To avoid these ads, REGISTER NOW!

good backup generator?

moobeast2

Member
Joined
Nov 22, 2011
Messages
21
Location
Central NY
Looking to replace our farm's PTO driven back-up generator with a good stand-alone unit, preferably propane powered, 100 KW range. Any opinions on good brands? My electrician really likes Generac, but he deals mostly with household type backups. I've heard not so good things about Generacs on another forum. Thanks for help,
Andrew
 
To avoid these ads, REGISTER NOW!

kd3pc

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 10, 2013
Messages
3,630
Location
Northern Neck
Cat

Kohler

100 KW is serious money and fuel usage...

generac is a stretch anything over 10 (ten) KW but they are no where near as pricey as the two above.

You might look for mil surplus
 

sublimate

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 4, 2010
Messages
776
Location
Colorado
If you've already got the generator, why not just by a dedicated engine to replace the need for the PTO?
 

rockwithjason

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 8, 2006
Messages
2,633
Location
Las Vegas
100kw is a pretty serious generator. you better have a gigantic tank to run that thing for any amount of time. kholer is ok. I throw rocks at cat units that aren't diesel. we have a cat 350kw nat gas unit that has never run right from day one and continues to cause us problems. for me there are really only two choices, cummins and multiquip. i despise non diesel units because they are trouble where we hardly ever touch the diesel units.

http://http://www.hardydiesel.com/multiquip-diesel-generator/dca-125-usi.html
 

Stuart in MN

Well-known member
Joined
Sep 8, 2005
Messages
22,983
Location
Minneapolis
It can be done, but a propane unit that size will be fairly expensive and will use a lot of propane. Diesel may be a better choice - since you're on a farm I assume you already go through a lot of that, so it's not like you have to worry about a tank of it going bad or anything. In my area we see mostly Caterpillar and Cummins gensets, with some Generac, Baldor and Kohler (Baldor was bought recently by Generac, but at least for now they are still selling both brands separately.) A lot of people rag on them but I haven't seen any particular issues with Generac gensets on my projects.
 
OP
M

moobeast2

Member
Joined
Nov 22, 2011
Messages
21
Location
Central NY
My current backup is only 50KW, barely big enough to run the essentials, during the summer we have a lot of big ventilation fans running as well...and we may expand the barns in the future...so, need a bigger generator. I want a stand-alone so that when power goes out it switches over on it's own, in case nobody is around that knows how to start it, (or hook up a tractor). We milk cows almost round the clock so need reliable quick backup. I would like diesel, but our diesel fuel storage is at second farm two miles away.
 

Rookie2

Well-known member
Joined
Feb 27, 2013
Messages
1,925
Location
Western Pa.
there are a lot of used generators out there (i worked on Kohlers for 11 years ) only Ng 100Kw's i remember were for airports (radar etc) government spec.. If you have NG wells on site ,then maybe two or three smaller units with automatic transfer switches.

propane will take a 18 wheeler size holding tank i think.

my mistake , they did have a 100 RZ ford turbocharged that would run on LP. my spec sheet said 18.1 gallons per hour at 100% load.
 
Last edited:

nehog

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 2, 2010
Messages
7,935
Location
Jaffrey, NH
most diesel units have a belly tank that is integral. you and also add tanks if you want to.

On those belly tanks, check how much fuel they hold, and the GPH at 75% load, and see how many hours you can run! I'm lucky if I can get 10 hours from mine under load!
 

theoldwizard1

Well-known member
Joined
Feb 22, 2011
Messages
43,076
Location
SE MI
My current backup is only 50KW, barely big enough to run the essentials, during the summer we have a lot of big ventilation fans running as well...

Generac does have commercial propane generators in that size. Big $$$ ! You might want to start with a 50-70KW unit and the add a second one when you expand. Or maybe even 1 smaller unit per barn.

With generators, bigger is usually not better from a fuel efficiency standpoint.
 

Notgrownup

Well-known member
Joined
May 5, 2014
Messages
5,847
Location
Snow Hill NC
Detroit diesel is what we have at work....starts right up like clockwork every Friday morning at 9:30 to test..... Serious dough though....
 

_Stang_

Well-known member
Joined
May 31, 2014
Messages
242
I worked for Generac on the industrial side for a while about 8 years ago. If you saw their factories, QA/QC processes, etc. that us what you would buy. They still own the resi market and do well in light commercial up to heavy industrial. They have systems running 10MW and more so they are not just a little guy.
 

