Propane generator..

[powertoolsgudie]

Hi all,
I want to install a generator in my house as an emergency power supply. I have three options out there. These are solar generator, gas generator, and the propane generator. Among these choices, what do you think would be perfect for me? I need to keep running my essential electrical appliances like 2 fridges, 3 ceiling fans, a water heater, 6 indoor lights, and one porch or patio light.

[Tvov]

powertoolsgudie wrote:
Hi all,
I want to install a generator in my house as an emergency power supply. I have three options out there. These are solar generator, gas generator, and the propane generator. Among these choices, what do you think would be perfect for me? I need to keep running my essential electrical appliances like 2 fridges, 3 ceiling fans, a water heater, 6 indoor lights, and one porch or patio light.

You say you have propane available, so use that, pretty much end of thread.

As to size, depends on what everything will require that you list.

Many, many houses around me get by very comfortably with a 5,000 watt generator. Seems to be a rule of thumb - when in doubt, get a 5,000 watt generator.

We had a 3 day outage recently, and the Honda EU 3000 that we just got used from a friend worked awesome - powered frig, freezer, lights, and the window air conditioner for the main part of the house. With all that it was barely running above low idle. I was impressed. On top of that, it is an amazingly quiet generator - quieter than an EU2000 gen.

If you go gasoline generator, unless you really, really, really know that you will be able to consistently run the generator regularly to keep everything working, I highly recommend running the engine dry with storage fuel/non-ethanol fuel, then drain out all the fuel you can - store it "dry".

Let us know what you are planning on doing!

[Bumpyroad]

the OP is asking about a whole house generator, not a RV. and as stated a propane tank would be 500 gal or so. of course if natural gas is available, that would be the obvious choice.
bumpy

[valhalla360]

Campinfan wrote:

Natural gas would be my first choice, then gasoline before propane tanks because it is easier to fill a five gallon can than re-filling propane---meaning the stores might be closed.

In an RV setting, I would agree. Propane is a pain to refill, particularly when looking at 30lb tanks when you can easily burn a full tank in a day.

But in a household setting if using propane, you likely already have a 500gal tank to feed the furnace and stove, so you should be able to run the generator for weeks giving plenty of time to get it refilled.

[pianotuna]

Natural gas

or

Diesel

Add an automatic transfer switch.

For my home, I used a 2800 watt Kipor inverter generator that I had for my class C diesel. It would keep the fridge, freezer, sump pump and furnace (natural gas) going. I had a manual transfer switch (six breakers). I chose the circuits I powered carefully to provide light in most of the rooms. My stove was natural gas by choice. Water heating was natural gas and required no power. I did keep ten gallons of gas available, which I rotated into vehicles. My office computer and the TV had power too.

Ten gallons was enough to power the necessary items in the house for a few days. I never had to use the system for an extended time frame--but I would have probably done "one hour on, two hours off" to extend the limited fuel supply. There was a natural gas fireplace with a millivolt thermostat. With doors open that would keep the house from freezing up.

The transfer switch was about $100. The installation by a licensed electrician was $350.

I was pleasantly surprized how many items I could power up with a mere 2800 watts.

Solar if you wish to be grid independent with a LARGE battery bank, minimum 72 hours reserve capacity.

I'd have loved to have solar--but I have a beer budget.

[time2roll]

humblerb wrote:
I have no idea about solar, but I'm of the general opinion that anything solar is not technologically up to speed.

Way more advanced than any of these mechanical generators.

https://www.tesla.com/solarpanels

Many other suppliers too.

[time2roll]

Campinfan wrote:
So I must be one of the few that uses a gasoline generator. I do not have a whole house but I have it wired with a transfer switch. I have many 5 gallon gasoline tanks ready to go. Since they can go bad, I wait a couple months and then use it in the cars, and then refill.
Natural gas would be my first choice, then gasoline before propane tanks because it is easier to fill a five gallon can than re-filling propane---meaning the stores might be closed.

I would assume if you were going propane at home it would be a 500 gallon tank. Might feed the furnace too.

