# Tri-fuel generators - anyone have one?



## begreen (Oct 21, 2011)

I am going to be getting a tri-fuel generator for back up power. We have been without power for about a week, three times in the past 17 years. And several more times for a day or two. My current generator is an old Coleman contractor 4800w generator. It's noisy and the power is dirty. It's also oversized for our needs and I am tired of draining fuel out of it when idle. I am looking at a tri-fuel modification of either a Honda eu2000i or a Yamaha ef2400is. The propane option is because it stores for long times without degradation. We also have a large tank which may be necessary to use in the event of a serious earthquake. 

The two places that do these conversions are:

www.generatorsales.com
Central Maine Diesel
1594-D Outer Hammond St.
Bangor, ME 04401
or
http://www.propane-generators.com/
US Carburetion Kit Center
416 Main Street
Summersville, West Virginia

Does anyone have a propane generator? Has anyone dealt with either of these firms? If yes, any comments on them.


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## Iembalm4aLiving (Oct 21, 2011)

I've had this place bookmarked for a few years....they sell conversion kits.

http://www.propanecarbs.com/naturalgaskits.html

I have a Honda EX5000 that's been great.  I'd like the ability to run it off natural gas.  Modifying a perfectly good generator makes me nervous, though....


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## begreen (Oct 21, 2011)

I have a buddy with the same generator and he loves it.


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## velvetfoot (Oct 21, 2011)

They have some propane generators at Northern Tool.


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## pen (Oct 21, 2011)

If you get a tri-fuel, just make sure you do keep some gas around which is fresh for it.  In cold weather starting on propane is not pleasant unless the carb has a heater.  

pen


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## begreen (Oct 21, 2011)

Good to know. We usually keep ~10 gallons on hand. Fortunately for us here "cold" is typically around freezing. How cold before it acts up? Would keeping the propane cylinder indoors help? I will have a few cylinders and could keep one inside.


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## pen (Oct 21, 2011)

BeGreen said:
			
		

> Good to know. We usually keep ~10 gallons on hand. Fortunately for us here "cold" is typically around freezing. How cold before it acts up? Would keeping the propane cylinder indoors help? I will have a few cylinders and could keep one inside.



I don't believe keeping the propane warm would help. 

I tried buying a generator for my cabin w/out electric and couldn't find a straight propane generator on the market that didn't need electric hooked up to it to run the carb heater.  

My family had a propane business for years and converted even the daily driver pick up trucks (chevy 1500's usually, their first conversion was a '69 challenger) to propane.  They always had to be started on gas when the temps were around freezing, then once the engine had enough heat in it to heat the carb then it could be switched to propane and run w/out incident unless it was extremely cold.  

pen


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## velvetfoot (Oct 21, 2011)

How do the standby generators powered by propane do it?


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## pen (Oct 21, 2011)

velvetfoot said:
			
		

> How do the standby generators powered by propane do it?



They have electric run to them keeping the carb warm.  Power goes out, generator kicks on and it stays warm.

pen


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## daveswoodhauler (Oct 21, 2011)

My FIL has the Honda eu20001 for his camper trailer, and he loves it.
Actually, he is using it right now winterizing the trailer, and I would say that the generator has to be at least 50% quieter then mine.
He only needed something small to take when on extended trips without hookups with the trailer, and says that its one of the more efficient models on gas useage.
If I had the coin, the next one I would by would be the Honda


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## begreen (Oct 21, 2011)

pen said:
			
		

> BeGreen said:
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I'll ask the Maine company about this. They get a lot colder than we do.


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## velvetfoot (Oct 21, 2011)

pen said:
			
		

> velvetfoot said:
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> ...



That makes sense.


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## begreen (Oct 21, 2011)

The propane system relies on the tank being warm enough for the liquid in the tank to vaporize at the top of the tank. Therefore keeping a spare tank warm in the basement, will help a lot. Also, some people report wrapping the tank with heat tape as a solution. But that means having electricity to keep the heat tape warm. I read where some have put their tanks in a pan of hot water. Keeping the tanks full also helps.

