Dual Fuel Generators

[PrivatePilot]

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That would depend on where you get propane if you get fills at Costco for 80c liter it will be cheaper than gas

Only if you can get your propane at that price.

Gasoline: ~33,500 BTU per liter
Propane: ~25,300 BTU per liter

So you use just a shade under 25% more propane to make the same amount of power.

An average 3000w inverter generator at 50% load average will run around 8 hours on 10L of gas.

Same generator, same load, only 6 hours.

I think costco is closer to $1/L after taxes, not 80c, but I could be wrong. A 20 pounder is ~17.5L of propane if completely empty, and the last few I had filled at our local costco were in the vicinity of $17, so that fits with around $1/L total.

Add 25% to that cost for the 25% loss of BTU/efficiency, and now you're effectively paying $1.25/L gas equivalent.

If you end up having to buy expensive propane somewhere (ie a gas station $30 rip off), the math very much changes in the end.

If you are ok to lug around a bunch of of tanks, and can run exclusively on Costco price range propane, or you're running on a big tank at a house/cottage, you can save. I suppose one could do 100 pounders as well. The only thing I don't like is the bulkiness of propane cylinders if you're lugging them around to campsites or that sort of thing. And of course, when you can't fill up at Costco. We paid almost $50 to fill our 20 pounder on our trailer at a station somewhere in Gaspe, but we had no choice - ran out, fridge was inop as a result, no bueno.

Anyhow, on the topic of Champion generators, I am also a fan. I've had a bunch of them - at one point when Champion was first entering the market here I was super active over at rv.net and they reached out and ended up sending me some of the "stacking cube" style 2000w inverter models for free (including the parallel kit) so that I could use them and write a review. They were great. Their new stuff is even better.

 

[GreyGhost]

Fwiw, power is out for a day. Using an EU2000 through a manual transfer switch and some strategic extension cords inside the house as only one phase is powered up it is happily running tv, computer, network, hot water, gas furnace and lights. It is unhappy but holds on for a while (30 minutes plus) when you add the dishwasher to that (poor planning on our part). I have a 5 kw generator too that I am going to go through and give away to a friend but I don't feel the need to deal with that heavy lump today. When the kids are done with the movie I will plug in the fridge and let it get to temp and then shut generator off for the night.

 

[PrivatePilot]

Had both cars fully charged last night, extra gas on hand just in case - we could probably go 2 weeks between the ~90kwh between the 2 cars, and the ability for the Volt cycling on and off on gas to maintain the traction battery for an inverter. The extra gas was proabably overkill, but meh, I like to be prepared, and it can go in the bikes if it doesn't get used. And yeah, not even a flicker here. Often our power goes out if a mouse farts in the woods nearby somewhere, but this time, nada. Yet, anyways. It's freezing rain pretty good outside now.

 

[Hardwrkr13]

Power out since midnight and Champion generator doing just fine running the house. I was outside around 1am and the sound of trees crashing down in the surrounding forest was rather wild. So far we've lost about 12 trees surrounding the house.

 

[mimico_polak]

Power out since midnight and Champion generator doing just fine running the house. I was outside around 1am and the sound of trees crashing down in the surrounding forest was rather wild. So far we've lost about 12 trees surrounding the house.

I’m north of Algonquin right now and buddys GENERAC just kicked in.

I expect this to be a very slow drive home. Cars are warming up now as there’s a 1/4” of ice on all of them.

 

[SunnY S]

I’m north of Algonquin right now and buddys GENERAC just kicked in.

I expect this to be a very slow drive home. Cars are warming up now as there’s a 1/4” of ice on all of them.

everybody can hear a generac, they are obnoxiously loud.

 

[GreyGhost]

everybody can hear a generac, they are obnoxiously loud.

I agree. The generacs half a block away are louder than the eu2000 20' away. Although I fired up a spare old 4kw Coleman generator I had to pass it around like the neighbourhood whore and it makes the generacs sound like Hondas. People can run a few extension cords from it to run fridge/freezer.

