In article , Eric wrote:
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.

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

Your fuel oil is more than likely #2, just fine for a diesel generator.

Except that #2 home heating oil may be stuff with cetane rating that
makes it hard on diesel engines - similar to gasoline of insufficient
octane rating.

Figure out your average household load, add 30-50% capacity to that and
go buy a diesel generator with automatic transfer switch, (DO NOT use a
suicide cord) have an electrician install it, get an oil man (contact
your fuel oil supplier) to plumb in the fuel line and filter from the
fuel tank.

And Voila - your set.

Provided your oil man can assure you in writing that oil that he sells
of XXX/YYY grade/specifications is suitable for your diesel generator.
It helps if documentation (in writing) from your diesel generator's
manufacturer specifies a minimum cetane rating or states that use of any
home heating grade #2 fuel oil is OK.

Otherwise, do what home heating oil suppliers do when someone runs dry
at 2 AM on a Friday night of a long holiday weekend: Get someone to haul
in two 5-gallon containers of road-grade diesel fuel from the nearest gas
station that sells it.
If this is only emergency fuel, then a couple to few extra bucks for
cetane rating suitable for 18-wheeler and diesel-Mercedes engines, maybe
detergents good for diesel engines, including road fuel taxes, is very
unlikely to break the bank.

SNIP from here

- Don Klipstein )