ptetty good at fixing seeburg juke boxes from model V-200 through LS-2
but I wont work on them. I'm retired. I like being retired. and I dislike those too cheap to buy the manuals and learn for them selves.

getting things that are old AND misrepaired to work correctly is fun
doing it for a living is not