 

[mimico_polak]

everybody can hear a generac, they are obnoxiously loud.

Seemed rather quiet when I was outside beside it.

 

[Bobo]

Fwiw, power is out for a day. Using an EU2000 through a manual transfer switch and some strategic extension cords inside the house as only one phase is powered up it is happily running tv, computer, network, hot water, gas furnace and lights. It is unhappy but holds on for a while (30 minutes plus) when you add the dishwasher to that (poor planning on our part). I have a 5 kw generator too that I am going to go through and give away to a friend but I don't feel the need to deal with that heavy lump today. When the kids are done with the movie I will plug in the fridge and let it get to temp and then shut generator off for the night.

I’ve also got a 14 year old Honda EU2000 that I use for work. I don’t know how many hours are on it but it has performed flawlessly with nothing but oil changes. I got bored one evening early in January and decided to rip it apart to adjust the valves and replace the spark plug(original) which was way overdue. It was a little more work than I thought it would be but now it runs as good as new, hopefully for another 14 years. One thing I can tell you about working on Honda products (including bikes, generators,snowblowers) is that if the parts aren’t fitting together perfectly and you have to force them, your doing something wrong. That little EU2000 generator is one of Honda’s greatest engineering achievements.

 

[SunnY S]

) is that if the parts aren’t fitting together perfectly and you have to force them, your doing something wrong. That little EU2000 generator is one of Honda’s greatest engineering achievements.

Rumor has it (unofficial) that some honda parts are interchangeable with champion generators.

That might explain why champions are pretty reliable too

 

[Relax]

As long as they're not using Briggs motors with plastic internals, like the cams and gears.

 

[GreyGhost]

So this ice storm has turned into a cluster. I found a 3kw champion in a neighbours garage that they couldn't get running. I got it going with minimal effort. It is now part of the loaner fleet going house to house to run fridges/freezers. So far seven houses are rotating the loaner generators. Power went out Saturday and the latest estimate for return is Wednesday night. All of the generators will need oil changes at the end of this.

 

[Scuba Steve]

So this ice storm has turned into a cluster. I found a 3kw champion in a neighbours garage that they couldn't get running. I got it going with minimal effort. It is now part of the loaner fleet going house to house to run fridges/freezers. So far seven houses are rotating the loaner generators. Power went out Saturday and the latest estimate for return is Wednesday night. All of the generators will need oil changes at the end of this.

I have a 3500 watt inverter you can borrow if needed to add the the fleet.

Sent from my Pixel 5 using Tapatalk

 

[ReSTored]

So, as it turns out we returned to Mississauga Friday late PM and FB posts from neighbours around the lake in the Kawarthas indicates we made the right choice to get out sooner rather than later. Hundreds of trees down, roads out blocked and Hydro One nows says power will be back on April 2 at 6 PM...........

So , ironically enough, project involving new panel, transfer switch, generator etc on hold for now.

 

[Hardwrkr13]

FBMP flooded with overpriced used genny's now as people are trying to take advantage of the outage.

 

[GreyGhost]

FBMP flooded with overpriced used genny's now as people are trying to take advantage of the outage.

F those guys. People were bringing up pickup loads of new generators and trying to extort desperate homeowners. If they dont' sell I am sure they will return them. *^&^(*^(*^*&^

I have had people offer me more generators and I appreciate it but for now, i don't want more. Most people seem to have issues with basic electricity so I am ending up actively managing the loaners. If more people had sump pumps and required constant power it would be different but they are using gas fireplaces for heat and the generators just need a hour or two to cool off fridge/freezer. Some are trying to claim ownership of the generators and saying they will buy one for $100, others are slipping some cash. The deal is they are free but they need to fill it up for the next person. Now is not the time to profit from desperation. I don't have enough gas to keep them all running so they can wait in lines at gas stations if they want power. CRA corporate filing deadline today so getting people online to get that done.

Tree cleanup probably starts today. So tired. I got lucky and just have a few trees to drop and a pile of branches to clean up (although some are up to 6" so they still require work).

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