Generators Reviews

I just completed the installation of this generator, and I am reasonably happy. It is compact, and has all the features I was looking for. I was trying to find a standby generator that is reasonably small (my wife did not want a unit that looked commercial in our back yard). This is about the size of an A/C condenser, and in fact I located adjacent to my central air condensers. I also wanted a unit which ran on natural gas. I did not want to store gasoline, or try to find in in a power outage.

I planned to hire an electrician to do the installation, but decided to do it myself. The instructions were reasonably good, but I would not recommend this unless you are very proficient in electrical work, and can read electrical schematics. The instructions are good, but certainly not step by step, and you must go to the schematics for wiring the main circuit box to the transfer switch, the outdoor cut off switch, and the remote diagnostic light. One electricial gave me an over the phone estimate of about $1,500 for the full installation.

Also, don't forget that you will also need to run gas line to the generator. Depending on distance, the gas line will need to be at least 3/4 inch. I spoke to Briggs and Stratton about connecting it to the 1/2 inch line to my barbeque, but they did not really recommend that, so I did it right and changed the line to 3/4 inch. If you do it yourself, you will need to be skilled in this work as well.

The automatic version of this generator, which I bought, comes with a transfer switch with provisions for 12 circuits, although only 10 breakers are provided, and as expected, there was not the right combination of 15 amp and 20 amp. I needed to buy some additional breakers at a local electrical supply store. Home Depot does not carry the breakers used in the transfer switch.

Briggs and Stratton has an excellent help line. I had to call twice when I had a technical questions on the installation, and I got through quickly. I had to use the menu choice that I was an electrician or professional installer. They answered my wiring question correctly, and I got through without much wait. They also answered my question about the size of the gas line as well.

I just completed the installation this weekend. Overall, I have been working on it on and off for the past several weekends. I used all 12 circuits, connecting the lines for the furnace, some kitchen lights, outlets refrig and microwave, all bedroom lights and outlets, and one bathroom. I use the energy saving florescent in virtually all my lights. When I disconnected the power from the utility, the automatic transfer switch sensed the power went out, and after a minute or two, started the generator and transfered the load. The generator had no problem with the circuits I had placed on the generator. Even starting the microwave did not seen to be an issue. I have a second refrig in the basement which was not on it, but in an exentded power outage, I may connect it but will probably have to cut down on the power used elsewhere. When I flipped the power from the utility back on, the transfer switch waited a minute or so, then disconnected the generator, and after a few seconds, re-connected the utility. This delay is to be sure there is no back-feed of power into the utility lines which would be illegal and dangerous. The delay, however, does mean you will loose the time on your digital clocks each time the transfer of power takes place.

In all I am happy with it. I wish it was somewhat more quite. Not that it is really noisy, it sounds about as loud as a good sized lawn mower. Not a big problem in the winter, but I just that I can envision a blackout during a hot summer night, and all the neighbors open their windows and hear my generator at 3am in the morning. The case is sound insulated, but you definitely know it is on.


I can't speak to the unit's reliability since it was just installed, but overall, it is just what I was looking for. The only defect in the unit was a missing screw to connect the heavy cable from the generator to the transfer switch. Fortunately one of the screws on the grounding bar was the same size so I did not have to find one.

A few notes on the installation. You will need to locate the unit outdoors, preferably near the gas line. (The generator comes with a kit to change it to propane if needed). It is usually easier to run electrical line than gas line, so the distance to the main circuit breaker box is less important. Also, you will want to install the transfer switch right next to your main circuit breaker box. The installation becomes much more complex if you can't.