Portable Dual Fuel Generator

[mesupra]

I would strongly consider a diesel gen-set. Company in Maine makes a variety of different combinations, several with small single cylinder Kubota diesels. If you use a generator for any length of time diesel quickly pays for itself. I have 6000watt Baldor with a Hatz diesel that will run most everything (lights, tv, on demand hot water etc.) while burning as little as .3 gallons per hour. http://www.centralmainediesel.com/diesel-generators.asp I have no connection but know people who do and have heard great things. Propane might be a good option where you have such a large tank but I think if you look at the cost of fuel and consumption you will see propane quickly becomes a less than ideal fuel source for a generator.

 

[hamish]

As Mesupra said, propane is extremely inefficent.

 

[jr27236]

Here's a good chart of the BTU rating of different fuels

 

[2412]

91k vs 124k doesn’t seem very extreme to me, especially when you consider that it will sit in the tank for nearly a year, or more.

 

[2412]

And gasoline costs 2 to 3 times more per gallon.

Seems like LPG is a much better deal.

 

[ChoppyChoppy]

Sounds like you need insulation if your house dropped 25* in just a few hours!

 

[mesupra]

If you were following along the intended comparison was between propane and diesel. Not sure around your area but diesel and propane prices are usually close with diesel being cheaper. You can also run #2 without issue for even cheaper.

 

[CentaurG2]

Real world numbers for the little honda. Looks like about 20 hours run time on a standard propane tank (20lbs). That is probably about 3 gals of gasoline assuming about 8 hours per gal. I think the last time I filled a twenty pound tank of propane was around 20 bucks. Gasoline is running about $2.59 here.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SBbv0YvbP_Y

 

[mesupra]

Real world numbers for the little honda. Looks like about 20 hours run time on a standard propane tank (20lbs). That is probably about 3 gals of gasoline assuming about 8 hours per gal. I think the last time I filled a twenty pound tank of propane was around 20 bucks. Gasoline is running about $2.59 here.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SBbv0YvbP_Y

That seems pretty consistent from what I have seen. So for about the same cost you can produce around 2 times the power for the same cost with diesel.

 

[wrx-snowdrift]

Sounds like you need insulation if your house dropped 25* in just a few hours!

What I need is a new house! Yeah it was a little over 3 hours without power and with a 20mph South wind which we have no protection from (I have spruce trees planted but they are only about 4-5ft tall). Our house is a very old farmhouse and we need new windows, doors insulation, siding, etc. When we remodeled the upstairs bathroom the fiberglass insulation was about an inch thick and that was it.

 

[ChoppyChoppy]

Unless you plan on being without power for weeks on end, a ~7000 watt portable gen set should be more than adequate for most houses.

I had 2 diesel gen sets I bought at auction, ended up selling them. Decided it wasn't worth the bother to set one up.
Most of the time the power goes out in the winter, so worst case I can put food outside if I don't feel like firing up my portable gen set.
I've got a few battery led lanterns, wood stove for heat, kitchen stove is gas. Only thing that sucks is no water (community well with no backup power)

Gas vs propane? Well propane stores better. More so an issue with the gasahol most of you guys have.

 

[panolo]

I've seen thousands of gens come across the work bench and the number one issue is gasoline break down and gumming. Doesn't matter the brand or the size. For sporadic use propane is the most reliable and less problematic. Diesel gen's are way more efficient but they can give you issues if your not running them as well. Plus usually the repairs are twice as much and you have to have qualified folks to work on them if you need repairs. Most gasoline gen techs don't know jack about diesel gens. Diesel just isn't a small engine common repair item. Used to have people come from hundreds of miles to have us repair diesel gens because the manufactures and previous customers recommended us. People that their gens sat in a diff shop for months because they couldn't get it figured.

 

[2412]

If you were following along the intended comparison was between propane and diesel. Not sure around your area but diesel and propane prices are usually close with diesel being cheaper. You can also run #2 without issue for even cheaper.

According to the chart, diesel has 10% more btu than gas. Everywhere that I have traveled in the US over the last 10 years or so, Road diesel has been at least 10% higher in price than regular gasoline. Off road delivery has been even higher.

Delivered LPG, even in winter, is less than $2.00 per gal. It’s a lot less than that for a summer fill.

 

[2412]

Real world numbers for the little honda. Looks like about 20 hours run time on a standard propane tank (20lbs). That is probably about 3 gals of gasoline assuming about 8 hours per gal. I think the last time I filled a twenty pound tank of propane was around 20 bucks. Gasoline is running about $2.59 here.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SBbv0YvbP_Y

Oh, there’s your problem! You are buying barbecue fuel.

