# Estimated Costs of Generator Power



## Ernie (Jul 22, 2007)

Yesterday while listening to the hum of the generator, I came up with some numbers I thought I'd share with you.

My 6500kW generator can power just about the entire house (so long as I don't kick on the air conditioner). It runs on gasoline. I paid about $700 for it.

Gasoline runs at roughly $4.00 per gallon here right now. The generator tank holds 7.2 gallons.

According to the manual, it will run for 10 straight hours on a full tank of gas.

That's $28.80 to fill her up, and the operating cost is $2.88 per hour, give or take variations in the fuel quality, height above sealevel, etc. 

As an interesting aside, according to the electric company's website, the average cost for 1 kilowatt hour is $0.50. So if my generator is producing 6 of those, am I in fact generating my own power cheaper than it's being delivered to me?

Electricity is not my area of specialty. I know just enough about it not to touch the red wire.


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## mightybooboo (Feb 10, 2004)

50 cents a Kw/hr?????

Mine is 13 and Ive heard thats on the high side.

You use exactly 6.5 kw/hrs when your machine is running? Bet ya dont.

So,30 dollars a day,30 days a month,900 month for 10 hours of energy a day? 

I see no bargains here......


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## Wags (Jun 2, 2002)

Hubby and I have been mulling over getting a generator - thanks for the numbers. Wonder how big of a generator we would need.


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## tkrabec (Mar 12, 2003)

6.5 kw (for ease of use) Your Generator
A few questions
How often & how much oil does it take + Filter
What is the life expectancy of the generator in hrs? 1,000 10,000 hrs?

I'll assume that 10 hr run is at 50%
so you get 10*6.5*.5 = 32.5Kw for 2.88+Oil + Filter costs + Generator costs
I get about $0.0886/kwh
 we pay 10-12 cents/kwh here possibly a bit more.


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## whodunit (Mar 29, 2004)

Like Ernie, I'm not an electric guy, but I thought 50 cents KWH didn't sound right either. I think we are at 8 cents.


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## barnyardfun (Mar 26, 2005)

Ernie said:


> Electricity is not my area of specialty. I know just enough about it not to touch the red wire.


:happy0035:LOL, Ernie! That is about the same way here although I lost count of how many times DH has zapped himself!! I think he is starting to learn to JUST LEAVE IT ALONE!!!

We woke up this morning to our power line about five foot off the ground! Guess the wind played jump rope with it last night and broke the support cable loose. 

Sorry back to the OP. I highly doubt running the ginnie is anywhere near cheaper then on the grid BUT it sure sounds like cheap insurance the have it as a backup! Hope y'all get hooked back up soon.


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## Ernie (Jul 22, 2007)

tkrabec said:


> 6.5 kw (for ease of use) Your Generator
> A few questions
> How often & how much oil does it take + Filter
> What is the life expectancy of the generator in hrs? 1,000 10,000 hrs?
> ...


Don't have the answer to those questions, but the 10 hr run IS at 50% load, the manual says. 

I don't know how the generator works, so maybe y'all can enlighten me.

When I power it up, am I generating the full 6.5kw or am I only generating what is needed? In other words, is excess going to waste since I'm burning gasoline anyway?

Looking back at the site where I got the $0.50 figure, I can see I read it wrong. It's citing an average $0.0050 per hour. That didn't absorb right with a quick glance. 

I can't find much more specific information. Looking at my electric bill, it shows me a base price of $0.12 per hour but that's before they add about 7 or 8 cents in surcharges. I'm not real clear on what that is.

Regardless, I like having a generator anyway. Our power here this year has been extremely unreliable, often going off for an hour or less but several times going off for more than 4 (and for no visible reason). Just part of living out in the sticks, I reckon.


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## mightybooboo (Feb 10, 2004)

Yikes!! 

Nothing personal but I dont want to go to math classes with you guys!

Lets say you are producing 3 kilowatts/hour at 50% load, Times 10 hrs is 30 kilowatt/hours(30,000 watts for one hour) .At 20 cents a kilowatt/hr (HIGH figuring) thats 6 bucks from the power company. For the ten hours electric your genny is making for about 30 dollars.

Or this,you are making 30 kilowatts in 10 hours for 30 dollars,Im coming in at about 1 dollar per kilowatt for genny power.


