Propane Whole House Generators, Warning.

[k0ua]

Sounds to me like the guy was sorry he was hit by a hurricane. He was also sorry his generator was broken before the hurricane came. He is also sorry that the fuel delivery won't come till Friday. He is making no effort to really conserve fuel knowing he will be out before the fuel delivery. Why isn't he running it just enough to keep the freezers and frig going? Yeah we all know energy density for diesel is greater than propane, Yeah, diesel costs more too hoss. Diesel can also have storage problems and propane doesn't. I think I would be worried about other things beside making a You-Tube video about my running generator and my low fuel supply. AND besides why doesn't he have a larger propane tank or even two tanks to begin with. It is not like he didn't know or have means to measure his fuel consumption beforehand. Sounds to me the guy just wanted to ***** to someone and decided to widen his audience. My 2 centavos.

 

[Industrial Toys]

I was surprised though. To me, that tank looks huge and if full, I would have thought it would last a long time.

I have two customers with brand new CAT and Deere powered 100K or larger Sets. Neither worked when needed!

My sets have no computers. Just an electronic "generic" voltage regulator, of which I have spares, or if push ever came to shove you could set the field voltage manually and watch your loads.

I bet the people that say they have no need for such stuff, have fancy "unneeded" electronic controls on their appliances that are the first to blow up from a "surge" rendering the appliance useless and often not worth repairing.

 

[BHD]

I have two propane, generators, both originally gasoline powered, and both can still run on gasoline,

the fuel usage is about 10% more than the gasoline, (his may not be properly calibrated), gas has been in the 2.50 range here, and propane is a bit over a buck, currently, I have had the propane stored nearly 18 years, gasoline is not hardly usable in 3 months, and in the last 18 years, the price of gasoline has been double and some times three times the price of propane, fuel, (besides a few month period one winter),

the problem is not the generator but the user,

yes diesel is the most economical, (so why did he not get a diesel unit instead?)
sounds like he bought a poorly installed and possibly designed unit and did not have a trust worthy dealer, and why do you need 24 hours power during an emergency,

 

[shooterdon]

I looked at the whole house automatic propane units and decided they were not for me. I have two gas powered units....believe in having a back up...and cycle the generator during an outage. No need to run them continuously. Added a 300 gallon fuel tank that I also use for the toys. Use Seafoam or Stabil to condition fuel and put fresh fuel in every year.

Been thinking about getting a deisel unit but so far unable to justify it. I worry about starting it when it gets really cold.

 

[grsthegreat]

I install lots of whole house systems, with the majority being 22 kw systems. I always tell customer about fuel usage. Personally i could care less how much propane it chugs. I have a 1000 gal buried tank for mine. When its cold and wet outside, i want to be warm and dry....watching tv. Mind you i shut it down during the day if its light outside and im working outside.

 

[westcliffe01]

I have a diesel engine and generator that came out a high mast mobile lighting trailer which was blown over in a wind storm. Its a 3 cylinder Deutz diesel with unit injectors (cam driven pump injectors). Water cooled, 1800rpm. Last time I ran it, it ran the whole house for 2 days on a 5 gal jerry can. Of course I did not run it through the night, but it was an ice storm and so the generator had to run so that the house had heat and power for the well pump. It is quiet and the 3 cylinder at 1800rpm sounds a whole lot different from an air cooled twin thrashing at 3600 rpm......

 

[Diggin It]

I bet the people that say they have no need for such stuff, have fancy "unneeded" electronic controls on their appliances that are the first to blow up from a "surge" rendering the appliance useless and often not worth repairing.

That's one of my concerns with the fancier LED lighting units. A $5 bulb might not be so bad, but a $50 flush mount unit could be if you have a house full of them.

gas has been in the 2.50 range here, and propane is a bit over a buck, currently,

There was an LP pricing thread not long ago where people were quoting around $4 in their areas.

 

[TheMan419]

I have a diesel engine and generator that came out a high mast mobile lighting trailer which was blown over in a wind storm. Its a 3 cylinder Deutz diesel with unit injectors (cam driven pump injectors). Water cooled, 1800rpm. Last time I ran it, it ran the whole house for 2 days on a 5 gal jerry can. Of course I did not run it through the night, but it was an ice storm and so the generator had to run so that the house had heat and power for the well pump. It is quiet and the 3 cylinder at 1800rpm sounds a whole lot different from an air cooled twin thrashing at 3600 rpm......

I do not understand ppl who feel the need to run the gen 24/7 during an outage. Last outage for us I think we ran 5 hrs out of 24. If it went to several days our useage would go up just for convenience reasons.

 

[Turbys_1700]

About 15 years ago I bought an 8KW gas generator on close out at Northern Tool for $500. You can get the same Chinese generator on Amazon now for around $800. I've used it a total of 70 hours in that time according to the hour meter. It holds 8 gallons of gas and will burn through that in about 12 hours. To me it's a no-brainer for backup. The added fuel cost does not justify the added expense of a propane or diesel backup.

