Believe it or not, the Kohler natural gas whole house gen doesn't use that much gas. There are a lot of BTU's in natural gas, maybe that's why. But,,, I bet if that sucka was propane, it would eat a 500 lb tank in no time. Not many BTU's in Propane. Look how fast you burn thru a BBQ tank !!!!
What's the deal with gas generators?.,,
- Thread starter BigCahuna
- Start date
My dad still has his (10kw Generac). Still works fine
I have thought about a NG generator. During hurricanes we have yet to loose gas, so the supply would be mostly endless.
in your area its a good idea to look into,or even a dual fuel genny.
I have, what I consider to be, a pretty unique method of backup power for the house.
Started with a 6 circuit transfer switch that I could run off of the same generator I'd bought for the camper. Strategically picked circuits that would be the most useful. So I ended up with:
- Master bedroom mini-split It is capable of heating/cooling the entire end of the house with the bedrooms in it.
- Bedroom lighting circuits and outlets
----and I forget what else. Anyhow, there's enough generator power that I can run whatever I need except for the stove, water heater, and whole house HVAC. If I need hot water for showers I can use the propane in the camper. Whatever doesn't run directly off the panel can be patched to an outlet with an extension cord (Mainly the washer, and fridge/freezer)
Then I built out the camper with 1600 watts of solar and 600ah worth of batteries and a nice Victron inverter and built it with the capability of shuttling power out of the camper and into the transfer panel. During the summer, I'm using the camper solar to power my mini-split. Free cooling for my bedroom.
During a power outage I have enough inverter and battery to last a couple hours and then I just use the generator or the F150 to charge the battery bank back up.
Started with a 6 circuit transfer switch that I could run off of the same generator I'd bought for the camper. Strategically picked circuits that would be the most useful. So I ended up with:
- Master bedroom mini-split It is capable of heating/cooling the entire end of the house with the bedrooms in it.
- Bedroom lighting circuits and outlets
----and I forget what else. Anyhow, there's enough generator power that I can run whatever I need except for the stove, water heater, and whole house HVAC. If I need hot water for showers I can use the propane in the camper. Whatever doesn't run directly off the panel can be patched to an outlet with an extension cord (Mainly the washer, and fridge/freezer)
Then I built out the camper with 1600 watts of solar and 600ah worth of batteries and a nice Victron inverter and built it with the capability of shuttling power out of the camper and into the transfer panel. During the summer, I'm using the camper solar to power my mini-split. Free cooling for my bedroom.
During a power outage I have enough inverter and battery to last a couple hours and then I just use the generator or the F150 to charge the battery bank back up.
Luv my 20kw Natural Gas Kohler. Runs the Central A/C even with appliances going. Best investment I ever made, and I made some stoopid investments....like a $ 48k 2013 Honda Pilot EXL. Nothing but trouble starting at 1,000k with a blown rear shock. That was just the beginning. If I only had a crystal ball 
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