Generator, 10,000W dual fuel gas & propane ??

[wdn]

Does anyone own a dual fuel portable gas/propane generator? Do you run it solely off of barbecue gas propane bottles, e.g. Blue Rhino? Any concerns? Will operating on propane only be completely clean with respect to carburetor and fuel lines (which is what killed my last one, one moment of forgetfulness to shut off fuel and run it dry after 7-8 years killed my current one ). This one is electric start and runs off propane bottles or gasoline but I would be running it only with propane.

 

[billt460]

I don't have a high capacity generator, (just a 600 watt Honda), but I would get one like you have when the time comes to buy one. Propane runs much cleaner than gasoline. Less carbon monoxide as well. Plugs will last a lot longer. And the fuel won't go bad. The downside is the unit won't put out as much fueled with propane, as it will with gasoline. But a 20 pound tank holds around 4.6 to 4.7 gallons of liquid propane. So you can calculate your run time off that. Remember that exchange tanks, (Blue Rhino and the like), are all short filled. Most charge a 20 pound bottle with only 15 pounds. So you might want to purchase your own tank. And maybe go with a 30 pound, or even larger tank. That way you'll have increased run time.

 

[Fawteen]

Originally Posted by wdn

Does anyone own a dual fuel portable gas/propane generator?

Yup. A Champion 9375.

Originally Posted by wdn

Do you run it solely off of barbecue gas propane bottles, e.g. Blue Rhino? Any concerns?

Yes and no. I have an outdoor kitchen so we always have at least 3 extra 20# tanks. An extra for the grill/cooktop, an extra for the smoker, and one more "just in case". I like the dual fuel-should we have an extended power outage (like during Michael) I can always grab a couple empty tanks and run up the highway a few miles and exchange them. Or if for some reason that's not an option, I could always switch over to gas. I have no concerns whatsoever about running it on LP.

Originally Posted by wdn

Will operating on propane only be completely clean with respect to carburetor and fuel lines (which is what killed my last one, one moment of forgetfulness to shut off fuel and run it dry after 7-8 years killed my current one ). This one is electric start and runs off propane bottles or gasoline but I would be running it only with propane.

Never had a single issue with running it off propane exclusively. The Champion doesn't have an "off" switch. In order to kill the engine you simply turn the fuel off. It stops in less than a couple seconds on propane. I get about 5 hours on a 20# tank when it's running under significant load. Running a lighter load would extend that, or running it off a larger tank would also extend that. The problem that I see with a larger tank is that there are no exchange options. A 20# tank can be exchanged on almost every street corner (even our grocery store has the Blue Rhino exchange). But a larger tank has to be filled at a local propane dealer, which may or may not also be part of a widespread power outage.

 

[wdn]

Thanks. I just placed the order Sam's Club is having a one day members sale. I bought it for $648 delivered which is $150 off.

 

[spasm3]

The only advantage i see to propane is that is does not go bad when stored. Propane has probably 25% less energy than gasoline so you will use more. To me its easier to store and cycle through fuel than keep tanks of propane around. Easier and more places to buy gas, unless its a huge wide spread outage. I can keep more energy stored in less space with gasoline that i ever could with propane. Now a generator that runs off of your natural gas supply would be great. No storage required. Always there, and no supply limit. I have two generators, and a propane option was nothing i looked for when shopping. I may get a new larger one. I have a 20 year old 8/10k one and a newer HF 4375 . If i replace the older one, i won't be shopping based on propane. In about 15 years i will go with a permanent standby natural gas model.

 

[spasm3]

Originally Posted by wdn

Thanks. I just placed the order Sam's Club is having a one day members sale. I bought it for $648 delivered which is $150 off.

Looks like a decent price. The nice thing is, it has 240volt outlets, you could run a gas furnace. Even your clothes dryer if you have the connection, and manage your other loads. I have to have 240 for well pump to have water. Gas heat and gas water heater. I basically can run my whole house on 8-10k except for air conditioning in the summer.

