Three phase sets are hired by kVA, and the quote follows the size: around $250 to $450 a day at 60 kVA, and weekly or monthly terms once you pass about 200 kVA. Before any of that matters, the voltage and configuration have to match what your equipment expects, because a set that cannot be connected is a delivery charge for nothing.
Voltage comes before kilowatts
Ask what your loads want: 208 volt wye, 240 volt delta, 480 volt or something a transformer has to make. Many rental sets are switchable between configurations, but not all of them, and the switch is a job for the electrician who connects it. Send the yard a photo of the equipment nameplate and let them read it.
The biggest motor sizes the set, not the total
Add up running loads and you will undersize badly, because motors draw several times their running current on start. A single compressor, pump or lift can be the reason a set has to be a size larger than the arithmetic suggests. Tell the yard the largest motor, whether it soft starts, and whether anything must ride through a start.
Cables, panels and who is allowed to connect it
A set arrives with lugs or connectors, not with your distribution. Spider boxes, cam lock cables and a panel are hired separately, and the connection to a building supply is licensed electrical work with a transfer arrangement, never a backfed cord. OSHA's construction wiring rules cover the temporary side of that installation.
What a week costs against a month
Yards price a week near three to four day rates and a month well below four weeks, so a planned outage of three weeks is cheaper booked as a month. Fuel is billed on top by the gallon or by a full tank policy, and a service visit is scheduled on longer hires. Ask which of those are in the quote.
Questions people ask about 3 phase generator rental
Can I get three phase power from a single phase supply?
Not from the utility side without a supply change, which is why a rental set is the usual answer for temporary three phase. A phase converter is an alternative for one machine but rarely for a site. If the need is short, a generator is almost always the faster route.
How many kVA do I need?
Work from the nameplates: total running load, plus the starting demand of the largest motor, plus headroom for what gets added later. Yards will size it for you from that list and usually recommend one step up. Undersizing shows as flickering, tripping and stalled motors rather than as a clean failure.
Does the yard deliver and set up a three phase generator?
They deliver, position and commission the set, and on larger units that is included in the quote rather than optional. Connecting it to your equipment or building is your electrician's work. Agree the drop point in advance, because a towable set still needs a truck to reach it.