Generac Generator Owners--Anyone get MobileLink yet?

[Matt Meiser]

Generac has a new remote monitoring solution called MobileLink. There's a radio that installs on the generator that communicates on Verizon's network to a web-based service at Generac. The system sends email/text notifications of warnngs, faults, successful excercising, power failures, etc. There's also a web site you can log into in order to see your generator status. The hardware is about $280 including a year of service. After that its $100/yr for the service. I've been wanting to get my alarm company to wire in the generator's alarm output and a relay to tell us we are running on generator. This seems like a much better approach.

Anyone using it yet?

Edit: Yes, Verizon is reliable here, even in a power failure--they have their own generator at the tower nearby--looks to be a Generac, though a slightly larger model.

[Eduard Nemirovsky]

Matt, why do you need to know if generator is running?. Mine located in 20' from my house. If it is on, I can hear it. I'm a gadget' man, but telling the trues I don't see a reason to pay additional money for MobileLink.
But maybe I'm missing something?
Ed.

[Matt Meiser]

If I'm home, sure. I travel quite a bit so there's a good chance I wouldn't be home if there was a problem. Thinking about trying to talk my parents into one too so I know if something is wrong with theirs.

[Tom Fischer]

Thanks for the info Matt.

My 17.5K continuous sounds like a Harley. I know when it is running :eek:, even when it is under the deck.
Aside from oil changes (and I changed mine to synthetic), is it critical to exercise it?
I assume some of these things have sat in Generac wharehouses for quite some time (years?)
Mine has been run-dry and in the basement for 6 months.

[Matt Meiser]

Mine's a 12KW, natural-gas powered, permanently installed one and exercises itself automatically once a week for 10 minutes. Its got an onboard controller that can diagnose faults, and things like telling me the battery is old enough that it should be inspected.

I read that there are magnets in a generator that will loose their magnetism if not run for a long time, with some kind of load. When I had a portable, I'd run it every spring and fall for a half hour or so after changing out the gas with fresh (with Stabil added) and would plug a light into one side for 1/2 the time and the other for the other 1/2 the time. I never had a problem getting it going when I needed it. Key word there being "I" which is why "we" now have a standby.

I went ahead and ordered the MobileLink. I suspect I can sell the indoor monitor accessory we already have for enough to cover the initial cost.

[Phil Thien]

I think it sounds like a great idea.

Without this service, how would you know if the generator is having problems during the weekly test?

[Rod Sheridan]

Engine exercise is important for several reasons

- if you have a gas engine, it consumes the fuel before it turns to glue in your carb

- for all engines it lubricates the engine on a routine basis

- for a diesel engine it consumes the fuel in a reasonable time frame

- all engines need to run under load for a reasonable time. At work I specifiy 80% load for one hour once per month minimum.

Runing the engine at light or no load doesn't do much for the engine, or prove that much more than the starter works, and for a diesel engine it can result in engine danage over the long term.

Diann's parents have a generator and we gave them a 4.8Kw construction heater to run once a month for an hour on it, after leaving their generator unused for 2 years. I hate cleaning carbeuretors..........LOL

[Tom Fischer]

Well, OK.
I had heard a story from the last good ole boy farmer on my street that his three point hitch generator (for his milking parlor) was no good because he hadn't used it in a while. I was thinking 3-5 years.
OK, I will run mine (have two) next weekend.
Thanks guys!

tom

[Eduard Nemirovsky]

Matt, are you planning to install MobileLink by yourself ? And it is not very clear from Generac site, but can you start and exercise your SBG from MobileLink?

Thank you,
Ed.

[Matt Meiser]

Matt, are you planning to install MobileLink by yourself ? And it is not very clear from Generac site, but can you start and exercise your SBG from MobileLink?

Thank you,
Ed.

Yes I plan to install it myself. I installed the generator with the help of a friend (and a contractor stubbed out the gas a year earlier.) Installing it is very straight forward--drill a hole in the cabinet, mount the unit, plug into the control computer and wire power directly to the battery. Then it just needs to be registered on the site to start it up.

