Buyer Beware - Generac Generator and Propane Tank Installation - All-In-One Propane - Leesburg and Electrix electrical Installation. Disappointment does not begin to define my experience with Generac and Electrix! After waiting 13 months to have the propane tank and 22k generator installed and paying $15k, the system has not worked for the last three power outages.
Three repairs later and they tell me it "should" work during the next power outage. Well, today, I added the Generac app so I could monitor whether the system was working or not. They have the gall to charge $50 a year for the app to tell me whether their system is working or not!!!!!! This charge was not disclosed anywhere in discussions leading up to the purchase or installation!
Yesterday, I wrote about the new Carrier A/C system. Well, Carrier's app does everything that the Generac app does and does not charge extra. I have asked Generac to reconsider charging for this app self-monitoring. Will advise if they respond. At this time, I do not recommend any of the companies above. Carrier (Summa and Tonys) and Generac (All-In-One & Electrix) - Two very different experiences!
This is a bit long and is based on my ongoing notes, but I hope my nightmare will prevent someone else from making the same mistake that I did. I purchased a Generac EcoGen 15kw, marketed for off grid use, in 2017 and have had nothing but problems since. I now have a $4800 piece of yard art. Here are my notes...
8/2017- In service, oil leak straight out of box. Argued with Generac to get tech at no cost. Leak from screw not being tightened all the way.
1/2018- Generator down with error code.
2/2018- Generac authorized tech said motor bad. Ordered motor. We said something else is bad, motor is fine.
4/2018- Installed new motor. Now the stator and rotor are bad.
Ordered new stator and rotor. Slow shipping.
6/2018- Generac authorized tech installed new stator and rotor. We negotiated bill with servicing dealer and paid $600 out of pocket for repairs.
2/2019- Generator down. Code 1053- AVR bad. Tech out, according to Generac support, small fan bad, ordered new AVR. Supposed to overnight, sent by slow barge. Overnighted another AVR.
3/2019- Installed new AVR. Then error code 1059- Tech installed new wiring harness. Now Generac says rotor is bad and and they’re sending a new one overnight.
3/2019- Generac shipped rotor overnight only to Seattle port then by slow barge. Now shipping new part overnight to AK.
4/2019- Tech replaced part and said it’s running.
5/2019- Authorized servicer billed for $4403.00 of which Generac paid $950. Disputed balance due with authorized servicer to send in to Generac again. Authorized servicer reduced bill to approx $3900. Authorized servicer to send itemized statement showing exactly what was billed and what Generac paid.
5/6/2019- Ran generator for first time. Error code of charger warning but generator runs. Minimal use at this time due to daylight on solar array.
5/16/2019- Began email contact with Elizabeth Messer for resolution. Provided photos of install and maintenance records.
5/29/2019- Generator down with error code 1053- AVR bad. Emailed Elizabeth Messer and left voice mail.
5/30/2019- Emailed Elizabeth Messer. Left voice mail. Spoke to another agent, said Elizabeth will call me.
5/31/2019- Called and spoke to Elizabeth Messer. According to Generac, generator is largest power source so is considered primary power source. Only to back up solar and inverter. Will not provide any concession. Refuses to acknowledge that solar is largest power source. Cannot tell me what amount of solar is required nor did they ask what I was powering. My warranty states:
“This specific model of generator is intended to support alternative energy source systems that include an inverter, a battery bank, and an alternative energy source.” There is no mention of minimum solar requirements. According to their warranty, my system meets all of the requirements.
6/3/2019- Recieved another bill from authorized servicer, reduced to $2503.00.
6/3/2019- Called Generac and spoke to Elizabeth Messer. Generac is standing behind the number of hours, says solar system is inadequate, primary source of power. Refuses to do anything although my unit has less than 2000 hours and is less than two years old. Can provide no information on what the minimum is for solar. Says she’s the highest form of resolution other than her supervisor, Amanda, supervisor to call back.
6/3/2019- Amanda called and said the fuel flex line is bent. (It has a natural “s” curve due to gas company installation requirements). She said it must be straight according to Generac install guidelines. She said to change the fuel line install and have an authorized service dealer test that fuel supply is correct. (Because of this issue, there is actually no longer a Generac authorized service rep in my area so there is no way to verify this). Called Amanda back and requested copy of installation installation book page showing that the the fuel line cannot be bent. She said she will email it. There is no statement about the line being straight or otherwise in my installation manual.