 

[wdn]

I had a Reliance gentran installed in my basement by a professional electrician. It is the same cable plug connection as the 240V/30A socket on the new generator. It runs 2 gas furnaces a well pump, refigerator, microwave, garage openers and kitchen and upstairs hallway lights. That was before I switched to all LED lighting. The old generator was only 5,500 watts which was a bit undersized. Here the frozen north the furnaces and well pump are necessities. The gentran has 10 circuit on it.

 

[UncleDave]

Originally Posted by wdn

Does anyone own a dual fuel portable gas/propane generator? Do you run it solely off of barbecue gas propane bottles, e.g. Blue Rhino? Any concerns? Will operating on propane only be completely clean with respect to carburetor and fuel lines (which is what killed my last one, one moment of forgetfulness to shut off fuel and run it dry after 7-8 years killed my current one ). This one is electric start and runs off propane bottles or gasoline but I would be running it only with propane.

Had many propane gensets - no dual fuels at the moment - on purpose. The concern you need to worry most about after load is run time. Running on propane that genset will rip through a 20LB (filled to 80%) bottle like a puppy chewing up the morning paper. UD

 

[eljefino]

You may have issues vaporizing enough propane in the cold to run a substantial load. Maybe get a manifold so you can run two 20-lb tanks. I put an aftermarket propane carburetor on my "chonda" genset and it's finicky. I pretty much have to start and warm it up on gasoline. The propane regulators have a gadget in them that shuts things down if they detect leaks, which sometimes the intake pulse of the motor must feel like. However, switching to propane to finish things really, really dries out the gas part of the carb so it's ready to go the next time. 4.2 gallons of propane from BJ's wholesale is around 11 bucks. Gasoline is slightly cheaper right now, gallon for gallon, but also has the advantage in energy density. Propane wins for storage. I have a couple few bottles out in the woodshed.

 

[Al]

Do you need 10KW? If you run at 5 KW...it takes 20.5 pounds for 24 hours. Most people buy bigger than they need. And consider a 5KW unit will be more efficient than a 10KW unit running at 50% Thats $54 per day

 

[Dinoburner]

Originally Posted by billt460

I don't have a high capacity generator, (just a 600 watt Honda), but I would get one like you have when the time comes to buy one. Propane runs much cleaner than gasoline. Less carbon monoxide as well. Plugs will last a lot longer. And the fuel won't go bad. The downside is the unit won't put out as much fueled with propane, as it will with gasoline. But a 20 pound tank holds around 4.6 to 4.7 gallons of liquid propane. So you can calculate your run time off that. Remember that exchange tanks, (Blue Rhino and the like), are all short filled. Most charge a 20 pound bottle with only 15 pounds. So you might want to purchase your own tank. And maybe go with a 30 pound, or even larger tank. That way you'll have increased run time.

Agree

 

[wdn]

That's a good point, Al. The gas one I just stupidly ruined earlier was rated 5.5 KW on gas. The new on is rated 6.5 KW on propane, but 8.0 KW on gas, the part about it is 10,000 watts is only when running on gas, peak power, or 2,000 watts of just marketing fluff. I also like eljefino's suggestion which is run it on gas most of the time and finish with propane to dry out the carb and fuel lines. I will have to read about how easy it is to change over to the other fuel. Do you have to let it cool down first I wonder. Thanks to all who replied. This is good info.

 

[chainblu]

Originally Posted by billt460

Remember that exchange tanks, (Blue Rhino and the like), are all short filled. Most charge a 20 pound bottle with only 15 pounds.

This is true. However, a refilled tank (20 lb) is only going to have 16 pounds (7/8 full vs 3/4 full). The difference is not as big as people think.

 

[Dinoburner]

Originally Posted by chainblu

Originally Posted by billt460

Remember that exchange tanks, (Blue Rhino and the like), are all short filled. Most charge a 20 pound bottle with only 15 pounds.

