Generator Maintenance

[Astro_Guy]

One gallon of Propane weighs 4.2 pounds. 250 gallons of Propane would weigh 1050 pounds. You wouldn't get very far with only 250 pounds.

A friend of mine has a 100KW propane powered generator with a V-10 ford motor. I think he said he could go for three days on 1000 gallons.

 

[bubbatime]

What I do: Every 4 months, put about 30 minutes worth of non-ethanol+Stabil fuel in it, put a load on it with an electric heater. Run it out of fuel. Put it back in the shed. Change the oil every 2 to 3 years if not used. If it gets used, the oil needs changed every 50 hours. Straight SAE40 weight oil, best generator oil I have found for south Florida, doesn't consume and disappear off the dipstick like the 30 weights.

 

[SilverSnake]

BamBam: Based on the run time and propane usage during Hurricane Irma I would estimate about 7 days of continuous use on my two 125 gallon tanks. Note that the propane companies do not fill the tanks completely full at every fill. The amount they put in is based on current weather conditions (temp in particular) and allows for expansion in the hottest conditions expected during the year. I don't think my tanks have ever had over 200 gallons in them.

 

[SilverSnake]

Originally Posted By: Astro_Guy
One gallon of Propane weighs 4.2 pounds. 250 gallons of Propane would weigh 1050 pounds. You wouldn't get very far with only 250 pounds. A friend of mine has a 100KW propane powered generator with a V-10 ford motor. I think he said he could go for three days on 1000 gallons.


Yep. Generac makes some monster home back up generators (see link) but the cost to install and run them can be ridiculous. I went with the smallest unit that would safely power all the essential items in the house including A/C. At the time my 20 KW was the largest air cooled unit they had available. All the larger ones were liquid cooled and essentially had car engines. Fuel consumption went up immensely for those units.

http://www.generac.com/all-products/gene...217&cat=249

 

[Bambam]

Originally Posted By: SilverSnake
BamBam: Based on the run time and propane usage during Hurricane Irma I would estimate about 7 days of continuous use on my two 125 gallon tanks. Note that the propane companies do not fill the tanks completely full at every fill. The amount they put in is based on current weather conditions (temp in particular) and allows for expansion in the hottest conditions expected during the year. I don't think my tanks have ever had over 200 gallons in them.


Thank you , that would work for me for sure . Appreciate the info, were you at 50% load on average , or higher??

 

[SilverSnake]

Originally Posted By: Bambam
Originally Posted By: SilverSnake
BamBam: Based on the run time and propane usage during Hurricane Irma I would estimate about 7 days of continuous use on my two 125 gallon tanks. Note that the propane companies do not fill the tanks completely full at every fill. The amount they put in is based on current weather conditions (temp in particular) and allows for expansion in the hottest conditions expected during the year. I don't think my tanks have ever had over 200 gallons in them.


Thank you , that would work for me for sure . Appreciate the info, were you at 50% load on average , or higher??


50% is probably close. When the house is powered by the generator we are careful not to use more power than necessary. There are, however, essential power requirements that do not allow for compromise. The refrigerators must run at all times to keep the beer cold.

 

[Bambam]

Originally Posted By: SilverSnake
Originally Posted By: Bambam
Originally Posted By: SilverSnake
BamBam: Based on the run time and propane usage during Hurricane Irma I would estimate about 7 days of continuous use on my two 125 gallon tanks. Note that the propane companies do not fill the tanks completely full at every fill. The amount they put in is based on current weather conditions (temp in particular) and allows for expansion in the hottest conditions expected during the year. I don't think my tanks have ever had over 200 gallons in them.


Thank you , that would work for me for sure . Appreciate the info, were you at 50% load on average , or higher??


50% is probably close. When the house is powered by the generator we are careful not to use more power than necessary. There are, however, essential power requirements that do not allow for compromise. The refrigerators must run at all times to keep the beer cold.


First and most important rule to survival !

 

[gd9704]

I do mine monthly. I hook up two 1,500 watt heaters to give it a load. Clears out the cobwebs, warms up the oil, and keeps the battery charged.

 

[Indy2door]

I have a 16KW generator and the factory default exercise is 5 minutes, one time per week.

 

[bubbatime]

I put 0.25 gallons of fuel in mine every 4 months and run it until it runs out of fuel. Put a load on it and use non-ethanol fuel so that carb doesn't gum up.