IRQVET
Well-known member
I should have said this earlier, but the failure to start(s) all happen in the first 30-45 days of ownership. Once the "kinks" had been worked out between the two gas relators (internal vs external), it's been smooth sailing ever since and starts every time.
Went this route a few years ago. First is to determine who in your area does: Sales, Service, and Installation. Getting someone who does all three is extremely important, unless you want the electrician pointing fingers at the generator company, who is pointing fingers at the gas company when something goes wrong. It's easier to have a one stop shop that will just own any issues no matter who/how they were created. Any electrician will install a unit, but they won't come around after the initial job is complete if an issue arrises.
Another thought on this, again learn from experiences for better or for worse. Another reason you don't use an electrican to install your home standby unit, is because they are GONE after the initial install. And generator companies who do all three (Sales, Installation, Service) if you call them during widespread outage when repair services are in high demand. They'll always ask, "Did we do your install." If the answer is no, then your generally speaking going to the bottom of their list, as they will take care of there customers first.
I can only speak about the two companies I felt with: Generac and Cummins.
I got two quotes from Generac, one from an electrican, and one from a firm that did all three. The quotes were vastly different, as the electrican wanted $2,000 more and I had to secure all permits. The all-in-one Generac dealer, was $2,000 less and they secured all the permits. One of the reasons Generac has 80% market share, stems from their abnormally high commissions on sales. Again, I can only speak to these two brands, and as I was going through the quote process, I was educating myself at the same time- so I was definitely learning as I went.
Not knocking Generac, I know a lot of people with them and they're happy. I just decided to go a different route for a lot of other reason I won't get into- so this doesn't evolve into a Chevy vs Ford discussion and stays more on topic.