Stuart in MN

Well-known member
Joined
Sep 8, 2005
Messages
22,983
Location
Minneapolis
On those belly tanks, check how much fuel they hold, and the GPH at 75% load, and see how many hours you can run! I'm lucky if I can get 10 hours from mine under load!

That's just a matter of ordering the desired size tank when you buy the generator. Getting them sized for 24 hours or even 48 hours at full load is not a problem, it just costs more.
 

Rookie2

Well-known member
Joined
Feb 27, 2013
Messages
1,925
Location
Western Pa.
Just some basics : 100kw deere powered kohler uses 7.4 gph @100% ,a 150kw uses 11.1gph. So a 500gal tank should last 2-3 days depending on load management.
 
OP
M

moobeast2

Member
Joined
Nov 22, 2011
Messages
21
Location
Central NY
So, wasn't thinking straight...the farm has an oil-fired hot-water boiler with a 250 gallon tank on a weekly re-fill schedule. The tank is in a insulated shed, we fill it with 50/50 oil/kerosene mix in winter. I could use that to supply a diesel fired generator, right? Can keep it re-filled from main diesel storage at second farm if it's running for long.
 
To avoid these ads, REGISTER NOW!

walrus

Well-known member
Joined
Nov 12, 2008
Messages
11,673
Location
Maine
Most new diesels require low sulfur Off road fuel. Not a mix of fuel oil and kerosene
 

Highbeam

Well-known member
Joined
Feb 15, 2011
Messages
2,292
Location
Mt Rainier foothills, WA
With the huge amount of cash you are going to be laying down for this genset. The price of a dedicated fuel tank is relatively small. No need to steal questionable fuel from another important device.

Go diesel, and include a fuel tank.

This is one of those classic "you can't afford not to" situations.
 

rlitman

Well-known member
Joined
Oct 18, 2010
Messages
24,577
Location
Long Island
generac is a stretch anything over 10 (ten) KW

I've got a megawatt of Generac power at work.

On those belly tanks, check how much fuel they hold, and the GPH at 75% load, and see how many hours you can run! I'm lucky if I can get 10 hours from mine under load!

At 75% load, around 48 hours or so from the belly tank. Two more weeks from the auxiliary tank. Tanks come in all sorts of sizes you know.

So, wasn't thinking straight...the farm has an oil-fired hot-water boiler with a 250 gallon tank on a weekly re-fill schedule. The tank is in a insulated shed, we fill it with 50/50 oil/kerosene mix in winter. I could use that to supply a diesel fired generator, right? Can keep it re-filled from main diesel storage at second farm if it's running for long.

Ohhh, noooooo. I agree with the posts above that diesel is a much better choice than propane in that size class, but you cannot put 50/50 into a diesel engine and expect it to last. 10% kerosene is already getting dangerous.

If you really must use one tank, just fill it with diesel. Is that an option for you? You say the shed is insulated.
 

48RON54

Well-known member
Joined
Dec 27, 2013
Messages
2,666
Location
Inland Empire, CA
Generac is bid spec quality equipment.

With all due respect to the other posters that are so fond of generac, there are much better brands out there. You will pay a premium for the better brands though.

I'm sure you can find a really old but very low hour used unit for your application. Old standbys are replaced all the time, and they have usually hardly been used. In an agricultural setting where you plan on actually running the unit a considerable amount that is what I would go with. Parts sourcing may also be something you want to keep in mind. You can find generators with many different engines in them isuzu, john deere, volvo, cat, cummins etc. etc. etc. If you plan on actually putting some real hours on the equipment, and down time is an issue.... parts sourcing for the engine would be an important issue. Isuzu's rarely break down, but when they do sometimes the parts can be a week or 2 out, depending on what you need. Cat seems to always have parts in stock, but their parts are pricey IMO. Cummins has cheaper parts than either in my experience, but part is not always on the shelf. John Deeres break down more often than the others in my experience, but parts are cheap and easy to find.

Someone else mentioned MQ (multiquip) earlier. They are in my opinion the best generator around. Some are made in japan, some are made in the US. I have only ever seen them in diesel models.
 

Rookie2

Well-known member
Joined
Feb 27, 2013
Messages
1,925
Location
Western Pa.
I used to assemble subbase fuel tanks and I had several vendors that made fuel line heaters, 12v/120v/coolant. The over the road trucks use them and they make a heated dip tube that is heated by the engine coolant circulating thru it.
 

ishiboo

Well-known member
Joined
Oct 27, 2010
Messages
9,481
Location
Oshkosh, WI
Multiquip diesel would be the quietest, and they last for like 30k hours on some of the models between rebuilds. Of course you need a fuel supply with winter blend in the winter. If anything I'd probably go a Multiquip towable. Realize power ratings also relate to phase - if you are doing everything single phase, it will be significantly derated. I'm assuming being a dairy farm, you're 3 phase.