One of the most interesting insights on this issue came from a hot-air ballooning site where they take this issue very seriously. In a table posted there, the pressure drops about 50% from 30F to 10F.


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## pen (Oct 21, 2011)

Hmm, the big generators don't need a propane tank heater, just that carb warmer.  Must be because of the size of the tank?

Yea, I can see balloonists finding that to be important!  Problem is as it evaporates it makes the tank even colder than ambient.  

Hmm, wonder why they generally run fine on the stuff once it's started on gas?  Maybe it's just because there is no real way to "choke" the carb when using propane perhaps?

I never questioned as a kid when I was around these.  My cousin with the business died 10 years ago.  All I know is when using his trucks in the winter is was start on gas, once you feel heat from the dash, turn it to propane.

pen


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## turbocruiser (Oct 22, 2011)

For a long while we've wanted a Honda Tri-Fuel generator and during that time I've really researched the Central Maine product the most to include talking to their tech dept.  They seem super knowledgeable and what I will probably do is get their Honda EU2000i now and then a little later get their Honda 2000i companion.  That's if I don't just get the EU3000is and that's the decision I'm deciding about back-and-forth, back-and-forth.  On the one hand having 2 of the 2000 watt generators gives great portability and scalability as well as the ability to actually power two separate sites.  On the other hand the 3000 is probably all I'd ever need and its all in one (big) package.  

Either way I am interested in tri-fuel for a few reasons.  1st, realistically speaking for safety reasons and storage reasons there's a limit to the amount of gasoline I would have on hand and that's about 5 gallons.  That would give me only an average of 18 hours of generator with 1 of the 2000's, 9 hours with 2 of the 2000's and 10 hours with 1 of the 3000's.  2nd, even with the two twenty gallon propane tanks I have here I'd only be adding around 28 hours of generator with 1 2000, 14 hours with 2 2000's, etc.  3rd, realistically speaking I either have to have a much larger propane tank installed which I could of course do, or, I have to rely on the really very reliable natural gas supply we have here to power the generator/s.  I looked into it little bit and basically if I understand things correctly, I can install a NG quick disconnect fitting where I would be able to attach the generator fuel hose when it was necessary and the generator/s would basically run indefinitely assuming appropriate stops for oil fillups, etc.  So I'm super interested in all this and would love to learn much more.

Edit:  By the way, one of the things I asked Central Maine about was that in their pictures it always looked like the door to the motor area was a little cocked off crooked and I assumed that was the bracket for the tri-fuel valve itself getting in the way.  According to their tech that picture just looks like that because they didn't correctly close the door but that the door does indeed completely close with the bracket they designed so that's good to know.  Also, if you go with the EU2000i and then the EU2000 companion you get a 30amp socket which will add additional versatility.


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## firefighterjake (Oct 24, 2011)

The things you learn . . . the place in Maine is only a couple miles from where I work . . . never even knew such a company was here in the city.


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## jimbom (Oct 24, 2011)

BeGreen said:
			
		

> The propane system relies on the tank being warm enough for the liquid in the tank to vaporize at the top of the tank. Therefore keeping a spare tank warm in the basement, will help a lot. Also, some people report wrapping the tank with heat tape as a solution. But that means having electricity to keep the heat tape warm. I read where some have put their tanks in a pan of hot water. Keeping the tanks full also helps.
> 
> One of the most interesting insights on this issue came from a hot-air ballooning site where they take this issue very seriously. In a table posted there, the pressure drops about 50% from 30F to 10F.



I guess you could warm it up on your stove.


