Generac Guardian Series™ 5884 - 14kW Home Standby Generator

It's not just ice storms and blizzards in the winter. Summer time people knocking down utility poles during the summer months. We feel a whole lot more secure knowing that the generator will kick in when the world wants us to go dark. The generator was delivered on time and in good shape. The delivery service man was great getting the generator straight into the barn off the truck before installation. He insisted that we take off the cardboard covering to make sure that there was no damage. The next day, Bill the electrician and I moved the generator into place and he did all the hard wiring. Bobby sent over Tom the next day to hook up the LP gas tank and lines. Billy came back and got the generator fired up. All is well in Penobscot, Maine.

It's not just ice storms and blizzards in the winter. Summer time people knocking down utility poles during the summer months. We feel a whole lot more secure knowing that the generator will kick in when the world wants us to go dark. The generator was delivered on time and in good shape. The delivery service man was great getting the generator straight into the barn off the truck before installation. He insisted that we take off the cardboard covering to make sure that there was no damage. The next day, Bill the electrician and I moved the generator into place and he did all the hard wiring. ... more

I live in a remote location, and power outages are frequent, and sometimes extended, as was the outage from the ice storm this February. I've owned a portable generator for the last 15 years, and it has performed well, although it is very limited, with a 6 KW capacity. I opted to go with a Generac 5884, 14 KW propane generator this year. This was a self-install, do-it-yourselfer project. Not to difficult for me as I'm an electrical engineer by profession.
So...........From the perspective of an engineer and installer, I have several little pet peaves with this unit, that do not detract from it's performance, but were major pains in the rear.
1) The ATS manual says that the control wiring has to be in a seperate conduit for the power wiring, yet the generator only has 1 pre-punched hole for conduit fittings, instead of 2. No biggy, I have the tools.
2) Most of us are not the 8 year olds you use to assemble these devices. For goodness sake, leave us some hand room. Warning to all, wear gloves and long sleaves. You will get cuts and scratches trying to get to your wiring.
3) Access to the battery is extremely difficult. You will need a 2 foot extention on your ratchet, to remove the bolts holding the end wall in place, in order to properly seat your battery.
4) There is supposed to be an internal battery charger - maintainer as standard equipment. If there is, it must be configured to maintain a charge of 12.8 volts. Due to the access issues, and charger issues, I will locate the battery in the garage, and run cables out to the generator.
5) I will with-hold criticism of using #10 gauge wire in your 60 amp internal circuitry, from an engineering standpoint.

From a consumers perspective, I am very well pleased. The 14 KW generator handles all of the load that I wanted it to, including the load of a 3.5 ton air conditioning unit. It is quieter than my portable generator, and it will not require me to make daily trips to the gas station, during an ice storm, to refill three 5 gallon gas containers.
Consumers will love this device. Only the installer will gripe.

I live in a remote location, and power outages are frequent, and sometimes extended, as was the outage from the ice storm this February. I've owned a portable generator for the last 15 years, and it has performed well, although it is very limited, with a 6 KW capacity. I opted to go with a Generac 5884, 14 KW propane generator this year. This was a self-install, do-it-yourselfer project. Not to difficult for me as I'm an electrical engineer by profession.
So...........From the perspective of an engineer and installer, I have several little pet peaves with this unit, that do not detr... more

This is the right size generator for most homes for year round standby service. It will run your whole house air conditioner if you experience an outage during the summer months.

The only difficulty I encountered during installation was that the GP26 battery would not fit thru the access opening in the generator. I had to remove some bolts and make about a quarter inch more space for the battery to pass thru into the slot for the battery. Could be that the battery I purchased, which was from Wall Mart might be slightly larger than most. (It was a 630 cca size).

Overall, I am very satisfied with my choice and the purchase went smoothly with a quick delivery, (only three days).

This is the right size generator for most homes for year round standby service. It will run your whole house air conditioner if you experience an outage during the summer months.

The only difficulty I encountered during installation was that the GP26 battery would not fit thru the access opening in the generator. I had to remove some bolts and make about a quarter inch more space for the battery to pass thru into the slot for the battery. Could be that the battery I purchased, which was from Wall Mart might be slightly larger than most. (It was a 630 cca size).
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I live in South Florida and a I'm a Hurricane Andrew survivor...This year we remodeled our house and made it hurricane resistant.

I had a portable 8KW generator, but to make the house more marketable, I decided to install a standby generator. I installed a 14KW Generac 5884 and I am overall very happy with the purchase, delivery and service.

However, I have one complaint... the specs on the generator says that it has a built-in battery charger. If you read further you find out that it is not included and it is actually not built-in. The battery charger is needed to keep the battery charged...why don't they just include the charger instead of calling it built in and then not providing the darn thing.

This decision must have been made by an accountant who was counting pennies and not focusing on customer satisfaction. Now I have to find a trickle charger and install it to keep the battery charged. To think that you spend $3000 on a generator and they don't install a $30 part that is needed, is simply dumb.

Otherwise everything is great with the Generator and Electric Generators Direct.

EGD RESPONDS: To properly connect to the built-in charger (Battery Sentential) the unit must be wired to a Generac automatic transfer switch. In this connection there is a single wire run from the switch (T1) back to the generator (T1) which provides the necessary 120V to the built-in battery charger which keeps the battery charged. When using a non-Generac generator you can void the warranty under their improper installation section.

I live in South Florida and a I'm a Hurricane Andrew survivor...This year we remodeled our house and made it hurricane resistant.

I had a portable 8KW generator, but to make the house more marketable, I decided to install a standby generator. I installed a 14KW Generac 5884 and I am overall very happy with the purchase, delivery and service.

However, I have one complaint... the specs on the generator says that it has a built-in battery charger. If you read further you find out that it is not included and it is actually not built-in. The battery charger is needed ... more