We purchased this generator and had it installed in August of 2015. It has worked well up until recently. We used one of Generac's installers to perform the installation and use one of Generac's service providers for all scheduled maintenance. This product has been installed and maintained to Generac's specifications since it came off the back of the truck.
Recently we were told by the company that performs the annual maintenance that due to either a defect in the transfer switch or the installation, moisture was able to enter the switch and ruin it. After over a month of going back and forth with different people at Generac we are being told that even though they train their installers on how to install their product, and that our generator has been maintained to their requirements since it was new, and is still under factory warranty, that we are on our own and that they will not be honoring the warranty on their product. We spent nearly $10,000 on this between the cost of the generator, installation and permits and are left with nothing.
We activated our generator on December 27. When we started the generator, the transfer coil did not engage. The coil fried. While things happen - to date we cannot get a Generac certified electrician to even look at the machine or transfer switch. We are told Generac has only 3 companies in ND that are certified to provide warranty work. 2 of the companies, both over 100 miles away, primary work is oil field buisness. Far more money to be made in oil than residential warranty work. We have not been told who the third Generac certified electrician is. In the last 6 weeks we have been without power, have over 50 inches of snow, temperatures have been -30 degrees without wind chill. A $7,000.00 investment is worthless if the certified electricians are not interested in providing service they are hired for. In a telephone conversation Generac has said it is a manufacturing defect. Will be covered by warranty. We are still waiting for Generac to find a certified electricuan to provide their warranty work for us.
I purchased a Generac GP7500e thinking it would be a good quality generator, but after 34 hours of use, the crank seal blew. I was using the generator in cold temperatures and discovered that there was ice in the breather hose end that goes into the air filter box. This ice blockage created back pressure in the engine and blew out the crank seal.
Generac's dirty little secret on their blown crank seal problems are caused by a manufacturing / design defect.
The breather hose from the valve cover goes into the air filter box. The negative pressure and cold air passing past the breather hose causes an ice buildup in the end of the hose. The generator was running for 5 hours and then blew the seal. The low level oil shutoff worked, so the unit did power down.
If you have one these units, you may want to pull the hose out of the air filter box in cold weather and push it towards the enging to keep it warm. It is too cold in the air box to keep the condensation from the valve cove fromr freezing at the end of the hose.
I called Generac, but they wouldn't do anything because my warranty had expired just over 2 years, even though there was only 34 hours on it...
We only used it a couple of times before the crank seal blew.
It only had 19 hours on it before I recently used it in a 2 day power outage, so the final total was 34 hours before it blew.
I asked to speak to a manager and the representative said I would get a callback, but I knew they wouldn't call and they didn't.
When the seal blew ,oil was thrown everywhere by the flywheel which was also a fire hazzard. The whole unit and the outside garage wall was also covered in oil.
The generator is made in CHINA, so it looks like Generac has cheaped out on their products and customer service.
I will never buy another Generac and neither will any one that I know.
Anyone reading this should think twice as well. Buyer beware!!!
We need to make these greedy corporations pay for the poor quality generators they are flogging to unsuspecting consumers.
Their short term gains will be long term pain in the end.
GENERACPowerProducts.com. I spend 30 minutes trying to reach a LIVE person or Live Chat or any customer service (C.S.) person w/o success. The 800-852-9601 contact # on the website tells you for INVERTER genertaors call some other number. I cannot reach ANYONE for the normal emergency generator that most people buy. The LIVE CHAT person is DEAD since it does not work with any of three browsers I tried. It says leave a note and there is no indication that the note goes anywhere since the screen stays the same.
The sales folks (like Hogan's Heroes) KNOW NOTHING. The send me somewhere saying it was a special # only they had and I sat quietly for 10 minutes with no audio response (no noise, no recording, etc.) before hanging up. THis place used to be in Wisconsin and now it is in VT. So given the phone #'s don't work, the Live Chat is a dead chat and a note says send us something and we'll get back to you in 2 days.
SOME CUSTOMER SERVICE. I have a gas leak in one of my generac generators and can't get any help let alone confidence from these folks.
Worst CASE this could now be a SCAM or best case it could be the WORST CUSTOMER SERVICE out there. I am considering buying a couple of more genertors but Generac has gone to the bottom of my LIST to consider. I don't know whats wrong with this companies phones, internet and live chat but I now have ZERO CONFIDENCE in Generac Power Products. They used to have such a good reputation.
