I purchased a Generac Centurian 10Kw standby generator from Lowes Home Improvement in January, 2011. Lowes delivered it and it was installed by a licensed electrician who followed the installation guidelines provided upon delivery. It has been maintained by the owners manual for oil changes, filter changes, etc. In addition, a Generac authorized service dealer has done ALL repairs to date.
1) The first problem began within weeks of installation when the generator battery charge was not being maintained. I was told by the authorized service dealer that this was a common problem and that I should purchase a smaller trickle charger to maintain the battery. Replacing the controller did not guarantee the problem would be fixed.
2) The second problem occurred about 9 months after installation when it was noticed that it was leaking oil. When running, it would "spray oil" all over the inside of the housing and out of the ventilation panel. Inspection revealed a crack in the casing near the cooling fan. The engine was replaced.
3) The third problem was a short in the control board which caused the whole system to shut down. The board was replaced and this also fixed the battery charging problem (#1).
4) The fourth problem was the assembly controller motor which caused the engine to rev and shut down with an error message "Over RPM". Replacement of the assembly controller corrected the problem.
5) The fifth problem was when the engine would not start. It would crank but never fire up. It was discovered there was no compression in the values, so the engine was replaced again.
6) The most recent problem (occurred in May, 2014) was when the engine would not start and the error message was "under voltage". I am told this is the rotor/stator side of the genset. The warranty ran out in January 2014.
I contacted Generac to request a warranty extension to correct the problem since this unit had had so many issues from the time of installation. After MANY calls and emails over 5 months and visits from several other service dealers attempting to diagnose the problems, Generac decided the warranty could not be extended because it had never been properly installed and maintained. Their reason…it was too close to the house. Then they asked about our usage since the system had over 1000 hrs when it finally died, 3 engines later. Remember, several Generac Authorized Service Dealers had been to the site and none of them told us we were out of spec or were using it incorrectly. We used the unit as a backup to our off-grid system. When the unit ran, it was usually on rainy days or in the middle of the night when our battery bank was depleted. “Standby” generators are not supposed to be used as a “primary power source” which is defined as any situation where there is no utility company supplying power. This was not clear to us until after we purchased the unit and spent 3 years trying to keep it running.
The bottom line: Generac is not interested in customer service. They are only interested in sales. If a unit is purchased from a Generac dealer and installed by a Generac dealer it does not guarantee that Generac will uphold its warranties. More importantly, the Generac standby units are not designed to take any heavy use such as continuous run time or high run hours. I was told by one dealer that most Generac units will have a major problem before 500 hrs. In addition, the engines are very inefficient. Our unit burned 2 gallons of LP per hr of use. A home owner would be better off to purchase a smaller portable gas powered generator with an electric key start. These will cost only a fraction of one standby unit and will last for years under regular use. Don’t waste your money on a Generac standby. The peace of mind you will feel from owning one will quickly disappear when the unit fails right when you need it most.
Generac Power Systems Reviews
I purchased a Generac Centurian 10Kw standby generator from Lowes Home Improvement in January, 2011. Lowes delivered it and it was installed by a licensed electrician who followed the installation guidelines provided upon delivery. It has been maintained by the owners manual for oil changes, filter changes, etc. In addition, a Generac authorized service dealer has done ALL repairs to date.
1) The first problem began within weeks of installation when the generator battery charge was not being maintained. I was told by the authorized service dealer that this was a common problem and that I should purchase a smaller trickle charger to maintain the battery. Replacing the controller did not guarantee the problem would be fixed.
2) The second problem occurred about 9 months after installation when it was noticed that it was leaking oil. When running, it would "spray oil" all over the inside of the housing and out of the ventilation panel. Inspection revealed a crack in the casing near the cooling fan. The engine was replaced.
3) The third problem was a short in the control board which caused the whole system to shut down. The board was replaced and this also fixed the battery charging problem (#1).
4) The fourth problem was the assembly controller motor which caused the engine to rev and shut down with an error message "Over RPM". Replacement of the assembly controller corrected the problem.
5) The fifth problem was when the engine would not start. It would crank but never fire up. It was discovered there was no compression in the values, so the engine was replaced again.
6) The most recent problem (occurred in May, 2014) was when the engine would not start and the error message was "under voltage". I am told this is the rotor/stator side of the genset. The warranty ran out in January 2014.
I contacted Generac to request a warranty extension to correct the problem since this unit had had so many issues from the time of installation. After MANY calls and emails over 5 months and visits from several other service dealers attempting to diagnose the problems, Generac decided the warranty could not be extended because it had never been properly installed and maintained. Their reason…it was too close to the house. Then they asked about our usage since the system had over 1000 hrs when it finally died, 3 engines later. Remember, several Generac Authorized Service Dealers had been to the site and none of them told us we were out of spec or were using it incorrectly. We used the unit as a backup to our off-grid system. When the unit ran, it was usually on rainy days or in the middle of the night when our battery bank was depleted. “Standby” generators are not supposed to be used as a “primary power source” which is defined as any situation where there is no utility company supplying power. This was not clear to us until after we purchased the unit and spent 3 years trying to keep it running.
The bottom line: Generac is not interested in customer service. They are only interested in sales. If a unit is purchased from a Generac dealer and installed by a Generac dealer it does not guarantee that Generac will uphold its warranties. More importantly, the Generac standby units are not designed to take any heavy use such as continuous run time or high run hours. I was told by one dealer that most Generac units will have a major problem before 500 hrs. In addition, the engines are very inefficient. Our unit burned 2 gallons of LP per hr of use. A home owner would be better off to purchase a smaller portable gas powered generator with an electric key start. These will cost only a fraction of one standby unit and will last for years under regular use. Don’t waste your money on a Generac standby. The peace of mind you will feel from owning one will quickly disappear when the unit fails right when you need it most.