Posted on 07/31/2012 4:08:41 PM PDT by Lurker
Kart,
Would you be so kind as to ping the Prepper list?
Thank you.
Thank you
Great thread, and thanks for posting. BTT.
Cool.
I’ve got a bit more money, so I’ve been looking at the more permanent generator solution. The one thing though I would really want is to be able to easily swap from Propane to natural gas. I can get a generator with kits to swap back and forth, and maybe that would be good enough.
My idea is to get a large propane tank buried in my yard, but run the generator on my natural gas (which is, as you said, generally very reliable).
The generator I have in mind is I think from GE, and comes with everything. IT does an automatic switch, and switch back, when power goes out. It is a “smart” system that will allow you to have more total equipment than it can run, and will prioritize so if your A/C needs to run for a while, it will switch off something else until the A/C turns off (like if you had an electric clothes dryer).
My house is mostly natural gas anyway. The point of propane is that if things get REALLY bad, and the gas goes, I’ll still have power. Then I’ll need to equip my heater with electric coils, so if the natural gas goes, I can run it on an electric heat emergency setting.
Unfortunately, we don’t lose power often enough to push me to action.
You’re quite welcome. If there are any questions I’ll be happy to answer them here to the extent that I can. Just realize that I are not an electrical engineer or a plumber.
I’m strictly a Big Box store handyman, not a professional.
I think you missed something important...
Generators come in 2 varieties. (3 actually but the third is of no consequence)
Cheaper units run at 3600 rpm. The more expensive ones run at 1800 rpm. The necessary speed of the engine is determined by the number of “poles” in the generator.
The units used in motor-homes are almost always 1800 rpm. There are two reasons for that; First, they are much quieter. Second, the life span of the engine is much much longer. If this is a generator that is going to be run 24 hours a day, you do NOT want one that runs at 3600 rpm - period.
The 1800 rpm units are more expensive because the engine has to be larger, but you really have no choice here.
i bought a diesel generator because i have a 250gal fuel tank that runs my backup furnace(i have coal and electric as primary heaters) because if the power goes out, it'll prolly be out at the gas stations too... and who can store/afford a hundred gallons of gas for a generator???
Thank you very much. I have saved this and am going to start putting things together. Thanks again for making it as easy as you could for a non electrician but an experienced do it yourselfer..
Our grid has been pretty darned reliable around here, too. But... you never know. Perhaps if you look at a smaller investment the cost/benefit ration would look a bit different and you'd be more inclined to get "good enough".
I'd sleep a lot better if we had one of those GE units, but getting one of sufficient size and having it professionally installed would be about 5 times what I've got into our solution. I just can't swing that now or in the near future.
The Tri Fuel kit is really, really slick. I have very minimal small engine knowledge and I was able to install mine in about 2 hours. And it works just fine.
Best of luck to you.
L
Great writeup.
I’m not sold on his enclosure setup for hot weather, but you could always open the doors if it was running too hot.
“1. Be able to power critical items such as refrigerator, freezer, lights, television and radios, and at least one good sized room type air conditioner.”
You may want to look into propane or kerosene refers/freezers, as they can run on next to nothing, and have to require you to fire up a generator for that capability.
Well I know I’ve learned something today. Thank you.
You’re welcome and thank you.
Like I said, everyone’s situation is different. In your case my rig would be inappropriate. I hope your information can help someone else.
“Now a pound of propane is roughly equivalent to a gallon of gasoline and around here a 20 pound tank refill runs about $18.00.”
Sorry, not true. If I had to estimate, I’d say a it would take 10 pounds of propane to equal ONE gallon of gas. I’ll check now.
I think your equivalence on propane is way off.
1 gallon of propane = 4.2 pounds @ 60F.
1 gallon of propane = 84,300 btus
1 gallon of gasoline = 114,100 btus
so a 20 pound propane tank is 20/4.2 = 4.76 gallons
equivalent to 4.76 X (84300/114100) = 3.5 gallons gasoline
Thanks to both of you. I knew smarter folks than I would find the holes. I appreciate the sharp eyes.
Here are some numbers:
“Now a pound of propane is roughly equivalent (in energy) to a gallon of gasoline...”
Propane: 1 pound = 21,500 BTU
Gasoline: 1 gallon = 125,000 BTU
Diesel: 1 gallon = 139,200 BTU
So 1 gallon of gasoline has about 6 times the energy content of propane, and Diesel has even more energy than gasoline.
I misunderestimated the low density of Propane or I would have been closer.
“Thanks to both of you. I knew smarter folks than I would find the holes. I appreciate the sharp eyes.”
Any time - that’s what make this such a cool website.
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