20KW Briggs & Stratton Whole House Standby Generator - Part 1

20KW Whole House Briggs & Stratton Standby Generator - Part 1
Showing an Installed Generator. This is the Same Generator as the:
1. GE 20KW Whole House Standby Generator
2. Rheem 20KW Whole House Standby Generator
Very Good Generator. Very Good Value. I recently installed this Generator myself with an Electrician. Much of the installation is DIY, but You Need an Electrician to Run the Service Entrance Cable to the Transfer Switch First and then to the Fusebox Second. You definitely need an expert for that, because 240V at the service entrance can kill you.
The rest of the wiring is easy. I Bundled together Romex 4/3 with Ground, 12/2 with ground, and 18/5 sprinkler wire.T his generator has the well regarded approximately 1L, Vanguard Engine with 35HP. This is a Commercial Engine used in commercial tools and small tractors and is an Excellent Value in a Residential generator. Engine is Loud but very Powerful, and insulation could be thicker and is not applied on the back wall inside. This engine Runs Best on a heavy Load. Transfer switch with Load shedding is good, but instructions on setting Dip Switches could be clearer.
I recommend setting the Jumper switch to allow generator to warm up for 50 seconds prior to Load Transfer, not the default 10 seconds. Dip Switches Must be set Carefully or you will get the Transfer Switch Error. on a 20KW Gen Running on Natural Gas, you set the Dip Switches to 18KW by Pushing the #1 Switch on the Ten Thousand Dip switch Bank, and the #8 Switch on the One Thousand Dip switch Bank. Then You Must Reset the Transfer Switch by Turning Off and Removing the Fuse on the Generator, and then Shutting Off the Line Power Switch on the Transfer Switch for ten seconds, and then Turn it back on. This will allow the Transfer Switch to read the new Dip Switch settings. Double Check Switches after Mounting the Transfer Switch as mine moved from the force of mounting.
The case is Galvaneal which like your car Rusts when Scratched, aluminum is preferable. Buy the Maintenance Kit. Its a bargain because it has oil and filter and oil filter and plugs, though I put in Platinum spark plugs. I also put Insulation around the Battery to keep it warm.
You Must get the Heater Kit because I saw even the light 5w30 synthetic oil Congeal in freezing Temps, and the oil warmer (and battery warmer) keeps it liquid. I had a problem in that generator kept shutting down. The Briggs telephone customer service guy is very Nice and Helpful.
I had a problem with the generator starting and then shutting down without putting out any power.The problem is that when I called the Local Distributors to do a warranty repair as per Briggs Headquarters, No Distributor was Willing to come to my house to do the Repair unless I signed up with a contract with them. I don't need a $400 contract to change the oil and filters. Although Briggs says that this is not required, they do need to better Monitor compliance by Local Distributors, who are only interested in coming if they either installed it or have a contract with you.
I therefore opened the Computer compartment and I saw a Connector disconnected. Connecting it fixed the Problem. Be sure to double check the settings on the transfer switch and double check the generator advanced settings on the generator screen, as mine was factory set incorrectly to 16KW. I Recently Called Briggs and he told me to set it to the correct 20KW, even though it runs on NG.
I also Noticed that the Air Filter Did Not Come from the Factory with the Pre-Filter, (a green wrap around foam) that is included in the Tune Up kit purchased separately. There appear to be some Quality Control issues at the factory. A nice feature is the ability to program the exercise Date & time in the computer instead of Generacs requirement that you actually start it at the exact weekly time you want it to exercise.
There is an electronic Gas valve that is outside for fire protection reasons, and I recommend that you shelter it from the rain with a leaning a piece of metal or stone against the back of the generator.
Overall a Very Good Value for the price. Very Powerful engine, Clean power with No Flickering and a Nice Transfer Switch.
I recommend that you download the GE and Rheem Generator Manuals, since those Generators are Rebadged Briggs generators and the Manuals have additional information, regarding the undocumented menu that I show in the Video
I do Recommend this Generator. If you have Multiple Air Conditioner Units, then Get the Version from GE because that Transfer Switch allows for Remote management without running wiring (like insteon) of Multiple Remote AC compressors to prevent overloading the generator. Also Always Install a 5-2-1 Hard Start Capacitor Kit, as I show in my other video, so that the AC Compressors start up easily without overloading the generator.