Kohler 24RCL Generator Delivery and First Look

[@jordancoleman1608]

Great video. Really appreciated the tour of the whole system, including the automatic transfer switch and the load shedding controller. Thanks!

[@MrSoulMonk]

Great video. It highlighted the product details very well and the aerial shot of the delivery was cool. I am considering getting one and your video has helped a lot.

[@m1lkman1974]

Your video was VERY informative Chris thank you!! There is a shortage of generator reviews online as well intstall videos. Thank you!

[@ChrisMasto]

Thank you! That's why I made it. I couldn't find what I wanted to see.

[@m1lkman1974]

@@ChrisMasto Right on! Can't wait to see it running!! :)

[@Dqalex]

Good video. Very detailed. Not many good ones out there on the Kohler RCL Generators.

[@terryzak1742]

Excellent video Christopher! My mother-in-law ("MIL") had lung cancer 2-years ago and COPD from before that. With our living in Florida and the high levels of heat/humidity during the summer-fall storms, I'm going with a whole-house generator, so that if I'm travelling for work my MIL can come stay at our house and be comfortable. Unfortunately, we don't have natural gas in our subdivision, and the house is all electric with 4-ton central AC and a 2-ton mini-split, electric hot water and electric dryer. Our yard is too small for an above-ground 500 gal LP tank, so I'm looking at using four 120 gal LP tanks on the side of the house opposite the generator. Pretty sure I want to get the Kohler, but have not finalized my decision for the liquid-cooled vs. air-cooled yet. Have to look at the overall, incremental cost. I really liked your monthly full-load test, and had planned on doing the same, as that's the best way to assure a high reliability. Kind regards, Terry

[@ChrisMasto]

Thanks! I'm glad you found this helpful. I didn't see much online about this particular generator at the time, so I wanted to try to fill the gap. It's probably time to do an update, though TBH there's very little to say. It continues to do its job of sitting there waiting for a big power outage.

[@LeahNoreman]

This is a helpful video. Thanks, Chris!

[@sundownstudios502]

Great video! Curious why you got such a large unit. Or just opted for liquid cooled ,quieter unit. I wish my 20 was liquid cooled

[@ChrisMasto]

I really wanted liquid cooled for maximum reliability and runtime, in case we have another multi-day outage.

[@sundownstudios502]

@@ChrisMasto makes sense ! Thanks !

[@jongriffin2125]

Cost estimate for installation please?

[@stevengarcia4162]

The last week I was installing a copules of this generator, this generator works with GasLP and it can bring to you a 20KW of energy and for that and that works with Gas makes that generator to the most efficient in the industry

[@uncrunch398]

I keep wondering if it makes sense to put one of these in an "EV" with a small capacitor replacing the expensive battery pack.

[@Nick-gi6ym]

How loud is this unit you’re house is on top of the other house did anyone complain about noise. Great video thank you

[@ChrisMasto]

It's quieter than the 20KW air-cooled would have been, but it's still an engine. We haven't actually had a power outage yet, so it's hard to say how people would react to having it running for hours or days, but so far there has been no objection to the weekly automatic test. We can hear it inside our house but barely. Also, we're on good terms with the neighbors, and if we had to use the generator, we'd make sure to offer them a place to charge their phones or whatever. Last time there was a big outage, we could hear small generators all the way down the street, so I don't think we'd be a major contributor.

[@I999-g2s]

How has it been running after a year? My 60kW has had lots and lots of problems - would never buy another.

[@ChrisMasto]

It passes its self test every week, that's all I can really say. We have had no power outages to give it a run for its money. I haven't heard too many negative reviews, maybe you just got a bit unlucky.

[@hphillips7425]

Good video. Explained well.