This is true. However, a refilled tank (20 lb) is only going to have 16 pounds (7/8 full vs 3/4 full). The difference is not as big as people think.

Huh? Unless the OPD is defective a 20lb will accept 20 lbs of propane. Whenever you bring a 20 pounder in to TS they will measure in by the gallon while monitoring the spit gauge, AKA bleeder. To help prevent overfilling, tanks should be filled on scales noting tare weight

 

[Dinoburner]

Originally Posted by chainblu

Originally Posted by billt460

Remember that exchange tanks, (Blue Rhino and the like), are all short filled. Most charge a 20 pound bottle with only 15 pounds.

This is true. However, a refilled tank (20 lb) is only going to have 16 pounds (7/8 full vs 3/4 full). The difference is not as big as people think.

Huh? Unless the OPD is defective a 20lb will accept 20 lbs of propane. Whenever you bring a 20 pounder in to TS they will measure in by the gallon while monitoring the spit gauge, AKA bleeder. To help prevent overfilling, tanks should be filled on scales noting tare weight

 

[Wolf359]

Originally Posted by Dinoburner

Originally Posted by chainblu

Originally Posted by billt460

Remember that exchange tanks, (Blue Rhino and the like), are all short filled. Most charge a 20 pound bottle with only 15 pounds.

This is true. However, a refilled tank (20 lb) is only going to have 16 pounds (7/8 full vs 3/4 full). The difference is not as big as people think.

Huh? Unless the OPD is defective a 20lb will accept 20 lbs of propane. Whenever you bring a 20 pounder in to TS they will measure in by the gallon while monitoring the spit gauge, AKA bleeder. To help prevent overfilling, tanks should be filled on scales noting tare weight

Yeah but most places will only fill it to 90% so you only get 18 pounds. Still that's better than the 15 pounds you get with the Blue Rhino tanks. They're only good if you find an old tank and want to swap it or if your tank is old and you need a new one. Getting a tank refilled at BJs or any other place is always cheaper than a Blue Rhino tank.

 

[Dinoburner]

Originally Posted by Wolf359

Originally Posted by Dinoburner

Originally Posted by chainblu

Originally Posted by billt460

Remember that exchange tanks, (Blue Rhino and the like), are all short filled. Most charge a 20 pound bottle with only 15 pounds.

This is true. However, a refilled tank (20 lb) is only going to have 16 pounds (7/8 full vs 3/4 full). The difference is not as big as people think.

Huh? Unless the OPD is defective a 20lb will accept 20 lbs of propane. Whenever you bring a 20 pounder in to TS they will measure in by the gallon while monitoring the spit gauge, AKA bleeder. To help prevent overfilling, tanks should be filled on scales noting tare weight

Yeah but most places will only fill it to 90% so you only get 18 pounds. Still that's better than the 15 pounds you get with the Blue Rhino tanks. They're only good if you find an old tank and want to swap it or if your tank is old and you need a new one. Getting a tank refilled at BJs or any other place is always cheaper than a Blue Rhino tank.

All LP tanks are rated in gallons water capacity, a 20lb bottle will be 47.6 lbs water or 20 lbs propane. The TW or tare weight is empty at say 18 lbs so filled with 20 lbs liquid propane is 38 lbs.

 

[spasm3]

Originally Posted by wdn

That's a good point, Al. The gas one I just stupidly ruined earlier was rated 5.5 KW on gas.

Just curious how you ruined it?

 

[hatt]

You better collect a bunch of BBQ tanks if you plan to run a big gen for any length of time.

 

[mk378]

Originally Posted by spasm3

Originally Posted by wdn

That's a good point, Al. The gas one I just stupidly ruined earlier was rated 5.5 KW on gas.

Just curious how you ruined it?

Clogged carburator from not clearing the gas out before storage. Yes there are people who will replace the whole machine over that.