[wccountryboy]

Sorry gentleman... but your myths about diesel storage and propane usage are grossly exaggerated.

I have a 200 gallon propane tank that last 3 weeks under load running 24/7....guess what? That's not hyperbole... that is actual data from my usage during 2 hurricane outages of 2 and 3 week durations. Like I said before, having had to chase down 5-8 gallons of gasoline a day to run my gasoline generator during previous hurricane outages, that was the primary reason to toss out the gasoline generators(besides brush lifespans) and opt for the permanent propane generator.

80-100 gallon propane usage a day.... come on, no one is going to believe that.

Brother, I've nothing but respect for you- but an 14-22k propane generator, under 50ish % load, WILL burn fuel at the rates I cited...

Sorry, but I'm not buying 180 gallons (the max allowed in a 200 gallon tank, to allow for expansion) lasting 2 weeks, 24/7. Even the manufacturers don't claim that kind of efficiency....

 

[lightman]

I chose natural gas for the convenance. I didn't want the added work hauling diesel, monitoring fuel levels, ect. The same for propane. My generator is the only thing that I have that runs on gas. (but not for long). I can't hardly tell any difference between the minimum bill and the bill from the time the generator runs. The gas has not been turned off in my area for many years if ever and no one remembers gas pressure dropping so low that stuff won't work. The power in my area is not usually off very often or for very long. I was off twice so far this month for about 6 hours total. All of these facts weighed on my choices. I was looking for something that would give me adequate service with a minimum amount of labor on my part.

I have hooked up several larger diesel generators (300 horse power or so) and have a great amount of respect for a diesel. I just didn't want to mess with fuel. I also didn't want the noise. A cold dead diesel is also a bear to start. I do like the way they will carry the load, don't bog down, ect.

 

[SFC Rick]

Brother, I've nothing but respect for you- but an 14-22k propane generator, under 50ish % load, WILL burn fuel at the rates I cited...

Sorry, but I'm not buying 180 gallons (the max allowed in a 200 gallon tank, to allow for expansion) lasting 2 weeks, 24/7. Even the manufacturers don't claim that kind of efficiency....

Don't worry...The wife just told me I was full of **** and didn't remember it correctly. So I concede that I must be flat out wrong. LOL!

All I can say now it was for days....

 

[USMM guy]

Actually it is only 160 gallons allowed for a 200 gallon tank.

Brother, I've nothing but respect for you- but an 14-22k propane generator, under 50ish % load, WILL burn fuel at the rates I cited...

Sorry, but I'm not buying 180 gallons (the max allowed in a 200 gallon tank, to allow for expansion) lasting 2 weeks, 24/7. Even the manufacturers don't claim that kind of efficiency....

Eighty percent is what they allow.

 

[COLT GOLD CUP]

Thanks for all the answers guy's. You give me some things to think about now.

 

[combat auto]

We have been looking at the generac whole house system. Call me lazy but I want the automatic set up don't want to deal with all the bs and extension cords.

Generac also, natural gas...OP, It is like everything else and analogous to insurance...Hope you don't need it, but if you do, you'll be glad you have it...No big deal for a few hour outage, but during the Sandy Hurricane some people around here lost their electric power for several weeks.

I pay for annual maintenance but you can do it yourself (oil/filter/spark-P/etc.). Only other items I've had is the battery replacement, they don't last too long.

I'd say it is expensive, but think of what many of us on this Forum spend on custom guns, and re-frame your view of expensive .

 

[vhntr1]

I have a 17 kW Generac runs the whole house And my barn have a 500 gallon propane tank to it I've had it nine years runs falsely we lose power quite a bit where I live probably use it five times a year it's been flawless power out for no more than 20 seconds, Best Money I've ever spent.

 

[muzzleblast...]

Another Generac 22 KW air cooled, propane fueled owner here. It was the largest KW output I could find without going to a much more expensive liquid cooled unit unit. I have a 1000 gallon propane tank. The main concern in my area is the potential for major ice storms every few years. The unit fires up and self tests every Wednesday at noon. We have only had a couple of short duration outages in the couple of years I have owned the unit. So, far it has worked well.

 

[CherokeeT]

I have a Generac (sp) whole home system - it has been great up here in the winter when we are often absent First Energy supply for hours, a few times in the summer also. Was hit by lightening once and cost me 1500 to repair but t is worth it. only failed once in 7 years, which is how we discovered the lightening strike. It is programed to test run once a week at a time we are home, and you can also check to see when it last run if you want to. Highly recommend but not cheap.

