# Generator: how much gas per hour



## LightHouse Lady

do they use? I have a 5,000 watt generator and it doesn't say anywhere.

Ball park figure?

Thanks,
LHL


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## JGex

Put a gallon of gas in it and run it until it runs out. That's what we did to figure out ours.



Edit to add: and be sure to have it hooked up to power something so you have draw on it.


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## Gary in ohio

That will vary from generator to generator. gas vs diesel vs lp amount of load
Your typical coleman 5kw generator with briggs and straton engine will burn about a gallon/hour. Get the oddball cheap Chinese generators and your going to burn more.
Get a good honda and burn less.


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## LightHouse Lady

yep, I thought of that, but given that people have used theirs recently, thought they would know. 



Ah, thanks, Gary. It is a Honda so that gives me at least an idea.

LHL


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## AngieM2

Brand and size and load and quality would all have a bearing on this.

Why don't you list what type and size of generator you have, and what fuel it runs = then someone may have the same thing and can give you an answer.

Angie


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## fordy

LightHouse Lady said:


> do they use? I have a 5,000 watt generator and it doesn't say anywhere.
> 
> Ball park figure?
> 
> Thanks,
> LHL



...................Good question ! As has already been stated , Under load it'll burn about 1 gallon per hour . Without a load it should burn less ; actually , IT should only be running IF it is working , otherwise it should be turned off . 
...................For long term usage , 24\7 a small diesel genset is THE ONLY solution . My emplyer currently provides me with power from just such a unit . It is an 8kw unit , with a 3 cylinder 12 HP Kubota engine connected too an 8kw generator made in Croatia . He buys them 5 at a time so My guess is he pays about 3500 a piece . Purchased singley they'll run a round 5500 or so . They are mounted on a small trailer with a 100 gallon fuel tank which will last ~ 10 days before they need a refill . This unit would be perfect for a home with no power for days or several weeks . Diesel , if treated can last up to 3 years and still be usable . , fordy


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## LightHouse Lady

I am at work, so had to look up the generator online since I couldn't remember it. It is a Honda 5,000w Generator. The stats:

120/240 Volts, 5000 Watts 
337cc OHV recoil engine 
74dB noise level 
8.3 hrs. run time @ 1/2 load 
Model# EB5000XK2 

I don't know what the load would be, but I have a transfer switch and the entire house is on it. I use only what I need, but the refrigerator, freezer would be running.

Thanks everyone for helping... I can of course run it when I have a reason... and there will be this winter as always.

LHL


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## BRYAN

During our recent Gustov preparedness shakedown (I made it home on leave gustov +3) we used our coleman 2500 surge generator for a week and averaged about 4 hours running to the gallon. Ten gallons of gas kept the freezer frozen and the few appliances we needed operational all week. We filled it every morning and every evening and each tank ran approximately three hours. My experience with a 10hp Briggs and Stratton suggest that the gallon per hour under close to full load is correct. My friend has a Generator exactly like yours and he runs from 1 1/2 to 2 hrs per gallon of gas under a reasonable load. You have , by the way, a fine generator that should last a long time as a backup power source. As much as twice as long as a B&S powered one all things being equal.


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## B Adams

We have a chinese generator, 6500 w and we ran 2 freezers and 1refridgerator, fan and lamp 10 hours on 5 gals.

B Adams


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## Oldcountryboy

I'd have to go out to the shed to see just what brand name my generator is but I do remember it is a 5000 w. generator and has a 5 gallon tank on it. A couple of winters ago when I bought it during a ice storm that knocked out our power, a full tank would last about 8 hours. So that's little more then a hours worth per gallon.


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## TC

our generator is an 5000 watt Generac and it ran 10 hours on 6 gallons @ half load. Hope that helps.


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## LizKapoor

Our generator was rated at 11hrs at half load with a 6.3 gallon tank. So that is 1.75Gallons an hour.


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## Ernie

A gallon per hour is a very good ballpark figure for most mid-size generators. I've had 2500 watt ones up to 5000 watt ones and they all run about that on a decent load.

They're not cheap to run.


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## biggkidd

I've put more hours on generators than I care to remember. From living off grid 6 years now. Worn out several. Here's the deal from what I have learned. A loaded generator doesn't burn much more than a half loaded gen so when you have to run it load it down but don't overload it. I ran several tests with brands and types of gas. Mostly with briggs engines. With ours it would run loaded for about 8 hours on 5 gallons of regular. Better yet it will run about 12 hours on 5 gallons of good premium loaded. So better gas will make a big difference. Now if you really want to stretch your fuel get an inverter generator like a Honda EU 2000. That one is real small but the inverter generators only run as hard as needed for the load they have where a regular gen runs 3600 rpm constant.

Larry


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## terri9630

LightHouse Lady said:


> I am at work, so had to look up the generator online since I couldn't remember it. It is a Honda 5,000w Generator. The stats:
> 
> 120/240 Volts, 5000 Watts
> 337cc OHV recoil engine
> 74dB noise level
> *8.3 hrs. run time @ 1/2 load*
> Model# EB5000XK2
> 
> I don't know what the load would be, but I have a transfer switch and the entire house is on it. I use only what I need, but the refrigerator, freezer would be running.
> 
> Thanks everyone for helping... I can of course run it when I have a reason... and there will be this winter as always.
> 
> LHL


It sorta does tell you what it uses. It will run for 8.3 hours on one tank of gas at half a load. A bit more on full load. How much gas that actually is depends on the size of your gas tank. 8 gal tank would be 1gal per hour.


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## ksfarmer

It's a lot cheaper to buy electricity than it is to make it yourself. Found this out after a four day outage and having to power a 20,000kw with a farm tractor.
edit: no choice in the matter tho.


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## Dixie Bee Acres

LizKapoor said:


> Our generator was rated at 11hrs at half load with a 6.3 gallon tank. So that is 1.75Gallons an hour.


Ummm, you might want to skim through the thread asking for help with math.....


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## Ohio Rusty

My 5000 watt generator will use 5 gallons on a 12 to 13 hour run straight through .....
Ohio Rusty ><>

"Control the food, you control the people .... Control oil, and you control nations .....: Henry Kissinger 1970


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## Buttonball

I've also gotten about 8 hours run time on a 5kw consumer generator topped off with 5 or 6 gallons of regular unleaded. That was running just a refrigerator and an air conditioner. If I could do it over with current technology, I'd get a good inverter, and a good 12v fridges and fans.


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## simi-steading

ksfarmer said:


> It's a lot cheaper to buy electricity than it is to make it yourself. Found this out after a four day outage and having to power a 20,000kw with a farm tractor.
> edit: no choice in the matter tho.


Not if you get free gas from a well on your property to feed your generator with


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## LightHouse Lady

Given that I started this thread 5 years ago, glad to see folks are still giving great feedback and advice.


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