Installing Generator Under Covered Porch?

[Larry Caldwell]

Personally speaking, I'd never even consider buying a stand alone genny and using it for emergency backup and have to go out and start in or fuel it up and then worry about what I plugged in or not. My Generac's handle all that by themselves and have dedicated transfer switches as well so no extension cords to be concerned about. Both are hard wired (Had an electrician do all the wiring to and from the transfer switches)

I do own a small inverter genny I use in the RV but that is it.

The propane unit feeds from 2 500 gallon propane tanks that would run it for weeks, maybe months, I don't know really and the diesel unit runs from my diesel bulk tank so the same applies to that as well.

One less thing I have to be concerned with.

I have a propane powered portable and a transfer switch. I keep a battery tender on the battery, so turning the switch and flipping the mains on the transfer switch is all there is to it. I use a permanent custom cord between the generator and the transfer switch, so everything stays plugged in.

I have a blend of 19th century and 21st century technology, so the only thing I really need electricity for is the modem and router. A little camp generator is good for that, with a 1950s line stabilizer to clean up the power. I have a 100 lb. tank of propane, which the gen manufacturer says is good for about 35 hours. We had a 1 day outage last winter, and I didn't even bother to start it. My main fuel storage is the wood shed, so warmth and cooking are not a concern. We only run the generator to take a shower.

It's beautiful when the power goes out. The only sound is the water in the creek, the wind in the trees, and the soft fall of snow off the branches. A generator ruins that, so I avoid running one if possible.

 

[ning]

Not really. A new 21KW unit is way north of what I paid for the new enclosure. Least around here it is.

I know exactly what my fuel usage is for both of them. I do have the manuals for both and they state fuel usage plainly. Not that I would ever expect either to run continuous for weeks on it.

Perhaps bought from local dealers; internet pricing is considerably lower - that 21kW generator is probably about $5k... with an aluminum enclosure. Trivial to set up as well. Personally I'd rather buy a new truck to get a new engine, if the new truck cost the same as dropping my old engine into a new truck body...

I've yet to see a "almost no load" fuel usage in any generator manual, they're usually quoting "exercise" - 1/2 - 3/4 - full load. I suppose the "exercise" level may be the "almost no load".

I know my house runs between 600-800W most of the time, due to two fridges and two freezers. It's still basically "no load" to a generator, but unfortunately gas (natural/lpg/gasoline) whole-house generators are usually very inefficient at low loads, probably because they have to run 3600RPM regardless of load.

 

[ponytug]

I'd think you'd do a couple quick calcs and see how long an auto-start generator will run on ~800 gallons of propane.
You may be shocked at the short amount of time - it's almost definitely not months, and the few weeks it will likely provide will shock you if you're serious about "maybe months".
It likely will use a gallon an hour at a very low load, which would give you at most a month, and if you load it up more than that it'll drain the tank faster.


So you decided to keep an old generator and just get a new enclosure, for about the same price as a new generator with a similar enclosure?

I think that it is great advice for anyone planning for backup power should do a calculation on how long their fuel will last, and also have a plan for keeping fuel fresh (other than propane).

Perhaps bought from local dealers; internet pricing is considerably lower - that 21kW generator is probably about $5k... with an aluminum enclosure. Trivial to set up as well. Personally I'd rather buy a new truck to get a new engine, if the new truck cost the same as dropping my old engine into a new truck body...

I've yet to see a "almost no load" fuel usage in any generator manual, they're usually quoting "exercise" - 1/2 - 3/4 - full load. I suppose the "exercise" level may be the "almost no load".

I know my house runs between 600-800W most of the time, due to two fridges and two freezers. It's still basically "no load" to a generator, but unfortunately gas (natural/lpg/gasoline) whole-house generators are usually very inefficient at low loads, probably because they have to run 3600RPM regardless of load.

Many manufacturers provide fuel consumption data (charts) for their gen sets, but as a general rule, constant speed spark generators tend use about two thirds of the 50% load fuel rate, even at close to zero loads. E.g.

(Not exactly home sized, but you get the idea.)
Variable speed inverter generators do much better. Diesels are somewhere in between.

All the best,

Peter

 

[ning]

I think that it is great advice for anyone planning for backup power should do a calculation on how long their fuel will last, and also have a plan for keeping fuel fresh (other than propane).


Many manufacturers provide fuel consumption data (charts) for their gen sets, but as a general rule, constant speed spark generators tend use about two thirds of the 50% load fuel rate, even at close to zero loads. E.g.

(Not exactly home sized, but you get the idea.)
Variable speed inverter generators do much better. Diesels are somewhere in between.

All the best,

Peter

As I mentioned, I haven't seen "no load" values on the charts. I suppose the "no load" would be not much less consumptive than the 25%.

 

[grsthegreat]

No load will easily eat at least 25% levels. Thats why i dont run mine if i dont require the power. I shut it off at night and during daytime during long outages, unless its truly needed. Not hard to do, takes a few minutes.

 

[ning]

No load will easily eat at least 25% levels. Thats why i dont run mine if i dont require the power. I shut it off at night and during daytime during long outages, unless its truly needed. Not hard to do, takes a few minutes.

Agreed, completely.

I was addressing a point someone previously indicated that he has things set up entirely automatic so he "doesn't have to mess with it", which sounds like a great way to blow your propane supply in the first week after an ice storm destroys the grid