Natural Gas Powered Portable Generator?

[Travelover]

I just bought a house that has a natural gas line. I'd like to get a portable generator that runs on natural gas because it doesn't get stale and it is an endless supply, unless the "stuff" totally hits the fan.

There are lots of dual fuel portable generators available but the second fuel in propane. Most permanently installed generators are natural gas, but overkill for my needs.

So my question is can a generator set up for propane be reconfigured to burn natural gas relatively easily?

 

[davrow]

Yes, it is easy... just a 'kit' to change the valve/jet. Even Walmart sells the kits.

 

[grsthegreat]

try this site
Generator Conversion Kits to Propane and Natural Gas.

good luck

 

[buickanddeere]

Allow for that 10,000 watt generator to loose power and only make about 6600watts at wide open throttle on Natural Gas.

 

[Travelover]

Why do you need portable, and why is a permanent unit overkill? I'm not sure, but I think if you intend to tap into the utility NG line, you will be required to have a permanent connection. You can get a permanent Generac unit that supplies 120/240 @ 6KW on NG. It's fairly cheap and comes with a transfer switch that you should consider anyways.

Whatever you do, check that your NG line is large enough to supply a generator. Other things to consider:

1) Anything under 4-5KW is a little small for home emergency needs.
2) Electric start - think cold weather, old age and bad shoulder some day.

Good questions. It would be handy to be able to take it to other parts of my property and run it on gasoline and have a snap on hose connector for use on natural gas for emergencies. I was thinking I'd need about 5000 watts with 220v capability. Definitely would get electric start. That Generac 6000 watt is about $1800 plus installation. I think that a Champion portable would only be around $800 plus connectors.

 

[Travelover]

Yes, it is easy... just a 'kit' to change the valve/jet. Even Walmart sells the kits.

This cuts to the heart of my question. I did not find a supplier. Do you have a link?

 

[newbury]

This cuts to the heart of my question. I did not find a supplier. Do you have a link?

Here's NON Walmart link What kit do I need?

 

[Travelover]

Here's NON Walmart link What kit do I need?

Thanks. So, basically I'd toss out the supplied propane hardware on a dual fuel unit and install this natural gas converter?

 

[tjkubota93]

Yamaha Propane Natural Gas Generators

I converted my Yamaha by drilling the carb and installing a "kit" I bought. I think it was from this place. There are a few places. Its easy to do. Now I hook it to my barbecue grill line with a quick connect.
In the future, if I have more money I want to get a 6 or 8k permanent mounted whole house generator.
Right now we use the little Yamaha and an extention cord for refrigerator, freezer and wood stove fan or small window unit ac.

 

[RalphVa]

Natural gas molecular weight is 16. Propane's is 44. You could just measure what orifice diameter you have for propane and drill it out by 44/16 to get this area ratio.

Ralph

 

[boomer1025]

Save yourself a bunch of headache's get a permanent NG unit sized for your house and a HF portable for around the property.
HF has units on sale most of the time.

 

[Travelover]

Save yourself a bunch of headache's get a permanent NG unit sized for your house and a HF portable for around the property.
HF has units on sale most of the time.

Thanks, but I don't need a permanent unit. All I need is to run my well and furnace alternately and a few lights.

 

[MossRoad]

Thanks, but I don't need a permanent unit. All I need is to run my well and furnace alternately and a few lights.

Then don't bother with the hassle of natural gas. Get a gasoline generator and a few 5 gallon cans. Keep stabil in the gas and it wil last for years. Run your generator with a load on it every 3-4 months for half an hour. Put twist lock power plugs on your furnace and well and get a couple extension cords. Easy peasy. No transfer switch. No lock outs. No natural gas conversion. Generator will run anywhere you have gasoline.

 

[Travelover]

Then don't bother with the hassle of natural gas. Get a gasoline generator and a few 5 gallon cans. Keep stabil in the gas and it wil last for years. Run your generator with a load on it every 3-4 months for half an hour. Put twist lock power plugs on your furnace and well and get a couple extension cords. Easy peasy. No transfer switch. No lock outs. No natural gas conversion. Generator will run anywhere you have gasoline.

I get all that. One can readily buy a gasoline / propane ready generator. My question was :

So my question is can a generator set up for propane be reconfigured to burn natural gas relatively easily?

 

[MossRoad]

I get all that. One can readily buy a gasoline / propane ready generator. My question was :

Get a generator that is set up to run on gasoline, not propane, and then get a conversion kit for that to run on either gasoline or natural gas from this company and see if that'll do what you want.
Generator Conversion Kits to Propane(LPG) and Natural Gas

Most of their kits for small engines are $169.

They also have tri-fuel kits for NG, Propane, and gas for $199.

 

[Travelover]

Get a generator that is set up to run on gasoline, not propane, and then get a conversion kit for that to run on either gasoline or natural gas from this company and see if that'll do what you want.
Generator Conversion Kits to Propane(LPG) and Natural Gas

Most of their kits for small engines are $169.

They also have tri-fuel kits for NG, Propane, and gas for $199.

Yea, I think that is the answer.

 

[MossRoad]

So if you go that route, how are you going to connect it to your natural gas line, and make it so that you can easily disconnect it? Do they make quick disconnects for natural gas lines? Or are you going to have to put a wrench to it?

 

[Travelover]

So if you go that route, how are you going to connect it to your natural gas line, and make it so that you can easily disconnect it? Do they make quick disconnects for natural gas lines? Or are you going to have to put a wrench to it?

Yes, there are quick connects similar to an air hose, also used for gas BBQs. Amazon.com : 3/4" ID Natural Gas Generator Quick Disconnect Gas Connector (15 Foot) : Garden & Outdoor

 

[MossRoad]

Thanks.

So now add it all up. You're looking at $200 for the conversion and $130 for the quick connects, so lets just say $300-350 additional cost for an item that you'll probably not use more than a few hours a year, at best. And it will have diminished power. However, you won't have to store fuel. Pros and cons for sure.

We bought a cheap, Coleman 4500W generator back in 1995 because I wanted to be able to flush our toilet in a power outage, keep our freezer cold, and our house warm if needed. I've used it two-three times over the last 22 years for that purpose. We ran my in-laws house for 3 days with it after a tornado. Other than that, I've only used it for remote power a few times. It's a nice thing to have around. I keep stabil in the gas that's in it, run it a few times a year, and change the oil every few years. Other than that, it sits. I just ran it two weeks ago due to a power outage. I wanted lights and to take a shower, and to keep our tortoise's heat lamp on. My tractor is gasoline powered, so I keep three 6 gallon cans around. The tractor consumes about 1.2 gallons per hour, so the gas gets rotated out about every 15 hours of operation, about 3 times per year. So it never has a chance to go bad. If I didn't have the tractor, I'd rotate the gas out in my car.

 

[Tractor Seabee]

If you google generator gas conversion kits you will come up with quite a few choices. I would stay away from the cheap kits that require customer modifications to the existing carb. Don't take the risk of some jury rig, get a complete replacement kit . A fire will negate all you have done quickly. Make sure the manufacturer provides the gas line sizing required for your KW generator. I think my 17.5 KW would require a 1" line. I am considering doing it just for the convenience factor; as I get older and less inclined to wrestle 5 gallon cans. Actually I have a 50 gallon gas tank, but since we moved to town I need to get rid of it as our demand has dropped. I used to fill it twice a year when we had the tree ranch and several power outages a year plus all the gas engines.

Ron