LPG Powered Generators

 

Hi there..

I have just bought a house totally off grid. I'm looking to have solar
and a generator back up. I've been looking at the Yamaha generator that
you can convert to LPG. As the house also runs on bottled gas I thought
that this may be a more economical way to go. Does anyone here have any
experience with LPG?

Thanks
Steve

 



     Like gasoline, propane is subject to varying market conditions.  At any
given moment, it may be cheaper or more expensive than gasoline.  Propane has a
real advantage for standby generators in that you can store it forever without
fear of it going bad.  Dual fuel should be possible with that Yamaha generator,
and then you can burn whatever is cheaper or more available.

     Particularly if you live in a rural area, you might also consider a diesel
generator fueled with off-road (untaxed) diesel fuel.

Vaughn

 

Welcome -

I have a bit of experience.

What size load do you have?

We need about 4000 continuous with surges for motor starts.
We handle it very well with an 8000watt Briggs unit with advertised
surge to 13500...

We have 3 units.
We believe in redundancy based on the problems we had with prior small
units.
Lots of different things can happen, and having complete separate units
allow you to continue to run, while making repairs and replacing parts.

One unit is an older Dayton with v4 wisconsin flat head engine.
I think it is about 20KW.
It is pure LP.
Though it is the largest, we use it for backup because it seems to use
more fuel than the smaller engines.


One unit is a Briggs EXL8000 with TRI-FUEL -
It has an AARDVARK regulator and mixer, which allows it to run on LP,
NG or Gasoline.
We have used both gasoline and LP successfully and somewhat
interchangeably.
Just turn off one fuel supply and turn on the other.
This unit has a 15 hp Briggs Vanguard Engine with a "splash" lube
system and no oil pump or oil filter.
We run 5-50 syntec oil in it.
So far, we have about 200 hours on it - about half propane.


We got the above unit from Central Maine Diesel with the TRI-FUEL
installed.
See:
http://www.generatorsales.com/order/1019_tri_fuel.asp?page 19_tri_fuel
We had some delivery problems and got caught in a model change, but we
were VERY pleased with the service in the end.

Our third unit is a Generac Portable Power Systems EXL7550 from Home
Depot.
Briggs now owns the Generac Portable Power Systems, but this unit has a
Generac 410cc engine - also about 15hp.
We bought it for $799 plus tax as a closeout.

We have ordered a second Aardvark regulator and mixer for this Generac
engine.
We intend to also run it primarily as Propane with Gasoline backup.
See: http://aafs-sp.com/
About $215 delivered from Aardvark.

The propane is very convient.

The tri-fuel gasoline option gives us flexibilty if there is a late
fuel delivery.
It also is good to have if something goes wrong with the propane.
One of our folks damaged the regulator; we were able to continue to run
just by pouring gasoline into the tank and starting the engine.


I suggest that you check the fuel usage specs for the unit you choose.
Diesel was not an option for us, but I think you may find it less
expensive to run.

Good Luck!
Phil



franklin.sr@gmail.com wrote:

 

philkryder wrote:

would you know what the "100 amp pre-wired transfer system" means?

I have a manual transfer switch already installed, complete with a plug-in box
on wall
and 20 feet of cable (male plug on one end and female on the other end) for a
220v
hookup to gen

 


It would be best if you just contacted them directly.
I could guess, but they would know...

qui wrote:

on wall

220v