I'm not clear either--I'm primarily interested in the text alerts/email alerts. Anything else is a bonus. I can always force it to start by walking out and flipping the switch or even by throwing the breaker that feeds the emergency sub panel.

[Don Morris]

Good info Matt, I'm getting a 20K Generac in the next several mos. The contractor is waiting for the shipment. We ordered an external control for several hundred extra. I guess that's like the MobileLink. Sounds like we made the right decision. If that's not the MobileLink, I'll get that too. We're getting the generator because we weren't here when the big "Wind" last summer hit us in the DC region. We were up in the hills of Virginia. It hit there too, but by the time we got home, the damage was done. Don't want to go through that again. We have Verizon and they're pretty reliable, but we were without power for a week. In the meantime, I'm going to contact the contractor and ask about the MobileLink. I know Onan has that remote monitoring system for their generators, but that whole system was about double the cost of the Generac. We just couldn't justify the cost.

[Matt Meiser]

You probably ordered this: http://www.wisesales.com/generac-advanced-nexus-wireless-remote-monitor.html?utm_source=GoogleBaseFeed&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=GoogleBase&gclid=CMrx3N6Fp7YCFY4-MgodyWAAqw#.UVg391dfaSo

We've got one (so do my parents) and while it does what its supposed to bu of course you have to see it to know there's a problem. Also, its rather ugly hanging on a wall as we did at my parents'. Mine's on my desk for now. They both use the same port on the generator's controller so you can't use both at once as far as I can tell. I intend to eBay mine.

[Matt Meiser]

OK, showed up around 5:30 this afternoon. I gathered the necessary tools, removed the old wireless monitor, and installed the new device before 6:00. Hardest part of the job is drilling the hole in the cabinet to mount it (step drills are a wonderful thing!) I got it registered and within a little while the web site had downloaded the last 50 events from the generator. It actually gives a lot more maintenance status than you get off the generator display which is really nice (explains the battery warning I got a couple weeks ago without having to dig in the manual for example.)

I did end up calling support because I didn't get any texts or emails. While I was on the phone they suddenly came through and after that when I do something to make it change status, I get them within 10 minutes. I don't think that's an unreasonable delay.

Some screen shots from the site:
258934 258937

And an example email.
258936

[Eduard Nemirovsky]

Matt, good job and thank you for report. Can you start your generator wirelessly? What setting can you see and which one can you change with it?
thank you,
Ed.

[Matt Meiser]

No, they don't let you remotely start it for safety reasons. The only thing you can remotely set is the exercise day/time. I'm not clear if it automatically sets the clock or not. Suppose I should try setting it off by an hour and see if it updates automatically. With the old remote I could start, set the clock, and set the exercise from inside. I've done all those things about once so no loss. The notifications are the big feature for me.

[Jim Becker]

I'm considering putting in a 20k Generac (NG) for whole house backup and will certainly check into the MobileLink feature when I do...I also travel a bit and enjoy technology, too.

[Matt Meiser]

We're having some issues with it at the moment--looks like something is hung up with the registration on their side as it keeps losing its connection. They've got an IT analyst working on it, but she did something today that caused my wife and each to get a couple hundred texts :eek:. Luckily our plan includes unlimited texts and they were really good about getting on it right away and get that shut down.

[Matt Meiser]

Well Generac can't figure out what's wrong with my MobileLink. So in a rather shocking phone call today the engineer responsible for the product informed me he'll be here from Wisconsin on Thursday afternoon to troubleshoot the problem! That's some customer service!

[Matt Meiser]

Generac's engineer flew in today. Turns out I had the only bad antenna they've seen which was causing intermittent communication and eventually the module would just shut itself down. He swapped out the antenna and now all appears good.

[Matt Meiser]

Here's a real-world example of the alerts I now get.

260337

[Matt Meiser]

So an update after a year:

- Our original unit stopped communicating over the winter. Generac didn't give me much detail but said there was a software bug in my early version. They shipped me out a replacement at no cost under warranty.
- Overall other than that its been pretty reliable. Occasionally there's a delay in the text messages/emails but
- My first year of service expired 4/3. Never got a notification from them that expiration was pending. I discovered it tonight when I arrived home to find my yard lights out, then got out of the car and heard generators running.