Repurposing a Home Backup Generator

[Joe Jones]

I have a 20Kw CUMMINS ONAN home generator that I am going to sell. The engine itself runs great, and only has about 20 hours of use on it total, mostly from periodic "exercise" sessions. My ground near my home was struck by lightning, and the delicate electronics in the transfer box, and the circuit board that works with the transfer box both sustained damage. I paid out $4,200.00 to repair them, but they still do not work, and Cummins Onan says "those parts are no longer available."

WTF?!? So I am not putting another dime into this genset. I will remove it from the concrete pad, and mount it onto a HFT trailer with a small propane tank, and sell it to someone who wants to build a portable welder, or run a water pump or something. OR it can be wired into a house with a MANUAL transfer switch to power a home during a blackout, or a zombie apocalypse. I will replace this one with a GENERAC home generator that has a WARRANTY and BACKS their products. I am also going to buy a SPARE brand new circuit board and whatever for this new generator, and keep it handy for when this happens again, years down the road.

The engine and the generator are both absolutely fine. It runs like a sewing machine! It is the components that connect it to the service panel and switch to generator power during a blackout that no longer work, and evidently cannot be replaced by CUMMINS ONAN. I just don't want to %^&* with it any longer.

I paid $6,300.00 for the generator itself. The transfer box and the labor to connect everything together is just lost money.

I will sell the generator AS-IS in running condition for $3,500.00. I can deliver it to any location near me, or within a day's drive, or more. This has plenty of power to run a 4-ton AC unit, and power the rest of the home. It is rated as one of the quietest gensets made (at the time.) It comes with the sound muffling enclosure too.

If I do not sell it, I will just plant it on a pad between my two workshops, and use it for AUX power when it may be needed. I really HATE this, but I don't want to have to get up in the dark of the night, in a storm, or in freezing temperatures, or heave rains, and walk out to the back of the house to MANUALLY fire up a generator, only to have to do it again once the power is restored. The whole purpose of a home backup generator is to have it provide power automatically when the power goes out! This one provides 20Kw of power.

This generator is located in Franklin, KY.

Anyone interested in the genset for your own project or purpose, send me an email.

Joe