Kohler 14RESAL-100LC16 14,000-Watt Air-Cooled Standby Generator with 100 Amp/16-Circuit Automatic Transfer Switch

One Star...but "I hate it" is not exactly fair. We love Kohler plumbing. We did a massive renovation and had both exceptional customer service and a wonderful experience with the quality of the product. This led us to buy this 14KW Kohler generator and the Service Entrance Automatic Transfer Switch. The installation in October went perfectly, The initial start up too. In mid December we had an outage that lasted about 3 hours and the unit was perfect. At some point since then, and we don't know when, the unit failed. It only has 4.8 hours on it and when we had our last outage last about 2 weeks ago, but the generator never kicked in. I called Kohler last week and they directed me to the local distributor who came out a couple of days later. Attached is a redacted copy of the report. Turns out the governor linkage was installed backwards at the factory. It also appears that one of the valve rockers came loose and jammed into the exhaust valve spring. This caused mayhem and the cylinder head has to be replaced. This is clearly a quality control issue on the factory floor. It will be fixed under warranty, but the elapsed time will be 3+ weeks. Had my pipes burst, there would have been a law suit. What I find particularly upsetting is that Kohler wants to charge $250 for the software that could have told me about the failure the moment it occurred, rather than finding out from the power company. I sent Kohler a note about why I was upset, but never heard back. On the flip side, I'm an engineer and everything about their product is clearly very well done. The failure has nothing to do with their engineering, but a mistake on the factory floor, so one cannot hold the entire firm or the product accountable for the issue. It's a management issue.In conclusion, I have mixed feelings. The Quality Control is lacking. The Customer Service is lacking. The engineering is excellent. Ownership of the issue is OK. I'm probably going to write Herb Kohler directly...after all, my generator has his name on it.Their OnCue software is a selling point, and should not be an add-on. I have a right to know that my generator failed after 4.8 hour, and I shouldn't have to pay for this information. They need to fire their QC manager and fix the factory floor issues.

While I haven't had an outage yet I can tell you that since I've had this,I am very impressed with its quality, performance and quietness. Read many bad reviews on Generac generators where first of all they had problems early in their life and second of all Generac was less than cooperative to help them out.. Just couldn't find that many bad reviews on a Kohler unit.... Even made a call to their headquarters about a question on the unit today, I had a live body within two minutes and they answered my question and also referred me to a regional dealer who could help me with any future questions... That is a mark of a quality company,is how well they handle their customer service....Update: July 2017... Still going strong and runs like a champ. Easy once a year service and got a new battery last year. Other than that, Flawless. Within 10 sec of an outage you hear it crank and take off and power is ON. No fuss no muss. When the event is over it goes back to its business of waiting for the next outage. Well worth the money..... This is on my barn, also have a 20 RESA on my house, Flawless also !

I know of several people who had big issues with Generac. Not honoring warranty is one thing, but taking months to get parts is unacceptable for a backup generator. So, I chose Kohler. Even the Generac-certified electrician liked Kohler better.Do not forget to wire a separate 3-wire 120v line to the unit. It is needed to charge the battery and to provide power to its auxiliary outlet -- which can be used for battery heater or WiFi (to avoid wiring an optional Ethernet cable).This unit performs a 20-minutes exercise every 7-days at the same time. This cannot be changed except by resetting the unit at the time you want this to start. If you want some flexibility, purchase the optional software or buy the 14RESA model (instead of 14RESAL).

The electrician that installed my new Kohler generator had nothing but good things to say about the unit. He installs a LOT of generators and said he has never had a call back or a warranty issue with a Kohler, which he can not say about the other major brand he installs.DO be aware, that Kohler requires that a Kohler-certified technician do the pre-start diagnostics and initial startup in order for the warranty to be valid. If your installer is not Kohler certified, this will be an extra cost service.

Not the cheapest generator out there but you get what you pay for in my opinion. Just be sure you get a professional electrician to hook it up. No sense skimping on something so critical to your home. I bought it based on other reviews and the product lives up to its reputation of being reliable and reasonably priced.

We just installed this and haven't had to use it yet but I'm already impressed with how quickly it fires up and especially with how quiet it is. I accidentally ordered an indoor transfer switch when I wanted the outdoor version and Amazon was very good about refunding for the transfer switch.

Be sure of installation costs for hookups for gas and the electrical service. Prepare in advance for qualified licensed people to install it. This installation might qualify you for a discount on your homeowners insurance policy. Very satisfied with the purchase.

Not reliable. Digital readout and warnings are useless. After 6.8 hours it gave a warning that Maintenance was Overdue. Not the case at all. It was just a dead battery. Service company charged me nearly $1200.00 to change the battery. AND I SUPPLIED THE BATTERY.I will never buy anything with the Kohler name on it again.