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## jimbom (Oct 24, 2011)

My dad converted a tractor trailer that he used hard to propane back in the fifties.  I don't remember the details, except that he also installed a big air horn and connected the propane to that.  We lived in southeast Missouri at the time, but I don't think he had a gasoline option because the gas tanks were removed.  Said he wanted the engine to run cleaner so the oil would last longer.  He also had a nearby Skelgas bottling plant that sold him propane cheap.  Ran it every day all winter as far as I know.  Must have been a simple project as he was not a mechanic and he did it at home.  I had forgotten about that until this thread.  Perhaps ignited my interest in engineering with that little shade tree project.


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## Highbeam (Oct 24, 2011)

The reason that you should not use a honda 2000i for backup power is that it does not make any 220 volt power. Safely powering your home with this genset would require significant jacking around and would never offer the flexibility of the proper 220 genset. The 2000i is a wonderful genset for an RV or something that only needs small amoutns of 110 volt power. I believe that the 3000 watt honda model does make 220 volts but is very very expensive and much harder to mvoe around. Esart though. 

For the guy that wants to plug his fridge in with an extension cord, the 2000i is a fine unit.


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## hossthehermit (Oct 24, 2011)

About all I can add here, is that Central Maine Diesel is a well respected company to do business with, I know severall people who deal with them on a regular basis for diesel applications. I wasn't aware they did generators, I'll have to check them out, they're only about 20 miles from me, and I have been sorta looking for a new gen.


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## begreen (Oct 24, 2011)

Highbeam said:
			
		

> The reason that you should not use a honda 2000i for backup power is that it does not make any 220 volt power. Safely powering your home with this genset would require significant jacking around and would never offer the flexibility of the proper 220 genset. The 2000i is a wonderful genset for an RV or something that only needs small amoutns of 110 volt power. I believe that the 3000 watt honda model does make 220 volts but is very very expensive and much harder to mvoe around. Esart though.
> 
> For the guy that wants to plug his fridge in with an extension cord, the 2000i is a fine unit.



The only loads we will be powering will be 120v, basically a refer and freezer, both modern, energy savers. These loads sit on one bus of the panel. If there is spare power then we might run a tv or radio and the kitchen lights, but that's about it. I am leaning toward the Yamaha 2400 at the moment. That seems to be the preferred unit for both sellers that do the conversion. 

I toyed with the idea of the Honda 3000 but that is only 120v too so it would just mean more fuel consumption. I think the Honda EU6500isA - 5500 Watt unit is the smallest with 240vac out unless I buy a European or Asian market unit.


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## Jags (Oct 25, 2011)

BG - something that I have not seen mentioned here yet:  Propane conversion of a gas motor will yield less HP than gasoline.  So a motor sized to run a 2400W genset that is converted to propane, will probably NOT pull what the original motor config would.  You might want to ask the company doing the conversion what loss you should expect.  Size your genset accordingly.


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## benjamin (Oct 26, 2011)

BeGreen said:
			
		

> The propane system relies on the tank being warm enough for the liquid in the tank to vaporize at the top of the tank. Therefore keeping a spare tank warm in the basement, will help a lot. Also, some people report wrapping the tank with heat tape as a solution. But that means having electricity to keep the heat tape warm. I read where some have put their tanks in a pan of hot water. Keeping the tanks full also helps.
> 
> One of the most interesting insights on this issue came from a hot-air ballooning site where they take this issue very seriously. In a table posted there, the pressure drops about 50% from 30F to 10F.



There are vapor systems and liquid systems to run an engine on propane. 

I think propane vapor problems only occur at much lower temps, and/or high usage rates as in hot air ballooning or farm weed burners. Weedburners will sometimes have a tank of water with several tanks floating around to keep the tanks from getting to cold in the summertime. Large propane boilers will often have a "vaporizer" which burns propane to heat propane to keep the pressure up in sub zero weather.

Most propane engines use a liquid system where the propane vaporizes in the carburetor, so a warm tank won't make much difference. I'm not familiar with the problems mentioned so I won't speculate any further.