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## texican (Oct 4, 2003)

If memory serves me right, if your load starts getting above a certain point (50%?) the engine starts pulling harder... get up to 100% and your fuel consumption gets higher.

Hope ya'lls grid comes back soon.... might want to look at your manual and see how often oil/filter needs a'changing. Most regular gennies aren't designed for full time usage, and using em full time (esp. if the oil and filter aren't changed) will wear them out quickly.

Nothing beats grid power for costs... if one only looked at the price of fuel consumed in genny power, one would be mistaken... the lifetime of the genny itself should be taken into consideration. A genny that costs a thousand, and wears out quickly, will need to have that 'cost/hour' figured in.

I'm saving up for a whole house genny, one designed for long term usage. Alas, they're around 4K. When I do get one, I'll get a stockpile of oil filters...


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## Harry Chickpea (Dec 19, 2008)

When you run a generator, it has a governor that attempt to keep the speed constant, so that your power will be 60 Hz, like your equipment wants. There will be variation, unlike the power a power company supplies. In a few cases, that can shorten equipment life. Anyway, under a no-load condition, only a minimal amount of gasoline is used to keep it up to speed. When the draw on the power increases, more gas is fed in to keep the speed up. You can often hear this, sometimes it may even "bark".

If you heat water with propane, and have a gas stove, yeah, your generator could supply your whole house. It can also power a 5000 BTU room air conditioner safely.

Remember that the generator exhaust is dangerous. One thing above the carbon monoxide danger, is that you may get a scratchy throat just from running the generator, refueling, and otherwise tending to it. If you can make a stack for the exhaust to get it up in the air and away from you, your lungs will thank you.


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## InvalidID (Feb 18, 2011)

What is the difference between a 2 phase and a 3 phase gennie? I have an old Kohler 3phase that everyone seems to want, but I love it and it stays with me.
As far as I can tell, the engine RPMs are more constant but that is all I know so far.


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## Harry Chickpea (Dec 19, 2008)

Tesla was the absolute genius that devised polyphase or multiphase generators. Describing the full differences would take a book. In short:

Two phase: Power is generated or transformed through a single coil of wire. Instead of just tapping the two ends of the wire, there is a center tap. If you tap the two ends, you get 240 volts. If you tap one end and the center you get 120 volts. If you tap the other end and the center, you get 120 volts. For home use, this is fairly simple, and the way almost all homes are wired.

Three phase: I am going to give this short shrift intentionally. There are two main configurations. In one three coils radiate from a common center. In the other, three coils are daisy chained end to end in a loop. Depending on the windings, you can get a variety of voltages. 110, 220, 440 etc. The sine waves lead each other in an overlapping fashion. A primary reason for the use of three phase is that motors using three phase have tremendous torque (especially starting torque) and CANNOT run backwards. That is the main "need to know" info.


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## Darren (May 10, 2002)

$2.88 cost per hour divided by 3.75KW (50% load) = about 77 cents per kilowatt hour. Cost around here (WV) is under 10 cents per kwhr.

If you could run at full load (6.5 kw) for ten hours on a tank, your cost would be 33.5 cents per kilowatt hour. You might want to consider a natural gas conversion to lower the cost of operation. If you do that, you'll get something less than 6.5 kw out of the generator. Your fuel cost should be around 20 cents per kilowatt hour or less. If you live in a cheap area for natural gas, maybe around 10 cents per kilowatt hour.


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## InvalidID (Feb 18, 2011)

Harry Chickpea said:


> Tesla was the absolute genius that devised polyphase or multiphase generators. Describing the full differences would take a book. In short:
> 
> Two phase: Power is generated or transformed through a single coil of wire. Instead of just tapping the two ends of the wire, there is a center tap. If you tap the two ends, you get 240 volts. If you tap one end and the center you get 120 volts. If you tap the other end and the center, you get 120 volts. For home use, this is fairly simple, and the way almost all homes are wired.
> 
> Three phase: I am going to give this short shrift intentionally. There are two main configurations. In one three coils radiate from a common center. In the other, three coils are daisy chained end to end in a loop. Depending on the windings, you can get a variety of voltages. 110, 220, 440 etc. The sine waves lead each other in an overlapping fashion. A primary reason for the use of three phase is that motors using three phase have tremendous torque (especially starting torque) and CANNOT run backwards. That is the main "need to know" info.


