Whole house generator follow-up (fuel use)

[blackhat]

As mentioned above, temp is important. At minus 40, a 1000 gallon tank would not run long at full load before you had fuel starvation. Lots of fuel in the tank but you can’t vapourize it fast enough. Your gen supplier should have data for your region.

[Arlin Eastman]

Couple of years ago I posted a thread about a generator for my new house and got some good advice about size, etc.

Wife's health issues got in the way and I'm just now picking up where I was.

Looks like a 20 KW unit is what I'll need for a long-term outage (also getting advice from professional installer).

How much propane should I anticipate using per day?  House is well-insulated, 1600 sf ground floor with half of the basement occupied. LED lights, heat pump.  I anticipate turning off water heater until needed, then turning off heat pump until we're clean and starting heat pump back up.

So who has some experience in fuel consumption of similar units?  What size tank is best choice? We've got good service out here.

I have been looking at this for years and did that much worth of research soooo

If I may suggest to get a good battery back up also.  That way the generator will only kick on when the batteries need recharged and not running all the time.

Last around here it is easy to get 1000 gallon tanks and plan on getting another one that runs the house now like its own dedicated tank.

[Arlin Eastman]

I tried to buy a tank... that was a fruitless waste of time. The only thing I could find was Chicom made tanks online. Nobody would sell me an American made tank. So, we're leasing the tank. It's 120 gal but I believe they only put in 100 gal.

It's kind of a racket. All we run off the tank is a fireplace at this point. Considering adding another regulator for a grill or maybe converting the Generator to propane. But the propane guys have to install the regulator. If they show up to fill the tank and there's a new regulator, they wont fill the tank. Also need a permit for any new appliances off the tank and a licensed gas fitter has to do the work. The tank guys wouldn't even put in the tank without seeing the permit for the fireplace plumbing. <- these were the easiest guys to deal with... and the cheapest. I got a wide range of prices for leasing a tank. Anywhere from $6 to $14 a month. No regrets at $6 a month. I poured the pad.

A Thailand or China mfg tank was in the $1200 range. That's 200 months at $6 a month. It's cheaper to lease than buy and they will do any repairs. They also garantee same day service if I buy their gas. We burned 20 gallons from basically Christmas to Christmas.

So $6.00 a month and 15 gallons in 1 year. 10ft from windows/doors or elect meter. A horizontal tank wouldn't work against the house.

We did that for the first 3 years building my house and found that they could charge any amount they pleased and it was usually .50 cents more per gallon then the other suppliers of PNG and at the cost of filling up it adds up.  Also we went thru A LOG of PNG and asked them why after 6 months of me complaining and filling up twice they checked it and it was leaking like a sieve.

I bought a used 1000 gallon tank and told them to pick up their piece of junk and to reimburse me 6 months of propane but they did 1 months worth and after talking small claims court they paid the other 5 months.

[crokett™]

I have a 10kw generator.  325 gallon tank but they only fill it to like 80% or somesuch.  based on usage data I figure on about 100 hours of run time at max fullness.  Probably less if it's cold out.

[Stwood_]

Used tanks from individuals, farm sales and such can be bought in this area for about a $1 a gallon capacity.

[vernonator]

Used tanks from individuals, farm sales and such can be bought in this area for about a $1 a gallon capacity.

The advantage to a leased tank is the propane company is responsible for the tank. We had a 1000 gal tank at our last house, after one fill the pressure relief valve failed and vented the entire tank. The Propane company replaced the valve AND refilled the tank on their dime. This was when propane was in the $3/gal range so it was NOT an insignificant amount.

[BrentDH]

I am surprised no one here has mentioned burying the propane tank.  We have a buried 500 gallon tank and I would not have it any other way.  Those big tanks are a bit of an eyesore and it would be nice to avoid having to look at it if you can.

[Stwood_]

The advantage to a leased tank is the propane company is responsible for the tank. We had a 1000 gal tank at our last house, after one fill the pressure relief valve failed and vented the entire tank. The Propane company replaced the valve AND refilled the tank on their dime. This was when propane was in the $3/gal range so it was NOT an insignificant amount.

Very true and in your case, saved you a lot of coin.
With a leased tank, you also pay more for your LP than a tank owner does. They do that here and that is the rental fee.
We have 3 500g tanks, and own all of them.

I am surprised no one here has mentioned burying the propane tank.  We have a buried 500 gallon tank and I would not have it any other way.  Those big tanks are a bit of an eyesore and it would be nice to avoid having to look at it if you can.

Yes, those are nice, but very expensive to an above ground. Then you have the installation cost.

[Admiral]

Wow, reading all of this makes me happy that I have a natural gas line in my area and can basically run as long as necessary. I guess I'd have to stop to change the oil if it went for more than two weeks. After the N'oreaster Irene, and Hurricane Sandy in NJ, I was out for 10 and 14 days, respectively. Best upgrade to the house I ever made, as I have outages about 5 times a year, always under 12 hours, as my power company does no preventive maintenance and just waits for something to fail . . . . and its gotten worse this year - just this fall three other neighbors put in whole house generators. Unit of choice around here is Kohler - basically for the engine as its known for its reliability.

[EightFingers]

I am surprised no one here has mentioned burying the propane tank.  We have a buried 500 gallon tank and I would not have it any other way.  Those big tanks are a bit of an eyesore and it would be nice to avoid having to look at it if you can.

Not always advisable. Ground water pressure can push the tank to the surface.