Portable Generator Recommendations for Nat.Gas conversion

Looking for thoughts on a portable gen for my home, we dont lose power that often, but we're on the east coast ( nj ) and the past couple years have been getting rough with extended power loses due to the hurricanes ( irene and sandy )

I'd like some recommendations on generators that would be good canidates for the USCARB tri fuel conversions, I'd rather not have to chop up the frame, and looking for decent plug and play. As well as a generator that isnt a giant piece of ****.

Thinking about these, thoughts?

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Generac-...ortable-Generator-5939/202527679#.UqJbSxYY0qY

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Briggs-S...e-Generator-30467/202409566?N=a8#.UqJbYhYY0qY

Like to keep the price between 600-800 dollars, and rather purchase through home depot so I can put it on my HD card.

Thanks everybody!

any $500 gasoline generator is a intermittent device and is generally a POS after a year or two. They are horrible on fuel, and have weak electrics.

None will run the whole house, many will barely run the fridge and some lights.

Portable generators that use propane or NG will have reliability issues and risks with the feed lines, unless correctly converted.

What are you trying to run in a power loss, and how are you going to handle fuel issues? Where will the genny be stored and are you prepared to start and run it at least every two or three weeks for at least 1/2 hour? How are you going to tie it in to your home power?

The solution is a large honda, properly wired or a stationary NG/Propane set to autostart and also correctly wired to the house. One good thing about NG/Propane is no ethanol issues.

any thing less is a waste of time and money
best of luck

kd3pc said:

any $500 gasoline generator is a intermittent device and is generally a POS after a year or two. They are horrible on fuel, and have weak electrics.

None will run the whole house, many will barely run the fridge and some lights.

Portable generators that use propane or NG will have reliability issues and risks with the feed lines, unless correctly converted.

What are you trying to run in a power loss, and how are you going to handle fuel issues? Where will the genny be stored and are you prepared to start and run it at least every two or three weeks for at least 1/2 hour? How are you going to tie it in to your home power?

The solution is a large honda, properly wired or a stationary NG/Propane set to autostart and also correctly wired to the house. One good thing about NG/Propane is no ethanol issues.

any thing less is a waste of time and money
best of luck

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I have a small ranch, we don't need to run the whole house - just the basics, lights, fridge, sump pump, heat, and some electronics.

our grid is fairly reliable, looking for more of an " emergency backup " rather then something that will be used all the time.

Hell, I could buy it tomorrow and probably not use it for another 5 years, who knows.



Interested in the conversion kits at USCARB @ http://www.propane-generators.com

Their tri-fuel options peak my interest, during sandy last year the lines at the gas stations were literally 6-8 hours long to get gas. I'm going through the process of having natural gas run to my house and plan on a dedicated hookup out back for generator purposes

alecmcmahon said:

I have a small ranch, we don't need to run the whole house - just the basics, lights, fridge, sump pump, heat, and some electronics.

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both of your chosen gennys are a mere 5K and your loads may

easily require a 10K watt unit...and even it may not run the heat with the other stuff

You may want to do some load calculations, before you spend the money, so as to not be disappointed.

5500 watts / 120vac = 45.83 amps

I believe both come with a 220vac 30 amp 4 prong, outlet.

I'll take a look at the 10k ones, probably a bit of my price range but i'll look.

I would also look at keeping some propane on site. I am not sure about the protocol where you are, but here in CA they turn off NG after an earth quake, not sure if they do the same on the east coast for hurricanes/flood.

When it comes to portables you can get a manual transfer switch so you can manage the right loads so you don't over load the generator. For the convertion kits that take a gasoline powered generator and make it run on propain or natural gas, it will eventually destroy the gasoline operated generators. The reason is lap or ng fuel burns a lot hotter than gasoline so the internal temp will milt the pistons and valves. Ng and lap fuel is more efficient burning fuel. You might be better off buying a home stand by and use your home depot card and get the your free financing for how ever long it is.

I'd recommend a Winco generator. I have had the 9000 Watt model for several years - it has worked flawlessly every time I have needed it. If the 12000 watt had been offered when I bought mine, I would have gone with it.

http://www.wincogen.com/HPS9000VE/

alec - I don't know why there are so many nay-sayer tonight !

5kw is adequate for what you want and buying an adapter to run on propane or natural gas IS a good idea ! You will have to manage your loads and the best way to that is with a generator interlock kit for your main panel.

The question your asking doesn't have a hard answer. Either will work. Toss a coin.


Out of the box thinking. Watch eBay for a Briggs 7kw or 10kw permanent propane/ng generator. You can frequently find refurbished units or units with only a 100-200 hours on them. Skip the automatic transfer switch and wire it into you main panel via a generator interlock. Yes, you will have to go outside and manually start it, but you might be able to get one like this for only a few hundred more that a portable with a conversion kit.

Unless of course you want a portable for "portable use" away from the house !

Something else to keep in mind when your looking at matching the generator to the load you want to feed is the output de-rating due to the fuel switch from gasoline to LP or natural gas. Around 10% for LP and 20% for natural gas.