 Ok, that was way over my head. Really interesting to know though. I suppose I should have asked it this way. Why is a 3 phase genset advantageous.
From what you've said above I'm thinking it works out like this: 
A 3 phase gennie runs at lower RPMs as the extra coils would produce more power at lower speed. This is why the engine needs more torque? This would also explain why my genset seems to run at a much lower and constant speed. Right?


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## AngieM2 (May 10, 2002)

{Harry - check out
http://www.teslamotors.com/
since you mentioned Tesla}


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## Wags (Jun 2, 2002)

So can anyone point me to a good site that would help us figure out just how big of a gennie we would need to run our house? 

My biggest concern is keeping the well pump going and the frig. After that would be hot water heater and the stove both of which are electric.


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## shawnlee (Apr 13, 2010)

A quick thing to mention......

Natural gas is tops when it comes to genny use......it burns cleaner{longer gen life} and stores practically forever, unlike gas which has a very limited shelf life. Natural gas is subject to tank leaks...other than that it can be stored practically forever.

When running a genny it provides more power potential than is used in most cases and also burns more fuel than is needed for said power.....a bank of batteries like a solar set up is ideal when using the genny....all extra potential power is stored for later use, reducing genny run time,wear and tear and fuel, and making more bang for the buck in terms of fuel used and hours on the genny.

A hybrid system of just a few solar panels to keep the batteries topped off and a genny that runs when more power/ charge is needed will give the best bang for the buck invested and can be had far cheaper than a stand alone solar/ wind system, with room for future growth.

For the short term , the smallest genny that will charge the batteries in reasonable time will use less fuel and cost less to buy and replace.....this is not soo good for a long term survival situation where a new genny might be hard to get, but for now it is one of the cheapest ways to get a hybrid system started.

One could have a more industrial genny on reserve in the shed for a survival type scenario that is kept fresh and new to replace the cheaper smaller genny if and when it fails.......

A few solar panels and associated stuff about 500, batteries..about 500 and a cheap small genny about 1000...about 500 for a inverter and about another 500 in associated parts to get it installed is a good start to cheap system to run that will last quite a while.....give or take 1000 bucks depending on size and quality on that price.
A system like this will last longer and be easier on all the parts in the system....

Definatly not the only way or the best way.......but is a cheap entry into a hybrid system that will give some power at a decent price and not break the bank......this is for emergency, primary needs and is not a system to run a 3,000 square foot house at full tilt with everything on at once.

In a emergency power levels will and need to be reduced......in a survival off grid situation power beeds must be reduced.

Like everything it depends on your usage needs......I live in southern cali where power is fairly exspensive and my power bill is only about 30 dollars average a month strictly using power company power....so you can see my needs might be different than others and my system could be fairly small....considering power consumption would be further reduced from this in a emergency/ survival situation.

Just something to think about and look into since the topic has come up to be discussed......thats my 2 wooden nickles worth anyway.


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## Ernie (Jul 22, 2007)

I considered natural gas, but it seemed to be difficult to come by as compared to gasoline where I can just fill up anytime, anywhere.


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## ||Downhome|| (Jan 12, 2009)

ever look into wood gas Ernie? you could still run gas and if you installed a propane carb you could also run that or natural gas possibly methane. 

but for the most part you will not make electricity cheaper then you buy it for. but nice to have a back up.

don't know how you set up but I really like the idea of water battery. not super efficient but pretty low tech. can serve as a cistern and to rise fish also.

the battery bank gen combo is what a lot of folks I know use, they only run the gen when necessary (run the pump or washer) and to top off the batteries sometimes. then run off the batterys for the duration.


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## Callieslamb (Feb 27, 2007)

Wags said:


> So can anyone point me to a good site that would help us figure out just how big of a gennie we would need to run our house?
> 
> My biggest concern is keeping the well pump going and the frig. After that would be hot water heater and the stove both of which are electric.


You go around your house and add up the wattage usage of all the appliances/instruments you want to keep running and that will tell you what size you need. Then you take your check book to the store and start deciding what energy guzzlers you can do without. You don't have to run everything at once - in fact, it's probably best not to. Pick and choose and add up what you can run at the same time without overloading the genny. We just went through that exercise to see what appliances to put on what circuits so we can flip switches at the elec box as needed. 

