Briggs & Stratton 40336 20kW Standby Generator, Gray

After considerable research on which Whole House Generator to purchase, I decided on the B&S 40396 system. As this was a complete package with Transfer Switch. It was exactly what I needed as my Utility Power is a 400 amp service, split between two 200 amp incoming lines to two 200 amp Electric Panels. So the installation of this system was "just what the doctor ordered." Having been an amazon.com customer for many years, I felt very confident in ordering the system from amazon.com, as they have stood by several problems I have had over the years, and needless to say this was a large purchase.Shipping was very fast! The generator actually arrived in less than a week. But when I unpacked the shrink wrapped box, there was no Transfer Switch enclosed. I had to wait until the next day to open up the actual generator, as I thought the Transfer Switch may have been packed inside. Well it was not there either. I found the amazon.com customer service phone number, after a google search and called. After explaining to the agent that the Transfer Switch was not shipped as it should have been could she check if it was shipped in a different shipment. After being on hold for several minutes, she came back on the line and said this was a large system order and I would need to talk with the large equipment department. And they are closed, as they are only open M-F 8a-6p PT. So I would need to call back during those hours and I would have to go through the same thing all over again, i.e. calling customer service, explaining the problem, missing Transfer Switch and then be connected to the Large Equipment Department, hopefully with no further delay.I called the next morning, got through to the Large Equipment Department, and the agent said, "I didn't know this generator came with a Transfer Switch." I told him to read the description for the product, IT COMES WITH A TRANSFER SWITCH. WHY DO YOU THINK I ORDERED THIS GENERATOR SYSTEM? He said he would need to check with Briggs and Stratton, I could either wait on the line or he could call me back. I said, how about call me back, as I had been on the phone too long as it was. In about 45 minutes, he called back. Said he didn't have any luck talking to anyone in Sales at B&S, but did find someone that confirmed that this system does in fact come with a Transfer Switch. As he could find no inventory through amazon.com he suggested that the fastest way for me to get the Transfer Switch I was due would be to order it from a different vendor. He was able to give me a vendor that had the Transfer Switch in stock and he could put through a credit to my account for the cost of the Transfer Switch, $1800. What choice did I have? I wanted to get the Transfer Switch as quickly as possible and the generator had arrived with no damage. I needed to schedule the electrician for the installation, etc. Good thing I had not made a firm commitment with him!I went to the new vender website and had to create an account, as I had never heard of this vendor. I created an account and ordered the "new" Transfer Switch. I have not received a shipment email yet, but I hope to have the Transfer Switch delivered by the end of the week. This will mean that it will have been 8 days since the delivery of the generator. And yes, I did check. The correct model generator was delivered.In the future, I would hope amazon.com would do a better job of shipment quality control for these large equipment orders.As far as the generator goes, the build quality is good. A few loose wiring holddowns, could have come loose during shipment, but certainly easily fixed during the installation phase. I am looking forward to having the piece of mind of having a fully automatic generator and not having to get out of bed in the middle of the night to get out my gas portable generator, plug it in and fire it up. Just waiting for that day to come!!!

I bought this through Amazon and couldn't be happier. I looked at many generators and am confident Briggs was the best choice. The Vanguard series motor in these has a bulletproof reputation. This unit comes with a 200A rated transfer switch and it's a well made unit.I had never purchased anything this big from Amazon before, and was a little unsure how the shipping would work out. When you place the order you are told the shipper will contact you to arrange delivery when someone is there. They never did contact me, so I had to make a couple of calls to get the final delivery scheduled. It did delay me getting it by a couple of days, but it gave me time to get a concrete base installed for it to set on, so it worked out fine. I do have to give kudos to Amazon, though because when I placed the order they stated a 2 week wait in shipping the unit. I got shipment notification the next day after I placed the order. Good job, Amazon!The unit arrived packaged very well on a pallet and the shipper dropped it out of his truck using his hydraulic lift gate. If your delivery company doesn't have this capability, and you don't have a fork truck available, it would be impossible to get it delivered, especially since it weighs about 500 lbs.To set the unit in place you have to unbolt it off the pallet and then move it to the chosen spot. Briggs has holes in the bottom of the unit that you can slip 1" pipe through and use this to lift the generator to move it. In my case, I inserted the pipes through the unit base and used slings, attaching them to a loader bucket on a tractor and used this arrangement to move it.I did the installation of everything myself, but unless you're an electrician, which I am, I would recommend getting expert help. There are requirements in the electrical portion of the installation that only an electrician would understand. Also, I recommend you have a person with understanding of all gas company requirements do the piping installation. In my case I am using propane and had my LP supplier do the piping and tie in. One thing he commented on was he was impressed this unit came with a stainless steel flex connection, as other manufacturers supply a rubber flex, which his company is reluctant to connect to due to degradation over time.One tip I will give is, after I completed installation the display was telling me I had an error with the Transfer Switch. I had also installed the optional remote monitor in this unit and it had the "service required" led flashing. After some troubleshooting I determined the issue was the two communication wires needed to be swapped at the transfer switch, as they need to be just opposite how they were connected in the generator, and this is not shown in the installation manual. Oddly, even before I found the source of the problem, the generator and transfer switch worked correctly and transferred to generator power when required.Along with the Remote Monitor option, I also installed the Cold Weather Kit. This is needed if your temperature goes below 30 degrees. It warms the oil and the battery to allow extreme cold weather starting. One thing to keep in mind about the Cold Weather Kit is you have to drain the oil in order to install the oil heaters. You'll have to drain it into a clean container, as you need to put it back in the generator when the install is complete. The other issue with installing the oil heaters is it will go much better if you have a stubby ratcheting wrench for the oil heater on the back side of the engine, otherwise it takes a while due to constantly repositioning the wrench in a very tight spot.I highly recommend this unit. Ironically, the night I finished the installation the power went off. We were eating dinner and the lights went out. It was so reassuring to hear the generator start and about 30 seconds later the transfer switched brought the generator on line. That made it all worth it.

Bought this unit with transfer switch bundle to simplify the work on our new home. Took a while to get here, but when it arrived -there was No transfer switch. Called manufacturer - no help. Called Amazon who worked all day trying to get the manufacturer to make good on the product with no avail. No one local had the split 200/400 amp automatic transfer switch. So I give the manufacturer 1 star ! AMAZON .. I give 5 stars! Finally, AMAZON and I were totally frustrated, so she ordered a like unit which won't be delivered for another week. I have to pay the electrician twice! AND - if this bundle also comes without the switch ... We will be in big trouble! Will let you know.

Works great, fairly easy to install. My only disappointments would be that the battery (not included) it recommended wouldn't fit because it requires a top post, not a side post battery, so I had to make a second trip (45mins each way) to the store for parts. Then the delivery process, even after calling to inform them of area/ space around driveway that would limit truck size they sent a rig with a 28ft trailer and had it not been for my awesome neighbors, my generator would have been offloaded next to the highway without an inspection or signature.

Acquired the equipment with the automatic transfer box of 200amp.However, when installed by specialized people, the automatic transfer box does not work.In these moments I have to make the transference of the light manually, that is, the box does not work.

Love the unit. Works well.