What's the deal with gas generators?.,,

[50yr Street Mech]

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 !!!!

 

[nwjones18]

When you're sitting in the dark with nothing to do, buying a generator sounds like a great idea. Then, later, when the reality of storing something heavy that is rarely used sets in, it doesn't seem so grand anymore.

I personally knew people that bought gennys in preparation for Y2K. No telling what became of those.

My dad still has his (10kw Generac). Still works fine

 

[SC Maintenance]

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 !!!!

I have thought about a NG generator. During hurricanes we have yet to loose gas, so the supply would be mostly endless.

 

[facility1]

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.

 

[ctechbob]

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.

 

[50yr Street Mech]

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

 

[eljefino]

And if you have a vehicle with an inverter, run an extension cord into the house if you must power light loads like conventional lamps or maybe a TV -- obviously a house fridge would be unrealistic.

My house fridge takes around 140 watts, and not all of the time either. I haven't caught it on a defrost cycle so I wouldn't recommend an inverter smaller than 1000 watts.

But I could plug the inverter into my prius, leave the prius "ready" and it'll fire up the ICE when needed to keep the battery charged. It's my backup-backup plan.

 

[repairman54]

Stationary genset is the way to go. I've run on portables also. Stationary is a home improvement today also.
I went 11 days without power during Sandy in my old house in NJ, side affect of living out of town. Glad I had my portable with transfer switch setup to keep my well running and oil boiler with hot water coil back up for some normal life. Still had to go to work at that time. Working north in NY state out of the blackout zone let me feed the 5 gallon a day generator habit after my reserve ran out.

 

[BC1]

There are a lot of BTU's in natural gas, Not many BTU's in Propane.

These statements are not accurate.

One cubic foot of propane is 2,516 BTUs; one cubic foot of natural gas is 1,030 BTUs.

Since this thread is about generators, take a typical 3 fuel non inverter generator. Propane will provide about 90% of the rated gasoline power where natural gas is only good for around 80%.