The generator I bought is a military grade generator. 5kw good up too 8kw because of how its DE-rated for military specs these generators are meant to run for months on end with out stopping. I know you wanted something for temporary use and not running it all the time but for the money you can't get better. There is a huge following for these generators lots of information and parts are available. A few things to look for is the generator is 240 but has no neutral meaning you can not run 120 and 240 at the same time. There is a way to get around that and when I get some time I will be doing it to mine. It also has 3 phase for any equipment I may find at a really good price. The only down side is it's heavy close to 900 pounds mine is on wheels. Also they are a little louder then store bought generators. Lots of perks with the generator. The are meant to run in very hot and very cold. I have not had to use mine in a power loss yet but I am very happy I have it and I make sure I run it every so often. The link to ebay is a good price although I did not look into condition of it. I paid a little more then 300 for mine. Mine was rebuilt a few times and since last rebuild has low hrs. Message me for more info if you like.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/5-KW-1969-MILITARY-GENERATOR-SET-2CYL-WISCONSIN-ENGINE-W-ONAN-1PH-240-3PH-/281116549059?pt=BI_Generators&hash=item4173da1fc3

dirtybiker said:

... the generator is 240 but has no neutral meaning you can not run 120 and 240 at the same time. ...

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Sure you can ! Buy a transformer that has a center tap on the output.

alecmcmahon said:

Looking for thoughts on a portable gen for my home, we dont lose power that often, but we're on the east coast ( nj ) and the past couple years have been getting rough with extended power loses due to the hurricanes ( irene and sandy )

I'd like some recommendations on generators that would be good canidates for the USCARB tri fuel conversions, I'd rather not have to chop up the frame, and looking for decent plug and play. As well as a generator that isnt a giant piece of ****.

Click to expand...

If you're planning to use natural gas as the primary (sole?) fuel source, there is no point in using a PORTABLE generator. Even assuming propane (as opposed to NG), storing enough of it on-site to get you though a Sandy-scale power outage will also be a decidedly NON-portable proposition.

So for this reason (among others), you are barking up the wrong tree.

Thinking about these, thoughts?

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Generac-...ortable-Generator-5939/202527679#.UqJbSxYY0qY

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Briggs-S...e-Generator-30467/202409566?N=a8#.UqJbYhYY0qY

Click to expand...

Neither of those is even close to appropriate. Beyond being cheap "contractor grade" units which probably cannot be counted on for long-term durability, they're also unsilenced open-frame units which will be UNBEARABLY noisy if/when you have to listen to them for hours on end. Even if YOU think you can put up with the racket, your neighbors are unlikely to be as "forgiving".

Like to keep the price between 600-800 dollars,

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Not realistic, IMCO -- particularly by the time you do a PROPER job of installing it (including a real interlock panel & transfer switch). Figure three or four times that, at MINIMUM; and if you also need to install a large(r) propane tank to provide the desired "off grid" run-time, it goes (much) higher still.

and rather purchase through home depot so I can put it on my HD card.

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That may still be possible (see below). But frankly, if you have to worry about such relatively trivial things, you probably can't really afford this project anyway.

alecmcmahon said:

I have a small ranch, we don't need to run the whole house - just the basics, lights, fridge, sump pump, heat, and some electronics.

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The first big question obviously is, what sort of heat do you have? And I mean not just in terms of the fuel used (tho' that's important too). If it is a forced-air system of some sort, the blower fan alone will be a significant load.

Next-biggest (typical) issue is, what sort of cooktop/oven/range do you have in the kitchen? If it's gas-fired, you lucked out; but if it's electric (which I suspect it is, given your later comment about just now adding gas service to the house), there's another large -- and essential -- load.

our grid is fairly reliable, looking for more of an " emergency backup " rather then something that will be used all the time.

Hell, I could buy it tomorrow and probably not use it for another 5 years, who knows.

Click to expand...

That is the very definition of a "Standby Generator" application.

Interested in the conversion kits at USCARB @ http://www.propane-generators.com

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Again, you're going off on a tangent here. Those conversion kits for small portable gensets can be very handy for such applications as dry camping with a travel trailer. But for YOUR purposes, you want ("need", really) a REAL standby generator, designed for just that purpose and PROPERLY installed. At a DEAD MINIMUM, you should be looking at things like:

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Generac-...or-with-50-Amp-Transfer-Switch-5837/202214401


And really, when you consider all that goes into a proper standby generator installation, it makes very little sense to scrimp on the capacity. The marginally higher cost to step up the capacity is usually well out-weighed by the convenience and other benefits. Hence, you'd probably be far better off looking at such things as:

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Generac-...0-Amp-SE-Rated-Transfer-Switch-6438/204006867


Or...

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Generac-...Amp-16-Circuit-Transfer-Switch-6242/204006873


Or maybe even...

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Generac-22-000-Watt-Liquid-Cooled-Standby-Generator-QT02224ANAX/202322380

Their tri-fuel options peak my interest, during sandy last year the lines at the gas stations were literally 6-8 hours long to get gas. I'm going through the process of having natural gas run to my house and plan on a dedicated hookup out back for generator purposes

Click to expand...

All the more reason to go with a PROPER permanently installed genset.

alecmcmahon said:

5500 watts / 120vac = 45.83 amps

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But are ALL of your loads only 120V? I seriously doubt that.

IMO a 5k and an interlocking kit is more then enough unless you want to run the ac and an electric stove etc. I have an 1850 rated we use when power goes out. Keeps fridge cold, runs furnace, lights on, and the tv. Want to make coffee just make sure furnace isn't running. Yes we have to watch the load but it does what we want no problem

theoldwizard1 said:

Sure you can ! Buy a transformer that has a center tap on the output.

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I also read that you can pull a neutral from inside from one of the legs. I was looking into getting a transformer, but I think I will just try and re wire it my self.