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## begreen (Oct 26, 2011)

Jags said:
			
		

> BG - something that I have not seen mentioned here yet:  Propane conversion of a gas motor will yield less HP than gasoline.  So a motor sized to run a 2400W genset that is converted to propane, will probably NOT pull what the original motor config would.  You might want to ask the company doing the conversion what loss you should expect.  Size your genset accordingly.



Good point, that is why I am leaning toward the Yamaha 2400 instead of the Honda 2000.


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## Highbeam (Oct 26, 2011)

People love the yammis too.


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## pcampbell (Dec 11, 2014)

Does anyone have any experience with this 4000 watt generator from Central Maine Diesel?

http://www.generatorsales.com/order/Honda-4kw-Propane-Generator.asp?page=H04582

Would like to be able to run well pump, fridge....LED lighting and Rinnai furnace won't add but maybe 100 watts.  I'll have a large pressure tank for the well, so it might be possible (although annoying) to time filling up the pressure tank while the refrigerator is not running.  Fridge will also be an EnergyStar model.

The well is not in place yet, so if there's something I can do pump-wise to make this work, that might be good to think about now.  Obviously I don't know how deep it will be yet.

I'd prefer a smaller generator because I could lift/move it myself.  The 4000 watt one is 85 pounds while the 5500 watt one is 185 pounds.  Although the bigger one has some advantages with electronic ignition (rather than pull start), it could be wired to auto-transfer, auto start for test cycle, etc.


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## DBCOOPER (Dec 16, 2014)

I really like the load shedding xfer switches that these guys have.

http://www.genconnexdirect.net/propane-honda-generators.htm


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## Village Idiot (Dec 26, 2014)

Shopping around for a generator that is just the right size can get pretty expensive. Especially when you start looking at the premium brands. I agonized on the issue for a while and ended up getting a Champion Dual Fuel generator at Costco. It is a 9000/7000 watt dual fuel (propane/gas) unit with remote start that will run the whole house. All for $600 on sale. The normal price is $700 and that is still a bargain.

It is not a Honda, it is not quiet like a Honda, it is big (comes with wheels), BUT, it is only $700. Food for thought.


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## Highbeam (Dec 26, 2014)

Village Idiot said:


> Shopping around for a generator that is just the right size can get pretty expensive. Especially when you start looking at the premium brands. I agonized on the issue for a while and ended up getting a Champion Dual Fuel generator at Costco. It is a 9000/7000 watt dual fuel (propane/gas) unit with remote start that will run the whole house. All for $600 on sale. The normal price is $700 and that is still a bargain.
> 
> It is not a Honda, it is not quiet like a Honda, it is big (comes with wheels), BUT, it is only $700. Food for thought.



Champion is actually a really decent brand. Very good reputation for those that aren't willing to pay the premium for honda or Yamaha.


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## begreen (Dec 27, 2014)

I've heard good things about the Champions. For general purpose work they should be fine. But there are several differences between them and premium inverter gensets. One question is how pure do you want the power to be? Sensitive electronics are often not happy with noisy AC. We have a perfectly good 4.8KW generator in standby but I stopped using it because our UPS systems refuse to function on dirty AC. They work great on the clean inverter power from the Yamaha. ham radio operators uses these units for the same reason. The second issue is power output vs fuel consumption. Champion propane gens are in the 3.5-6KW range. That is serious overkill and overkill means too much fuel consumption. When the power is out for an extended period this is important. Wasted propane is costly and a small load on a large generator shortens its life. The Champion 3.5KW genset gets 10hrs to 20# of propane. Our Yamaha will run about 3 times or more on the same amount of fuel and it is tri-fuel, the Champion is propane only. The last issue is noise. For me a quiet generator is a blessing, especially when it is droning on for hours. Honda and Yamaha make quiet generators. That's why they are so popular with campers. Yes, they are premium units, but the differences and quality is worth it to me.


