I'm considering getting a generator for backup in case of power blackouts and propane seems like a good idea since I always have a tank or two for the grill. It seems easier to maintain than gasoline.
It just needs to run a standard refrigerator and /or TV, maybe a 120v A/C if it's summer. I'm looking at this one which got pretty decent reviews for the $430 price:
Any comments greatly appreciated.
You can also get Tri fuel generators, Ng, Propane, gasolene. Having a generator hooked up to the Ng house supply you wont ever need to go out to buy fuel
I wonder how long it will run on the size of tank you have. You might spend a lot of time getting fuel. There are many for sale on Ebay also.
My gasoline powered generator has nearly twice the power outlet and if run 24 hours would take 10 gal of gas so I would imagine this one would consume about 5 gal of propane in a day's use.
Unit should be easier to maintain than gasoline since you need not worry about stagnant fuel in tank or carburetor.
"Dean Hoffman" wrote
Assuming you can get fuel during a big outage. Propane bulk tanks use an electric pump to transfer. I like the idea of propane over gas though.
Stagnant fuel is not really a concern:
It wont run long, 20 lb propane has 366,000 Btus. 1 gallon of gasolene has 115000 Btus, so 20 lb propane is about equal to 3 gallons of gasolene. 3 gallon of gasolene or 20 lb Propane on a 7 hp motor im guessing a run time of 5-7 hours, or maybe less if it isnt a well designed motor, and its most likely made in China. Ng from you house or propane if you have a big tank for you house, but filling 20lb containers several times a day doesnt make sense.
But, gasoline pumps need electricity, also. During a really long outage, I wonder how that would affect natural gas "delivery"?
It's probably better if you only have a power outage once in five years. YOu won't have to worry about stale gas.
I keep mine full, about 5 gallons. I change out the gas once a year and use it in my tractors and lawn mowers. Put in fresh gas and run it to replenish the carb with fresh gas. That way I'm ready to generate. Power outages are usually unexpected.
That's excellent idea, if the OP has natural gas at the house. And if the NG is dependable. Where I am (New York State) the natural gas has been more dependable than the electic, by far.
I have an ETQ generator, which has served me well. Mine is a two stroke gas mixer. Amazing, how quiet it is. The one time I needed it, it ran a furnace for a friend of mine, when his power was off, in bitter cold winter. Mine was about $150, delivered to my door. You can buy a lot of gasoline for the $300 price difference.
Most cheap generators like mine, and like the one you linked. Are designed for about 200 hours of runtime. Then, they are too worn out to do much good. In my case, mine has about five hours runtime, since
2005, was it.... ?? when I bought it. Can't remember.Propane appliances are supposed to run a lot more clean than gasoline. As Mr. Ransley mentioned, natural gas generator is worth considering. If you have NG, and if the NG is dependable, in your part of the world.
How often is the power out? Do your neighbors have generators? Generators are a high theft item. And they can be noisy. And your neighbors may be jealous, and take it out by damaging or stealing your generator.
The natural gas distribution system uses natural gas powered turbines to pressurize the lines so it would keep on humming.
A generator needs to be run periodically to be reliable. I run mine once a month for 15 minutes under a load. I fill the gas tank once a year with gas that has Stable in it. During a power outage, I only run it as needed for the refrigerator and water pump. I have a battery system for lights which gets charged every Sunday.
---MIKE---
Product Features a.. 3000 running watts/3500 max watts b.. ETQ 7 HP 4 stroke air cooled OHV engine with low oil shut down c.. 6.42 gallon fuel tank provides 11 hours of run time at 50% load d.. Less than 65 db e.. Non-CARB Compliant/Not For Sale In California
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Product Details a.. Shipping Weight: 107 pounds (View shipping rates and policies) b.. Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S. c.. Shipping Advisory: This item must be shipped separately from other items in your order. Additional shipping charges will not apply. d.. ASIN: B001JLQK30 e.. Item model number: PG30P11
=========================== This information was far down the page, and not instantly obvious. A 100 pound "cooking" tank or a 100 gal heating tank would last a lot longer. If there is a regional power cut, the propane sellers may be unable to fill your tanks.
LMAO!! better do some more homework.
If your 2 stroke is what I have seen for sale they last alot longer than 200 hours and are a great deal, I heard about tests done by folks at altenergyhomepower and the opinions were very high of the unit years ago, ask their for the life span, but I think its over 500 hours if its run easily
Where would you suggest I start with the homework? One of my oldest friends works for the one of the major natural gas pipeline companies and I posed the question about what happens when the electric power fails a long time ago and he said they are self sufficient as I described. I have seem the interior of pumping stations and it is very clever how they set them up.
Our local gas utility also has a number of stations. The largest one in my area is near a pipeline river crossing in a wooded area where the local system connects to the intrastate pipeline. There isn't electric service within a half mile of there.
All's i'm saying is that they are not ALL that way. Some are electric, some are NG turbine, and some are NG fueled internal combustion engines. But in the case of a wide spread electrical failure, you can bet the NG would go down also. The control centers are not NG powered. I'd go with propane if i had a backup generator. Just just my preference.
I've seen natural gas "substations" that have solar panels to keep things going when power fails, however, as one person mentioned, it's not the same everywhere.
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