I don't think generators are best used to run continuously. We plan to run ours to chage up battery packs and use elec from them for the smaller things - like lights an computers. We will add more batteries as we can. We will run the well until the tank is full and then the well gets turned off. Once the well is off -we can run the freezers (or something else) for a while. But the generator is not on all the time - only for short periods. You can do the same with a water heater. Ask yourself what you really need hot water for in an emergency? Can you not produce those smaller amounts more cleaply with a BBQ grill or camp stove? You would be better off with the propane camp stove to cook on than the elec oven anyway. Refrigerators and freezers will keep cold/cool for long periods of time if you keep the doors shut. We have already determined that the fridge is not essential to us. What's in there can be eaten quickly. We will keep the freezers frozen though. Think about what's in your fridge - what absolutely HAS to be cooled? 

Just think it through one step at a time. What to you absolutely have to have and what can you do without?


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## InvalidID (Feb 18, 2011)

Ernie said:


> I considered natural gas, but it seemed to be difficult to come by as compared to gasoline where I can just fill up anytime, anywhere.


 Diesel? I'm thinking of taking my 3 phase head and switching out the Kohler gasser for a nice little diesel. I can grow sunflowers for fuel then.


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## Darren (May 10, 2002)

Ernie said:


> I considered natural gas, but it seemed to be difficult to come by as compared to gasoline where I can just fill up anytime, anywhere.


Do you have natural gas service to your house?


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## NewGround (Dec 19, 2010)

I missed out on a diesel power plant a few years back. It was the big construction type usually sent to remote jobs on a skid, detroit diesel etc.

I'll eventually find one for longer term backup power. For now I'll just use the Miller Big 40 welder when needed. Have a couple of small gas models as backups too.


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## Ernie (Jul 22, 2007)

Darren said:


> Do you have natural gas service to your house?


Yes, but I don't want to hook the generator up to that. Would be exchanging one grid for another in that case, wouldn't I?


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## NewGround (Dec 19, 2010)

Best option is to stop using electricity...


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## zant (Dec 1, 2005)

Diesel-the only way to go-if you have the money for a good QUALITY one...We have a 12.5kw Yanmar w/American made alternator.....not cheap-but it will last far longer than a cheap one.Why diesel?? in a bad situation it will run on different "fuels"-when we lived offgrid,I ran my old 1cyl Onan 6.5kw on used motor oil-filtered and cut 20% w/kerosene-drilled and tapped hole in intake for a propane line-after running for 2-3hrs to recharge batteries-I would flip transfer switch-turn on propane and let run for 10m to spool down and clean out any used oil impurities...worked for 7yrs/sold genny and it's still chugging along 10yrs later providing backup.....Problem with inexpensive gennies is HZ...my Trace SW inverter allowed me to monitor HZ when genny was running-diesel would stay at 59/60 up to full load....Had 2 backups-4.5kw Honda/5.5kw Generac.....Honda would stay at 60HZ until 10amps then drastically fall to 54 at 20amps.....Generac-60HZ until 15amps-then down to 54 at 30 amps.........Our 12.5 stays at 60HZ running central air,pool ,freezer.lights,etc...In an emergency,we immediately put heavy blankets over/around freezer to insulate and only run genny about 4hrs a day..It uses 1/2gal per hour at half load-1g at full.I also allow mine to warm up for 3m before flipping transfer switch and spool down 10m after using......and Mobil 1-5w40syn oil...


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## cast iron (Oct 4, 2004)

Wags said:


> So can anyone point me to a good site that would help us figure out just how big of a gennie we would need to run our house?


I use one of these to determine a particular items actual energy consumption. I've found the energy consumption claimed by the manufacturer of a product is often not very accurate and this cheap meter gives me some good data to use. It of course will only work on items that have a plug. You might be surprised how much energy some of the 'smaller' items throughout the household use.

http://www.amazon.com/P3-International-P4400-Electricity-Monitor/dp/B00009MDBU

This one is a little more expensive but it does some of the math for you.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0..._m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=17PP790P1J23XP3GJZF5


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## Ernie (Jul 22, 2007)

NewGround said:


> Best option is to stop using electricity...


I don't know if you're being sarcastic or not, but that is indeed the correct answer.

