Propane generators?

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thinkerbell

thinkerbell

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Jun 1, 2007
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I'm not finding much information regarding propane generators. Does anyone have one? What is your experience, if you own one--and if you don't, can you tell me what your concers are and why you wouldn't have one?

We have an Onan, but I'm checking out the Hondas, and my husband requested I do some research regardinbg the propane gens.

Thanks so much for all of your help on these issues!


 
I've never owned a propane generator, but reports from folks who have say that they use a lot of propane and are noisy.
 
Because of cost differences in the fuel (Propane, it seems, costs more per KW than Gas of Diesel) they generally only put propane generators on trailers,  Also on a motor home you have anywhere from fifty to perhaps 300 gallons of main engine fuel (Gas or Diesel) adn the generator taps this tank,  My propane tank only holds a small fraction of that.

These are considerations.

On the other hand, propane generators, due in part to less enegery per gallon, tend to be less noisy.
 
From the limited exposure I have had with propane Gensets they seem to use a lot of propane compared to gas or diesel.  If I were to be in the market for a genset it would not be propane.  Got to remmeber you have a lot more gas or diesel capacity on board than you do propane.
 
Thanks so much! I told my hubby. We're going to look at other options. I really like the looks of those Honda generators, but am spoiled by the Onan and it's convenience. I'm checking into the Genturi, too.
 
there are generators that run on either gasoline or propane.  The same generator will produce about 8 t0 10 percent less power on propane.
Art
 
I'm kind of wondering how much of that "They use a lot of Propane" is explained by Ron's post

My rig holds about 24 gallons Propane,  70 gasoline

So if The genset uses 20 gallons, that's a lot of propane over 80 percent of the tank) but 20 gallons of petrol is only about a quarter tank (2/7)

That is a lot of propane.  And considering you get 10 percent less,  That means for the same 20 gallons of Gasoline I'd need 22 gallons of Propane, which is nearly all the 24 gallon tank capacity.


However... If I was pulling a trailer (5er or TT)  Then I would not HAVE a gasoline tank.  All i'de have is a Propane tank. so my choice would be to run it off propane or add a gas tank.. Personally.  I'd rather not add a gas tank.
 
I have an Onan propane generator installed in my Montana 5th wheel. It's very quiet and starts and runs perfectly. The main reason I decided on propane was because I didn't want to have another fuel tank in the trailer to deal with. It runs off the two propane tanks already on board. The other big advantage is that you don't have to worry about stabilizing the fuel when the generator sits for long periods of time like you do with diesel or gasoline. Operating costs are probably slightly higher with propane, but since I don't use the generator that much, the lower maintenance costs outweighed that for me.
 
Bill,
Most of us don't park our rigs for six or more months a year, so fuel treatment is not a concern. With a class A or C, you're pretty much self-contained, and having a genset that operates from your coach fuel supply is a big advantage - fill once with one fuel and be done with it. Fifth wheels are a different story, and lacking an onboard gasoline/diesel fuel supply pretty much limits you to either a propane genset or a self-contained gasoline unit. Someone mentioned maintenance costs, but I don't see where there is any significant difference between the two. Personally, I'd much rather run my furnaces, water heater, and cook stove off propane, and use a portion of my much larger supply of gasoline (or diesel) for the generator.
 
In addition if one does park their MH for long periods of time like for the winter it is advisable to use fuel stabilizer so all that need to be done is run the gneset for some time after adding the fuel stabilizer to the coach fuel tank.
 
I've spent a lot of time cleaning old gas and varnish from carburetors of engines that are not used on a regular basis and it's worth a few extra dollars to me not to have to deal with that. A propane generator always has clean dry fuel available to the engine, and that means lower maintenance costs.

Just my opinion  ;)
 
A propane generator always has clean dry fuel available to the engine, and that means lower maintenance costs.
Click to expand...
Propane isn't always as clean as you would think. Over the past year or two, we've had several people with clogged or gummed up regulators and propane lines, and there isn't an easy way to clean them. Regulators you simply replace, but flushing out the lines can be a real hassle.
 
Met a guy at Rainbows nd this last winter that after replacing the propane regulater twice was replacing the whole propane gas line because of the condition you mentioned.
 
bross said:
The other big advantage is that you don't have to worry about stabilizing the fuel when the generator sits for long periods of time like you do with diesel or gasoline.
Click to expand...