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## seige101 (Dec 27, 2014)

begreen said:


> The Champion 3.5KW genset gets 10hrs to 20# of propane. Our Yamaha will run about 3 times or more on the same amount of fuel and it is tri-fuel, the Champion is propane only. The last issue is noise. For me a quiet generator is a blessing, especially when it is droning on for hours. Honda and Yamaha make quiet generators. That's why they are so popular with campers. Yes, they are premium units, but the differences and quality is worth it to me.



Are you comparing a traditional champion generator on propane compared to a yamaha inverter generator on propane?

I have a Champion 73531i Inverter which is equivalent to the Honda eu-2000i or Yamaha Ef-2000is. It was $500 on sale and at that price a great equivalent compared to the Honda or the Yamaha. The specs are virtually the same in terms of power, noise and fuel economy.

Had it since the great October snow storm of 2011 and have not had an outage long enough to drag it out since. I have powered what i need to in the event of an outage and i use it around the yard.


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## begreen (Dec 27, 2014)

I was comparing their propane genset. Haven't heard of a tri-fuel conversion of the Champion brick and forgot all about it quite frankly. Good to know it has served you well.


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## Highbeam (Dec 28, 2014)

begreen said:


> I was comparing their propane genset. Haven't heard of a tri-fuel conversion of the Champion brick and forgot all about it quite frankly. Good to know it has served you well.



Champion also makes an inverter genset to compete with the 3000 watt honda. For the campground crowd to run air conditioning. Honda version is like 2500$ compared to 700$ for the champion. Champion is like the Englander stove company of the generator world. 

You can't compare the dirty output from some 4800 watt contractor genset to a champion. I've seen the sine wave output from the common 3500 champion on a scope and it was nearly perfect.

Yes, the Hondas or yams are superior but just slightly and in a couple of places that might not matter to most.


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## begreen (Dec 28, 2014)

Similar to the reason why some folks have Englanders and others have BKs. They both do the job well.


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## 1kzwoman (Dec 28, 2014)

I have a Honda 2000 it is great for RV (Casita )but will not run my freezer at home. I purchased hopefully it would do both. 
It will run the refrigerator and a light bulb however. I don't recommend it for none RV use.

Many large ag businesses run both pumps and generators on LP, so check with local extension office for information to guide you on sizing for your needs


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## begreen (Dec 29, 2014)

Something is odd then. I run 2 refrig and a freezer on our Yamaha which is not much larger. The Honda should easily run the freezer. What happens when you try? Did you try plugging in the freezer with nothing else plugged in?


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## 1kzwoman (Dec 29, 2014)

begreen said:


> Something is odd then. I run 2 refrig and a freezer on our Yamaha which is not much larger. The Honda should easily run the freezer. What happens when you try? Did you try plugging in the freezer with nothing else plugged in?



Nothing with the freezer. Yup it's all that's plugged in. Been a while since a tune up, maybe a high altitude jet. Now that I know it should run it. 18 cubic foot freezer. Thank you for reply


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## seige101 (Dec 29, 2014)

Try turning the eco or auto throttle mode to off while the freezer starts. Sometimes the generator can't ramp up fast enough for the startup load


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## simple.serf (Dec 29, 2014)

Onan made their cck and j series engines with a tri fuel option. They are getting older now, but are probably one of the best small gensets made. I have personally seen a tri fuel with over 9k hours without a rebuild. I use a militarized diesel version of the jb to backup our place. Just another idea.


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## maple1 (Dec 31, 2014)

begreen said:


> The second issue is power output vs fuel consumption. Champion propane gens are in the 3.5-6KW range. That is serious overkill and overkill means too much fuel consumption. When the power is out for an extended period this is important.


 
This times 1000.