95% of the self-generated power goes to keep the freezers from thawing. Frozen vegetables and meat are the primary contents, and this time of year there's not a lot of either. (In winter is when those freezers are full.)

Lights aren't much of an issue as we're perfectly capable of just going to bed when it gets dark. In addition, a handheld lantern works quite well in our smaller house.

Ultimately I think I could reduce our dependence upon electricity to a negligible amount.


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## Harry Chickpea (Dec 19, 2008)

Way too much for me to respond to fully.

Three phase - if you have a shop motor that powers something like a big saw, three phase will give that motor more starting torque. The amount of energy required to run a generator is directly in relation to the friction and heat losses and the amount of power generated. Will the generator have an easier time generating the power? Maybe a little, but not much.

Tesla motors - thanks, been there and am beyond that. I think I did a blog entry on Faraday unipolar DC generators or some links to some. There is a lot of hocus pocus nonsense that is circulating about the properties of Tesla turbines and such. One of the reasons I read old periodicals is to get unspun reports on those old technologies that have been lost.

Best motor/fuel - Automobile engines are remarkably quiet, efficient, and cheap if you by a junk car. A little four cylinder with proper flywheel, governor control, and generator head would be the way to go if you were fulltiming it and had the knowledge and time to do the work. An older auto gas engine can work on gasoline, propane, natural gas, biogas, and woodgas if you make the right carb choices. Although diesel is more efficient, it limits you to biofuel, heating oil, or diesel. Auto engines are reliable and parts are as near as a junkyard or supply store. Home generators change parts and designs frequently and getting parts for older ones can be a problem.

Forestbreath doesn't use electricity. She made a conscious decision to go that route. It is possible.

For most people a cheap 3,000 watt generator is all they will need. Use might be for as long as a week or two, but 99% of the time it will sit idle and rust. Overbuying is foolish. The 850 watt Harbor Freight / Northern generators will usually keep a refrigerator going, along with a few lights and such. It uses a remarkably small amount of gas.


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## ace admirer (Oct 5, 2005)

three phase (each 120 degrees apart) advantages: 1. ease of starting heavy loads, 2. ease of reversing rotational direction of motors,. 3. more constant application of rotational torque. 

none of these apply to household loads. house hold loads are single phase through a center tapped stepdown transformer owned by your power company. this gives two legs of 120 volts each 180 degrees out of phase and is used to give dual voltages at your house (120/240)

all motors on single phase have to have a starting winding added in the motor. three phase motors have by nature of three windings a natural rotating magnetic field (each 120 degrees apart)

in each cycle of a single phase the voltage will go to zero three times. since there are three overlapping waves in three phase, applied voltage never falls very much.

remember history, at one time any house/farm that had electricity had so by way of wind mill, water power, or internal or external combustion engine. it was very expensive to produce in small plants then and still is now. even if the fuel was free, the maintenance and replacement cost would be expensive.

i am the owner of 1 14 hp lister diesel (antique slow speed) engine generator, 2 pto driven 30 and 40 KW generators, two small air cooled generators.


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## ryanthomas (Dec 10, 2009)

Ernie said:


> Yes, but I don't want to hook the generator up to that. Would be exchanging one grid for another in that case, wouldn't I?


Gasoline is also supplied by a grid of sorts. As I see it, generators are mainly for temporary outages while the system is still largely intact. For long term use, alternatives like solar are a better option. And of course there's learning to live without any electricity. That's a last resort as far as I'm concerned.


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## Darren (May 10, 2002)

Ernie said:


> Yes, but I don't want to hook the generator up to that. Would be exchanging one grid for another in that case, wouldn't I?


It depends on where you live and how the compressor stations work. In this area, the compressors use some of the natural gas to drive the engines that drive the compressors. Even if the power goes out for days or weeks we still have natural gas service.

You need to check how the compressor stations in your area are configured. If they run on natural gas you're good to go. Not to mention you don't have to store gasoline and you'll be saving money. Keep in mind if the power goes out, gasoline pumps won't work. With the alcohol in today's gasoline, you're automatically storing a fuel that wants to absorb water. 

With the right generator you could run for months or longer off natural gas.


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## MichaelK! (Oct 22, 2010)

Getting back to the original question, the amount of gasoline the generator consumes is directly proportional to the load, just like your car engine.

