I have a 22K Briggs & Stratton running on Propane. If any of you decide to spring for a permanent installation, don't make the mistake that I did; get the most Propane storage that you can possibly afford. I thought 250 gallons would be fine. It's not. I would have gone for 500 gallons if I knew then what I do now. I'm looking at the better part of $5 grand to install another 250 gallon tank. With the current single 250 I have about three days run time.
https://offerup.com/item/detail/d2280c13-c2cb-3821-a011-ad0071e0cc2f (not mine but same as what I have) I bought one like this back about 2005 when the hurricane came through Houston while we were living down there. They had em on sale at the home depot and since it was a honda engine and I think i paid $600 I figured even if it didn't work the engine was worth that. But as it is, we have had a few outages in the last 20 yrs and it hasn't failed to start or produce power when we needed. I always ran it out of fuel before putting it up. Probably should change the oil but I never have I don't think. Last yr we had a little weather event and lost power for about 36 or so hrs I think maybe more, maybe less but we ran several five gallon jugs or fuel through it and it made the little milk house heaters go to prevent the pipes in the house from freezing. Not near enough for a whole house but small enough to put it in the garage and pull it out when needed.
That thing is bad ass'd and probably get one at a bargain price at a surplus sale somewhere. Id trade up to that anyday.
We have a dual fuel 13kw. Bought a kit from Motor Snorkel to convert it to Natural gas. Only had to use it once and we ran the whole house on it for almost a week
The ole Generac is difficult to start, Heavy, LOUD, and sucks down gas like an ole Buick and as BuickRat said not electronic friendly. The new Yamaha Inverter starts on the supposed primer pull, is very quiet and runs for 6~8 hours on a gallon of fuel. Yes that's a tent/cover for her too.
They only fill the 250 tank 80% full so thats 200 gals. I est my gen will run better than a full week 24/7 on a filled tank or up to 2 weeks using it during the day and shutting off in the night. Now having a full tank when the chit hts the fan is very unlikley seeing as how I use it daily for hot water, cooking and the drier.
I bought a nice Westinghouse one and in 8 years have never needed it where I live now. Where I used to live (more congested area) I practically wore out a Coleman generator. Power went out in winter due to wet snow breaking branches and in summer due to violent T-storms. And all year occasionally due to cars hitting utilities. Amazing the difference from one suburban area to a more rural one.
10 or so years ago we had an outage that lasted over a week, I couldn't keep fuel in my 10k gas job, fuel goes bad in 6 months. Most of the gas stations were without power, and the ones that had power were 20+ miles away. My mothers 6k propane job would suck a 100 gal tank dry in 3 days. Even the cell tower gensets ran out of fuel. Guess I prepare for the worst, hope for the best, and still have a landline.
Mep 803-a military genset. They were widely available 5 years ago for about 4-5k, low hour (as in under 100 hrs). Bit more pricey now, but it will hold a 10-12k load for as long as you need it. Adjustable voltage and Htz, they can also run 3 phase.
$4295 - but shipping will kill ya! http://general-jims.com/product/diesel-generator-mep803a/ The MEP 803A is a 10kW (10,000 watt) generator producing 60Hz of electric power. The MEP 803A weighs 1140lbs dry, and 1242lbs with a full fuel tank. The MEP 803A is 32 wide, 37 tall, and 62 long. The MEP 803A engine is an Onan, naturally-aspirated, four cylinders, four cycle, and liquid cooled diesel engine. Those Onans are nice!
Just don't get rid of the ole Generac. It will still run long after the Chinese made Yamaha gives up.
I've had a whole-house Generac 17kw NG w/ automatic transfer switch for around 15 years or so now. Aside from normal maintenance, it's been fine. I added a soft-start on the A/C compressor. The generator is handy esp in the winter.
Actually, specs call for 3.75 GPH at full power. Obviously It wasn't anywhere near full power, but at 1/4 power, spec is 1.56 GPH, 2.31 GPH at 1/2, and 3.03 GPH at 3/4. It also automatically runs for 21 minutes once each week to keep the spiders out and the Propane from stratifying. My old Generac with the same B&S engine ran for 12 minutes each week and that was plenty. I feel that I am wasting about 1 gallon of Propane every two months. I intend to speak with B&S (the manufacturer) about this as there doesn't seem to adjust the run time. Other then that, I'm basically happy with it. The starter has been replaced twice, but always on warranty, and never when I needed the generator.
I'd keep the one you have. Prob something preventing fuel and has been flushed out. My 6500w is just a back up for power outage. I only start it twice a year as verification. Well of course i actually needed it recently and the **** gas eat the grommet that hold the shut off to the tank. $10 to change it out but still. Decided to leave it dry until needed and will empty and run dry after each use to see if this helps. I've actually only needed it twice in 10years, once was 3days the other was only overnight so...
I was happy to see the dual fuel generators when they came out, purchased a 4400 Duromax about ten years ago. If I have my way, it'll never see a drop of gasoline! Propane tanks and off we go. Zero reliability issues, knock on wood. Devon
I got this (not from amazon) and haven't had any issues with it running. https://www.amazon.com/Westinghouse...9500-Watts-Gas-Powered-Electric/dp/B07Q1DLKBG What I did find hugely annoying was the wheel placement right below the 50a plug....Had to buy one of these to extend the 50a cord out over the wheel. https://www.amazon.com/Progressive-Industries-50A-X-PLUG-Extension-Plug/dp/B01IQYXN5U
Probably get arrows thrown at me, but I have two predator inverter generators. Spent hours watching YouTube videos and reading reviews and the brands shown in this thread did not always fair well or operate as quietly as compared. The preds have great reliability and performance for the price, plus very quiet. One is the very popular 6500 and the other 8900. One for camping and cross country travels and one for house. Really only ever needed the 6500 for house power loss ~2 days. The 8900 was a clearance buy this year.
For those that use gas powered gen sets, I highly recommend PRI-G gas treatment. I have used it for at least 10 years and have never had a gas issue when storing fuel for 12 months plus. And all I can get around here is 10% ethenol blends.
