Diesel generators

[Guest Revelator]

I'm in the market for a portable diesel generator and would like some feedback. Do not want gasoline; would rather pay more for diesel which is longer lasting and more durable. 4000 watts or so. Just something to power basic stuff around the house during a prolonged outage. Fridge, laundry, window ac unit, heater, a few lightbulbs, things like that. I realize on 4000 watts I couldn't run all those at the same time, but I could run at least a couple at a time and just alternate. This extreme heat has gotten me thinking about this kind of thing. Just as bad would be an ice storm in the winter. Hate to be without power for one of those.

Anyway I want quality. Preferably not commie made or too loud. (I've looked at a lot of generators online and I can't tell where any of them are manufactured. You'd think if they were made in USA they'd say so.) My budget's about a grand. Who has experiences with diesel generators? I found an Amico generator on Amazon for 999 with shipping. The company's actually called Amico USA so perhaps their product isn't made in some commie sweatshop. Anyway, any feedback you got let me know.

[kb4ns]

I can't help you with any info on diesel units, but I can definitely say you've got the right idea. The wife and I have had a window unit in the bedroom for years (can't sleep unless it's freezing cold). Last summer, something happened and the power was out for a few days (don't recall what the event was). My gas generator ran the fridge, the bedroom TV, the laptop, and the window AC unit. It was that point that I realized what a great investment a generator was!

[VolunteerGuns]

If your willing to drop the dough, an automatic LPG or NG generator is the way to go. No refueling and no starting up by hand. You can get 8kW for around 2,200. Double cost - but double power and lot less to mess with than diesel or gasoline. Power goes out this baby fires up on its own.

Should virtually run a whole home with the exception of CHA.

[tnhawk]

Sams had a 10KW gas w/electric start for about $1000 several months ago. Motor was by Honda. They had a diesel model also, seems it was a few KW and dollars less. A 5KW is about the smallest I would want to have. I've found that as long as you have one ready to run, you never seem to need it.

[G27]

For portable, tri-fuel is the way to go, imo.

For fixed install, a NG unit is nice, but Generac is junk. Get a B&S at a minimum.

[seez52]

I bought one off craigslist about a year ago. 8000Kw with a propane conversion, had less than an hour on it. Supposed to run NG also if used without the regulator. Its a gasoline model but has never had any gas in it. You'll get less output from LP and even less from NG compared to gasoline. I ran it about an hour last summer switching various things off and on in the house to see how it performed. Everything worked fine except my microwave made a different sound when running on the gen. Not sure what that was all about, it still seemed to work ok.

Also discovered that your regular old home NG gas meter won't run anything but a small gen, and you have to have a pretty big pipe coming off of it.

I originally wanted a diesel also, but figured it would be easier to keep some LP tanks full than having diesel in storage. And the diesel units I found were pricey.

[Guest Lester Weevils]

LP seems the safest high-capacity way to go for a residential unit. Every time I've been in a longish power failure has been in severe winter when natural gas pressure can fall, and possibly could stop entirely if the line power was off long enough.

Safe storage of large amounts of gasoline or diesel is expensive, and who wants unsafe storage of a hundred gallons or more?

[jughead]

this old man votes for propane. have a big gasoline gen. messed with fuel for several years. changed it every year to keep if fairly fresh. converted to propane and a 500 gallon underground tank. it is military surplus and can run my whole house minus the electric stove for about 6 days 24-7. will run the stove just have to turn a couple of things off. propane doesnt get stale. if one doesnt develope a leak one is good for quite a while.

[Guest db99wj]

I too have been thinking, not seriously, but thinking about getting a generator. Regular gas sucks. I ran into bad gas, that I just put in at the end of last year, the first of this year. So my gas went bad over the winter, just a few months. I put some stabil in my can, mower, weedeater, blower, and all started back up except for my weedeater (I think I have a carbeurator issue there). Anyway, Gas seems to be, and becoming more so a pain in the butt. Diesel or NG/propane seems to be the better alternative.

[Guest jackdm3]

Can we add another item to the search criteria to be considered?: "Low noise" if there is such a thing.

I'm thinking something so bothersome may have the neighbors pointing their firearms in the direction of the homeowner after several days of sleeploss, not to mention the sound pinpointing its location to the roving criminal element.

[kckndrgn]

Yamaha makes low-noise, but you're gonna pay for that.

db00wj - It's the ethonal that's getting put into gas now that's playing havock with the small carbs. Starting the engine for just a few minutes each month when not in "season" helps to reduce the problem.

