Lee wrote:

EXT wrote:

"Pete C." wrote in message
...

Twayne wrote:

RBM wrote:
"Lee" wrote in message
...
A friend has a backup generator that runs off of natural gas, and
I always
thought it would be nice to get one when I got a new house. Fast
forward -
I have a new (old) house, but it heats by oil and there is no gas
nearby.

The power has gone out several times this summer, so now I'm
wondering
what the options are. Are there any generators that use oil? I
know there
are propane generators, but was thinking it would be nice not to
worry
about another tank and delivery schedule.

Any recommendations? I need something *simple* to use. So far the
outages
have lasted around 6 hours. They are annoying in the summer, but
I'm a
little concerned about more occurring in the winter.

It won't be as cheap as a NG/LP generator, but a diesel generator
will run
fine on heating oil, runs at half the RPM's of a gas generator, and
will
last much longer


Well, it'll run fine on #1 fuel oil; not other numbers. #1 is actually
kerosene but with a little less filtering since it's not used in
automtives. You might have to clean the filter a little more often with
#1, gut it's an easy job.
If you heat with #2 fuel oil, do NOT use that unless the genset is
specifically designed FOR #2 fuel oil.

HTH

#2 fuel oil and #2 diesel are the same thing. #2 fuel oil gets red dye
and is exempt from transportation fuel taxes. #2 fuel oil is also known
as "off road diesel" as it is commonly used in construction and logging
equipment that doesn't operate on the public roads and is exempt from
the transportation fuel taxes.

Sorry, I checked, part of that is myth. You really need to check your
oil supplier, apparently in areas that have a lot of oil heat, heating
oil is a cheap low grade oil that they supply, as it doesn't take much
to burn in a furnace. Diesel fuel is more refined and has a specific
cetane rating, similar to gasoline's octane rating, so your engine will
last longer and not have ring/cylinder damage. The reason you need to
check your fuel supplier is because some areas actually use diesel fuel
for heating oil, some areas don't. I found this all out when I bought a
diesel generator and checked with several major oil companies.

Wow, this is all so foreign to me. I'd only ever had natural gas before
(turn on the stove and it was there... didn't have to worry about
deliveries or grades etc.

You also paid a service charge every month even when you used almost no
gas, and were locked into a single supplier. A backhoe working down the
street could knock out your supply for a day or more. A gas leak can
quite readily blow up your house. For a generator, many times the
service lines and meter need to be upgraded to handle the flow demands
of the generator.

With oil, you have an on-site supply that will last a month or more. You
have a choice of multiple suppliers, and if needed you can go to most
gas stations and fill a can or two of diesel in a pinch to keep the
furnace going without an emergency after hours delivery charge. Oil also
will not blow up your house as gas does regularly. You do have the small
concern of maintaining the tank, which if it's the usual 275-300 gal
tank in the basement isn't a big deal. Underground or outdoor tanks are
more of a concern.

Most suppliers do automatic delivery and rarely ever would you run out
unless you suddenly used a lot more fuel than normal. If you are feeding
a generator from your heating tank, you have to remember to call your
oil supplier for a non scheduled delivery to make up for the fuel you
used so you don't run out since their automatic delivery software can't
account for generator fuel usage, only daily temps and historical usage.
You can also install a second separate tank for the generator if you
want and have the same company fill it.

I have no idea what number oil is in my
tank!).

95% Probability it's #2.

What I liked about my friend's generator was that it just kicked
in automatically, and she didn't have to do anything when the
electricity went off. Would an oil one work the same?

Absolutely. Diesel powered automatic standby generators are the norm for
commercial use. Critical installations like hospitals and data canters
are always diesel since the fuel supply is kept on-site and not subject
to interruption like gas service is.