Have enough gasoline for your generator?

[callbay]

A couple of friends of mine have bought large portable gasoline generators for power outages. I got the model number for one of them and looked on line for the fuel usage. It uses 30 gallons a day. For a week that would be 42 five gallan cans of gas.

My point is most people have no idea how much gas their generators use and will be in for a rude awakening if they have a long power outage. Most guys have just a few five gallon cans and the gas stations loose power also in an outage and bad roads can make it impossible to get more fuel.

I just looked up a couple of models of portable gasoline generators. At only 50% power an 8,000 watt model used 9 gallons in 10 hours and a 6,500 watt model used 9 gallons every 11 hours.

I also just read about after one of the recent hurricanes the natural gas was turned off in a lot of places to prevent fires so natural gas powerd generators might not always work.

Maybe the best solution is LP gas in your own tank. One of our generators is a 10HP Coleman and a few years ago I bought a kit to change it over so it can run LP or gasoline. It works great on LP.

Any thoughts, guys?

 

[cchase]

You don't have to run the generator 24/7. Just enough to keep the refrigerator cold, the circulator (if needed) on the boiler running, maybe a light or something in the evening. Fuel usage depends on the load, low loads may use less fuel than listed.

 

[HerrStig]

If you live close enough to water that underground gas pipes are endangered by storms you has best relocate until it passes.
LP is a good choice, though, if you want to run your Genset while the waves are breaking on the front steps. Local outfit here has new 100 pound tanks, delivered FULL for about 200 bucks.

 

[chefwong]

It depends on multiple things. How big is the tank, tank storage, buried tank, or are you planning to store a couple of 100lb LP tanks. And if you go underground, how easily deliverable is LP in your area, etc. Lotsa factors to consider..aside from the obvious, which is you are limited by what get's *shut down*

 

[JHZR2]

This was my point during Sandy when everyone is advocating these huge generators. My point came to fruition when you saw the gas lines in NY and NJ.

What good is a guzzler if you cant fuel it and have it run for a LONG time? What good is a giant, loud generator and lit up home in a more dire situation, when everyone knows who is powered and has food and water? Guess whose home the crazies wil come knocking at first?

The optimal to me is if you heat your home on heating oil, to use that. The logistics are far more simple.

Many people in many places dont have, nor want the infrastructure for LP. Plus the energy density and cycle efficiency is poor compared to other fuels, so you may need 50% more just to get the same outcome.

The key IMO is to be realistic about what you need to run and have on, and design your approach accordingly. Not every load needs to be on in most scenarios.

 

[MichiganMadMan]

Originally Posted By: cchase
You don't have to run the generator 24/7. Just enough to keep the refrigerator cold, the circulator (if needed) on the boiler running, maybe a light or something in the evening. Fuel usage depends on the load, low loads may use less fuel than listed.

+1
I was thinking the same thing. You don't need 6KW to turn on a night light.
When the remnants of Sandy went through here, I lost power for about 30 hours. I didn't even fire up the generator until the house got cold.
I also have a small one that has just enough power to keep the fridge going. 1 gallon will last most of the day. I use the large generator only when I need to power the furnace, etc.
I have about 20 gallons of gas in cans, plus whatever is in the two cars...

 

[JHZR2]

Originally Posted By: cchase
You don't have to run the generator 24/7. Just enough to keep the refrigerator cold, the circulator (if needed) on the boiler running, maybe a light or something in the evening. Fuel usage depends on the load, low loads may use less fuel than listed.


+1. The challenge though is that the specific fuel consumption is much worse at low loads, so you really want as highly loaded a generator as possible for efficiency sake, but be smart about how it is all run.

I agree with your comments.

 

[demarpaint]

Lots of people learned the hard way where I live when Sandy took out power and the gas supply. Waiting hours upon hours on line for gas only to find the stations weren't even going to open. Or they ran out of gas long before you'd get anywhere near the pump. IMO the best generators burn more than one fuel, natural gas would be my preference. In 30 years of owing a house I've never been without natural gas. JMO

BTW they ran out of LP gas too, people with electric stoves resorted to BBQ's to cook. Many people who ran the generators a few hours a day to conserve eventually ran out of gas.

 

[HerrStig]

Originally Posted By: cchase
You don't have to run the generator 24/7. Just enough to keep the refrigerator cold, the circulator (if needed) on the boiler running, maybe a light or something in the evening. Fuel usage depends on the load, low loads may use less fuel than listed.
+1 Those are full load ratings. Inverter units under partial load burn MUCH less fuel. In the UK, a lot of the portable units are small diesels.

 

[callbay]

I agree with shutting off the generator when you can but these gas usage amounts are usually rated for just 50% usage. Some of the guys wives I know would be very upset if the generator was shut off. One of them was close to a beakdown with no power for three days with our last outage.

We have a 500 gallon LP tank which is very common. I have a friend in Florida that used his extra large V/6 powered generator for six days without shutting it off before he ran out of fuel. The friend had a 500 gallon LP tank.

 

[B00kemDan0]

Save fuel and use deep cell batteries. Look at what the home solar guys use on YouTube.