 

[Taxed2death]

I have a Generac 22Kw system that runs on natural gas and have a kit to convert to propane if needed, not that I have had to to-date. It is programmed to run once a week at a prescribed time for 30 minutes under a load and I have a telemetry system that allows the installer to monitor it for any issues. I also have a contract with them to maintain it with oil changes and other maintenance needs. It has "saved the day" more than once when we have had weather-related power outages, some lasting over a week. It is already very quiet, but I have some noise abatement structure around it to minimize what remaining noise signature it has, and this is very effective as well. I have a very reliable source for natural gas, thus that fuel choice. Mine ran continuously for over a week on the longest outage I've had since installing it, and no issues at all with either the generator or the power in the house.

I do have a backup in the form of a 10Kw diesel generator and an 8Kw gasoline generator. To this add a small Honda generator that I use for camping and at my hunting lease.

If you want to run systems into the house that are not installed as full-house, and not just run a bunch of extension cords, you will want an interface at your breaker box that allows you to plug your generator in and that will prevent feedback to the grid.

 

[1911_Kid]

Can I ask, if its a real long term outage of utilities, and you have limited stored fuel of any kind, and getting more fuel could be problematic, why would you run the whole house?

Even if you didn't turn anything on, there's still some leakage current between wires. And, with a big gen, say 20kW+, if you don't turn anything on the gen is still running wasting fuel.

For DP, wouldn't smaller gas (propane and the like) gen's be the way to go? Maybe a few of them, and then you run them as needed. So maybe one big propane tank + a few BBQ tanks, and then a few smaller gens? Smaller and portable also makes it easier to say take it out in the field to run some electric tools to fix or build something that is needed?

I think of "D" in "DP" as a major thing, like the utilities have been wiped clean from a tornado(s) and you'll be off grid for many months and having to drive for more fuel is close to a full tank of gas in your truck and you not sure gasoline will be at the far end to make it back, or if there will even be gasoline there. Or is this view just too extreme for "DP"?

 

[wccountryboy]

Can I ask, if its a real long term outage of utilities, and you have limited stored fuel of any kind, and getting more fuel could be problematic, why would you run the whole house?

Even if you didn't turn anything on, there's still some leakage current between wires. And, with a big gen, say 20kW+, if you don't turn anything on the gen is still running wasting fuel.

For DP, wouldn't smaller gas (propane and the like) gen's be the way to go? Maybe a few of them, and then you run them as needed. So maybe one big propane tank + a few BBQ tanks, and then a few smaller gens? Smaller and portable also makes it easier to say take it out in the field to run some electric tools to fix or build something that is needed?

I think of "D" in "DP" as a major thing, like the utilities have been wiped clean from a tornado(s) and you'll be off grid for many months and having to drive for more fuel is close to a full tank of gas in your truck and you not sure gasoline will be at the far end to make it back, or if there will even be gasoline there. Or is this view just too extreme for "DP"?

During outages, I have a fairly efficient 3.5k to run freezers and refrigerators, and an older 5k to run everything else. Both are gas. I run them on an "as needed" basis. I got the 3.5k specifically for its purpose, because I need more time to keep those appliances cold enough- and its vastly more efficient than underutilizing the 5k.

 

[Taxvictim]

Generac 22 fueled by natural gas. Our main concern is ice and snow, which strands us and causes trees to fall on power lines. The county and the linemen get to us last. It has worked perfectly every time it was needed.

I tried to save money buying it from Lowes with a coupon ($500) and paying a buddy's electrician to handle the installation. Then I had to go get the permits myself, order the pad, pay the gas company to come hook it up, etc. Better if I had just bought it directly from Generac and let their installation team handle the total process. I also recommend an annual maintenance plan.

 

[Taxed2death]

Can I ask, if its a real long term outage of utilities, and you have limited stored fuel of any kind, and getting more fuel could be problematic, why would you run the whole house?

Even if you didn't turn anything on, there's still some leakage current between wires. And, with a big gen, say 20kW+, if you don't turn anything on the gen is still running wasting fuel.

For DP, wouldn't smaller gas (propane and the like) gen's be the way to go? Maybe a few of them, and then you run them as needed. So maybe one big propane tank + a few BBQ tanks, and then a few smaller gens? Smaller and portable also makes it easier to say take it out in the field to run some electric tools to fix or build something that is needed?

I think of "D" in "DP" as a major thing, like the utilities have been wiped clean from a tornado(s) and you'll be off grid for many months and having to drive for more fuel is close to a full tank of gas in your truck and you not sure gasoline will be at the far end to make it back, or if there will even be gasoline there. Or is this view just too extreme for "DP"?

