pto generator?

[pmsmechanic]

This is typical "the best is what i know" response without actually looking at the costs involved.

To boil it down, Propane has 84,950btu/gal diesel (#2) has 128,450btu/gal basicly the btu/gal will dictate how much energy you can pull out of the fuel. So all other things being equal you would expect a propane powered genset to use 84,950/128450 = .6613 or 33% more fuel for any given load.

so now to cost per gallon. say Diesel cost $4/gal and say propane costs $2.50/gal. that would mean you use 33% more of the 2.50 stuff or roughly $3.325 for every gallon of $4 diesel you would burn.

So ya, considering just costs of the fuel, its WAY cheeper to burn propane than it is Diesel at 2014 prices. If you were go purchase a brand new 2014 diesel generator your looking at some fun EPA requirements concerning documenting how many hrs it can run under the Tier 4 emission regulations exemption for "emergency use generator". with LPG you would not have to bother with such requirements.

FYI if you had a 1000gal propane tank and got it filled at "summer" rates you'd be looking at like 1.25 give or take instead of 2.50 so the argument gets even worse for diesel.

I have no arguments with your figuring. However a diesel engine can lie dormant for years and start up without problems. Especially in a building or under the hood of a vehicle. You'd never get away with that on a spark ignition engine. How cheap the fuel is gets pretty irrelevant if you can't get your engine started.

I can see people disagreeing with me on this but I see it all the time. Many farmers change out their natural gas irrigation engines for electricity. Pumping with NG is considerably cheaper than electricity but electricity is more reliable with less maintenance.

 

[bcp]

I've made up my mind. I'll run the generator with an electric motor.



Bruce

 

[DarkBlack]

$600 portable gas. Run it all day/night, cheap power. If it gets damaged/stolen it's only $600. Don't have to worry about you expensive tractor running un-manned.
If you want to "use it with your tractor", put it in the bucket and drive it somewhere.

 

[roadhunter]

I have no arguments with your figuring. However a diesel engine can lie dormant for years and start up without problems. Especially in a building or under the hood of a vehicle. You'd never get away with that on a spark ignition engine. How cheap the fuel is gets pretty irrelevant if you can't get your engine started.

I can see people disagreeing with me on this but I see it all the time. Many farmers change out their natural gas irrigation engines for electricity. Pumping with NG is considerably cheaper than electricity but electricity is more reliable with less maintenance.

Gasoline is terrible as far as storing long periods. Diesel is better but can still have problems like algae. Not sure what your point is on CNG or propane as it stores better and is easy on the engines. Are you implying that propane can go bad if stored for long periods?

 

[pmsmechanic]

Gasoline is terrible as far as storing long periods. Diesel is better but can still have problems like algae. Not sure what your point is on CNG or propane as it stores better and is easy on the engines. Are you implying that propane can go bad if stored for long periods?

The point I'm trying to make is that spark ignition engines require a lot more maintenance than a diesel engine. You can leave a diesel engine sit for years and it'll start and run. You can't do that with a gas or propane engine. For the few dollars you save in fuel you end up spending on spark plus and wires and on and on. A diesel you change the oil and filters and your good to go again.

My experience has been that both propane and NG are harder on engines than gasoline. I honestly don't know if propane goes bad over time or not.

 

[mikehaugen]

Idk... we get over 30,000 hours on our propane forklifts at work before they are replaced.

 

[pmsmechanic]

Idk... we get over 30,000 hours on our propane forklifts at work before they are replaced.

I'm sure they do as they don't run all day at full throttle the way a irrigation unit does.

 

[grsthegreat]

every emergency generator ive installed on large water systems and sewer treatment plants have been propane. Our new generator system for our homeowners association well are a set of parallel 150KW Generac Industrial 3 phase propane units tied into 3 - 1000 gal underground propane storage tanks.

You never have to worry about stored propane going bad. it just doesnt happen.

Now as far as someone thinking $6500 is too much for your piece of mind. I just got a deposit check yesterday for $10,000 to order a new Liquid cooled 48KW quietsource generator for a client. He's going to power a huge house and is going to bury 2 x 1,000 gal propane tanks. So it all depends on what a person feels comfortable with.

Everyone has their own comfort level for a backup source.

Im also installing a $400 manual transfer system for another gentleman that wants to use his trusty old 7,500 watt Honda to power his panel. He's going the old manual way with him deciding what to cut off.

 

[mikehaugen]

I'm sure they do as they don't run all day at full throttle the way a irrigation unit does.

Hours are hours though, even if it takes longer to accumulate them. I would say that 75% of these hours are at full throttle, and 100% are not nice hours. With the way these guys drive, I would say they have a harder life than an engine that runs continuously.

 

[timkirby]

I thought about a pto generator but my tractor won't start on really cold days without using the preheater which requires electric power. So I have settled on a small gasolene powered generator that can provide enough power to keep critical appliances running.