Auxillary fuel tank for my generator

[jaydee325]

I'd mount the aux fuel tank at the same level as the installed fuel tank and tee into the supply line. That way the aux tank draws down along with the main tank. You're just effectively increasing the size of the main tank.

Interesting comment on air cooled generator engines using enough oil to require adding at each fill up. My experience with my Coleman 6500 watt portable with a Yamaha air cooled engine is NO oil consumption that requires refill between oil changes! Must have gotten a good one I guess!

 

[TerryR]

Another thought just entered the old noggin..., is there a throttle on the generator, if so can you cut back on the running rpms at night ?

You do not want to change the engine speed -- doing so will change the frequency of the output away from the expected 60 cps, and may well do very bad things to whatever is running on the generator.

 

[mike48130]

You can do it with a tee as long as you keep the tanks above the engine. Add a tee, and a check valve for each tank so they don't back feed each other. It will use the fuel out of the tank that is the highest due to gravity pressure. When the fuel in the 2 tanks reach the same level, it will draw from both tanks. Then back to the lowest tank when the first tank is dry. Get a tank with the hose barb at the bottom because it won't suck from the top.

You probably need to make a stand for the second tank. I see generators that are dead all over, maybe able to find one with a good tank to sit next to it.

My ZT has 2 side tanks with the same check valve setup.

Check valves. Check your hose size, most likely 5/16"
https://www.amazon.com/Return-Check...l+check+valve&qid=1559755546&s=gateway&sr=8-4

If you have any issues, you can add a fuel pump, but shouldn't need it if you keep the tank higher. Most mower engines use the side mounted pump that is piped to the crankcase. They use the crankcase pressure changes to run the diaphragm pump. Can add if you have an issue.

https://www.amazon.com/HIPA-CH17-CH...gm+fuel+pump&qid=1559755294&s=gateway&sr=8-13

I would say that they use more oil because one way they have cheapened the engines is to only put the valve stem seal on the intake, and sometimes neither.

 

[1930]

VERY GOOD POINT on the low oil shut-down... I have to ADD OIL at every 8hr. fill-up.!!!
IF I DONT, it wont restart or it WILL shut down shortly after refilling.. very shortly..
& "RUN-TIME" was very important when buying a generator for the EXACT REASON the poster is posting about..

The carb will not pull fuel.. unless it has an aux. feed pump.. NOW THATS A THOUGHT.. if u have an electric start, just wire a low pressure electric feed/supply pump,
{12v 1-3 psi} to the fuel line & u can mount it anywhere u like..
The filling at 10pm sounds more reasonable to me tho..

Im asleep by 8ish, I get up early, electric fuel pump would never dial down enough I dont think

Lots of people, including me, did it for their camp generators. Teeing into the line doesn稚 pan out as good as feeding to the cap.
honda generator eu2i aux fuel tank - Google Search

I understand this works well with these Honda generators cause they have a fuel pump. My Onan does not

The ROI for this isnt very good, especially if its for a portable setup (tanks, regulator, fittings) Propane has a lower BTU output and requires a little more to run the same size gas generator. Propane requires head space to vaporize, usually requiring a larger tank.
Honda Eu2000i - 18 hours on 5 gallons of unleaded gas
- 15 hours on 4.5 gallons of propane

And, lets not forget, the tank exchange places aren’t all putting 4.4 gallons in a 20 lb tank. Most are only 80% filled (15 lbs) or less for “consumer safety purposes”.

Same with welding gas

IMHO... it is the heat of the little engines that causes the excess use of oil, most are air cooled similar to a motorcycle but if there is no air movement then the heat levels go up and more oil consumption... i.e. Low Oil Shutdown kicks in.

Since your generator has the Low Oil Shut Down Switch, you might get away with a larger tank, I think your execution with the second tank needs a little revision.

I would say no to the siphoning of gas without seeing the generator, IF you use the OEM Tank and the Aux Tank above, the gas will siphon into the OEM Tank but as I said before you need a Liquid Tight Cap on the OEM Tank !
AGAIN, my worries are the low oil, and gas overflowing... fire !

Another thought just entered the old noggin..., is there a throttle on the generator, if so can you cut back on the running rpms at night ?