[@DJaquithFL]

I'm having a hard time trying justifying the difference between the air-cooled (Kohler 20 KW @$14.2K) and the liquid cooled (Kohler 30 KW Kohler w/500 gal LP underground tank upgrade @ $36K). The price difference doesn't add up so I'm still trying to figure that one out. We have a 17 year old 16 KW Generac w/250 gal LP buried tank that's EOL and needs replacing. Our Generac probably still would be running for years longer if the encasement didn't rot out from rust, allowing critters to make their new home inside our generator. After 6 years at this home so far the worst that we've had is a day without power, but you never know. We live in Florida in the Sarasota area and we're about to get hit with our fifth hurricane since living here. I don't see global warming getting better, and the pesky thing about hurricanes is they don't come in winter when it's in the nice '70s but instead in our fall when it's still in the '90s. Anyway, excellent video. You need to do an update.

[@ChrisMasto]

What do you want to see in the followup?

[@DJaquithFL]

@@ChrisMasto .. Here's a list of a few things off the top of my head: 1. Why did you choose a liquid cooled over an air cooled. Basically for the same price you could have gotten two air cooled 22 kW generators and had redundancy. 2. Any additional problems? 3. What would you have done differently? 4. What are you going to do if your NG goes out? I live in Florida and it's happened which is why we have a buried propane tank. 5. Since you have a Tesla, why not one of their powerwalls or a powerwall as an UPS? 6. Maintenance plans and monitoring? Basically all the above is what's going through my mind. I will call you mentioning about having UPS systems. In Florida we have brownouts frequently and basically everything that I care about has a UPS .. I have over a dozen of them which is why I'm seriously debating about a powerwall now that it can be used, as to my understanding, a whole house UPS. All my networking components including my ONT, switches, NAS, router, and obviously PCs plus all of my TVs and streaming boxes each have an UPS. My PC alone requires a $600 UPS. My point is by the time I factor in the overall expense and aggravation a whole house solution becomes more appealing. No doubt money if you throw enough of it can solve "almost" any problem.

[@DJaquithFL]

@@ChrisMasto .. BTW clearly in your case, I understand why you needed the additional capacity because of your EV charging. If I wanted full capacity then 300AMP service * 120V or at least a 48 kW (guessing a 36 kW nominal load) generator.

[@Dqalex]

I have a 30RCL liquid cool at my home in Florida. It just ran for 11 days non stop after Ian except for an oil change. The 1800 RPM generators run very quiet. Mine didn't burn a drop of oil. From what I've read online the 24,30, and 38 all share the same engine. A 2.2 liter. We had a discussion on the Generator forum Smoke Stack. The 2.2 liter engine Kohler uses in the 24, 30 and 38 is the Toyota Forklift 4Y motor. Its an excellent engine that will run for 30,000 hours with no problem.

[@DJaquithFL]

@@Dqalex .. We still haven't made up our mind but more than likely I'm probably just going to go with the air cooled. The reason is we have another house in the area with a different power provider, and if all power is out for more than 4 to 5 days then we'll take a trip up north to visit family. Trust me though, I'm not a huge fan of noisy generators. We live in the Lakewood Ranch area and for whatever reason we're generally prioritized for getting our power up and running.

[@silverbankruptcy]

It's a great generator, but very cramped. The gas pipe with the two shut off valves blocks access. The oil filter has an extension so it stands vertical, which is less than ideal, though I assume those filters have a valve to keep it full of oil when not running. Stock up on filters and oil. You Need the Block Heater. My Generator Ran Terrible when the block heater broke. You have a Great Generator, I have the 35KW version (Aside from the Computer they are all the same and made by Delco) which has much more space. Good luck doing an oil change.

[@ChrisMasto]

Knowing it's a pain in the ass only helps me justify my choice not to do my own oil changes.

[@silverbankruptcy]

@@ChrisMasto its really not bad, I have a video on it.

[@GarciaRealEstateGroupHouston]

My one year old 24RCL suddenly shut down after running for 1.5 hours during a 16 hour power outage. The battery was fully charged and it has been doing its weekly exercise. The control panel is dead. Nothing is on. There is power at the transfer switch. After the grid power was restored, the transfer switch did not work. Had to manually move the switch to power the house off the grid. I spoke to the Kohler dealer who will come in three weeks to diagnose it, yes, 3 weeks! We believe the controlled has died. Have you ever had this issue?

