generator question Natural gas to gasoline conversion

[Sprinklerman]

I have the opportunity to pick up a 50KW gen set , Its powered by a ford inline 6 cyl . It is currently set up for natural gas . I would want to set it up for gasoline , have it set on a trailer so its portable . I havent looked at it yet , but it only has 100 hours on it . And its a whopping $ 500 . So what does anybody think I will have to do to set it up to run on gas and then set it up to run a house .

 

[Oldtractorfixer]

I suspect if you get an appropriate carburetor, fuel pump and tank and you will be good to go. Have you considered running it on propane? All you have to do for that is get a different regulator.

 

[George2615]

The price seems too good to be true. If it is 50KW is it both 3 phase and single phase. I doubt your house is 3 phase so it needs to be able to do 240V single phase at or around 60 cycles.

To run on gas just get the proper gasoline carburetor for the Ford 6 Cyl.

Then you will need a transfer switch that disconnects street power when the generator is on line.

 

[Sprinklerman]

I suspect if you get an appropriate carburetor, fuel pump and tank and you will be good to go. Have you considered running it on propane? All you have to do for that is get a different regulator.

I thought about it , but if I put it on a trailer propane would be a pain

 

[Sprinklerman]

The price seems too good to be true. If it is 50KW is it both 3 phase and single phase. I doubt your house is 3 phase so it needs to be able to do 240V single phase at or around 60 cycles.

To run on gas just get the proper gasoline carburetor for the Ford 6 Cyl.

Then you will need a transfer switch that disconnects street power when the generator is on line.

Well the price is true , a friend works at the company , this was a replacement due to age only , they dont sell 20 year old gensets to commercial accounts . I am probably buying it either way .

 

[Tractor Seabee]

I thought about it , but if I put it on a trailer propane would be a pain

Stay with propane and get a couple of those 38 GL tanks like the use in motor homes and for propane powered vehicles. I bought 2 of them at a wrecking yard for $50 each and they were full of propane. Tanks then were free. For that big an engine you may need to change out the delivery valve to 1/2 or 3/4 inch. Standard is 3/8 inch flare. Permanently mount on the trailer. By the way to meet all code requirements the supply vale is required to be a excess flow type that shuts off the supply if a hose/line is broken.

Ron

 

[buickanddeere]

Make it dual fuel . ..

 

[CobyRupert]

I suspect if you get an appropriate carburetor, fuel pump and tank and you will be good to go. Have you considered running it on propane? All you have to do for that is get a different regulator.

Don't want to over-think or over-complicate things, plus I believe he's going in the right direction (natural gas to gasoline) so maybe it doesn't matter, but now the motor may be able to produce more power. (The generator too, but it is still limited by the overcurrent protection (fuse or breaker). Because the power response of the motor is different based on the fuel, there may be different governors associated with different fuels that are recommended. This is a more important factor when your trying to start large loads with the genny, rather than turning on multiple small loads. Others may have more knowledge on this subject, but I think you're converting in the right direction so it may not matter.

 

[Oldtractorfixer]

Here is our 15K on a trailer with 110 gallon propane tank. Leased the tank from the propane supplier for almost nothing.

 

[RNeumann]

Most of these convert with a carb replacement as noted above- you will want to research that. You will also want to research the BTU difference between fuels. Natural gas will produce the least and gasoline the most. If you have a specific need that may help determine fuel type.
A 50kw gen is huge! Unless you have a specific need most wouldn't have a load/appliance/application big enough to properly seat the rings. $500 in the long run may not end up being a deal.
Good luck!