Just like we run on our NASCAR bus, we've got a bank of 4 deep cell batteries along with a 6.5kw Onan genny and 5kw inverter. Those 4 batteries will run all the basic essentials for a COUPLE OF DAYS -- lights, water pump, LCD tv, bluray, power steps, radio, etc. But when we run the 1kw DJ system or the microwave, we'll run the genny. Genny will run for 3-4 hours and charge the battery bank back up to 12.6v. Trick is to not let the batteries DIE before charging them. Catch them before they fall below 11.5v, otherwise you won't get the same life out of them on 3-4hr genny charge. Instead they'll need a good 6+ hour charge. STILL...you'll be using 6 hrs of fuel instead of 24hrs.

 

[carwreck]

Originally Posted By: callbay
A couple of friends of mine have bought large portable gasoline generators for power outages...
Any thoughts, guys?


I read on the internet that you can power your generator by hydrogen gas created from on old car battery !

___________________________________________________________________________________

(Yes, stupid, dump, sarcasm in case you don't know. Search yahoo "invented a generator powered")

 

[SwampSurvivor]

For a large generator I'd rather have diesel. The diesel doesn't go bad (or ... at least not as quick as gas).

In the even that there were mass casulties (such as zombie apocalypse) nearly every rural house up here has a couple hundred gallons in the basement!

 

[B00kemDan0]

Also, if you're storing pump gas with 10%+ ethanol, you'll need to add some kind of stabilizer to store it more than 30-days. It'll varnish that quickly and you're genny hours-per-gallon will deteriorate.

 

[TFB1]

Originally Posted By: JHZR2
Originally Posted By: cchase
You don't have to run the generator 24/7. Just enough to keep the refrigerator cold, the circulator (if needed) on the boiler running, maybe a light or something in the evening. Fuel usage depends on the load, low loads may use less fuel than listed.


+1. The challenge though is that the specific fuel consumption is much worse at low loads, so you really want as highly loaded a generator as possible for efficiency sake, but be smart about how it is all run.


I agree with your comments.



But if it uses half the fuel at 35% efficiency, running a light load will double the run time...

I got by after Isabel took us out for three days on a 12v window fan(radiator fan from a 4cyl Mustang), a couple 12V lights and small 12v TV, connected to the car battery... Ran the car for approx 20 minutes every couple hours when they were in use, to keep battery charged... It used less than 1/2 tank of gas, but had other vehicles with gas and 35 gal in a van I had out back if needed...

 

[Donald]

For people with 100 gal (or larger) propane tanks I think its a no brainer to get a propane generator. I think one made specifically for propane/natural gas has a higher compression ration or so I have gathered from reading.

Diesel is good, but need one that is 1800 RPM, not a cheap diesel one. And its expensive and need to understand starting a diesel in the winter.

For the rest of us, a propane with a few 100 lb tanks or a gas generator is reasonable. I agree to using the generator half the day. Plan on 5 to 7 days outage. Should be able to do it with 20 gallons of gas. As yes you have to stabilize it and even then cycle it to your car after 6 months or 12 months.

You cannot plan for weeks to months of no electricity. Its just not practical.

But the starting point is a peak hold digital ammeter to measure all your loads. Work up a plan.

If you are not a city slicker and have a well pump, the minimum should be 5000W continuous. A 3/4 HP will need more like 7500W continuous.

 

[fxrider]

Honda EU2000i will do the job great & uses very little gas. this will run my pellet stove, fridge, Tv & Dvd player.

 

[tig1]

Originally Posted By: cchase
You don't have to run the generator 24/7. Just enough to keep the refrigerator cold, the circulator (if needed) on the boiler running, maybe a light or something in the evening. Fuel usage depends on the load, low loads may use less fuel than listed.


+1. I store 30 gal for my 5K gen set. In fact I am test running as I post this. I do this twice a year if not used in between. You have to use a gen sparingly don't run it 24-7. I can make my 30 gal last a week if need be. If you lose power then you are in crises mode for power not business as usual.

 

[JHZR2]

Originally Posted By: Donald
If you are not a city slicker and have a well pump, the minimum should be 5000W continuous. A 3/4 HP will need more like 7500W continuous.


Do they not put a soft starter on these pumps? That is enormous.

1 hp is 1380W or so. So a 3/4 hp motor is maybe 1kW of load.

I can understand that the inrush might be >10:1 on a current basis, but do they not sell, optimally, a basement or breaker box-mounted capacitor to provide some ride through? Especially for something like this, it would seem to me to be a no brainer...

If it could soft start, one might even be able to rig up a 240V inverter and run it off of a modern car 150A alternator... in a pinch.

 

[punisher]

Years ago I was contemplating a home in Florida. I was looking at some homes out of my price range and noticed a fair amount of them had really nice backup generating systems. A couple that stuck out were a 2 X 1000 gallon LP 30Kw system, and the nicest I saw was a 2 X 2500 gal LP system with a 50Kw generator.

You could go through a hurricane and lose power and never miss a beat.