Propane versus gasoline generator

Sandia Man wrote:
We have not experienced any fuel supply/fouled carburetor issues whatsoever. We do basic yearly maintenance ourselves and use whatever ethanol-laced gas available, just add Stabil whenever we fill up and every so often we drop a can of Seafoam in the tank as well. For nearly a decade our Onan has always answered the call to duty purring to life with a simple press of a button.

My little Honda gas generator did fail due to fouled jets. It was inconvenient. I had not been using gas stabilizer, and the unit sat unused for a year.

With a toyhauler generator fuel of choice is a no-brainer, I have a 25 gallon genny tank dedicated to our Onan, and if I should need more I can pump from our 30+ gallon fuel station. We have not experienced any fuel supply/fouled carburetor issues whatsoever. We do basic yearly maintenance ourselves and use whatever ethanol-laced gas available, just add Stabil whenever we fill up and every so often we drop a can of Seafoam in the tank as well. For nearly a decade our Onan has always answered the call to duty purring to life with a simple press of a button.

For what your astronomy equipment draws we would utilize our battery bank and pure sinewave inverter. When RVing in good weather and moderate temps we barely use the Onan except for momentary operation of convection microwave, hair blow dryer and such high draw items. We have 100 watts of solar per battery and are fully charged by early afternoon when no AC/furnace use is required. Onans are overkill for most situations, particularly for battery charging duties. Having a properly-sized smart charging converter will significantly reduce runtime for this task.

SCVJeff wrote:
iMO- Propane should only be used where gas doesn't make sense. For long term storage you can't beat LP. It lasts forever and there's nothing to gum up or go stale. Perfect for a standby residential gen set. There are also laws about commercial gas storage that got us in a pickle at the office. We store an emergency generator at a microwave shack located on top of a large commercial building. The landlord would not allow a flammable liquid up there, but had no issues with a 20lb tank that we store on the roof. Lasts forever, and if it leaks it just vents to the atmosphere. The generator is always ready to go with no fears of contamination.

I thought that propane was heavier than air? If so, than if there was a bottle leak in a confined space it would pool on the floor and then fill the room until it found an air duct or cracks in the floor, where it would flow down to the lower floors. This is why marine propane lockers are vented overboard from the bottom, not the top!

If your "microwave shack" is just an added on shed on the roof with an air space between its floor and the roof, you should be all right, unless it's a still and windless night when it springs a leak......

WackAway wrote:
I assume your astro-toys have tracking servo's in them, right?

Generally I run the tracking mount off a deep cycle battery and inverter. It is nice late at night to be quiet.

Then I spend a good deal of the day (the next day) charging the battery.

Bionic Man wrote:
What type of generator? Built in, or portable?

If built in, what type of RV? Class A/B/C, or towable?

110V generator, built in, Toy Hauler

Here is the Genny that I bought. Like I said, it gives you the choice of fuels.

Champion 3500 Watt Dual Fuel RV Ready Portable Inverter Generator with Electric Start

I think if they would start using FI gen sets in RVs they would be much easier to start and way more efficient. You'd still have to keep fuel treated but that's no big deal. I guess a person could get an LP to gas conversion for their gen, then you could switch back and forth as needed.

iMO- Propane should only be used where gas doesn't make sense. For long term storage you can't beat LP. It lasts forever and there's nothing to gum up or go stale. Perfect for a standby residential gen set. There are also laws about commercial gas storage that got us in a pickle at the office. We store an emergency generator at a microwave shack located on top of a large commercial building. The landlord would not allow a flammable liquid up there, but had no issues with a 20lb tank that we store on the roof. Lasts forever, and if it leaks it just vents to the atmosphere. The generator is always ready to go with no fears of contamination.

If you boondock a lot you had better have a spare LP tank !

One more thing to think of...

How sensitive is the equipment you'll be running off of whatever power unit you'll be using? Make sure that you get a pure sinewave type power source. A lot of digital equipment is sensitive to how clean the AC voltage is. Laptops are tolerant, TV's and most positioning servo's are not. I assume your astro-toys have tracking servo's in them, right?

Hope this helps :-)