Posted by anthonymmfalcone on December 11, 2006, 2:45 pm
Hi Readers,
I've a newbie question: Can a trifuel home backup generator run on
liquid propane whose source is a standard 20lb barbeque tank? I've
read one opinion that the surface area is too small to generate the
required vapor pressure. Is this true? Anyone tried with
success/failure? If it did work, how long did your specific wattage
generator run?
Just wondering if it's worth it for me to have this option, as my home
has neither natural gas service nor a large liquid propane tank.
Thank you for your advice.
Sincerely,
Anthony M. Falcone
Posted by vaughnsimon@att.net on December 11, 2006, 3:27 pm
anthonymmfalcone@yahoo.com wrote:
> Hi Readers,
> I've a newbie question: Can a trifuel home backup generator run on
> liquid propane whose source is a standard 20lb barbeque tank? I've
> read one opinion that the surface area is too small to generate the
> required vapor pressure. Is this true? Anyone tried with
> success/failure? If it did work, how long did your specific wattage
> generator run?
It depends on how much fuel you are trying to draw, and the
outside temperature. I have ran my 4KW Onan on a 20 # tank (in
Florida, summertime). Depending on load, I get 4 or 5 hours on a tank.
My tank would get cool to the touch, but never gave trouble.
You did not say how big your generator is, nor mention your
climate. You may have to reduce load to operate successfully. Worst
case, you could put your tank in a tub of water to keep your fuel from
freezing. As a permanant solution, I purchased some 100# tanks and
used the same regulator.
Posted by Nick Hull on December 13, 2006, 8:15 am
> It depends on how much fuel you are trying to draw, and the
> outside temperature. I have ran my 4KW Onan on a 20 # tank (in
> Florida, summertime). Depending on load, I get 4 or 5 hours on a tank.
> My tank would get cool to the touch, but never gave trouble.
If the exhaust heat were applied to the propane tank in cold climates it
should work better
--
Free men own guns - www.geocities/CapitolHill/5357/ (add .com after geocities)
Posted by vaughnsimon@att.net on December 11, 2006, 3:27 pm
anthonymmfalcone@yahoo.com wrote:
> Hi Readers,
> I've a newbie question: Can a trifuel home backup generator run on
> liquid propane whose source is a standard 20lb barbeque tank? I've
> read one opinion that the surface area is too small to generate the
> required vapor pressure. Is this true? Anyone tried with
> success/failure? If it did work, how long did your specific wattage
> generator run?
It depends on how much fuel you are trying to draw, and the
outside temperature. I have ran my 4KW Onan on a 20 # tank (in
Florida, summertime). Depending on load, I get 4 or 5 hours on a tank.
My tank would get cool to the touch, but never gave trouble.
You did not say how big your generator is, nor mention your
climate. You may have to reduce load to operate successfully. Worst
case, you could put your tank in a tub of water to keep your fuel from
freezing. As a permanant solution, I purchased some 100# tanks and
used the same regulator.
Posted by anthonymmfalcone on December 11, 2006, 8:23 pm
I'm in lower New York State. The generator load I'm thinking about is
about 8kW max.
But from your reply, sounds like it's not an option due to temperature
issues.
anthonymmfalcone@yahoo.com wrote:
> Hi Readers,
...
> Anthony M. Falcone
XML site map
> I've a newbie question: Can a trifuel home backup generator run on
> liquid propane whose source is a standard 20lb barbeque tank? I've
> read one opinion that the surface area is too small to generate the
> required vapor pressure. Is this true? Anyone tried with
> success/failure? If it did work, how long did your specific wattage
> generator run?