Diesel Generator

[s219]

Be sure to take a look at all the offerings available from Central Maine Diesel (Central Maine Diesel Generators | Diesel Generators | Triple-Fuel Generators | Propane/Natural Gas Generators). I bought a 20kW (22kW surge) Isuzu diesel there for about $7500, and they also have a bunch of Kubota diesel units. They had the best selection and prices when I was shopping in 2013.

I think 30kW units are way too big for what you describe. A good big heavy diesel can handle electrical startup loads pretty well, more than the surge capacity would suggest. Plus, you can install a soft start kit on your HVAC compressor (or other large motor equipment) to really lower the startup requirement, so that the generator doesn't have to be abnormally sized just for one piece of equipment. I think my geothermal system is rated for 30kW to startup, but with the soft start kit that goes down under 15kW, and the generator handles it without a hiccup. To be honest, I think I am oversized even at 20kW, but based on pricing and fuel consumption, there was no real downside to going with the larger generator. The particular Isuzu I bought burns about the same amount of fuel running at 12kW load compared to smaller generators running near their peak load.

Wetstacking is a concern in theory, but I have seen no indication of that problem with my unit. Even running under no load, the exhaust temperature is plenty hot.

For more info, you can see my generator thread here:

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/...1kw-standby-generator-project.html?highlight=

 

[BigCountry1689]

I explained to wife in a emergency, you go into emergency usage, not life as usual. That may be choosing running fridge & freezer over clothes dryer, cooking on grill etc. I would already be in solar hot water w/ back up if in fla full time. If your able to put a pool in, should be able to bury a 500 gal tank. Another nice thing about propane is it doesn't take power to fill tanks, or to even pick up 20-30 gal tanks when stations aren't pumping because of pwr outage. Are you allowed to have above ground diesel tanks? If near waterway there could be EPA and other local codes to consider.

..

I have explained those things, but few conciliations were made.

Aside from the wife,

I can have up to 125 Gal tank before EPA becomes an issue which is what I have currently and pools are not an option either unless large quantities of fill are brought in. I live below sea level on the outer rim of Lake Okeechobee.

 

[davesl708]

I can look at it tomorrow.

Your electrician calculated your load based on using the full 200 amp capacity of your panel. That puts you at the 27kw to 31kw requirement.
Your wife wants the whole house functioning as normal.
Diesel will store for a long time with some Power Service or similar additive.
A non-turbo engine will be the more economical and trouble free.
With the frequency of use you stated wet-stacking should be minimal.
You should be able to find a 25kw generator that would handle everything. Not everything will start up at the same time so inrush should not exceed the 25kw.

 

[BigCountry1689]

Thank you all for all you information, and saving me some money.

The following is the direction I think I will go after info received and research throughout the evening.

I can purchase a new Yang-Dong Perkins 18KW for $5,885 (5% Cash Disc.) with $900 for additional bottom mount fuel tank. I like the mounted fuel tank a little better as it comes with the pallet fork mounts already and makes moving if ever needed easier. This is a non-turbo unit that will run at about .52 gal an hour at half load. and has a 1 yr. pars warranty and free shipping. In addition I will purchase a load shedding transfer switch which will allow the assignment of primary and secondary loads for the "just in case" scenario where I might exceed my wattage. This should put me just under $8000 with install excluding first fill up. I am thinking the smaller unit will prevent wet stacking and allow her to use reasonable appliances and misc. household items. I converted the whole house to LED in November down to the range hood lights so my total light wattage for every light in the house is 240 watts and that includes the exterior lighting. TV's are all LED so really the big items are just appliances. But she can cook with a crock pot or range and be fine.

 

[davesl708]

sounds like a good plan.

 

[Sawyer Rob]

I have a whole house 18kw generator powered by diesel...

I don't think I could pull 10kw out of it, if I tried, but I wanted an over size generator, "just in case"... SO, with my small 3 or 4kw loads, I've NEVER had any wet stacking! I've NEVER had any diesel issues, and I don't put ANYTHING in my diesel...

What are you guys running to get this wet stacking? A bunch of old diesels ?? NONE of mine do it even if light loaded for hours.

You guys running light loads on YOUR modern tractors, are they wet stacking on you??

The last diesel I owned that wet stacked was my old D-7 CAT, of many years ago. The last diesels I saw wet stacking, were a friends older john deere tractors...

I'd take a diesel whole house gen set every time, diesel stores just fine for me...

BTW, a couple years ago, a big storm hit waaaaay south of here and propane company's would NOT take any new customers and would only deliver 100 gallons at a time, and then ONLY if you were completely out, and it was in the winter! (think home heat) They all sited the same thing, the storm caused a month long shortage!!

It's pretty easy for ME to control how much diesel I have on hand and when I get it....and YES my house has a propane furnace, but I heat with wood so I'm NOT dependent on the propane man, OR his expensive fuel!

SR

 

[Garycw]

sounds like a good plan.

+1 on that and main thing is the wife's happy too

 

[Agvg]

Over a prolonged period, this condition can seriously degrade engine performance.

Why should an 100% working diesel engine spit out unburned diesel? And what causes the degrade in performance?

The only reason for a diesel to spit out unburned fuel is loss of compression in a cylinder, but its tru that they often can spit out water an sot from the exhaust but that is just condense water from the exhaust system and not from the engine.

 

[Gary Fowler]

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.

You are right about the fuel, biocide is likely all you would need and even that is not needed if you keep the fuel clean. I have a diesel tank that I have been using for 6 years and absolutely no water in it BUT it is stored inside a closed building (boat shed) so temps are not fluctuating rapidly like one stored outside in the sunlight. I have never heard of diesel de-stabilizing with age to the point of not running in an engine. Keep to your plan of using diesel, it will run longer on a gallon of fuel and you can store large quantities of it without worrying about gas leaks and fires and most likely the engine will last much longer.

I think you will find that it is much cheaper to install a load shedding transfer switch than to upgrade your genset to full capacity of your house. There is very little likelihood that you will need to run everything at once in your house. A 20KW genset will run just about all of your house easily if you just do a little bit of management and the load shedding transfer switch will keep you from overloading the system if you or other members of the family forget and decide to run the AC while using the oven to bake, and the range top to cook all while running a bathtub full of water at the same time.
Remember, you will be fueling the genset regardless of the power you are using. Even though it may not be loaded to the max, the larger the unit the more fuel it will use, even at 0 load.

I cant believe the County requires underground propane storage, most places outlawed underground tanks 50 years ago. I can see some harshly regulated sub-divisions (one reason I would never live in one) with such a by-law made by idiots who look at aesthetics more than practicality and safety making such rules.

 

[Gary Fowler]

One more thing, it is usually best to locate the genset close to the breaker panel and hopefully it is the most distance from your bedroom because it is going to be a bit noisy even if it has a sound insulated panel around it. Setting it close to the breaker panel will save you a lot of money in wiring cost, however at $10K purchase cost of the genset, a couple hundred in wire cost is a small % increase in total price. So if you need to put the genset further from the house to eliminate some noise, I would say go for it. You also want to put it where it can easily be serviced for fuel and oil changes.