[@ChrisMasto]

That's unfortunate. I hate when a thing that you need for emergencies breaks during an emergency. Since I bought the generator, we have had no power outages.

[@ChrisMasto]

One thing I've been doing, is that once every month or two I run a "loaded full-speed exercise", which does the whole switchover, in addition to the weekly unloaded cycle. That gives me a little bit more confidence that all the components of the system are functional. But if it's just your unlucky day for a capacitor to explode on the circuit board, there's not much you can do unless you want to keep a spare controller on hand.

[@GarciaRealEstateGroupHouston]

@@ChrisMasto Interesting. We have power outages regularly in Houston, TX. By the way, are you still using the original battery?

[@ChrisMasto]

@@GarciaRealEstateGroupHouston Yes, I'm using the original battery. So far, so good.

[@life2breaksinc]

One thing you can discuss with the dealer while onsite is to have them set at timed delay when utility power is lost. This is done via laptop. So that the kohlar genset won't immediately start up and switch over power. I say this because as a dealer, in some cases, if the utility power is not completely lost and surges or power blinks a couple of times prior to full power lost, it can short out a board. Delaying the transfer can help eliminate a potential board lost. Also, in some cases, unplugging all the connectors from the genset board will allow the monitoring of the system to return on boards. I don't recommend as a user of the system to do this. But as a dealer, it has worked while a board is on order. We are typically installing the 20 and 26kw air cooled. But will be installing the 24rcal next week for a cx. This systems are really great. I do recommend kohler and have them serviced at 150hrs or annually. Whichever comes first. Great video.

[@jeremyp3729]

Does that thing run on gasoline?

[@ChrisMasto]

No, it runs on natural gas.

[@jesusfreakster101]

Definitely more reliable- how would I know? Live in southern Louisiana, out of power 12 days due to Ida. Only residence in my development who had liquid cooled genny. Neighbors had to change oil every 48 hours, entire region out of 10w30 by four days, and I didn’t have to change till 480 hours. Day they installed my Cummins, replaced neighbors 7 y/o air cooler generac due to breakdown … with another air cooler genny. Regular maintenance that you can do yourself and expect 30,000 hours from a quality liquid cooler generator

[@ChrisMasto]

Thank you for sharing your information and experience! We've still only had a few very short outages, but I feel pretty confident this thing is up to the task if/when we need it.

[@TripleMachine]

So you can use this Kohler for 480 hours between oil changes?

[@terryzak1742]

Little help please! I've been reading through various manuals and the longest operation between oil changes I've been able to find is the Cummins C25N6 with QSJ2.4 engine, where the manual states 50-hours for break-in oil change and then yearly or 200-hours of operation thereafter. Please post a make/model generator that has this 480 hour oil change interval. Generac 24kW air-cooled interval is 100 hrs for operation above 85F Generac 27kW liquid-cooled interval is 125 hrs Kohler 24 RCL liquid-cooled interval is 120 hrs

[@jesusfreakster101]

I ran Cummins 250 hours b/t changes during 11.5 day outage, and I know I read and was told I could run 400. Don’t have the manual as I sold with house. I will try to remember to check my Kohler manual at new house tonight… Cummins lost contract with Mitsubishi so is not manufacturing Liquid Cooler Gennies currently.