As you drive up a hill, you have to push down on the gas peddle more to maintain the same speed. Your generator is doing exactly the same thing.

In the real world, I use my generator almost exclusively for pumping well water. The pump consumes about 2.5 kwh per hour. My 6500W generator runs for about 2 hours per gallon of gas at that load level, so I can realistly say that I am getting about 5kwh of power per gallon of gas (2.5kw X 2hour/gal). Divide the price of gas (4.25$/gal for premium) by 5 and I get 85 cents per kwh of power. 

Not that great by the standards of the grid, by no so outrageous that it's unaffordable. Of course though, you also have to amortize the cost of the generator itself and maintaince, so the ultimate real-world cost per kwh is signigicantly higher.


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## snakeshooter1 (Mar 8, 2009)

Most natural gas Gennies will also run off propane. All of the new ones I've seen just have an little flip switch in the breather to change from one to the other fuel. Use Natural gas but store propane for future use if you loss natural gas.


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## InvalidID (Feb 18, 2011)

MichaelK! said:


> Getting back to the original question, the amount of gasoline the generator consumes is directly proportional to the load, just like your car engine.
> 
> As you drive up a hill, you have to push down on the gas peddle more to maintain the same speed. Your generator is doing exactly the same thing.
> 
> ...


 Would it not be cheaper to skip the genset for well pumping and just use a gas powered pump?


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## Ernie (Jul 22, 2007)

I'm working on getting a driven well put in so I can rely on calorie-burning arm power in the future.


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## InvalidID (Feb 18, 2011)

A driven well with a windmill attached would be ideal maybe. Depends how deep you have to go though.


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## Ernie (Jul 22, 2007)

The depth seems to be key. Ideal would be a driven well with a windmill pump filling a big cistern, but that's probably out of my budget for right now.

Finding someone with the equipment to drive the well is another story. I've called three well companies and each one of them doesn't do anything but submersible pumps.


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## InvalidID (Feb 18, 2011)

Ernie said:


> The depth seems to be key. Ideal would be a driven well with a windmill pump filling a big cistern, but that's probably out of my budget for right now.
> 
> Finding someone with the equipment to drive the well is another story. I've called three well companies and each one of them doesn't do anything but submersible pumps.


 Folks had wells before we had drill trucks.... Your back is strong isn't it? LOL


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## Ernie (Jul 22, 2007)

InvalidID said:


> Folks had wells before we had drill trucks.... Your back is strong isn't it? LOL


Yes, but in this I'd kind of rather pay someone who knows what they're doing. 

I don't know what to do if I go down 40 feet and hit a rock.


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## InvalidID (Feb 18, 2011)

Ernie said:


> Yes, but in this I'd kind of rather pay someone who knows what they're doing.
> 
> I don't know what to do if I go down 40 feet and hit a rock.


 Weren't a demo specialist eh? Oh well.
I'm lucky in that I have a natural spring here so I could avoid drilling a well if the power went out. Being I'm 500ft above sea level on a rock/clay hill I'd be in a world of hurt drilling a well.


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## kirkmcquest (Oct 21, 2010)

If you had a battery bank, you'd be way more efficient. Your genie is putting out more than you might be using at any given time...all that is wasted energy and money if your not storing it!


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## Ernie (Jul 22, 2007)

Yeah, a battery bank would be awesome. If I had that and some sort of inverter then I could probably get away with windmill and solar power as well. 

Batteries are always the weak link.


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## DianeWV (Feb 1, 2007)

We bought a Yamaha generator about 5 or 6 years ago that used gasoline. We really like that particular generator because it's quiet. Anyways, we used a conversion kit to make it use natural gas. We have free natural gas. It works like a charm. I can't remember the exact cost of the conversion kit, but it wasn't much money. Just throwin' that out here.


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## Oldcountryboy (Feb 23, 2008)

A lot of people over here in N.E. Oklahoma learned the Generator lesson about 4 years ago when we had a big icestorm and knocked out power for up to 3 weeks in some places. At the very same time the icestorm hit the price of gas had just hit $4. a gallon also. People were rushing out to buy Generators and then find they couldn't afford to run them 24 hours a day. 

Mine has a 5 gallon tank and runs approximately 8 hrs on a tank. In a 24 hour period it would cost $60 to operate at $4 per gallon. Way, way more then what it would cost me on the grid! During the icestorm we would shut it off between cooking meals but we would leave it on from about 6 pm. to 10 pm to watch t.v. with.


