After a couple days of research, I think we've narrowed the list of potential new generators down to three contenders: the Kohler 14RES, Briggs and Stratton 15kW, and Cummins Onan RS13A. They're all pretty comparable in terms of energy output, noise level, and price, so we've enlisted the help of Green Earth Energy (who is also installing our solar power system) to help us come to a decision. GEE has installed quite a few LP generators as part of solar power systems over the years, so I'm confident they'll be able to point us in the right direction.
For my part, I'm still leaning toward the Kohler; the 14RES was recently re-worked and now comes with a non-corrosive housing as well as a limited warranty for off-grid situations (which was not the case with their older models).
I've been asked why we're looking at such a big generator now that we have the solar and battery system in the works. The answer lies in how we intend to use it. Since large electric devices (specifically the washer and dryer) will drain the batteries pretty quickly, we plan to get all of our washing, etc, out of the way while we're letting the generator top off the batteries. Even though we'll only run the generator sporadically, it'll have a pretty large load on it each time we do: 8-12kW based on some quick calculations. At the very least, we don't want to get a generator smaller than 8kW since that's what the inverter is sized to handle. For most brands, the next step up from 8 is the 12-15 range.
Six more days until we're back in the real world!
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