My elderly neighbor installed a whole house propane backup system that comes on a monthly schedule. His has run the same amount of time mine has in 15 years for emergency use. You do the math. I understand his concern. He's now 88 years old and at 73 he wanted the security of that system and had the money to put it in. I am not aware of any issues he's had.

Nothing at all wrong with those systems if you want them but IMHO they are too much dinero for the limited use that I need here in the Piedmont of NC.

 

[Oldoak]

At least some people got it right. "To each, their own" :thumbsup:

I don't understand people who knock another's choice or usage that happens to be different than their own. :confused3:

And still others are informative replies which may help people make their decisions.

There are pros and cons to everything. That's why we all have individual choices to make.

 

[mcfarmall]

I do not understand ppl who feel the need to run the gen 24/7 during an outage. Last outage for us I think we ran 5 hrs out of 24. If it went to several days our useage would go up just for convenience reasons.

I have a nervous Nelly, snowflake neighbor that will make her hubby get up in the middle of the night (if that's when the power goes out) to get the screamer up and running. We're on the same circuit but I just continue sleeping until daylight and then only run the generator for an hour or so to allow people to shower, run the furnace, etc..

 

[Stimw]

I do not understand ppl who feel the need to run the gen 24/7 during an outage. Last outage for us I think we ran 5 hrs out of 24. If it went to several days our useage would go up just for convenience reasons.

How about overnight low temp 80* and humidity 100* !!
I used 12 gal of gas a day running 2 Window AC's 24 hrs for 12 days and it was worth EVERY PENNY!
The stress of being without power and not knowing when it will come back on can't be overstated!
My home based repair business was also shut down without power.

 

[RickB]

I have a nervous Nelly, snowflake neighbor that will make her hubby get up in the middle of the night (if that's when the power goes out) to get the screamer up and running. We're on the same circuit but I just continue sleeping until daylight and then only run the generator for an hour or so to allow people to shower, run the furnace, etc..

So what? You and your neighbor both get to pay for your choices.

 

[Diggin It]

For me, it depends on how long the outage might be. A quick summer storm where I know it will probably be back in a few hours, I power up and try to keep on keeping on.

A major storm or a winter Ice Storm that I know did a lot of damage and power might be out for a few days is another story. That's when I go to partial run times; 2-3 hours on, 4-6 hours off.

 

[coobie]

It,s all about personal choice.I paid 99 cents per gallon for propane when i filled up my 500 gallon tank about 1 1/2 years ago.I remember not to long ago when 87 oct.gas was $4.29 per gallon diesel fuel was $4.86 gal..My point being burn what the H-ll you want it will all equal out in the end.

 

[mcfarmall]

So what? You and your neighbor both get to pay for your choices.

So what? I'll tell you what! I'm glad she's not my wife!!

 

[RickB]

So what? I'll tell you what! I'm glad she's not my wife!!

I’m glad I’m not your neighbor.

 

[Sigarms]

When I looked at the LP consumption of a standard whole home generator, I passed on it as I only have a 500 gallon tank and couldn't just either the operational cost (as well as maintence) or the instal cost vs what I'd be getting. Just couldn't justify the cost as compared to how long we've ever been without power here (going over 15 years now and the longest without power has been around 3 days).

 

[MossRoad]

We lived in the city (city water/sewer) and bought a house in the county (well water). First thing I thought about was if the power goes out, you have no well water, and after a few flushes and a sinkload of dishes, you have no water pressure once the pressure tank runs down. So I thought about it for a while and ended up buying a small, 4000w Coleman gas generator for about $350 back then. That will run the well pump, and some lights, and the natural gas furnace if needed, and the freezer and fridge. Just not all of it at once. Have to be selective as to what to run. That was around 1995. While we have several power outages each year, the longest in this house has been less than a day. 23 years.... Most outages are less than an hour.

One time we had several tornadoes, and my in-laws were without power for 3 days. I took it over there and ran it for an hour every 4 hours to keep the freezer cold and charge their well tank. So really, that was only about 12 hours of run-time over 3 days.

I do understand the convenience of automatic standby generators. Especially for people with the money to afford them. If I had the money, I'd probably get one as well. And I understand the necessity of those systems for people with health issues. My mom had respiratory issues and needed clean, climate controlled air.

And I understand many of the folks here on TBN laughing at that guy in the video. However, in all reality, he probably had ZERO experience with generators, wanted whole-house, and listened to a salesman's pitch, and is now paying the consequences. Lighten up on the guy. He's paying for a learning experience the hard way.

 

[Industrial Toys]

If you post something, you have to accept the comments. The man does have a sense of humor, as for when the Dealer told him he had nothing to worry about weather wise.

I feel sorry for that guy with the demanding wife. I would show her once how to start the generator and after that, if she wants it in the middle of night, be my guest.

On the other hand, my lady friend is not the most incapable person with equipment, but a fire pump once went all squirrelly on it's side and she just stood there in a daze watching it! That kind of thing scares me.