Just five hours after one Minnesota family upgraded its cabin with a standby generator, a thunderstorm rolled in, creating an immediate real-world test.
"The good news is the generator tried to kick on. The bad news is it was not successful and threw off some error codes," one member of the family explained in Reddit's r/Generator community.
Here's what to know
In the thread, they said the 70-year-old property typically loses electricity two to four times a year, with some outages stretching for days. As part of a wiring upgrade, the original poster said, the family installed a 24-kilowatt Generac generator and a 500-gallon propane tank.
The owner called Generac's 24-hour support line and performed a manual reset. The unit then started and supplied power for roughly two hours, until utility service came back.
"It seems like tests always go perfectly but when a power outage happens it's up to luck," a generator technician wrote in the thread.
Other commenters shared the OP's frustrations. "Frustrating that such an expensive piece of gear is so flaky new out of the box," one said.
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More background
Users noted the reliability of new installations can hinge on setup details, especially fuel delivery. "The No. 1 biggest reason for fail-to-starts on new installs is improperly regulated gas pressure," one commenter explained, saying excessive pressure can jam the regulator while low pressure may keep the engine from starting.
Other commenters described difficult first-year experiences, including multiple warranty-related repairs. One person said an issue was finally resolved after a technician replaced the primary control board, noting those early failures were especially frustrating because of the generator's high price.
The cabin owner said the company's help hotline answered quickly and guided them through restarting the unit.
In rural or outage-prone areas, backup power is a valuable resilience tool. Keeping a well pump and refrigerator running — as this person did — protects access to water and food while reducing the financial blow of spoiled supplies.
As the OP put it after the storm-driven test, "I had lights, I had water from my well pump, and I had peace of mind that the food in my fridge and freezer was not gonna go bad."
Where can I learn more?
These articles look at generator noise, carbon monoxide risks, and battery-based backup options.
• After Hurricane Beryl, experts warned backup generators can turn deadly during outages.
• An energy expert said backup solar delivers quiet resilience a generator never can.
• More homeowners are choosing solar panels with batteries instead of aging standby generators.
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