Generators, LP or Diesel

[LSmith]

I'm trying to plan for a back-up power source for our new home. I have priced both types of generators and price/kW is about the same. What I want is opinions from users. What do you feel are the pros and cons of each type? (maintenance, fuel, reliability, etc.)

Thanx,
Lane Smith

 

[Deerlope]

A diesel will last longer, they run slower and cooler, this is the engine that I speak of. Why not get one to run off the PTO of your tractor.

 

[LSmith]

The type of generator I want is a back-up source with an automatic switchover. Every hospital I've ever worked in has had diesel. That is the way I'm leaning but I always want to explore all options.

Lane Smith

 

[BillyP]

One thing about an LP setup, the fuel would never go bad and you wouldn't have to worry about water in the fuel.

I have a diesel setup for my poultry farm. The gen set exercises every Monday at 8 am. This is an option you want to be sure and get, regardless of which fuel you decide on.

 

[cisco]

I'll be putting a 10,000 watt unit into my country home, wired into the main electrical panel, so have thought about this issue (now use a portable, gas-powered Honda in my city home).
The better units cycle on for 15 minutes every month or so, and carb gelling of fuel shouldn't be an issue with diesel or gas. However, fuel will deteriorate (gas much quicker than diesel, but both will even with a fuel conditioner). The point that won me over was fuel capacity and run time. After Hugo (Charleston, SC) in 1989, I didn't have regular power for 7 days, and many folks for longer (in rural areas, many weeks in some cases). I'll have a large propane tank for the country house (water heater, dryer, stove), and I've calculated that if I fill up the propane tank a few days before a hurricane might hit, I'd have, if necessary, hot water, food, dry clothes and power (propane powered generator) for up to 10 straight days. I could keep equivalent amount of diesel around, but then I'd have to have 2 tanks (diesel and propane), and keeping diesel fresh in a large tank, for a guy with only a tractor that uses diesel, just isn't practical. So, a propane powered generator, and a large tank - very low maintenance (clean carb and plug) and emissions, & usable for other stuff (dryer, oven, water heater, barbecue).

 

[Junkman]

I have a 8 KW propane gen-set and it is noisy, uses a lot of fuel and tends to run hot. If I had it to do over again, there is not doubt about it... Diesel is the only way to go. I would have changed it out except that we haven't had a power outage for many years that has lasted more than a few hours. If I had to run it for a long period, I wouldn't want to be paying the cost of propane.

 

[JerryG]

Lane,
I also have a large diesel generator like Billy. These units are good for several thousand hours. They run very cool. If you run it with full load every so often as Billy and I do, the fuel is circulated and the treatment is kept mixed well. One thing that I would suggest is to buy a automatic trickle charger to help maintain the battery. A backup generator is no good, if it doesn't start. You can also use the generator's fuel in your tractor. Then no more cans to transport.

 

[GerardC]

BillyP:

What's a unit like yours go for? G

 

[rozett]

I would suggest diesel like the others.

Our house came with a 35k Onan unit running on propane. It uses a 300 CID Ford truck motor for power. It was installed new in '84 and well maintained with annual maintenance. But up here we can get some very cold winters and diesel would have to be treated to keep it from turning to gel. It is very efficient on fuel. I filled the 1000 gallon tank (30 days continuous duty supply) in mid-2000. The unit runs an hour every saturday to keep the battery charged and has been activated 20 or 30 times since 2000. I still have 80% in the tank. I am very pleased with the unit.

 

[GaryM]

I have a Generac 15KW propane powered unit at my new home. The tranfer switch hasn't been installed yot so I can't say how it runs. I do agree with the others that a diesel unit might be better, but the cost benefit numbers weren't there for me. They might work for you though.

The Generac unit will exercise once a week for about 10 minutes, and the fuel won't go bad. I only have a 250 Gal. tank. If the generator gets a lot of use, I'll upgrade to a 500 Gal.

