How many hours will a 7000 watt generator run....

[zackyboy3rs]

2 250 watt heat lamp bulbs? 5.5-6 gallon gas tank. I am thinking 12 hours.

[Gdetrailer]

SaltiDawg wrote:
Oh, I understand the principle of hotel loads on a generator... including its own mechanical losses at low load.

That said, I believe the run time at 500 Watts will be much closer to the idealistic four days than your 16 hours.

However, my experience was on steam turbine generators, motor-generator battery/450Volt AC, and Diesel generators.... all operated in parallel. (
and occasionally A/C Shore Power.

Not much experience with small gasoline powered generators, so my intuition may be severely off, probably shouldn't have posted.

Be interested if the OP noted how much fuel he actually used overnight???

PS. Yes, I realize that my post would make the argument that were there no electrical load that it would run forever on a tankful. lol

Diesel and gas.. two different birds..

Example, my old 8hp Kohler in a 1966 Jacobsen tractor uses about 2 gallons of gas per hr mowing. Contrast that to my 26HP diesel tractor using 3/4 gallon of fuel per hr..

The Kohler 8HP had to run at 3600 RPM to do the same work as my 26HP diesel tractor running at 2200 RPM..

Diesel contains considerably more energy than gasoline and a diesel engine has considerably more compression to squeeze out more efficiency..

So, displacement, energy in fuel and RPM all make a difference in how much fuel will be used..

My 4Kw gas gen has a 4 gallon fuel tank, runs about 12hrs per tank and that is with than less half load.. More than half load that is about 11 hrs per tank full..

OP will never see anywhere near 96hrs of run time per tank with a 7Kw gen which has at least 13HP engine..

Pretty familiar with gas gen run times..

[SaltiDawg]

Oh, I understand the principle of hotel loads on a generator... including its own mechanical losses at low load.

That said, I believe the run time at 500 Watts will be much closer to the idealistic four days than your 16 hours.

However, my experience was on steam turbine generators, motor-generator battery/450Volt AC, and Diesel generators.... all operated in parallel. (
and occasionally A/C Shore Power.

Not much experience with small gasoline powered generators, so my intuition may be severely off, probably shouldn't have posted.

Be interested if the OP noted how much fuel he actually used overnight???

PS. Yes, I realize that my post would make the argument that were there no electrical load that it would run forever on a tankful. lol

[Gdetrailer]

SaltiDawg wrote:

zackyboy3rs wrote:
It ran 12 hours last night. Thanks. Manual states put to 14 hours at 1/2 load.

1/2 load is 3500 Watts... your 500 watt load is 1/7 of that. Would seem your generator could run like 7 * 14 hrs = 98 hours or ~ four days on a tank of gasoline.

Doesn't work like that at all..

Fuel consumption is more about the displacement (CID or CCs/liters) and RPMs so there is basically a point where there is no decrease in fuel under light or no loads..

Bigger displacement engine = more fuel consumption per hr vs a smaller displacement.

Higher RPMs = more fuel needed for proper air/fuel mix..

Generator engine is pegged at 3600 RPM whether it has a load or not..

OP most likely could get perhaps 16hrs per tank perhaps but not 98 hrs..

A smaller more appropriate sized gen to the load would use much less fuel.. That 7Kw gen in 12hr used about 5 gallon of fuel.. a 2Kw gen would use maybe 2 gallons for the same time..

There is a trade off for picking a larger gen and that is the amount of fuel it will use per hr..

[SaltiDawg]

zackyboy3rs wrote:
It ran 12 hours last night. Thanks. Manual states put to 14 hours at 1/2 load.

1/2 load is 3500 Watts... your 500 watt load is 1/7 of that. Would seem your generator could run like 7 * 14 hrs = 98 hours or ~ four days on a tank of gasoline.

[zackyboy3rs]

It ran 12 hours last night. Thanks. Manual states put to 14 hours at 1/2 load.

[pianotuna]

X2. I won't even run mine when sleeping.

greenrvgreen wrote:
If you run any gas generator underneath or near your trailer (as pictured), the fuel supply is unlikely to expire before the occupants do.

[greenrvgreen]

If you run any gas generator underneath or near your trailer (as pictured), the fuel supply is unlikely to expire before the occupants do.

[gatorcq]

you are asking about a 7000 w.My generac is 7500 and will use 3/4 a gal. per hour under full load.
Is this what your are looking for?

The best way, is to read the manufacture's spec. My Yamaha 2000 states 9 hours in the eco mode, and I think, I said I think as I did not locate my manual, it says 4 hours full load

[BurbMan]

I made an extended run tank for my 2000 using a marine gas tank from Wal Mart and some fittings. Aux tank is 6 gals and it will run the Honda at full load for a couple DAYS.

[RoyB]

My 2KW Honda EU2000i generator will run for around 7 hours with a pretty good load...

If your 2KW model is a HONDA EU20001 they do sell an extended run tank. The EU2000i generator has its own built-in fuel pump so this will work with almost any extended fuel tank you might come up with...

Just another thought perhaps...

Roy Ken

[pianotuna]

Hi zacky,

Is there no shore power available?

Is this a "one off"?

[zackyboy3rs]

I need it to run all night. It is at our schools farm and did not want to get up at 2 am to refuel. I have a 2500 and a 2000 but I would have to refuel.

[pnichols]

Just as an off-topic factoid, my little 650 watt Honda will run a couple of 250 watt bulbs for around 5 hours using about one-half gallon of gas. You have to look for this genny used, however.

[Gdetrailer]

zackyboy3rs wrote:
2 250 watt heat lamp bulbs? 5.5-6 gallon gas tank. I am thinking 12 hours.

500 watt is no real "load" for a 7Kw gen..

Typically the run time is given for HALF LOAD which will be the size of your tank.. You will be less than half load so I would guess you can use the half load number..

That is a awful big gen for that small load.. I would suggest finding a smaller gen that would match better and save on a lot of fuel.. A 2Kw gen would easily use 1/4 of the fuel..