Generac Power Systems, Inc. Reviews
Buyer Beware - Generac Generator and Propane Tank Installation - All-In-One Propane - Leesburg and Electrix electrical Installation. Disappointment does not begin to define my experience with Generac and Electrix! After waiting 13 months to have the propane tank and 22k generator installed and paying $15k, the system has not worked for the last three power outages.
Three repairs later and they tell me it "should" work during the next power outage. Well, today, I added the Generac app so I could monitor whether the system was working or not. They have the gall to charge $50 a year for the app to tell me whether their system is working or not!!!!!! This charge was not disclosed anywhere in discussions leading up to the purchase or installation!
Yesterday, I wrote about the new Carrier A/C system. Well, Carrier's app does everything that the Generac app does and does not charge extra. I have asked Generac to reconsider charging for this app self-monitoring. Will advise if they respond. At this time, I do not recommend any of the companies above. Carrier (Summa and Tonys) and Generac (All-In-One & Electrix) - Two very different experiences!
This is a bit long and is based on my ongoing notes, but I hope my nightmare will prevent someone else from making the same mistake that I did. I purchased a Generac EcoGen 15kw, marketed for off grid use, in 2017 and have had nothing but problems since. I now have a $4800 piece of yard art. Here are my notes...
8/2017- In service, oil leak straight out of box. Argued with Generac to get tech at no cost. Leak from screw not being tightened all the way.
1/2018- Generator down with error code.
2/2018- Generac authorized tech said motor bad. Ordered motor. We said something else is bad, motor is fine.
4/2018- Installed new motor. Now the stator and rotor are bad.
Ordered new stator and rotor. Slow shipping.
6/2018- Generac authorized tech installed new stator and rotor. We negotiated bill with servicing dealer and paid $600 out of pocket for repairs.
2/2019- Generator down. Code 1053- AVR bad. Tech out, according to Generac support, small fan bad, ordered new AVR. Supposed to overnight, sent by slow barge. Overnighted another AVR.
3/2019- Installed new AVR. Then error code 1059- Tech installed new wiring harness. Now Generac says rotor is bad and and they’re sending a new one overnight.
3/2019- Generac shipped rotor overnight only to Seattle port then by slow barge. Now shipping new part overnight to AK.
4/2019- Tech replaced part and said it’s running.
5/2019- Authorized servicer billed for $4403.00 of which Generac paid $950. Disputed balance due with authorized servicer to send in to Generac again. Authorized servicer reduced bill to approx $3900. Authorized servicer to send itemized statement showing exactly what was billed and what Generac paid.
5/6/2019- Ran generator for first time. Error code of charger warning but generator runs. Minimal use at this time due to daylight on solar array.
5/16/2019- Began email contact with Elizabeth Messer for resolution. Provided photos of install and maintenance records.
5/29/2019- Generator down with error code 1053- AVR bad. Emailed Elizabeth Messer and left voice mail.
5/30/2019- Emailed Elizabeth Messer. Left voice mail. Spoke to another agent, said Elizabeth will call me.
5/31/2019- Called and spoke to Elizabeth Messer. According to Generac, generator is largest power source so is considered primary power source. Only to back up solar and inverter. Will not provide any concession. Refuses to acknowledge that solar is largest power source. Cannot tell me what amount of solar is required nor did they ask what I was powering. My warranty states:
“This specific model of generator is intended to support alternative energy source systems that include an inverter, a battery bank, and an alternative energy source.” There is no mention of minimum solar requirements. According to their warranty, my system meets all of the requirements.
6/3/2019- Recieved another bill from authorized servicer, reduced to $2503.00.
6/3/2019- Called Generac and spoke to Elizabeth Messer. Generac is standing behind the number of hours, says solar system is inadequate, primary source of power. Refuses to do anything although my unit has less than 2000 hours and is less than two years old. Can provide no information on what the minimum is for solar. Says she’s the highest form of resolution other than her supervisor, Amanda, supervisor to call back.
6/3/2019- Amanda called and said the fuel flex line is bent. (It has a natural “s” curve due to gas company installation requirements). She said it must be straight according to Generac install guidelines. She said to change the fuel line install and have an authorized service dealer test that fuel supply is correct. (Because of this issue, there is actually no longer a Generac authorized service rep in my area so there is no way to verify this). Called Amanda back and requested copy of installation installation book page showing that the the fuel line cannot be bent. She said she will email it. There is no statement about the line being straight or otherwise in my installation manual.