 

[BillyP]

$17,420

 

[dmccarty]

Lsmith,

All throw out another idea. Do you want/need a welder? I priced out some engine welders, I think they had 10,000 watts or there abouts. A gas welder from Lincoln was something like 3-4000 dollars. A diesel welder seems like it was $8,000 or so.

Now that is big money compared to a PTO generator especially since the PTO genset will be more than 10,000 watts for a lot less money.

For me I really want to get the important engines running on diesel. I want to get a tank for fuel for the truck, tractor, and maybe the Wifey's car if she gets an oil burner. Makes things cheaper and easier. Northern used to have a portable diesel genset, I think it was 6200 watts. I figured for the price of the
wired power welder plus the diesel genset I could get the diesel powered welder, which had more power, for about the same price.

Maybe this will fit into what you are doing. On the other hand I just noticed the $8,000-$9,000 buys a lot of standalone genset. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Later,
Dan McCarty

 

[_RaT_]

Unless power outages are a problem in your area and it seems to be more of an issue back East, I would opt for a far less expensive approach. If it is absolutely necessary to have power to more then the well, the freezer/refrigerator and a couple lights, your going to need a large unit. Going propane makes a lot of sense if you already have propane. Diesel is great but not only pricey, will need the fuel replaced as it picks up algae. I use a simple setup with a Honda 3500 watt to run a 240V well pump and the refrigerator and most any light in our small home. Some of the units from folks like Generac have weekly "exercisers" built into their generators to run them 15 minutes each week. A 12,000 watt unit like that would be about $4000 in gas or propane, I would opt for propane purely for the reliability of the fuel staying fresh. My power goes out a couple of times a year for a couple of hours, hardly worth the effort on my part to even have any backup. When the power goes out here, it's more of an adventure, lighting candles and enjoying how really dark it can get, I wish it would happen more often /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[Junkman]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( ......................... When the power goes out here, it's more of an adventure, lighting candles and enjoying how really dark it can get, I wish it would happen more often /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif )</font>

Stay tuned.... it will probably happen again this summer with the rolling blackouts that California is so famous for. Has your new Governator fixed things yet. Haven't heard much about what is going on out there, here in the East. No news good news??????? /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[_RaT_]

I think your more of victim of media hype, we never had them in our portion of the state, (Northern California) not anymore then we had them in the past. I think again, during the hype of the power issue, we lost power twice in the summer on two hot days when everyone was running their air conditioners. It never ceases to amaze me how much our wonderful media can inflate a story and remanufactuer it as front page news. Even at that, it amazes me not so much what they report and consider news as what they fail to report that truly is news. Kobe Bryant, Michael Jackson and Scot Peterson, it was news once or twice, but having a daily update? Perhaps that is why I go to the net and quickly gloss over the news. From many of our rag newspapers to the alphabet media, I gave up using them as a source. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif Sorry, I vent like this with media. Rat...

 

[40Kchicks]

I think both LP and diesel engines will last plenty long. The LP generator is usually easier starting and if you have a tank ready to tap into it may be the right choice. However diesel is also an excellent choice. I’m guessing that if you ran it for a long time the diesel would be cheaper. I know I have an 85KW LP generator for my poultry farm that is pretty thirsty but I only run it during testing and emergencies. I got it used from a hospital cheap so I don’t care too much about the efficiency of the unit.

If prices and performance were equal I would probably go with the diesel but either one will serve you well.

Eric

 

[BIGUN]

We used to have a couple of Onan generators at work. One was gasoline and the other natural gas. The natural gas was the much easier starting, better running of the two. Even with test running them weekly, sometimes the gasoline one would fail to start.

We replaced them a few years ago with brand new Kohler diesel generators. The engines were made by John Deere and had block heaters. These said “Rapid Start” on the cover and they sure were. They started very rapidly and ran very well.

I see a problem with long term storage of diesel, seems it would go bad unless your tank is fairly small and you use it for fueling your tractor so that fresh fuel is added on a regular basis. If you have propane for use in the house I would think that would be the better way to go.