[@terryzak1742]

@@jesusfreakster101 I really appreciate you responding. Thank You! Yes, I heard from a supplier that Cummins is not providing the liquid cooled option at present, and he stated that the next closest option was the 30kW Briggs & Stratton. The way I'm looking at this now is if the 24kW air-cooled Generac runs 100 hrs (above 85F) between oil changes, the 27kW liquid-cooled Generac 125hrs, and the Kohler liquid-cooled 24kW is 120 hrs, it becomes very difficult to justify the increased expense for the liquid-cooled, even if they are 4-cylinder engines as compared to 2-cylinder air-cooled. There's a lot of Generac air-cooled machines running 20-years, so 10-years should be a cake-walk. So for the same money I can run the air-cooled for 10-years, replace it with a new air-cooled and still be ahead from an economics standpoint. The potential 200-hrs between oil change for the Cummins was attractive, but if they're not available now, then it doesn't matter if they have 200 or 400 hours between oil changes. I've been working in the electrical power generation industry (power plants) for 35-years and relish the thought of having a commercial set up, but for the additional $12k to $13k, it's hard to get past that additional investment. For those interested in recent prices, in the St Augustine area (just south of Jacksonville, FL), I've been quoted: $21,100 for the Generac 24kW, air-cooled (3,600 rpm) generator $33,500 for the Generac 27kW, liquid-cooled (1,800 rpm) generator Pricing is for the complete installed system including all permits, 500 gallon buried ASME-Rated LP fuel tank, epoxy coated with cathodic protection and concrete ballast to prevent lifting when empty, and everything else needed for the fully functioning system, all wiring, auto-transfer switching, conduit, concrete pad, etc, and the ability to get through our side gate that's 4-foot wide.

[@SubStationSparky]

Liquid cooled is way better without a doubt when you're talking the about the vtwin air cooled models, there is no comparison... I have an older kohler 20rz with. the FAST RESPONSE 2 generator side, what a machine. In the future when its time to upgrade im gonna do something similar to what you have there. Nice unit!

[@TripleMachine]

I don’t think these are more reliable than their aircooler version. They both have the same 5 year/2,000 hour warranty

[@hjhjr]

The relay Baomain HCI-63 will not work. It is a normally open relay the relay has to be a normally closed

[@ChrisMasto]

They are available in both variants. I purchased the NC one: amzn.to/3VNh2RU It is installed and works perfectly.

[@chandebrec5856]

"I'll see you in the next video..." My butt is *so* sore from sitting here waiting. "But seriously," I just got an estimate for a 24RCLA and I'm planning to order it.

[@ChrisMasto]

Sorry about that. Once it was installed, it has basically been a box in the corner of the yard that runs a self test every week. I'd follow up with a full "review" if we had an extended power outage to put it through its paces. Otherwise, not too much else to say about it. I hope yours is equally as boring. :-)

[@TripleMachine]

How much did they charge you for everything?

[@chandebrec5856]

@@TripleMachine $15,600 for the equipment, per quote of Aug. 2023.

[@richardbland9660]

Why do you need such a large generator for your home, seems way too big for that size house

[@ChrisMasto]

It's a big box, but it's "only" 24KW. It's the smallest liquid-cooled Kohler. I covered some of why I chose this one already, but in short: * I wanted a liquid-cooled generator for the reasons I describe in the video * We have 200A electrical service, central A/C, an electric car charger, etc. This unit makes probably 70 or 80 amps on natural gas. One decision you have to make on sizing is whether you want to try to power the whole house or just the basics for emergencies. I chose to go big enough that if we ever have another week-long outage, we will basically not be affected by it. I would never say "need". We really don't need backup power at all, so this was mostly about finding our personal level of comfort vs. cost.

[@gubbernl]

Wow, your neighborhood just look like an European village: brick houses with natural gas. Didn't even know😁 You said you had a long power outage a while ago I'm just wondering: did your stove work...? In the Netherlands, gas is pumped around; there are booster stations in cities. So, they work on... electricity. Normality it has no sense to power them during an outage, because all gas heaters at home don't work: they all need electricity for the (small) circulation pump and electronics. Maybe they will put a generator for the stoves. But, I must admit you have some balls to install a gas powered generator. No guarantee it will work. At least not directly after a power outage. Or am I missing something?

