PowerPact 7,500-Watt Air-Cooled Whole House Generator with 50-Amp Transfer Switch

I got this PowerPact generator (6KW Natural Gas) as I got tired of using a portable 5KW generator for the occasional times we lose power. Our home does not have any major electrical appliances (everything is NG), so 6KW provides enough power for the entire house as long as we are careful about not turning on too many appliances (like a toaster or coffee maker) at the same time. The price was reasonable and there was the added benefit of an 8 circuit automatic transfer switch (ATS). Some things to keep in mind: Even though some of the advertising refers to this unit as being digital, there is very little, if anything, that is digital. The control panel only has a few push button switches and idiot lights. There is no digital display of any kind. There is no engine hour meter to help you monitor the need for oil changes. I purchased an inexpensive digital hour/rpm meter for the generator unit and twin frequency/voltage/amperage meters for the ATS so I could monitor and balance load. And I was surprised to learn after I purchased this that there is no ability to use any kind of wireless app with this unit, nor is there any kind of accessory available from Generac to do this. Wireless apps make it much easy to monitor the device and look at usage history. The other thing to keep in mind is there are very substantial costs in putting in a standby generator even if you do all the work yourself and shop for good prices on materials and supplies. So far, my additional costs have been about $1,300 above the cost of the generator. The single largest cost has been for multi-conductor generator and hook-up wire, which has been about $500. A starter battery and battery heater mat are not included. The battery heater is recommended for any conditions below freezing. You may or may not have to build a separate pad and there are things like any gas fittings and pipe. It all adds up. If you hired someone, the $1,300 cost would probably double at a minimum and maybe triple. So, now the bad news about Generac. I had a solenoid in the ATS box fail while testing. The coil burned up. Upon closer inspection, I could see that two of coil wires were pinched in the subassembly frame during manufacturer. A very clear error. I wish I had seen it before testing as I could probably have removed the subassembly and reassembled it with no pinch. Generac has been terrible. I have sent pictures showing the problem. After seeing the pictures, they said they would have the part replaced and installed. I even offered to send them the offending part and install myself, but they insist on having a dealer do the work. So, it has been over a month and no repair. The Generac agent assigned to this case never replies to emails, answer the phone, or returns calls. This is just miserable warranty service. Nothing like the brochure that describes “24/7, 365 Customer Support Team standing by all-day every-day from our headquarters in Wisconsin to answer any questions you might have.” I have tried finding someone else at Generac to respond or take over. No luck.

Purchased for my customer. He is very happy with it.

Very happy with this purchase in terms of performance, price and delivery. The delivery driver dropped off the unit next to the old unit, which far exceeded what I was expecting. Was easy to purchase online and I was able to beat the price my installer could buy the unit for. This unit was purchased to replace an existing unit that had reached a point where I was unwilling to sink more money into it. You can see from the photo that the unit is about 25% smaller than the old unit by the size of the concrete slab that was built for the old unit. One disappointment was the locations of the gas and electrical connections were significantly different from the old unit. Plus the maintenance access panel is now on the opposite side of the unit, so I will have to move the pavers I installed as a working surface. This required a little rework on the gas line, but the electrical worked out okay. The power output is very clean and overall I'm very happy with this generator.

We didn't know we needed to buy wiring and other supplies to hook it up to the house.

Received my generator which was delivered and satisfactory. Only problem I don't see the order on my account for Home Depot

It looks good. It performed fine on a simulated power outage. Other than that, we will know when the real thing comes.

Was very disappointed that it did not come with the battery. I asked that question twice to Generac and never got an answer. Just had it installed so don't know exactly what will happen during an outage. I am a senior and my husband has dementia so this was difficult for me. Powers up to 8 circuits but I had no idea that certain things use more than 1 circuit so I am not going to have as much power to rooms that I thought I would. Also very disappointed with Home Depot. Reached out to them for someone to install and never got a response. Took me 3 weeks to find an electrician to do the work. So hopefully it works once we lose power.

Unit does not work properly. Will need service.

Have not used it yet waiting for a new gas meter.