[Bionic_Man]

I have a propane generator in my 5er. I love it for the convince of not needing another fuel source, and that the fuel doesn't go bad/I don't have to worry about carb issues.

I don't like it because it is a propane HOG. This summer, we ran it while dry camping at a lake so the dogs could stay inside in the air conditioning. I basically went through a 30 pound bottle in one day (read that as about 12 hours of run time). And swapping out propane bottles can be a pain.

As others have said, if you need something that is automatic and you already have a propane tank. that might work. Natural gas would be my first choice. But I am one that would go with gas over propane. Where I am at, it would be easy to grab a couple gas cans and head to the station a few miles down the road when the power goes out.

[KD4UPL]

I install solar, battery, and generator systems for a living. "Solar Generators" are kind of a gimmick. They do technically generate some power and can be used for running a refrigerator or some lights but they are not even in the same league as a gasoline, propane, natural gas, or diesel generator.
A home solar system with battery back-up can be made as large as necessary and can run everything you mentioned but it's going to cost you around $20,000 at a bare minimum, likely twice that. The good news is that it qualifies for a 26% federal income tax credit and it can reduce or eliminate your electric bill if sized right.
For your use I would go with natural gas if you have it and propane if you don't. The typical home-sized propane generator requires a minimum 500 gallon propane tank. This is larger than what can be mounted up against the house per fire codes so it must be either buried or sit out in the yard.
Diesel is great but much more expensive and unnecessary for most residential use. I personally have a 20 kW Kohler with a John Deere diesel engine. I got it on Ebay for $3,400. If you don't mind used their are always older commercial generators for sale on ebay and craigslist. They are often in service at a commercial facility for 20 years or so with very little run time and rigorous maintenance. After so many years they are simply replaced with a newer one to maintain reliability for the facility.
I highly recommend Kohler generators. I have heard too many horror stories about Generac to count.

[Campinfan]

So I must be one of the few that uses a gasoline generator. I do not have a whole house but I have it wired with a transfer switch. I have many 5 gallon gasoline tanks ready to go. Since they can go bad, I wait a couple months and then use it in the cars, and then refill.
Natural gas would be my first choice, then gasoline before propane tanks because it is easier to fill a five gallon can than re-filling propane---meaning the stores might be closed.

[humblerb]

We have propane at our home and had a propane generator installed last year.
If you have natural gas access, go this way.
Ours is hands off and easy. Every Monday at 1PM, it starts up and runs for 5 minutes. The company that installed it gets notifications (thru the innerweb) if there is a malfunction (none yet).
I would use propane over gasoline just for the convenience (don't have to buy gasoline and fill the generator).
I have no idea about solar, but I'm of the general opinion that anything solar is not technologically up to speed.

[cptqueeg]

Having had a propane whole house generator and used it through many, many multiple day outages (up to 12 days) I'd bite the bullet and get a diesel generator if I needed one.

The ease of refueling, and longevity of the motor are 2 big pluses in a diesel generator. The lack of common spare parts espeically in widespread outages is a major downfall to a pp gen. Find out what the local "generator rate" for pp is if this will be your sole pp appliance. If you rent your tank you will lack the ability to shop for propane suppliers.

[valhalla360]

For a household system:
- Natural gas if available.
- Propane if not (you can get a big tank easy)
- gasoline would be way down on the list as it goes bad if sitting.
- Problem with a solar system is it will need to be very large and it will need a very large battery bank to go with it. This makes it a very expensive option. (you can get a propane powered portable generator that will run all the items you list for under $1,000. A solar system that will run all the items for days will likely be well north of $10,000).

Note: This is for a household setup. For an RV setup that has to be mobile, the answers work out different.

[time2roll]

If you live in an area with favorable sun I would go solar and battery. This system will save you money every single day.

[bgum]

1. Natural gas
2 propane
3. Gasoline

Propane will use a lot but doesn't go bad and doesn't gum up. Fortunately you shouldn't need it often and very long when you do.