I would estimate that the majority of people who have generators for backup power have one that is way too big. I used to be one until it kind of hit me one day what good is having a genator running putting out over 5000 watts when I am only using less than 1000 and it will be out of gas in 5 hours? Shiney powerful  machine is not much good when the tank runs dry & the gas station isn't pumping because it has no power (if I can even get there in the storm I'm in the middle of). Having one hooked up to a big propane tank or fuel oil tank might take some of that issue way, but you're still using fuel VERY inefficiently.


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## Highbeam (Dec 31, 2014)

maple1 said:


> This times 1000.
> 
> I would estimate that the majority of people who have generators for backup power have one that is way too big. I used to be one until it kind of hit me one day what good is having a genator running putting out over 5000 watts when I am only using less than 1000 and it will be out of gas in 5 hours? Shiney powerful  machine is not much good when the tank runs dry & the gas station isn't pumping because it has no power (if I can even get there in the storm I'm in the middle of). Having one hooked up to a big propane tank or fuel oil tank might take some of that issue way, but you're still using fuel VERY inefficiently.


 
Your generator isn't putting out 5000 watts when you are only using 1000. It is only putting out 1000. You have a big, inefficient, engine screaming along at 3600 rpm that is capable of making 5000 when you only need 1000. These engines use less fuel when loaded lightly but it's not a huge drop.

My champion 3500 is only 6 HP and the 5 gallon tank will last well over 12 hours. That's not great but is totally managable using my regular supply of gas cans that I already have for lawnmower duty in the summer. To use less fuel per hour requires a very large equipment investment that is really not wise since a backup power source will only be used on occasion. If your specific situation indicates that you need to be able to run a genset for 100 hours straight then you just keep that amount of fuel on hand. Operating costs of an emergency genset are not important, running out of fuel is a failure on your part to prepare. 

Your point about not oversizing the genset is a good one. I chose my 3500 watt champion because it was the smallest 240 volt genset available.


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## begreen (Dec 31, 2014)

Our old genset is 220v 4.8KW. In use I shut off all 220VAC loads so it was just dealing with the 110V circuits. It worked ok, but often was working at 10-15% capacity, but it sure did like gas. A 5 gal tank would last about 6-8 hrs. During the large windstorm that knocked out the main lines coming from dams we were without power for 6 days. And so were our local gas stations and large areas around us. I ran the generator 2 hrs in the morning and 2 hrs in the evening and eked it out because we had 10 gal of gas on hand. But that's about all I will normally store. Power came on in town in 3 days so I could then get more gas, but it could have been worse.

Sh!t happens here and in a large disaster we are a tiny spec of concern next to Seattle and Tacoma. A big earthquake could leave us on our own for a couple weeks. So now I want to have a couple weeks of fuel on hand in case of a very serious emergency. Switching to a just right sized genset and having fuel options helps. Our frugal Yamaha goes 9 hrs on 1.6gal at 25% load. With the multi-fuel options of propane and gas I think we will be covered.


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## maple1 (Dec 31, 2014)

Highbeam said:


> Your generator isn't putting out 5000 watts when you are only using 1000. It is only putting out 1000. You have a big, inefficient, engine screaming along at 3600 rpm that is capable of making 5000 when you only need 1000. These engines use less fuel when loaded lightly but it's not a huge drop.
> 
> My champion 3500 is only 6 HP and the 5 gallon tank will last well over 12 hours. That's not great but is totally managable using my regular supply of gas cans that I already have for lawnmower duty in the summer. To use less fuel per hour requires a very large equipment investment that is really not wise since a backup power source will only be used on occasion. If your specific situation indicates that you need to be able to run a genset for 100 hours straight then you just keep that amount of fuel on hand. Operating costs of an emergency genset are not important, running out of fuel is a failure on your part to prepare.
> 
> Your point about not oversizing the genset is a good one. I chose my 3500 watt champion because it was the smallest 240 volt genset available.


 
All very true - but keeping enough fuel on hand is very much easier if you only burn a liter per hour vs. a gallon (roughly speaking). Which was the tipping point for me. So I got a 3500w inverter genny, and sold the old 5500/8500 8hp Craftsman for half of what I paid for the new one. It will run all we need to with some power to spare, in an outage.