[@ChrisMasto]

The situation where you live is very different, apparently. There's nothing ballsy about a natural gas powered generator in the US, they are extremely common. And to answer your question: yes, the gas continued to work during every power outage I've experienced. It's how we heat our house. When we lost power for a week, I had to hook up a temporary generator to power the boiler's electronics and the pumps to move the hot water around, but the gas supply was uninterrupted. I've never experienced a gas outage. Here's a forum thread discussing this topic: www.bogleheads.org/forum/viewtopic.php?p=6495184&sid=2a7df5a01a4200ba1fafc2d51aa1e918#p6495184 And here's more discussion: www.jefftk.com/p/why-not-a-natural-gas-generator And here's a government report: www.nrel.gov/docs/fy19osti/72509.pdf "We find that natural gas provides the largest additional reliability compared to diesel for regions that face high risks of long outages."

[@gubbernl]

@@ChrisMasto very interesting. Well in your case I also would go for neutral gas. How often do you have an outage? I think we, in the Netherlands, don't have much problems because we barely don't have power poles. All lines are under the soil. I think we have 2 hours of outage every 5 years. And mostly local issues at the local 10kV substations. That said...: haha, we did have an issue with a powerline which snapped in the air. Not by a blizzard: it where 6 high voltage transport lines, I think 150kV. They snapped because our airforce didn't have a map of the gridlines. Jeez, an Apache helicopter was flying over the river and crashed into the powerlines. 50.000 houses had no power for a couple of days. In the middle of winter. We had some flashing of our lights, and no outage happily.

[@ChrisMasto]

@@gubbernl All of our power lines in this area (and much of the country) are overhead, and they run right down the street along (or often tangled into) the trees. (A random neighborhood with similar power lines: goo.gl/maps/2jECaBUVqfVj4gPG8) We don't invest much in infrastructure in the US, so this stuff gets neglected until there's a major incident. Add to that being on an island that gets hit with hurricanes, and all the climate change lately, and it seems like we can count on at least one multi-hour power outage every year, and huge ones every couple of years. It was the one in 2020 that finally cemented my decision to buy a generator. newyork.cbslocal.com/2020/08/11/long-island-extreme-heat-power-outages/ patch.com/new-york/portwashington/more-300k-without-power-long-island That being said, this generator is still an extravagance. I got it because I wanted it, not because I needed it. I could have used something much smaller and simpler if the only goal was to ensure we have hot water, a way to charge our phones, and a working refrigerator for those rare outages that last longer than a day. It will never "pay for itself" in any way whatsoever, but we will be more comfortable and happy.

[@TanukiOfficial]

@@ChrisMasto Great comments in this thread. Thank you!

[@gubbernl]

@@ChrisMasto Hi Chris, I saw the bad and cold winter weather in the States! How is the weather in your area? All okay until now?

[@rockystelone21]

Automotive style engine.....last longer and not as loud but yeah double the cost

[@silverbankruptcy]

Great Video - Yes, the Liquid Cooled run slower and quieter and are More Reliable and provide better quality electricity. The maintenance is more, but worth it, you did Great. I have the 35KW Briggs Generator - I love these big ones: kzbin.info/www/bejne/kJe0qaOqjtieZtk

[@ChrisMasto]

Thanks! I’ll have to watch your video a little at a time, but it’s clear you really know what you’re talking about.

[@mtbarr64]

These generators have ENGINES. Engines burn fuel. Motors are electric.

[@jaylang11]

seems overkill... i have a 5100 sq foot house and 4 kids and we have a kohler 20rca, we can have everything on.

[@ChrisMasto]

Cool, congratulations!

[@jaylang11]

@@ChrisMasto lol ok

[@LeahNoreman]

What a strange comment. It’s not overkill for Chris and his family ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[@Dqalex]

I have a 30RCL in my house in Florida. I should have bought a 38 or a 48. My house is 100% electric no natural gas for anything. My electric heat draws 15 KW alone. My hot water heater another 5 KW. Electric stove, pool filter, water well, RO water maker no way could I get by with a 20kw

[@jaylang11]

@@Dqalex see, that makes sense to me, electric heat/ hot water uses a lot. but most houses on long island have natural gas or fuel oil for heat and hot water. no pool, low sq ft.