Find out the actual run time you are dealing with, filling later in the night is a good idea and that will work, and a larger single tank is another good idea, doesn't have to be all that large, maybe an extra gallon + will get you another hour of sleep time.

Post pictures of what you have, where you are going... could be interesting for future reference.

Ltr

Ive been looking for a throttle but didnt get serious about it till you posted, I hate the fact my generator is just screaming when I start it, I found it and have turned it down to an RPM that I consider more appropriate for the longevity of the machine, I dont know how that is gonna affect power output and may not know until I try it.

I have a second Onan Generator that is much older, it has a throttle lever ( versus the difficult to locate setscrew Ive located on this newer one ) so Im guessing it dosent have to be set at full blast all the time.

BTW I did check my oil for the heck of it, I only have used it 3 nights now, the oil level is low.

I'd mount the aux fuel tank at the same level as the installed fuel tank and tee into the supply line. That way the aux tank draws down along with the main tank. You're just effectively increasing the size of the main tank.

Interesting comment on air cooled generator engines using enough oil to require adding at each fill up. My experience with my Coleman 6500 watt portable with a Yamaha air cooled engine is NO oil consumption that requires refill between oil changes! Must have gotten a good one I guess!

Im prob gonna try this, I need to find how how much fuel Im consuming since now Ive throttled it down, I bet it wont use nearly as much gas.

You do not want to change the engine speed -- doing so will change the frequency of the output away from the expected 60 cps, and may well do very bad things to whatever is running on the generator.

Can you explain further and assume I need the easy understandable version?

You can do it with a tee as long as you keep the tanks above the engine. Add a tee, and a check valve for each tank so they don't back feed each other. It will use the fuel out of the tank that is the highest due to gravity pressure. When the fuel in the 2 tanks reach the same level, it will draw from both tanks. Then back to the lowest tank when the first tank is dry. Get a tank with the hose barb at the bottom because it won't suck from the top.

You probably need to make a stand for the second tank. I see generators that are dead all over, maybe able to find one with a good tank to sit next to it.

My ZT has 2 side tanks with the same check valve setup.

Check valves. Check your hose size, most likely 5/16"
https://www.amazon.com/Return-Check...l+check+valve&qid=1559755546&s=gateway&sr=8-4

If you have any issues, you can add a fuel pump, but shouldn't need it if you keep the tank higher. Most mower engines use the side mounted pump that is piped to the crankcase. They use the crankcase pressure changes to run the diaphragm pump. Can add if you have an issue.

https://www.amazon.com/HIPA-CH17-CH...gm+fuel+pump&qid=1559755294&s=gateway&sr=8-13

I would say that they use more oil because one way they have cheapened the engines is to only put the valve stem seal on the intake, and sometimes neither.

Thanks for the link and the comments, Im possibly gonna go this route

 

[Agvg]

On small generators the rpm must be constant, 3600 rpm for 60 Hz or where I live they run at 3000 rpm for 50Hz, as you se the Ida of run it low at rpm will not work. If you have a modern inverter generator then rpm can vary because of the electronic provide right Hz and voltage.

 

[DieselBound]

I've got a 7.5kW diesel genset. 1,800 rpm just sipping diesel While output might be considered "small," it ain't portable.

 

[Agvg]

Yes, 1800 rpm generators are much more nice, I'm looking for a old Lister genset just for a fun restore project, absolutely no use for it but I do have floor space that needs to be used

 

[DieselBound]

If I start thinking about things to tinker with I'd quickly run out of floor space, not to mention time to do the stuff I'm needing to do:laughing:

My little Kubota is almost as reliable as a Lister: don't even have 700 hrs on the Kubota- they're known to go 20k hours. With the Onan head it's an awesome genset.

 

[jenkinsph]

Yes, 1800 rpm generators are much more nice, I'm looking for a old Lister genset just for a fun restore project, absolutely no use for it but I do have floor space that needs to be used

The old Lister air cooled gensets were noisy and vibrated a lot. You had to bbe very tired to sleep with one of these running near by.

 

[zzvyb6]

My Honda EU6500IS has an option for auxillary fuel supply tank. Trade up for one of these.

Or, drink a few 'beverages' before going to bed. When you have to get up in the middle of the night to empty your tank, you can refill your tank.