Just bought a generator

[Olustee bus]

During the storm in Florida, we moved to our rv garage about a 1/4 mile from my home. I had emergency power in the rv (generator) but not the rest of the garage which includes a storage area, a screened patio and garage for my two collector cars.

I could also use a generator at my home if needed.

Amazon had a duromax on sale and I bought it. It is a duel fuel generator, gas and butane. I thought the butane was great as I could keep butane in it all the time.

https://www.amazon.com/DuroMax-XP120...385652d5&psc=1

I then found that it would not run near as long on butane and I would need a large take for continual use. Anyone use a dual fuel generator? What do you use.

[Bill]

Looks nice. I wish there was some way to run that on natural gas, too.

[Frankie the Fink]

Daughter brought her propane/pump gas generator over for the hurricane, we never used it. I've never had one and lived through blizzards up north and 7 hurricanes in various states. If I lose power for any length of time I'm headed away in my previously filled up vehicles, screw the food in the freezer....

My niece is on a generator in Ft. Myers right now and has spent a lot of time in gas lines to get fuel for it and sometimes can't. I think they are way over-hyped as far as total benefit.

[Bill]

Originally Posted by Frankie the Fink

Daughter brought her propane/pump gas generator over for the hurricane, we never used it. I've never had one and lived through blizzards up north and 7 hurricanes in various states. If I lose power for any length of time I'm headed away in my previously filled up vehicles, screw the food in the freezer....

My niece is on a generator in Ft. Myers right now and has spent a lot of time in gas lines to get fuel for it and sometimes can't. I think they are way over-hyped as far as total benefit.

It's more of a hassle for people who run them continuously. My storm plan is simply to keep the fridge cold, and run it for a few hours in the evening, when it is dark. An hour here and there during the day just to keep the fridge cold doesn't require constant running, which uses a lot of gas.

[MEANZ06]

We have a little one. I run it on propane. It's just enough to keep fridges and lights going when needed. If the power goes out we go into "camping" mode, propane stove, battery lights etc. It's enough for us to be comfortable

https://www.amazon.com/Champion-Powe...%2C220&sr=8-29

[Rodnok1]

Most can be converted to run 3 fuel, ng, propane and gas.
Butane, propane, ng then gas as far as energy output for gen. (might be ng, propane)

[Mike Mercury]

Originally Posted by Olustee bus

Amazon had a duromax on sale and I bought it. It is a duel fuel generator, gas and butane. I thought the butane was great as I could keep butane in it all the time.

the ad you linked says gasoline and propane.

For portable generators... that is the desired config these days. A gas grill 20lb bottle can run a LP generator for anywhere from 6 hours to days...

In general, every hour, generators will consume around two to three pounds of propane as they function.

My whole-house Generac is Propane, and I prefer that gas over natural gas. If your home has NG sourced from the grid.... NG can be shut off by the utility company or local govt. If this happens, a NG only generator is useless. This is generally only a concern in areas where earthquakes are possible.

With Propane, you store the gas in your own tank; no-one other-than-you has control of it.

FORMULA: Total amount of propane used in an hour (in gallons) = watts / 3000 x 0.65

This is the formula used for a 3000-watt generator.

[Big bob]

What ever you buy run it a bit then change the oil. They are not built very well anymore a lot of metal filings.

[MadInNc]

Originally Posted by Olustee bus

During the storm in Florida, we moved to our rv garage about a 1/4 mile from my home. I had emergency power in the rv (generator) but not the rest of the garage which includes a storage area, a screened patio and garage for my two collector cars.

I could also use a generator at my home if needed.

Amazon had a duromax on sale and I bought it. It is a duel fuel generator, gas and butane. I thought the butane was great as I could keep butane in it all the time.

https://www.amazon.com/DuroMax-XP120...385652d5&psc=1

I then found that it would not run near as long on butane and I would need a large take for continual use. Anyone use a dual fuel generator? What do you use.

@Olustee bus I have a 10000 W Duromax dual fuel and converting to NG. Ya need a new regulator and hose to the carb rendering the propane hoses/ reg inoperable. Cost is $129 from nashfuel.com.

Here are the instructions
http://www.nashfuel.com/instructions...STRUCTIONS.pdf

When this project is complete it will be solar charged for the battery as there is no way to charge the battery in the Duromax unless YOU splice into the DC +12vdc charge stubs
https://duromax-xp10000e.tumblr.com/...arging-problem

The enclosure I am building w exhaust fan, grille etc looks like this

DIY Generator Shed - YouTube

I went with this exhaust kit
https://genexhaust.com/generator-exh...nsion-systems/

It’s manual meaning power goes out, flip main breaker (200a) off, slide lock out bar, flip 50A gen breaker, connect cord in garage, start gen. Whole house will run of NG but pool won’t be running

Total cost ~$4000 with NG pipe etc and power trenched to 2nd garage where enclosure sits behind compared to Generac quote of $24000 for auto start

You do loose some wattage at peak using NG but hell of a lot better than switching tanks or filling tanks…. What else ya need to know.

[Onebadcad]

Originally Posted by StorytellerStealth

Electrical go out that often in Texas for the need of a generator?