I stabilize any gasoline I buy that is not intended for the car.  Anytime my jerry cans are empty, I put the appropriate quantity of stabilizer in it before heading for the gas station to fill them up.  The reason is that I use some in my lawn mower, lawn tractor, snow blower and whipper snipper.  My small engine repairman says that any gas left more than a month in a machine is no good.  It will still burn, but not as good and possibly dirtier.  Since I don't use my equipment all at the same rate, I stabilize it all so regardless of what piece of machinery I put it in, I know I can leave it there without worry. 

So I guess we don't want to worry for different reasons.  You don't want to worry about stabilizing fuel and I would rather not have to worry about having fuel that is not stabilized sitting in a piece of machinery.
 
I did that last November, Bought gas for the snow tosser (Which I never used) and a brand new can of Sta-Bil, mixed well, let set till Last Saturday... (They don't suggest keeping it longer than six months even with Sta-Bil) was kind of glad I had as... Ran out of gas in the hum-mobile, had to call wife and have her buss out the spare can... Lasted the day.. One of the low price stations is 3 blocks from house so I filled up on retiurn (80 dollars is LOW price,,, OUCH)  Last time I put 80 in a tank, well next to the last now, I was tanking up the big one (Motor home)
 
The above posters have said the following about propane gensets, they're:

(1) More expensive than gas or diesel - (At what price? Let's see some comparison numbers at today's prices!)
(2) Noisy - (Compared to what, a Honda EU1000i?  They're also usually a lot bigger genset than the Honda EU1000i.)
(3) Less noisy, due in part to less energy per gallon -  (Is that why it's less noisy?)
(4) Not convenient because you need a separate tank - (Most RVers use propane for heating the cooking stove, water heater, and furnace.  If you already use propane for this, you don't need a separate tank for a propane genset, you already have one!)
(5) Propane isn't always as clean as you would think, the regulators and gas lines gum up - (What percentage of propane users have ever had a problem like that?  I'm betting it's pretty low and usually caused by the propane itself and not the genset.)
(6) Generally only put on trailers - (Not true, I'd say quite a few MHs on the road today have propane gensets.)
(7) You have a lot more gas or diesel capacity on board than you do propane - (What does this have to do with anything?  Your fresh water tank is bigger than your black tank too, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't use the toilet!)  ;D 

Just some 'fuel' for thought.........
 
I purchased a gasoline generator a few years ago for emergencies, it is capable of providing 30 amp service for the 5er that I had at the time.  I never really needed it for the 5er but often took it with us.  It was noisy.

Last year we bought a new 5er and ordered it with a built in generator.  The generator provided is an Onan 5.5K LP unit.  Very convenient, very quiet.  (and you don't have to worry about the gasoline varnish issue.)

The Onan specifications for their units can be found at:http://www.cumminsonan.com/rv/support/literature/  The specifications include fuel consumption rates. 

Onan 5.5K LP
    Average Fuel Consumption
    No Load (Gal/h)                 0.4
    Half Load - 50% (Gal/h) 0.8
    Full Load                 1.1
Onan 5.5 Gas
    Average Fuel Consumption
    No Load (Gal/h)                 0.3
    Half Load - 50% (Gal/h) 0.6
    Full Load                 0.9

The down side of LP is that you will burn about a gallon an hour at full load.  My trailer carries two 30 pound bottles and I use LP for the furnace and the hot water too.  So you need to think about how much you are going to use.  (and maybe carry a spare bottle of LP).

Hope you find what fits you best.  ;)
 
Re the summary:

I said they seem to be quieter: This was side by side two comparable Generators (In fact the propane and gas versions of the SAME generator)

They are also less polluting

As for needing a 2nd tank... NO,

As for having more gas or diesel on board.. Only in a motor home,  NOT IN A TRAILER and IIRC the OP has a trailer.

As for lines "Gumming up" (Actually it's oil in the lines that does it)

I have seen this one time.. On a Mr. Buddy Heater.  Spent over 20 years on a farm, We had 2 houses (Living) plus a milk house, all with Propane service, that's over 40 YEARS of propane service by the time I moved off and not once, NOT ONE TIME did we replace a regulator or blow out the lines.

I also helped tend an oil well, the pump engine was Propane powered (300 gallon tank)  We ran this for around 5 years and NEVER had a problem.

As I said.. I have seen it,,, Once, Just once.  Cost 8 bucks to fix it
 
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