Cheap ones are splash lubricated. Anything that is going to last is full pressure lubricated.. 2 strokers are lubricated by fuel and should never be allowed to run too lean or to run out of fuel, under load or not.
Thanks again to everyone for all of the continued responses, ideas, and comments.
One of the topic themes that came up a few times had to do with complications about how to do the shut-downs, putting in some kind of valves, etc. -- I think mostly related to gasoline powered generators. All of that would be way beyond the skill level of my friend, which is one of the reasons why I think that a gasoline powered generator wouldn't be a good idea for her.
It looks to me like the plan will most likely end up being for her to get a not-too-large propane powered generator and use it to power only a few things -- such as lighting, the fridge, an electric space heater or window A/C as needed etc. -- and skip the idea of trying to power the central A/C, the water heater, etc. Her home is a split-level style with a back door to goes out to the ground level in the back of the house. So, I am assuming that she could store the propane generator inside and wheel it out the back door when needed.
I think she would just have to deal with having smaller propane tanks on hand and she would only be able to use the generator off and on part of the time during an outage as needed for some lighting, a little heat, etc. In the summer, she could probably get out to get replacement propane tanks as needed. In the winter, during a snowstorm, not so much.
She would need a cross-over switch in the main panel to switch to generator power. I do have a question about that. Can the cross-over switches set up to only activate certain circuit breakers in the panel and not activate the others? By that, I mean, could it be set up to NOT power the water heater, maybe the central A/C, etc., but still power the lighting circuits, the fridge circuit, etc?
Also, I assume that the propane generators come with some type of battery powered automatic starter. Is that correct?
That's the most common approach, ie to have a subpanel that has the loads you want the generator to run and it can only run those loads. But, I think it's nuts. It's more expensive, requires rewiring, a lot more work, cost, etc. IMO, the best solution is a slide lock kit for the panel together with an inlet. That way, you can power whatever you want in the whole house. All you have to do is have a list of what breakers to open, which to leave closed. And you can manage it dynamically, choosing some loads now, others later. With CFL, LEDs now, you can supply power to lights in the whole house and just turn on the ones you want. With the subpanel approach, you're limited to the circuits that are moved to the subpanel.
The only issue is if a lockout kit is available for the panel. First choice would be one from the panel manufacturer, if available. Here's an aftermarket company:
Depends on the particular generator. Electric start is common. I think the biggest question is the run time of a propane using typical gas grill size tanks versus other choices, eg diesel or gas.
Per TomR:
First thing that comes to mind for me in that situation is death by carbon monoxide poisoning.
I know I tend to go overboard on this kind of thinking, but I would fear that somebody without a technical mind set might wheel the gennie out to a position where carbon mon could infiltrate the house - or even run it in the garage.
If that sounds far-fetched, consider the nightly news a few nights ago where they featured a story where 4 people died and the suspected cause was carbon mon from a generator they ran in the *basement of the house*.
So if 4 people could all buy into something that blatantly deadly, I would think that one person could even more easily.
Thanks. That's actually what I meant -- not a subpanel -- instead, a slide lock kit for the panel together with an inlet.
And, I guess it makes sense to just have the power available to all circuits, and turn off the breakers on any that she would not want to run such as the cnentral HVAC, the hot water heater, etc. Although I do wonder about the heat during the winter and how much power just the heat pump would need if the outside temp wasn't so low that the heat pump had to switch to the electric backup heat.
A lot more likely with a gasoline gennie - they run propane forklifts and zambonies inside all the time - so sitting outside is not a huge risk.
I got a conversion kit from Century Fuel Products. They been in the propane industry since the beginning.
They told me a 20 pound tank is comparable to 4.5 Gallons of gasoline.
I also need a hose for my home. They I directed me to their hose page. It shows you what you need and they are very inexpensive.
Hope this helps. :)
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