Preparedness really requires a layered approach in everything you do, which is what I have done with my generators. As I stated earlier, I am fortunate enough to have a very reliable source of natural gas which has not, to date at least, suffered any interruption during significant weather events. This takes care of the more likely scenarios that WILL happen, like hurricanes, floods, and blown transformers or transfer stations as we have experienced more than once in the past few years. For more extreme events I have portables using diesel in one, and gas in the others along with quite a bit of stabilized fuel for all. With the exception of my little Honda generator, the others will power pretty much anything I need (lights, charging rechargeable batteries, fans, etc.) with the exception of AC, and for that I have small portable AC units which have a significantly lower need for power (again, layers). The portables also work when I need power in an area where plugging into the house is not convenient or even possible. If those all fail then I have some solar panels (both fixed and portable) I can use to keep a further reduced list of "essentials" running. I do plan to expand the fixed solar panels in the near future just to add a more capable layer of backup, but what I have at the moment has gotten me through some pretty good trials so far. If the excrement hits the oscillator in a truly catastrophic way, then running the refrigerator and AC will be pretty low on my priority list anyway. But again, I think a layered approach is best, and a well-defined list of priorities on what you want to prepare for goes hand in hand with that.

 

[1911_Kid]

The need for power (energy), so why not invest in some solar panels? No fuel needed.

But if you are heavy into say propane, why bother with pushing propane into a engine that drives a generator? Wasting lots of energy there. Why not just get propane appliances? These days they make small units that are sub $1k and can run on propane/120vac/12vdc, so its truly flexible.

Note: I am not 100% on the efficiency diff between prop-->gen-->fridge vs prop-->fridge. That would need to be looked at.

 

[diedeldr]

Our 21kw Diesel generator is very economical at partial load.
Fuel storage is not an issue for us, because all the family vehicles are Diesel.
We keep about 4-55 gal drums full of “road tax paid” Diesel for the generator.
That runs the house for about 3 weeks.
All the vehicles are topped off as a Hurricane approaches, so there are another 80-100 gallons of Diesel fuel available, if I had to move the vehicle fuel to the generator fuel tank.
After November, the stored generator fuel is used in the vehicles.
Refill drums every Summer, repeat.

The RV is a Diesel too, but has 330 watts of solar and big house batteries, so we can move in there if the house becomes unlivable, and as long as there is Sun, we are good.

 

[HankB]

We started with a generac portable 3.5kw propane unit for necessities; pellet stove, water heater etc. For a portable unit that is not used all the time propane is a better choice than gasoline that is susceptible to stale fuel, or clogging of the fuel plumbing from evaporation.

Propane’s usefulness can be location dependent. Cold temperatures negatively affect its usefulness because it needs heat to change from liquid to gas. A tank exposed to the air in in a cold climate like winter in New England is not going allow enough vaporization to support a large generator. The only solution is to bury the tank below the frost line so that it is exposed to a constant temperature greater than freezing.

So we installed a 20ish kw Koehler powered by natural gas. And of course since then have not had a single power outage.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro

 

[1911_Kid]

Our 21kw Diesel generator is very economical at partial load.
Fuel storage is not an issue for us, because all the family vehicles are Diesel.
We keep about 4-55 gal drums full of “road tax paid” Diesel for the generator.
That runs the house for about 3 weeks.
All the vehicles are topped off as a Hurricane approaches, so there are another 80-100 gallons of Diesel fuel available, if I had to move the vehicle fuel to the generator fuel tank.
After November, the stored generator fuel is used in the vehicles.
Refill drums every Summer, repeat.

The RV is a Diesel too, but has 330 watts of solar and big house batteries, so we can move in there if the house becomes unlivable, and as long as there is Sun, we are good.

Diesel stored how? Your diesel in your vehicles are safe from hurricanes and tornadoes? In-ground tanks? What about flooding? I not saying what you do is bad, I just wondering.

 

[GONRA]

GONRA gotta "Natural Gas" GENERAC in 2001. Very Pleased!!! Automatically runs Usual Stuff, Well Pump too. BUT - not quite "whole house": No AC, kitchen range, clothes dryer.

So, in the Winter we have everything we really need. In summer everything except AC. If his isn't OK, just get a Larger GENERAC....

 

[7.62Kolectr]

All I gotta say is not having power after a hurricane in south Florida mid summer SUCKS!
My portable gas one runs the fridge and we use the propane bbq to cook with.
But man it gets HOT HUMID AND STICKY in the house and I just can’t sleep in that crap.
I want a whole home generator to run some things during the day and the central AC at night.