 

[Bobby Kirbos]

Don't forget that generally speaking you do take a 10% hit on output power when running on propane.

I did the math a bunch of years ago when I added a propane kit to my gen set (5.5kW Coleman, 11HP Tecumseh engine).

Assuming that the btu/hr burn rate is consistent no matter what fuel is used, it looks like I need about one 40 pound propane can to equal one 5 gallon gas can.


Here is the math that supports the above statement:

• gasoline / propane (btu per lb) = 115k/90k = 1.278
• gasoline = 6.25 lb/gal
• 6.25 * 1.278 = 7.99 lbs of propane

Call it 8 lbs of propane = 1 gallon of gasoline (in btu per lb).

 

[wrx-snowdrift]

Diesel seems like an interesting option, however, since I likely won't be running it long, or hopefully at all, the additional cost of a diesel generator negates the long term savings. Some day if we build a new house and incorporate a generator into the build I think I would consider diesel but for my needs right now gas/propane seems like the obvious choice for me. Especially considering panolo's thoughts.

I've seen thousands of gens come across the work bench and the number one issue is gasoline break down and gumming. Doesn't matter the brand or the size. For sporadic use propane is the most reliable and less problematic. Diesel gen's are way more efficient but they can give you issues if your not running them as well. Plus usually the repairs are twice as much and you have to have qualified folks to work on them if you need repairs. Most gasoline gen techs don't know jack about diesel gens. Diesel just isn't a small engine common repair item. Used to have people come from hundreds of miles to have us repair diesel gens because the manufactures and previous customers recommended us. People that their gens sat in a diff shop for months because they couldn't get it figured.

 

[mesupra]

Propane over gasoline any day of the week if all you can get is ethanol laces fuel. I agree the increased cost of a diesel generator is substantial for something that might only see a couple hours of run time a year. I put over 120 hours on my generator just last year with 1 outage.

Anyway you cut it diesel is the best and cheapest fuel option for a generator!!

 

[CentaurG2]

I am not familiar with anything propane other than 20lb gas cylinders for BBQ grills and the small bottles you can use for torch or coleman lanterns. The OP was looking for a portable generator. Can you fill a 20lb bottle from a home system? I think you can fill the small bottles from a 20lb tank.

 

[stumpy75]

Anyone have any experience with portable dual fuel (gas/propane) generators?

Looking at this Champion 7500watt model
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01A0TLE5U/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_XtiZBbGG8N5TZ

I’d like a generator to run a Vaporfire 100, fridge and 2 medium sized chest freezers in the event of a power failure. Also might be nice to be able to run the central air AC in the event of a summer storm. We very rarely lose power and when we do it’s generally only for an hour or less but 2 years ago (before we had a wood furnace) we were out for several hours and it was below zero F and very winding outside and the house dropped to 45 before power came back on. Can’t image the people in these hurricanes and tornadoes losing power for days or even weeks.

I really like the thought of running dual fuel. I could add a hookup off the propane line running into the house and connect right outside the house and be tapped into the 1000gal propane tank. I also like the ability to move it around and run gas if need be. The reviews seem good but wanted to get some other opinions.

I have no experience with dual fuel, but have a smaller (4000/5500max) gas powered Craftsman generator for emergencies. I've had to use it for extended winter periods(4 days) a couple of times. Never tried to power the AC. Mine is loud, does not have an eco setting and is not an inverter type. But it powered the furnace, wood stove, one refrigerator, some lights and the TV just fine.

The biggest plus I see with your situation is the 1000 gallon propane tank. I worried about finding gasoline when we were out, as so were a lot of gas stations... If I was in your situation, I would probably just run it on propane, as sooner or later, the gas is going to gum up the carb when you forget to run it enough. Either that, or the ethanol will rot out the rubber parts. No problem with that using propane! And you always have gasoline as a backup. Just my 2 cents.

 

[2412]

I am not familiar with anything propane other than 20lb gas cylinders for BBQ grills and the small bottles you can use for torch or coleman lanterns. The OP was looking for a portable generator. Can you fill a 20lb bottle from a home system? I think you can fill the small bottles from a 20lb tank.

I just ran a pipe. Extended from my LP stove. I don’t leave it connected, I’d have to take the wheels off the genny to meet code. I may do that some day.