Do you have internet in that van??
In FEB 2021, western part of TX had power outages, my daughter had no power, or water, for 10 days.
Try not to park under a rock,,,

[Yadkin]

Originally Posted by Olustee bus

I then found that it would not run near as long on butane and I would need a large take for continual use. Anyone use a dual fuel generator? What do you use.

I've never seen butane sold as fuel, except in small containers, like for lighters, soldering irons...

Run time will be more or less dependent on BTU/ pound. For common fuels:

Diesel 19,400
Gasoline 19,500
Natural gas 19,500-21,500
Propane 21,500
Butane 21,640

[MadInNc]

Originally Posted by Yadkin

I've never seen butane sold as fuel, except in small containers, like for lighters, soldering irons...

Run time will be more or less dependent on BTU/ pound. For common fuels:

Diesel 19,400
Gasoline 19,500
Natural gas 19,500-21,500
Propane 21,500
Butane 21,640

NG is ~40% cost of propane. Key factor is volume not just BTU. NG is lower pressure compared to Propane @ regulator. As such for stoves/ grille NG has bigger jets. Vase in point if a grill is fed w NG and has a propane reg, the grille might get to 250f

[Yadkin]

Originally Posted by MadInNc

NG is ~40% cost of propane. Key factor is volume not just BTU. NG is lower pressure compared to Propane @ regulator. As such for stoves/ grille NG has bigger jets. Vase in point if a grill is fed w NG and has a propane reg, the grille might get to 250f

NG is piped in from the street if available, correct? Not available anywhere near me. I have a buried 330 gallon propane tank, and they deliver it by truck, and that tank is about an inch thick. I also have an above ground 275 fuel oil tank in my heated garage.

I heat the house/ hot water with oil because it is cheaper than propane.

[Olustee bus]

I meant propane. I got my "anes" mixed up.

[Olustee bus]

I wish propane was available in my little crossroads. Know one here has water unless they have a well.

Thanks MadinNC, for the great tips. I have saved all of this info.

[Rodnok1]

I'm switching a gen to gas as propane tank, delivery costs, regulators are so expensive here. Propane has gone up 2 to 300 % and throw on delivery fee since not a regular customer. Local companies balk at filling tanks not their own sometimes also even though I buy the tank(s).
In a hurricane emergency I'll stock up on gas is all. I'll get a small tank and put on my trailer.
The only issue will be rotating the gas regularly. New tank will have a drain setup to drain into 5 gallon can and get burned in mower.
Wish to hell NG was available here.

[Mike Mercury]

Originally Posted by Olustee bus

I meant propane. I got my "anus" mixed up.

T M I

[GTOguy]

Originally Posted by StorytellerStealth

Matter of fact I do have internet in van.

There once was a man with a van

Who didn't have much of a plan

He'd brag and he'd boast

While he camped at the coast

Belittling his fellow man!

[theandies]

My brother gave me his old Troy Built 5550 Watt (8550 starting watt) gas gen for free. He bought a new one because 1st - he lives in hurricane country and B - the pull starter spring broke and he's not a mechanic.

I removed the rivets that held the pull starter and bolted a new one on. It hadn't run for years so I took the carb apart and cleaned it.
Works like a champ. Now I dare the power to go out LoL.

I've used it once after a microburst knocked out power for almost a day which is the longest we've ever been without power since living where we do for over 20 years. It ran like a champ and can run on gas non-stop for 18 to 20 hours. My neighbor and I were the only ones who had gens. I felt like I had to stay up and guard it as who knows who would go crazy in these situations.
I kept our fridge on. Turned on the internet for entertainment and ran a few lights for everyone.

I should look into converting it to multi-fuel. Seems like a good idea.

I'm sort of a mini-prepper. I have 25 year shelf life 30 day food supply for 4 people stashed in the basement. I keep at least 3 tanks of propane for the grill etc. if needed during emergencies. Flashlights (even one that doesn't need batteries) plasma lighters and water proof matches in a water proof box along with a bunch of other "prepper" stuff.
You can never be too prepared.

[ZipZap]

I've been through many different generators, as many racetracks don't have shore power. For portable use, the Honda EU's are hard to beat. Expensive, but quiet. Mine ran on gas. I had an Onan diesel that was pretty slick, and I could feed it off of my fuel tank.

At home, I started with a 5kW and a dead man's cord plugged into a 50A outlet I ran through a circuit breaker on the main panel. I eventually graduated to a transfer switch on the outside of the house. I bought an 8kW Ridgid back in 2012. That thing is an absolute beast. Still have it as a backup to the backup.

My main backup is a 22kW Generac. I can run the whole place on it. The transfer switch has load shedding to account for high surge items operating at the same time.

The whole setup, installed at the time the home was built in 2015, was about $12k. Runs on NG. While I still have dependence on the grid for gas, the only time service would be cut off is for a large fire, when I'd likely evacuate anyway. I can still hotwire the 10kW in if needed. While it seems expensive to have all the capability, it's basically a necessity when on a well and I will depend on sprinklers outside as part of the fire defense.