On 2/12/2014 9:16 AM, (PeteCresswell) wrote:
Per The Daring Dufas:
My favorite genset is the old Onan air cooled four cylinder 15kw
natural gas fueled gensets because they're very reliable. Every
single one of them I've installed was a used genset from a retail
store and restaurant salvage company. I've made repairs to the
engines and transfer switches when I installed them but all they
needed was an annual oil change and rarely needed spark plugs that
tended to last a very long time especially if I put platinum plugs
in them. I'd like to have one for the house because it would run
everything. The largest genset I installed in a home was a used
Kohler 40kw. I've installed a lot of new Generac 8kw to 20kw
gensets in homes...
What is your take on installing a generator rated at 4kw for running
on gasoline - but powered by natural gas? I'm thinking that some of
the RV-oriented generators, although designed for propane, might be
a good fit because they are designed with low noise in mind. e.g.
http://tinyurl.com/pterzde
I came away from power.cummins.com thinking that a 4kw gasoline
generator was good for 3.6 on Propane.
But then I read http://www.propane101.com/propanevsnaturalgas.htm and
it sounded like natural gas is a *lot* less energy-intensive than
propane.
Any idea what the conversion factor is for estimating a gasoline
generator's max output when it is run on natural gas?
Where I'm going is:
- My Better Half has become adamant about installing something that
will do the job even if we are both too sick and/or feeble to go out
and attend to it (as in startup, refueling...)
- Even though we don't pay highway tax on natural gas, it's still far
from free. Otherwise, I'd just go for something like your 15kw
Kohler. But my experience is that fuel consumption rises very
sharply as the generator's peak power is increased.
- We already have a smart transfer switch (APC's UTS-6H) that is
rated for 4kw and accepts only 120v power.
- A 2kw generator is pretty much doing it for us now, although
another KW would add a certain convenience factor in terms of load
shedding and/or going outside to run a gas appliance when heating up
food making toast, making coffee, and so-forth.
- I am picking 4kw blindly - without any idea of how much power I
will get out of a 4kw gasoline-rated generator. Maybe it will turn
out that I will need 5kw... But 6.5 seems like a stretch, as does 3,
once the device is running on natural gas instead of gasoline.
The smallest genset I installed in homes was the 8kw Generac with the
B&S Vanguard V twin which was a pretty good engine except for the oil
pressure switches which would go bad. The last Generac I installed was
one with the newer Generac manufactured V twin which is a beast and I
think it was a 3,600rpm 10kw and it ran great, it's not a lawnmower
engine but an industrial engine. Someone even took one of the new
Generac V twin engines and installed it in a motorcycle frame. Generac
has a 7kw automatic propane/NG unit that's an excellent genset. What is
good about that unit is the fact that it runs at 1800rpm instead of
3600rpm like gensets that size. This increases the life expectancy and
produces less noise than the 3600rpm screamers. I really recommend a
professional installation with a service contract that gets you at least
an annual oil change and full checkup for any generator you decide to
buy. ^_^
http://www.generac.com/all-products/...repower-series
http://preview.tinyurl.com/lxkmjrv
TDD