Onan LP 5500. Need a tanker of propane??

[06bowtie_guy]

Just bought a new trailer, I added the propane 5500 watt onan genny for those days where i might want to cool down yet there is no power plug ins. Trailer has 2 propane tanks and no fuel tank so that is why I went that way.

Searching I have found people say bring lots of propane. I was wondering if anyone with a similar generator could shed some light on their actual usage while running A/C.

Wondering if I should buy a couple of 100 lbs tanks or would the 2 30 lbs tanks last a weekend? A/C might be on for 6 to 10 hours in a day if it's hot and the little guy is with me.

Trailer should be ready for pickup later in the week with a planned outing right away where I will be without hydro so going to run the generator/ break it in.

Thanks

[rjjr]

Our propane tank is 50 gallons and holds about 42 gallons. We can for about 60 hours at a heavy load.

Here is a great resource for calculating propane consumption for a generator.

http://www.propane-generators.com/propane_usage.htm

[06bowtie_guy]

I did find this, http://www.cumminsonan.com/www/pdf/specsheets/a-1425.pdf which has the same consumption rates as posted.

Guess it can obviously vary so to be safe today I bought a 100lbs tank. I'm guessing they really have 80lbs in them if filled to 80%??

In the past running a 3000 watt gas genny for the weekend would take 6 to 8 gallons a day of gas.

Should have plenty of propane for the weekend, 100 lbs tnak and 2 30 lbs tanks. 🙂

[MEXICOWANDERER]

Señor Mister Wizard, your Onan might be an 1,800 RPM model. No way in heck is a 36 turn generator going to use fewer lbs per hour of fuel.

[MrWizard]

At one time we Where all newbies,
We just t to help each other along

[GON2SKI]

I will know more when I fill the tanks Monday. Sorry OP post should relate to your questions! Do not want to get off track here. I am a newbie with Onan propane gen usage.

[dave17352]

GON2SKI wrote:
as I shut them down yesterday red was showing at the valve! I may have a leaky system. Back to the drawing board. Interested in comments from your post.

Was the red showing because the automatic transfer switch in the regulator is letting you know the bottle you are drawing off is empty and it has switched over to the full tank. That's how mine works. When the one your arrow is pointing to is empty the red will show up so you know one is gone.

[GON2SKI]

Sorry..I have two ten gallon tanks holding 8+8=16 gallons of propane.

[tomthyme]

We have the 5500 LP unit in our 2011 Cameo. We have 2@ 40# tanks. If running both airs, tv, satellite, fridge, etc., I can go for about 48 hours, maybe more. I often fill before I'm dry. Usually 1 tank is completely gone, and the other has about 1/3 left or so.

We have experienced the propane 'freezing' in cold and humid climates. There are heater blankets to buy to prevent the problem, I just never wanted to spring for the $400 per tank to buy them. I am sure there are other solutions, but we haven't worked through the various solutions there.

The LP decision was definitely less economical than gas or diesel, but I simply didn't want to carry the added fuel type. Plus we are weekenders, maybe a few weeks in a year, so the decision fit our needs.

Enjoy!

[MrWizard]

There's a mistake in there somewhere,
A 10 pound tank would be slightly over 2 gallons of propane
No way could you run the generator and a/C for 20 hours on 4 gallons of l.p. weighing 20#

A 10 gallon tank would be 45 pounds , so that would be 20 gallons weighing 90#, that I can believe

It's been over 20 years since I bought propane by the pound
Even though many people still speak of lp using that term
It's pumped and paid for by the gallon every where I go

GON2SKI wrote:
I have not refilled my tanks yet to answer your question, but we went dry camping for three days over the 4th in 100 degree temps and started out with two #10's tanks 80% full. Ran the Onan for 20 hours with AC on. One glitch…….oops …...stored unit and did not shut off the tanks for a five day period and as I shut them down yesterday red was showing at the valve! I may have a leaky system. Back to the drawing board. Interested in comments from your post.

[Tom_N]

From the Onan manual

Onan 5500w LPG

No Load 0.4 gal/h 1.8 lb/h
Half Load 0.8 gal/h 3.3 lb/h
Full Load 1.1 gal/h 4.6 lb/h

-Tom, W3TLN

[GON2SKI]

I have not refilled my tanks yet to answer your question, but we went dry camping for three days over the 4th in 100 degree temps and started out with two #10's tanks 80% full. Ran the Onan for 20 hours with AC on. One glitch…….oops …...stored unit and did not shut off the tanks for a five day period and as I shut them down yesterday red was showing at the valve! I may have a leaky system. Back to the drawing board. Interested in comments from your post.

[OpenRangePullen]

Lantley wrote:

OpenRangePullen_Ford wrote:
I have a rack with 3 extra 40 pounders.

Do you mean 3 extra 20# tanks? I have an Open range also and it comes with 4- 20# tanks

Yep

[Lantley]

OpenRangePullen_Ford wrote:
I have a rack with 3 extra 40 pounders.

Do you mean 3 extra 20# tanks? I have an Open range also and it comes with 4- 20# tanks.
I can go about 6-8 hours on a tank. If you plan to run genset for long periods regularly Gas or diesel s a better way to go.
However if you don't plan to run genset for long periods very often LP will be fine.

[OpenRangePullen]

I have a rack with 3 extra 40 pounders.