Generator Got A Little Workout -- Sort of

[Ditzy Blonde]

Winds knocked out the power about noon. We didn't have a clue as to how much propane is burned during an outage, so we scaled back the oil furnace, shut-off computer, kept the TV off. No lights. Power was out four hours. We did use water (well is powered by electric) and open the refrigerator as usual. Popcorn popper was used for a few minutes. Temp outside was about 50 but bright and sunny so the furnace came on only once for a short period.

Anyway, the needle on the propane gauge didn't move at all. Guess this wasn't really a good test and we still don't know how much propane is burned during a typical outage.

[RBM]

The info for the genset should tell you how many gallons per hour at full and half, the unit uses. If you don't have the info, just google a similar sized unit

[---MIKE---]

My generator (6000 watt) will run for 6 hours on a tank (4.5 gals) of gas at half load. 5 Hours at full load. During the weekend power outage (21 hours) I ran it several times to try and keep the refrigerator cold. It will also run on propane but I have avoided doing this. I would rather save the propane for auxiliary heating.

---MIKE---

[Toller]

---MIKE---

Mine will also run 5 hours on a tank at full load, but my tank is only 1 gal. Okay, the gen is only 1.6kw, but it is just right for the refrigerator and furnace. If it could use propane, I would certainly use that over gas. No more worrying if it has gone bad!

[Pete C.]

If you use Sta-Bil or equivalent in your gas you won't have any worries or problems. Just empty your reserve cans into your car once a year and refill them.

Pete C.

[RBM]

She has a propane generator, and we don't know how many H.P.

[Rich Greenberg]

Or the guage is broken.

[Jim Yanik]

[e-mail] (Ditzy Blonde) wrote in news:4545f8ba.5147109@news-

60.giganews.com:

What's a "typical outage"?

Seems to me that varies with how,who and where.

[---MIKE---]

Jim Yanik asked:

In my area the usual outage is 2 to 4 hours. This past weekend was 21 hours. I would guess that most of the vulnerable trees and limbs are down now so the rest of the winter should see 2 to 4 hour outages.

---MIKE---