We purchased this generator and had it installed in August of 2015. It has worked well up until recently. We used one of Generac's installers to perform the installation and use one of Generac's service providers for all scheduled maintenance. This product has been installed and maintained to Generac's specifications since it came off the back of the truck.
Recently we were told by the company that performs the annual maintenance that due to either a defect in the transfer switch or the installation, moisture was able to enter the switch and ruin it. After over a month of going back and forth with different people at Generac we are being told that even though they train their installers on how to install their product, and that our generator has been maintained to their requirements since it was new, and is still under factory warranty, that we are on our own and that they will not be honoring the warranty on their product. We spent nearly $10,000 on this between the cost of the generator, installation and permits and are left with nothing.
We activated our generator on December 27. When we started the generator, the transfer coil did not engage. The coil fried. While things happen - to date we cannot get a Generac certified electrician to even look at the machine or transfer switch. We are told Generac has only 3 companies in ND that are certified to provide warranty work. 2 of the companies, both over 100 miles away, primary work is oil field buisness. Far more money to be made in oil than residential warranty work. We have not been told who the third Generac certified electrician is. In the last 6 weeks we have been without power, have over 50 inches of snow, temperatures have been -30 degrees without wind chill. A $7,000.00 investment is worthless if the certified electricians are not interested in providing service they are hired for. In a telephone conversation Generac has said it is a manufacturing defect. Will be covered by warranty. We are still waiting for Generac to find a certified electricuan to provide their warranty work for us.
I purchased a Generac GP7500e thinking it would be a good quality generator, but after 34 hours of use, the crank seal blew. I was using the generator in cold temperatures and discovered that there was ice in the breather hose end that goes into the air filter box. This ice blockage created back pressure in the engine and blew out the crank seal.
Generac's dirty little secret on their blown crank seal problems are caused by a manufacturing / design defect.
The breather hose from the valve cover goes into the air filter box. The negative pressure and cold air passing past the breather hose causes an ice buildup in the end of the hose. The generator was running for 5 hours and then blew the seal. The low level oil shutoff worked, so the unit did power down.
If you have one these units, you may want to pull the hose out of the air filter box in cold weather and push it towards the enging to keep it warm. It is too cold in the air box to keep the condensation from the valve cove fromr freezing at the end of the hose.
I called Generac, but they wouldn't do anything because my warranty had expired just over 2 years, even though there was only 34 hours on it...
We only used it a couple of times before the crank seal blew.
It only had 19 hours on it before I recently used it in a 2 day power outage, so the final total was 34 hours before it blew.
I asked to speak to a manager and the representative said I would get a callback, but I knew they wouldn't call and they didn't.
When the seal blew ,oil was thrown everywhere by the flywheel which was also a fire hazzard. The whole unit and the outside garage wall was also covered in oil.
The generator is made in CHINA, so it looks like Generac has cheaped out on their products and customer service.
I will never buy another Generac and neither will any one that I know.
Anyone reading this should think twice as well. Buyer beware!!!
We need to make these greedy corporations pay for the poor quality generators they are flogging to unsuspecting consumers.
Their short term gains will be long term pain in the end.
GENERACPowerProducts.com. I spend 30 minutes trying to reach a LIVE person or Live Chat or any customer service (C.S.) person w/o success. The 800-852-9601 contact # on the website tells you for INVERTER genertaors call some other number. I cannot reach ANYONE for the normal emergency generator that most people buy. The LIVE CHAT person is DEAD since it does not work with any of three browsers I tried. It says leave a note and there is no indication that the note goes anywhere since the screen stays the same.
The sales folks (like Hogan's Heroes) KNOW NOTHING. The send me somewhere saying it was a special # only they had and I sat quietly for 10 minutes with no audio response (no noise, no recording, etc.) before hanging up. THis place used to be in Wisconsin and now it is in VT. So given the phone #'s don't work, the Live Chat is a dead chat and a note says send us something and we'll get back to you in 2 days.
SOME CUSTOMER SERVICE. I have a gas leak in one of my generac generators and can't get any help let alone confidence from these folks.
Worst CASE this could now be a SCAM or best case it could be the WORST CUSTOMER SERVICE out there. I am considering buying a couple of more genertors but Generac has gone to the bottom of my LIST to consider. I don't know whats wrong with this companies phones, internet and live chat but I now have ZERO CONFIDENCE in Generac Power Products. They used to have such a good reputation.