I bought a gas only generator (hey, it was on clearance at HD for $400.00 a couple of years ago). Soon after I added a tri-fuel kit to it. This allows me to run LPG, NG or Gas. I got my kit from here Generator Conversion Kits to Propane and Natural Gas. had it converted in about 15 min. I try to run my generator for 15-30 min each month. Then I top off the gas tank to reduce the amount of air in the tank (less air, less condensation).

Diesel gennys are nice, they last longer, run at a lower RPM. But, I have no other diesel motors so for me, it didn't make any sense to have a diesel generator and have to store another type of gas. I keep several 5 gal gas cans on hand and they get rotated throughout the year. I have 2 2gal and 1 1 gal cans as well. The 1 gal is for mixed gas for the weed eater & chainsaw. The 2 2 gal cans are for the lawn mower. I split one 5 gal can into the 3 cans then refill the 5 gal and treat it with StaBil.

If you want to quiet a noisy genny there are some youtube vids and websites that detail using a small auto muffler to quiet the engine down. Also secure anything loose on the genny itself. The handle for mine "clanks" on the frame when running so I use a small clamp to secure it, anything to reduce the sound.

I've also thought about experimenting with making box to go around the genny when running. about 5ft tall, open top with some small vents near the bottom for airflow. The box would help direct the sound up, in theory, then I would put the unit under a tree, hoping the leaves/branches would breakup the sound enough to make it harder to pinpoint. don't know if it would work, but that's the theory.

[Guest Lester Weevils]

Definitely, low noise. I unwisely didn't research enough before buying a made in usa medium sized coleman portable generator a decade ago, and it is a loud booger. Way too loud for 'stealth' operation fer sure. Have wondered if a small car or motorcycle muffler could be put on it.

Another issue to check on is power quality. There are some models that deliver a pretty clean sine wave, and other models put out such a nasty waveform that you risk hooking up stuff like computers to them, and the spikes on the waveform will eat a conventional computer voltage regulator for lunch, so you can't just use a cheepie voltage regulator to clean it up for computer use.

I looked at the waveform on my coleman, by taking a 12.6 volt filament transformer as an isolation transformer and looking at it with oscilloscope. It was a sine wave with IIRC 16 big ole spikes of several hundred volts sitting on the wave. Apparently one spike for each break in the armature contact sleeve in the generator. The only thing that can quell those kind of spikes and survive are big old heavy old fashioned ferro-magnetic voltage regulators. I bought a surplus FR regulator so I could run puters off the generator, but it would have made a lot more sense to spend (a lot) more bucks and buy a generator that delivers clean power.

Just bought the generator on a whim then learned the details later on. How I found out about FR regulators-- Called around and found one of the few companies that still makes em new, and the engineer was telling how they had been selling lots of them to the military for Bosnia at that time, because the military had been smoking so many computers on portable generators out in the field.

[Guest jackdm3]

Now we're talkin'.

[mikegideon]

For portable, tri-fuel is the way to go, imo.

For fixed install, a NG unit is nice, but Generac is junk. Get a B&S at a minimum.

Once again, Crimson speaks the truth. I've bought and deployed a LOT of gensets in my life. I can't see a good reason to go with Diesel on such a small unit.

[nightrunner]

another thought would be to get some solar panels for the primary backup power source and use the generator only when you lose the solar power. might need a battery bank for it though, I havent really looked into it seriously

[oldogy]

IMO, very hard to justify a diesel genset for residential standby use. Duribility and longivity just not a factor here. Run time is not going to be that much. You do not have to go to diesel to get quality. Gasoline and diesel both have long term storage issues, go bad.

That said, I have a 7kw run, 8500 kw surge 18 HP Honda gasoline powered unit......noisey as all get out.

If I were buying a unit for home standby and had no plans to move in the near future I do believe I would go with LP, installed with a switch panel........Especially if a wife and children are in the picture.

What ever you get, set up an exercise program for the unit and stick to it.

oldogy

Edited August 17, 2010 by oldogy

[partypilot1]

Cheapest for the KW is got to be used military diesel generators. Set up an account with Government Liquidation, there you can bid on a used diesel generator and get a good deal

[56FordGuy]

Can we add another item to the search criteria to be considered?: "Low noise" if there is such a thing.

I'm thinking something so bothersome may have the neighbors pointing their firearms in the direction of the homeowner after several days of sleeploss, not to mention the sound pinpointing its location to the roving criminal element.

Honda makes a gas powered generator that's incredibly quiet. I was at a truck show where a vendor was using one, and I stood right beside the generator for a few minutes before I realized it was even running. I haven't priced them, but I'd guess the silence commands a premium price.