diesel for generator

[Soundguy]

aurora? wasn't that some super un top sectrt government project?

sorry.. been in t he sun too long today..

playing lawnmower man with my new 63 ford 2000


soundguy

 

[Boeing]

At the risk of being tarred, feathered or pillared...
WHAT is the risk of running "off road" diesel in this Aurora Gen.? I HATE the idea of having to buy, haul, store ANOTHER fuel...
I read the Aurora "shop talk" about catalic converters used in their exhaust systems . Did the OLDER generators have this...or the YANMAR (this is a copy, right?) MIGHT the cat. conv. exhaust be "replaced" to run "tractor" diesel? Catalysts aside...is there any OTHER reason not to run cheap stuff. As we all know diesels of old would run on heating fuel and cooking oil..... seems a giant step backwards. My TWO cents.

 

[JB4310]

Just another genny for conversation sake. actually it's the power plant that is so different.

Vegetable Oil Lister Type 6,600 Watt Generator

JB

 

[Soundguy]

Probably the same reason my stepfather got a 25kw genny for his house when it's just him and my mom.. when all I needed for my farm was a 13kw genny..


soundguy

 

[whiskywizard]

For the household back-up genny, I also struggle with deciding on the right size. I have electric heat (furnace and heat pump) so that puts me over 20kVA if I want full heat.

The other biggies are the water heater and submersible well pump.

Without that heat issue, and assuming I manage/rotate the other electrical loads in a smart manner, I could easily get by with 10kW or even less.

In my area, there's no natural gas. Too bad, because even with it's lesser energy content it would be far, far, cheaper to use. Propane is much more expensive per delivered kW.

 

[rtimgray]

I used to think that I wanted a whole-house generator for my home - until we had an ice storm a few years ago and were without power for about three weeks. Thats when we discovered that we could subsist quite well on a 5,000/6,250 generator.

We used it to power a fridge, some lights, TV, and a kitchen circuit regularly. We were fortunate that we do not have electric heat, but rather a propane fireplace that requires not electricity run (although it does have a blower that uses just a few amps). We also do not have a well pump, but have the county supply. It did go out a couple of times and we had to bring in ice/snow to melt for filling the toilets (for when nature calls at night). For hot water, I had a small 3,000 watt 120v water heater that we used - it provided about a 3 minute hot shower - good enough to get by.

The deciding factor on our generator size is that generator was the one that we had on hand. I have planned on getting a bigger one, but now I'm not too sure. The reason is the same one mentioned often - fuel. A 50kW generator is great, but it's going to use a lot more fuel than a 5kw. Even if you can stockpile your fuel (diesel or gas or propane) or are connected to natural gas supply, it will still be very costly for a long term outage. My family of four discovered that we could be quite content with a minimum amount of electricity. Our outage was during the winter, but I would not consider trying to run an A/C system from a generator. I realize some folks may have a condition that makes A/C a necessity, but that is fortunately not the case with anyone in my household.

I plan to purchase another generator in the future, maybe just a little larger than my existing, and mostly to supplement the existing unit. I use my generator once every few months, but I don't "exercise" it as often as I should. So I kind of want a "back up" to my "back up". But I reason that I'll keep the kW relatively small, simply for fuel savings.

 

[Diamondpilot]

I went though all this stuff also. My home was built in 1997 and has a full 200 amp transfer switch and a big twist lock plug on the outside of the home.

What I ended up with is a 8550 watt Troy Built portable unit.

My home is on a well but have propane heat and hot water. We were without power in January in Norther Indiana for 8 days once. It ran 24/7 other than every other day I shut it down to change the oil. It used 9 gallons of fuel per day. We ran everything in our home and did not skip a beat. The one lesson I learned was that you must have fuel on hand. I had to drive 100 miles to get fuel after 2 days when my supply ran out. Now I buy 100 gallons in the fall and put in Ethanol Stabilizer then run it though other stuff in the spring like the cars, boat, ect and replenish it with new. This way the fuel never sits more than 6 months.

On top of the big power outages I have had a 3 day stint and about 6 2 day outages so its been a life saver. Many of my neighbors ended up with busted pipes, ect but not me. The one and only time it was out in the summer it would not run my AC so I simply put a small window unit in my bedroom and pulled the babies crib in there. I had the unit in my shop so no cost. It did just fine after that event. We had a tornado and was out 3 days in 100 deg temps.


By the way every 90 days I start it. I mark it on the calendar and do it religiously. Just did it on the 15th. At this time I also add stuff to the septic tank, change the whole house water filter, and the furnace filter so its easy to remember what needs to be done.

Chris

 

[crazyal]

I have a 4200w Generic that I have used to power the house but how much power you need is also depended on your house and where you live. Up here loosing power and needing AC is extremely rare. One of the main reasons I added a woodstove is because it needs no power (40 acres of hardwoods was the other reason). My fridge and freezer are only a couple of years old and my hot water tank only looses a degree every 6 hours. So other than the oven everything else can be ran off of the gen. I am looking at getting 10k diesel to have a little extra power and economy. It's just hard dropping $5k when what you have now works fine.

 

[dlabrie]

I finished installing my Reliance Controls, 10-Circuit, 30 Amp Generator Transfer Switch Kit and Power Inlet Box. I hooked it up to my 6500 Watt Aurora, Portable Diesel Generator. Everything worked great! Below are what the 10 circuits cover. I am really only interested in what is in parenthesis and a few lights. It never even came close to using half of the max power.

Kitchen lights, Kitchen N. (coffee maker) plug and plug L of sink, Dining room S. wall plug,
Den, all but closet. (computer, sat internet)
S. wall playroom(TV and a lamp)
Hall lights, hall closet, den closet, 3/4 bath vanity and plug, all full bath, Store room light, N. store room plug (freezer), back door light, vacuum
(Furnace-outdoor woodstove)
Living room W. + S. wall plugs (lamp), outdoor deck plug, 3 hall plugs
(Refrigerator), Plug R of sink, W. wall plug of DR (radio), E wall of LR(radio),LR ceiling fan
(Microwave), DR E. plugs
(Well Pump
Well Pump)

I am sure now that the power won稚 ever go off again now that I am ready for it.

 

[Diamondpilot]

I do not understand why you guy install a small 6 or 10 circuit transfer switch? :confused2: You can get a 200 amp switch for about the same money and put a large twist lock on it. If you watch what you run you are good to go even with a small generator. If you are worried about turning on to much just flip off the breakers you do not need in your main panel as I do. Only ones I turn off with my 200 amp switch is my AC unit, Hot Tub, and Clothes Dryer.

My generator is only 8,550 watts but it does just fine. Nice part is if I ever buy or borrow a bigger generator I am all set.

I got mine on sale for about $250 using a 20% off coupon.
200 Amp Transfer Switch - Great Deals on 200 Amp Transfer Switches at Harbor Freight

Chris