Diesel Generator

[BigCountry1689]

Hello All,

Well I have been listening to my wife about the power going out for about 1 year now. Because we live far out and there is poor power infrastructure if the wind blows we loose power for 6 hours. So I have decided to have a generator installed for auto standby power. I am going to have it professionally installed because its not a light bulb so its out of my electrical abilities. I had the house rated by the local electrician who stated that I would use about 31KW if everything that we wanted turned on at the same time with a running watt needed of about 24KW. I have been researching generators and had some questions. Now I have narrowed it down to diesel only because both tractors are diesel and I have a tank already and the stores both have diesel so If I need it in an emergency its there, as apposed to propane which I would have a hard time getting in a pinch. Now for my scenario, I live in South Sunny Florida in Okeechobee County which by Florida standards is the middle of no where. I live about 45 Min. from town but about 6 min. from are little country store. The house has a 200 amp panel and was built in 2009, 2.5 Ton A/C unit, Well Pump, Electric appliances, 1 H/P Well, Hybrid W.H, those are the big things getting powered.

I found 2 companies that I'm interested in:
#1 pacifictools.com- Cummins 30k Turbo- single phase, with 8 gal tank(Upgradable), ATS 200amp, Enclosure Level 1 for $10,900 (3yr warranty) or 20k none turbo - single phase, with 8 gal tank, ATS 200amp, Enclosure Level 1 for $10,100

#2- Dieselgeneratorsrus2003.com - Yang-Dong-Perkins 36KW Turbo, with 125Gal Tank, 200amp ATS, Level 2 enclosure, for $10,155 (1yr Parts only) or YangDong-Perkins NON-turbo, 125Gal Tank, 200amp ATS, Level 2 enclosure, for $9,015 (1yr parts only)

Both sets have a 15% +/- surge with the Yang-Dong Perkins having a 130% surge for 1 hours within 12hrs.

Oh and Yan-Dong has a Stanford Alternator and the Cummins IDK

My questions are as follows:

What are the big differences in Turbo vs. Non-Turbo in a generator and will it be of any major advantage for a secondary power situation?

What are realistic fuel consumption expectations? I live where hurricanes, tornadoes, thunderstorms, and any other misc. weather are normal, so I want to run for about a week.

What is the real world noise expected as it is going next to the house and I need to know where to put it ( Laundry room side or the side with the A/C and Power Panel )

Does any one have experience with Yang-Dong Perkins and what is it?

Does anyone have experience with Cummins generators and what is your experience. I know it is Cummins but I want to make sure that when I spend $10,000 plus install I wont be spending anything else for a long time.

Now I know this might seem excessive to some but when I say we lose power a lot it is at least once a week with at least one day a month being greater than 6 hours. And the wife does not want to loose her modern amenities any more. Apparently taking care of to little ones with no power is not fun. I don't know because I am at work when it happens 98% of the time.

I really like the Yang-Dong and have researched a little seeing that they are a large company with a large foot print in the USA but just looking for others input.

Thanks,
BC

 

[xring100]

not sure about the actual fuel consumption. turbos would generally be smaller displacement with decreased fictional losses. Generally the manufactures rate the consumption at full, and half load.

I'd prefer a non turbo from a mechanical simplicity standpoint. Keep it simple a turbo is spendy if it lunches the bearings as my buddies massey 5455 Perkins did at 1300 hours if the hour meter is correct. If the bearings go out you wouldn't know until the low oil shutdown by then the compressor impeller will have thrown big chunks of an extremely hard alloy sucked through the intake and into the motor.

 

[lostcreekranch]

I am looking at standby generators also. I am going to go propane as I think diesel will result in old fuel issues even though we have a 300 gallon diesel tank.

Whatever you do get a system that will do auto-tests on a regular basis.

I really like the Generac units and will go at least 25 kW so I can power everything at ranch during power loss.

 

[Garycw]

Genarac with a nexus smart switch will direct power as needed requiring less kW unit. Air cooled is good, liquid is better$. Also propane never goes bad.

 

[lostcreekranch]

Genarac with a nexus smart switch will direct power as needed requiring less kW unit. Air cooled is good, liquid is better$. Also propane never goes bad.

Yep, agree completely.

 

[BigCountry1689]

My only concern with propane is #1 getting it when a storm hits, They say they will come but you don't know for sure I am not a priority. Next is that my code does not allow for above ground tanks and I sit like most of Florida in a swamp.

I have not fully researched the load shedding controllers but I think they are an option with the generators I looked at.

The controllers all have pre programmed run cycles in them, and I thought about the fuel issue but was figuring a good stabilizer and biocide should resolve that. And with the amount of time I would be operating, it shouldn't be an issue.

Still researching though, If I can find a propane system I feel comfortable with it might be on the table.

 

[4570Man]

What are you trying to run to need a 30 KW generator? That is huge.

 

[justinramani]

What are you trying to run to need a 30 KW generator? That is huge.

+1 on the 30k being pretty massive. Do you really need the ability to power the entire house during a storm? Why would you need to get propane delivered in a pinch??? Just buy a tank and get it filled. Propane doesnt go bad and its much a much better fuel for a stand-by application IMHO.

 

[BigCountry1689]

I really only need it to surge to about 30KW just for initial startup, I only require about 24KW that will operate everything as normal. Plus a couple things in my shop. I am trying to size it for not only for small power outages but big ones too. We went without any form of utility for 47 days and my wife said she will not do that again. When the electrician rated the house he had me turn everything on and hooked the meter to the main breaker box and said my startup was about 31KW and my continuous load was about 24KW. I would like more info on the load shedding controller if that will reduce the required KW's. But then it comes back to paying $10,155 for 36KW turbo or $9055 for 24KW non-turbo and I am trying to judge which one is a better use of money long term. I am hoping that this is the last generator I would ever need so I want to ensure that I buy it that way. But to be honest I have little clue what I need aside from the numbers he gave me. I don't need 36KW but will that be more fuel efficient and will it be better on the alternator and engine running at 60% load as apposed to running at 85-90% load?

 

[buickanddeere]

Me too on the excess capacity . The diesel will be wet stacking as the typical load will be 3Kw to 5Kw. Is there a Diesel by Onan or such in the 10Kw range ?