Natural Gas Powered Generator

woodstick · Nov 21, 2005

I have had the Guardian 15KW air cooled generator for over two years. I have had no problems with it, and it has about 100 hours of use so far. Cost was $2995 + about $800 to connect and put on a concrete pad. Keep in mind when sizing your generator that natural gas has less BTU's than propane; in my case my 15KW unit is rated at 13KW with natural gas. We have free gas use on our farm, so I didn't even consider propane. /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif

Egon · Nov 21, 2005

There are other ways than to live on the grid. One hundred years ago most people did not know what the Grid was. Wood/coal stoves, hand/wind operated water pumps, coal oil lamps or kerosene lamps, candles. Seems everyone survived.

Probably much better set up for natural disasters than now.

Egon /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

kennyd · Nov 21, 2005

( That's correct - the larger the generator/furnace - the more surface area you need at the top of the tank for the liquid to boil off into gas.
)

That is correct. If you poke deep into this SITE as well, they describe that. They also have good tips for connecting to NG and LPG, such as BTU formulas and pipe sizing.
This site was a great resource when I was researching my installation. They also have conversion kits for most portable generators

Darren · Nov 21, 2005

If you forsee times when you'll need to run the unit continuously for long periods of time, I'd suggest a Hawkpower unit due to the use of a converted diesel engine. The Lister-Petter engine is much sturdier than a gasoline engine. It will outlast a couple gasoline engines. Even with frequent use, I doubt you'll ever need to replace it using it only for backup power.

http://www.maesco.com/products/hp/hp.htm

Lister-Petter power is preferred for running the refrigeration units on fishing boats because of their reliability. You absolutely don't want to have a catch go bad on you. On the Gulf coast, a generator is called a Lister. That tells you something. The Listers are also slow speed (1800 rpm) engines so that increases their longevity.

Darren · Nov 21, 2005

You're right. The pipeline would have to be shutdown to stop the flow of natural gas to the engines driving the compressors.

VA_Joe · Nov 21, 2005

Yup - and if that happened the damage would have already been (everyones pilots would have gone out). Better for it to happen infrequently that way (either by a lack of gas or an infrastructure breakdown) vice a far too frequent electrical outage.

VA_Joe · Nov 21, 2005

Thanks much for the site reference. I like the dual fuel options. Did you buy from them?

kennyd · Nov 22, 2005

( Did you buy from them? )
Negative. As I posted in the begining of the thread, I got my Generac 15kw AC unit from NORWALL Power Systems
/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

JeffSpencer · Nov 22, 2005

( I have had the Guardian 15KW air cooled generator for over two years. I have had no problems with it, and it has about 100 hours of use so far. Cost was $2995 + about $800 to connect and put on a concrete pad. Keep in mind when sizing your generator that natural gas has less BTU's than propane; in my case my 15KW unit is rated at 13KW with natural gas. We have free gas use on our farm, so I didn't even consider propane. )
)
Actually, natural gas is sold by the therm. There are 100,000 BTU's in a therm and 90,000 BTU's in a gallon of propane. Natural gas is used to produce electrical energy now-a-days (instead of coal) and most likely, the only time you will lose gas service would be the result of a third party damage or in a disaster...a tree may topple over and pull the pipe out of the ground with the tree roots.

EDIT: During natural disasters, I have witnessed propane tanks floating off. If you do go with propane, make sure you anchor the tank sufficiently.

DISCLAIMER: I have been in the natural gas business for 25+ years, so I am partial to our product.