I don't see an issue with propane unless you like the idea of having a large portable generator. Propane keeps essentially forever - lease a 1000 gallon tank from your coop, pay the $1/year lease and let it sit there. Fill it once and then top off due to exercising. It's much cheaper than diesel.

Generac purchased Baldor last year, which makes quality backup generators (here!) at reasonable prices. The IGLC130-2G would get you 96kw single phase or 130kw three phase.
 

Skeetobite

Well-known member
Joined
Feb 8, 2014
Messages
706
Location
SE, MI
I've got an 11Kw Genrac LP/NG on the house that I've had no problems with.

We also have a 9Kw Kohler diesel on the boat and it's the most rock solid thing I've ever owned. It's a three cylinder, low rpm beast that has been running strong for almost 8 years. Generally runs for 7 to 10 days at a time when we're out and about.
 

LS6 Tommy

Well-known member
Joined
Dec 27, 2013
Messages
26,162
Location
Northern NJ
I'm far from "fond" of Generac, I made my list in order of preference. Maybe I shouldn't have listed Generac at all, but people ask me what they can get for $XXXX.** & Generac is sometimes the only machine that fits the spending limits...

Tommy
 

TheEquineFencer

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 15, 2009
Messages
9,267
Location
Farmville, NC 27828
100kw is a pretty serious generator. you better have a gigantic tank to run that thing for any amount of time. kholer is ok. I throw rocks at cat units that aren't diesel. we have a cat 350kw nat gas unit that has never run right from day one and continues to cause us problems. for me there are really only two choices, cummins and multiquip. i despise non diesel units because they are trouble where we hardly ever touch the diesel units.

http://http://www.hardydiesel.com/multiquip-diesel-generator/dca-125-usi.html

Have you checked the gas pressure at the demand regulator under load?
 

hackwelder

Well-known member
Joined
Jul 12, 2014
Messages
224
most diesel units have a belly tank that is integral. you and also add tanks if you want to.

I worked in telecom power for a few years maintaining diesel gensets from 30KW to 1MW (many brands and ages ranged from new back to 40 YO) and as you said the medium power ones generally had belly tanks and in telecom installations typically stored 4-5 days worth of fuel. In my limited experience the Cummins units were the most reliable by far (but to be fair they tended to be newer too)
 

VHF

Well-known member
Joined
Oct 27, 2008
Messages
420
Location
NW Wisconsin
I worked for a nursing home once that had a 100KW backup generator with a Perkins 6-cylinder turbo diesel. Don't remember the brand of the generator, though.

They replaced it with a natural-gas powered 100KW Generac which I think used a Ford 4.6L V8 spinning at 3600 RPM. Not as reliable as the old generator--failed to start at the first major ice storm.

(I was always happy with the 3-cylinder Perkins diesel engine in a Massey Ferguson 20C I used for brush hogging--very fuel efficent and reliable.)
 

Rob_b

Well-known member
Joined
Jul 28, 2009
Messages
209
Location
Ontario Canada
I have been checking these threads for a while and did a little looking myself at different diesel options and have been looking at a particular unit more and more lately. The company is called Aroura power and they have a few models from open frame to closed in units that look very good from the advertising and videos. http://www.auroragenerators.com/ I am not affiliated with them at all but they seem to have a good unit. Has anyone here had any experience with them? Personally I am looking at the 6.5KW closed in unit just cause its much quieter that the other units. Any opinions welcome...
 

TheEquineFencer

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 15, 2009
Messages
9,267
Location
Farmville, NC 27828
I have been checking these threads for a while and did a little looking myself at different diesel options and have been looking at a particular unit more and more lately. The company is called Aroura power and they have a few models from open frame to closed in units that look very good from the advertising and videos. http://www.auroragenerators.com/ I am not affiliated with them at all but they seem to have a good unit. Has anyone here had any experience with them? Personally I am looking at the 6.5KW closed in unit just cause its much quieter that the other units. Any opinions welcome...

That's about the best prices I've seen on Diesel generators so far. It looks like they use Yanmar engines.
 

collision1

Member
Joined
Jul 23, 2014
Messages
22
Location
Temecula
Yes, Onan builds very reliable generators for big RVs. They last for years of vigorous use. As for a portable unit I'd go with Honda.
 
To avoid these ads, REGISTER NOW!
Top Bottom