I've got buddies who have Champions, they like them. Do the non-inverter Champions vary engine speed with loads like an inverter does? Don't think my buddies do, but I didn't investigate fully. That was the main reason for considering an inverter when I made the switch - it wasn't just the clean power, although that was a secondary consideration.


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## Highbeam (Dec 31, 2014)

maple1 said:


> All very true - but keeping enough fuel on hand is very much easier if you only burn a liter per hour vs. a gallon (roughly speaking). Which was the tipping point for me. So I got a 3500w inverter genny, and sold the old 5500/8500 8hp Craftsman for half of what I paid for the new one. It will run all we need to with some power to spare, in an outage.
> 
> I've got buddies who have Champions, they like them. Do the non-inverter Champions vary engine speed with loads like an inverter does? Don't think my buddies do, but I didn't investigate fully. That was the main reason for considering an inverter when I made the switch - it wasn't just the clean power, although that was a secondary consideration.


 
3500 is plenty of power for most but you can't get an inverter 3500 that makes 240 so I am stuck with the non-inverter. No they don't idle down relative to demand like inverters. That's how they make 60 HZ, it just so happens that 3600 rpm is 60 HZ so that's how they run all the time. Cleanest power from the inverter, quietest running from an inverter, and lowest fuel consumption from an inverter genset. My 3500 watt Champion cost 249$ and has been run regularly for the last 7 years and is quite good in terms of clean power, quiet, and gph. There's a big difference between a contractor 5000 watt genset and a champion 3500. About the same jump in improvement as going from a champion3500 to an inverter.

I run the champion all day long in the bed of a pickup in 90+ temps running an RV air conditioner (way over 50% of genset capacity) and the thing just sings along. Champion makes a 2800 or so watt inverter set that I threatened to buy recently. Still no 240 though.


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## Village Idiot (Jan 1, 2015)

Big generators can be thirsty. That is why I have a small HF unit to run just my blower. I love that thing. It is a $90 portable outlet. For a 2-stroke it is not as noisy as you would think. I also run it at the bottom of the basement walkup so the sound is focused straight up which makes it pretty hard to hear. https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/my-gas-generator-set-up.82258/page-2#post-1560211

I got to use the setup yesterday for about 30 minutes when the power went out. There was no need to run the big Champion until the outage were to drag out for hours and the fridge and freezer needed to be run to keep everything cold.


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## woodgeek (Jan 2, 2015)

I have run my fridge and my 1/3 hp sump on the same '700W' HF genny (not at the same time) and never had a problem.

I turn off the icemaker.


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## velvetfoot (Jan 2, 2015)

I've run my oil boiler, fridge, tv, lights, wood stove blower also on that same HF 2 stroke.  Not at the same time of course.  I did notice that the motors for the oil burner and insert kind of pulsated, which wasn't comforting.


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## Treacherous (Sep 3, 2015)

Old thread resurrection...

This kit had good reviews on the EU2000i forums so decided to finally convert one to propane.  I notice this company was recommend years back in this thread as well.

https://www.propanecarbs.com/honda-eu2000-tri-fuel-conversion.html

I usually have lots of gas at at cabin so don't plan to convert that one but home one where not as much gas will be the one for conversion.  It looks pretty quick to convert.  Good tip to know about starting with gas in colder weather.


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## xman23 (Sep 3, 2015)

That honda 2000 is on every street vendors cart in NYC. You can hardly hear the running. They look beat up, but purring away. I would have gone that route but they are pricey.


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## DBCOOPER (Apr 6, 2018)

Update to an old thread. The Honda EU2000i is now the EU2200i. This is the most interesting propane conversion I have seen to date...
https://hutchmountain.com/products....-Bi-Fuel-Conversion-Kit/p/50556235/category=0

Nothing hanging from the generator.


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