Generator and propane tank sizing feedback needed

[techman]

That's a nice setup. How's the noise level?

It is a water cooled, so it starts off with a noise advantage. I have it in my shed, which is about 30' from the house, with exhaust piped outside the shed. You can hear it a bit with windows open, but if they are closed you do not know it is running.

paul

 

[rbstern]

It is a water cooled, so it starts off with a noise advantage. I have it in my shed, which is about 30' from the house, with exhaust piped outside the shed. You can hear it a bit with windows open, but if they are closed you do not know it is running.

paul

Very nice setup.

 

[ning]

As has been noted, propane tanks can only be filled to 80% capacity. However, you also need to consider how empty you are willing to run the tank. Around here if the tank is fully emptied, a pressure test at $50 has to be done before the tank can be refilled. The propane companies recommend that they be refilled once the tank gets down to 20%. That would leave only 60% of the tank capacity as truly usable.

Around here, I swap tanks when either I smell too much of the scent (settles somewhat and gets more concentrated when you get really low) or when the kitchen stove's pilot light goes out (it's a 50's stove and we can still cook and bake when the power's out, without bothering with a generator's noise).

I've never had a supplier mention having a pressure test below 20%!

 

[techman]

What it looks like

 

[rbstern]

Love it. Is that drum the fuel tank? Looks like you keep the vent covered when not in use?

Imagine you could run for a week or more on that.

 

[nikdfish]

Bit the bullet & had the Southern States guy order a 500 gallon tank for me. I'll just rest easier with the additional capacity & not have to worry about running out or getting insufficient vaporization while using the generator in a protracted outage during the kind of weather that requires use of the propane furnace.

Nick

 

[techman]

Love it. Is that drum the fuel tank? Looks like you keep the vent covered when not in use?

Imagine you could run for a week or more on that.

What you see is my half-assed breather - an oiled cloth. Just to keep dirt and water out.

It will run longer, depending on the season. If it is not too hot or too cold I shut it down overnight during a power outage. Don't need much power when we are sleeping !

paul

 

[check]

Is it a year round cottage? Assuming you are protecting the tub and plumbing from freezing with the generator?

Yup. We go up A LOT in the winter, and it gets really cold up there. (About 2 1/2 hours north of Toronto.)

The cottage is heated with a propane powered furnace, and it is a fully insulated and winterized Viceroy.

 

[check]

More initial cost, but diesel units are lowest cost to run. I have a 10KW Kubota driven genset which burns an average 1/3 gal/hr to run my house. Less than $20/day paul

Fortunately, we do not get multi-day outages very often. Maybe four or five of them in the last 10 years. So, we just bite the bullet when that happens.

 

[check]

In 1998 eastern Canada and the USA suffered from a major ice storm. My job required me to be out making certain schools used for shelters were up and running for citizens who had to leave their homes so I had to leave my wife and dog alone for about 16 hours a day for a few weeks. At that time, I had a 3500 watt Honda portable and it would heat one room, run the well pump and the basics. My wife became skilled in load management for the generator shutting off some breakers while running others. One night during this period, in the middle of a cold snap, my generator shut off. The crankcase vent line had frozen and all the oil in the crankcase was forced out. Thankfully the generator had a low oil shut down. I started check the manuals of many different generators. Almost every brand said do not run below 5F. What is one to do if it is -40F. During this same ice storm period, a friend was running a portable generator which set his house on fire. The generator was running in the driveway which sloped towards the house. The vibration of the generator caused it to slowly move down the slope until the exhaust was blowing against the garage wall which caught fire. No phones or cell service. The house was destroyed. After that, I installed a 22 KW Generac which will run in the cold. I am now 71 and could not manhandle a portable generator. In 1998, I could lift my 3500 watt Honda into the back of a pickup by myself. I tell people who ask me for advice, that their emergency plan should contemplate the strong, knowledgeable person in the family to be ill or away. Dave M7040

Wow, Dave, I had no idea that you could not run the portable generators when it gets cold. Back when we built the cottage in 2002, we bought one and had a generator sub panel installed. Don't remember if we ever had to use it in the dead of winter, but we now have an automatic standby generator powered by propane. No problem so far.

Meanwhile, we are now using the portable generator for a rental cottage, but we only rent it out in the Spring, Summer, and Fall, so I guess we will be OK. However, the ultimate plan is to winterize the rental cottage, so I will keep that cold issue in mind with respect to the portable generator!