What You Need to Know Before Ordering a Briggs & Stratton Generator
I'm not a generator expert. I'm an office administrator who's been managing facility equipment purchases for about five years now. Generators are part of that. Before 2020, we relied on a patchwork of rental units. When I took over purchasing that year, the first big project was buying our first standby generator for a new office location.
I made mistakes. I saved money in the wrong places. I learned what questions to ask. Below are the questions I wish someone had answered for me back then.
Frequently Asked Questions About Briggs & Stratton Generators
1. What size Briggs & Stratton generator do I need?
It depends on what you're powering and whether it's portable or standby. For a portable unit to run a few lights, a fridge, and some outlets during an outage, a 3,500 to 5,000 watt unit is usually enough. We have a 7,000 watt portable that handles our workshop tools—barely. If I were ordering again, I'd go bigger.
For a standby generator that automatically powers a whole building, you're looking at 12,000 watts and up. We installed an 18kW Storm Responder model at our main office. It runs the lights, HVAC, and server room without breaking a sweat. I don't have hard data on building-by-building requirements, but my sense is that most commercial applications need at least 12kW—often 18kW or more.
"The question everyone asks is 'what's the wattage?' The question they should ask is 'what are we actually powering?' List every circuit you expect to run. Then double-check. That list is your real spec."
2. What's the deal with the Briggs & Stratton Storm Responder series?
We bought a Storm Responder 12kW for our warehouse. It's designed to start up fast—we're talking seconds after a power drop. We've had two outages since installation, and both times it kicked on before I even noticed the lights flickering. The weatherproof enclosure was a selling point for us since the unit sits outside.
One thing to note: the Storm Responder models are dual fuel (natural gas and propane) or single fuel depending on the model. Ours runs on natural gas. Switching fuel types isn't something I'd want to do in an emergency. Get the installation right the first time.
3. How much does a Briggs & Stratton generator installation cost?
Here's where things get tricky. The generator itself is the headline price, but installation can add 30-50% to your total cost. For our 18kW unit, the generator was around $4,000 (pricing as of 2024). The installation—concrete pad, electrical connection, gas line, permits—ran another $2,500. A bit less for the 12kW unit.
The vendor who lists all fees upfront—even if the total looks higher—usually costs less in the end. I've learned to ask 'what's NOT included' before 'what's the price?' The contractor who gave us the rock-bottom quote for the generator assumed we'd handle the electrical ourselves. We didn't. It cost us $800 extra.
We didn't have a formal approval chain for this kind of expense back then. Cost us when the rush fee showed up on the invoice.
4. Where do I find a Briggs & Stratton dealer near me?
We found ours through the Briggs & Stratton website's dealer locator. It's straightforward. The local dealer handled both the sale and the installation coordination. Working with a single point of contact saved us time and prevented finger-pointing when something went slightly wrong with the schedule.
Look, I'm not saying local is always better. If you're in a rural area like we are, a local dealer who knows the local codes and permits is worth paying a bit more versus a big online retailer who ships a pallet to your loading dock and leaves you to figure out the rest.
5. I keep seeing 'Briggs & Stratton carburetor for generator'—what's that about?
Carburetors are a common replacement part for portable generators. If your generator runs rough, stalls under load, or won't start after sitting for a while, a clogged carburetor is often the culprit. We had this exact issue with our portable unit after it sat unused for 6 months.
The OEM Briggs & Stratton carburetors are usually under $50. We tried a cheap aftermarket one first—$18, maybe? It ran okay for about three weeks. Then it started surging. Net loss: $18 plus the time spent swapping it out twice before buying the OEM part for $42. That $42 part is still working fine a year later.
Worse than expected. Should have just bought the OEM from the start.
6. Can I use a 5 watt solar panel to maintain the generator battery?
This is one of those questions most buyers don't think to ask. Our standby generator has a battery that needs to stay charged so it can start automatically. If the battery dies, the generator won't start—defeating the purpose.
A 5 watt solar panel can maintain a 12V battery under ideal conditions. It's not going to charge a dead battery, but it can keep a charged battery topped off. That's actually what we use—a 5 watt panel connected to a small charge controller, hooked to the generator's battery. It's been sitting there for two years without issue.
Better than nothing. Exactly what we needed.
7. What about maintenance? Do I need a Briggs & Stratton air filter or a Toro Recycler 22 air filter?
Different machines, different filters. A Briggs & Stratton generator uses a specific air filter. A Toro Recycler 22 mower has its own filter. Don't mix them up. We did that once. The Toro filter didn't fit the generator and vice versa.
We order filters online now. The OEM Briggs & Stratton filter is about $12. Change it every 100 hours of runtime or once a year—whichever comes first. The first time we skipped the annual change, we noticed the generator ran a bit rougher. Could have been a coincidence, but I doubt it.
8. What's the return policy if the generator doesn't work for my setup?
Return policies on generators are not generous. These are heavy, expensive, and often installed. Most online sellers have a 30-day return window, but you're paying the return shipping on a 200+ pound unit. That's not realistic.
What I've learned: work with a dealer who will commission the unit on-site. If it's not working properly—or if it's the wrong size—they'll know before you're stuck with it. Our dealer included a 90-day workmanship warranty on the installation. Lost money on a rush job early on taught me to budget the time for a proper commissioning.
I should add that we've never needed to return a Briggs & Stratton unit—they've been reliable—but having the peace of mind of a local dealer was worth the talk we had upfront about what happens if something goes wrong.
Final Practical Advice
If you're ordering a generator for your business, my one piece of advice is this: get the installation quote in writing before you buy the generator. The total cost of ownership includes base price, installation, permits, fuel line connections, and any concrete work. The lowest quoted price for the generator itself isn't always the lowest total cost. It rarely is.