Most reliable whole house generator?

[gbundersea]

(Highest single leg amps)*(.40)*(220volts) = Required Wattage

That multiplier should be 1.40 to allow for a 40% overage. You accidentally left out the 1.

 

[charliepapa]

1800 rpm diesel, unless you have a NG well on your property. ask someone who ran one after gustav what their NG gas bill was. I have two Isuzu 4 cyl 20KW and am looking for a third, around 30KW...

 

[Gus McCrae]

Since money isn't a concern:

http://www.emdiesels.com/emdweb/products/powerproducts/pp_index.html

 

[Suburbazine]

That multiplier should be 1.40 to allow for a 40% overage. You accidentally left out the 1.

good catch

 

[dirty_sanchez]

1800 rpm diesel, unless you have a NG well on your property. ask someone who ran one after gustav what their NG gas bill was. I have two Isuzu 4 cyl 20KW and am looking for a third, around 30KW...

Alright, I'll bite.....what were some of the natural gas bills after Gustav?

I know it's dependant on the size of the genny, but what sort of ball park are we talking- $20, $30, $50 a day?

Wondering because I've been putting off buying a NG carb attachment for my genny and would run a line off of my NG regulator.

Dirty

 

[Suburbazine]

The three things you mention just about doubles the cost of the generator. I am not sure longevity is a factor when I expect my generator to run a few, less than 10, hours during the year,
and maybe 3 or 4 days every 2 or 3 years when there is a storm. Am I under estimating the expected usage ?

Yes, you are underestimating the amount of run time a standby generator accumulates during the standby stage (Ready for Emergency). A standby generator needs to exercise at least once every 2 weeks for a minimum of 10 minutes under load. And that's the bare minimum exercise cycle. My MTU is set to exercise 30 minutes every week under normal load. The maintenance interval is 500 hours. All power outages combined along with exercising has accumulated 260 hours over the last 4 years.

Of course, if you live in an area where the power only goes out once every few years, you probably have no need for a standby generator.

3600RPM standby generators become quite expensive compared to an 1800RPM diesel. 3600 rpm air-cooled gas and gaseous units are normally replaced – not overhauled at 500 to 1500 hours depending on manufacturer. If you're certain that this meets your needs and don't mind dropping $20K every 8-10 years, carry on.

 

[charliepapa]

Alright, I'll bite.....what were some of the natural gas bills after Gustav?

I know it's dependant on the size of the genny, but what sort of ball park are we talking- $20, $30, $50 a day?

Wondering because I've been putting off buying a NG carb attachment for my genny and would run a line off of my NG regulator.

Dirty

I just called someone who actually has one and asked for the specifics, instead of the standard griping I've heard. what he told me was that his 20kw cost him a little over $200 for the week after gustav. I have to admit that's not nearly as bad as I was led to believe, so maybe it would be a viable option after all, especially factoring in the convenience of not having to refuel it. but seriously, that's just one guy and quite a few people have told me it was cheaper to run diesel or even gasoline, so I'd still get a few more opinions.

 

[Suburbazine]

Alright, I'll bite.....what were some of the natural gas bills after Gustav?

I know it's dependant on the size of the genny, but what sort of ball park are we talking- $20, $30, $50 a day?

Wondering because I've been putting off buying a NG carb attachment for my genny and would run a line off of my NG regulator.

Dirty

For a 30,000w genset, you're looking at roughly $5.00 per hour depending on load. Calculate that for loss of power for 22 days (as in my case) and you get: $2640
Conversely, my previous 30,000w diesel generator burned roughly $1400 of red diesel. And that was with a blown head gasket and a leaking freeze plug.

Oh, and there were gas service interruptions after Gustav too so some generators never even started!

 

[charliepapa]

For a 30,000w genset, you're looking at roughly $5.00 per hour depending on load. Calculate that for loss of power for 22 days (as in my case) and you get: $2640
Conversely, my previous 30,000w diesel generator burned roughly $1400 of red diesel. And that was with a blown head gasket and a leaking freeze plug.

Oh, and there were gas service interruptions after Gustav too so some generators never even started!

this is more in line with what I have been told in the past. I cross-multiplied using your $5/hour number for the 30kw and guess the 20kw might use $3.33/hour. at that rate, it would use $80/day, or $560/week. maybe the guy I just called is crazy.

 

[Suburbazine]

this is more in line with what I have been told in the past. I cross-multiplied using your $5/hour number for the 30kw and guess the 20kw might use $3.33/hour. at that rate, it would use $80/day, or $560/week. maybe the guy I just called is crazy.

That or it ran at idle load most of the time. The numbers I just gave you are 80% (full) load numbers.

 

[sylvest]

So what would a 10kw natural gas bill be per day and a 10kw gas generator.

 

[Suburbazine]

$40/day...give or take a little, but 10kW is gonna probably be getting run hard.

 

[charliepapa]

That or it ran at idle load most of the time. The numbers I just gave you are 80% (full) load numbers.

that could be; I think I remember them leaving for a few days. either way I know the genny ran constantly. its on an automatic switch.

 

[sylvest]

Is that for natural gas or gasoline. I don't need a whole house. I will run everything but the ac and dryer. My stove and water heater are natural gas anyway. Just looking for something to run lights, fans, window unit, tv, fridge, and an electric pump.

 

[Suburbazine]

Is that for natural gas or gasoline. I don't need a whole house. I will run everything but the ac and dryer. My stove and water heater are natural gas anyway. Just looking for something to run lights, fans, window unit, tv, fridge, and an electric pump.

Thats for natural gas. Since you've eliminated the AC and drier, a 10kW unit will probably suit your needs.

 

[sylvest]

What would the gasoline consumption be? Would the natural gas be lower since it has less load?

 

[Vermiform]

Any other brands to stay away from? I had read some negative and positive stuff on the generac. I'm starting to lean towards Kholer like my dad's.

 

[cnodie1]

Could you just watch what you are running with the whole home genny? And run only the ac at night? Wouldn't that save some ng?


Also I have heard that the conversions aren't good for the engines? It has been a while since I inquired (5+yrs) so my info cold be off.

 

[toddrod]

I think that $40 a day for a 10KW on NG is a little high with todays prices. Spot price was $2.65 / 1000 cuft and you can figure 10cuft/hr usage per engine HP. That would put you at around $12.72 / day at today's prices for a 20HP 10KW gen set running NG. I figure my 5.6KW is costing me $7.44 / day on NG vs around $35 / day to run it on gasoline.

I will be getting a portable 10KW generac and putting a NG conversion kit on it come this winter after I sell my Craftsman 5.6 KW / 8 KW gen set with NG conversion that I am using now.

 

[Suburbazine]

What would the gasoline consumption be? Would the natural gas be lower since it has less load?

I'm extrapolating a bit here since I don't have hard documentation in front of me.

Assume gasoline is 2.89 a gallon for cheap stuff.
Assume a 10kW generator has an 18HP V-twin engine that burns 0.90gal/hr @80% load @3600RPM
This means the engine uses $2.60 of fuel per hour

Getting a gasoline engine, in this case, would be more expensive than paying the $1.60 an hour for natural gas.

NG engines introduce their own maintenance concerns that are different from gasoline engines; therefore, I cannot compare the service prices to see if there is an intersection betwixt the two over time.