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## MichaelK! (Oct 22, 2010)

InvalidID said:


> Would it not be cheaper to skip the genset for well pumping and just use a gas powered pump?


I don't think you know much about deep water wells, do you? An engine powered pump is appropriate only for surface waters such as an irrigation canal because these pumps work by suction. A suction based pump is limited to one atmosphere and the theretical limit of suction is only 32 feet of verticle rise. Real-world heights are less.

Deep-water well pumps PUSH the water out of the well, they don't pull it out.  My pump is submerged under the water and pushes the water out of the well to my holding tanks.

Besides, when I first bought our land, the well was already drilled, the electric pump already plumbed, and a generator already in place. Why re-invent the wheel?


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## InvalidID (Feb 18, 2011)

MichaelK! said:


> I don't think you know much about deep water wells, do you? An engine powered pump is appropriate only for surface waters such as an irrigation canal because these pumps work by suction. A suction based pump is limited to one atmosphere and the theretical limit of suction is only 32 feet of verticle rise. Real-world heights are less.
> 
> Deep-water well pumps PUSH the water out of the well, they don't pull it out. My pump is submerged under the water and pushes the water out of the well to my holding tanks.
> 
> Besides, when I first bought our land, the well was already drilled, the electric pump already plumbed, and a generator already in place. Why re-invent the wheel?


 No I don't know much about deep water wells, that's why I asked...lol


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## secretcreek (Jan 24, 2010)

1972 Onan 6-7 kw genset. $400.00
****Should I be jumping on this?*****(first thing I thought was EMP free! I was thinking it's probably made like a tank and we'd use it for household use...not camping-too big. I only primitive camp anyway....)
-Scrt Crk


Here's the advert:
I cannot find a serial plate or model plate on this genset. Strongly resembles a 6.5NH onan we used to have. Fitted for natural gas used as an emergency backup at a facility. Was replaced due to a new gen installed 3 or so years ago, as far as I know it runs. I was planning to swap the carb for gasoline and use for camping, but it is way too big for me to move around like that. Would work great in an RV or mounted into a truck. Serious buyers are welcome to come look at it, reply to this with your phone number, I will try to call right back.

Plan on bringing your friend to move this badboy, its at least 200-300 lbs.

I dont know how useful the iron pipe for the exhaust is since we gut it, but I grabbed the muffler off the wall when I took it.

Price is OBO, but its stored inside and is not in my way, no low ballers please and no scammers. Cash talks (CASH ONLY)


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## secretcreek (Jan 24, 2010)

Saw this Ad yesterday... wondered if this was a good idea to have on-hand for SHTF. Old enough to have no electronics. But it's old and a bohemeth too????? Your opinion...I know nothing of this stuff. Except I think a generator although noisy and fumey would be good to have post SHTF *(except the noise gives you away!!!)-scrt crk

ONAN 6-7kw genset 1972 $400.00 OBO
I cannot find a serial plate or model plate on this genset. Strongly resembles a 6.5NH onan we used to have. Fitted for natural gas used as an emergency backup at a facility. Was replaced due to a new gen installed 3 or so years ago, as far as I know it runs. I was planning to swap the carb for gasoline and use for camping, but it is way too big for me to move around like that. Would work great in an RV or mounted into a truck. Serious buyers are welcome to come look at it, reply to this with your phone number, I will try to call right back.

Plan on bringing your friend to move this badboy, its at least 200-300 lbs.

I dont know how useful the iron pipe for the exhaust is since we gut it, but I grabbed the muffler off the wall when I took it.

Price is OBO, but its stored inside and is not in my way, no low ballers please and no scammers. Cash talks (CASH ONLY)


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## PhilJohnson (Dec 24, 2006)

Last year I had to run a generator 24/7 for a few days. It was anything but cheap. The only way I'd consider using a generator as a full-time option would be if I had a battery bank and a Lister diesel. Lister's are about as simple as you can get and they are low maintenance long lasting motors. I guess part of their longevity comes from turning low rpms.

Wood gas is subject to bridging and needs a lot of baby sitting. Unlike petroleum fuels wood gas does not have a constant power output nor can the fuel to air mixture be easily set at one point. That is why wood gas motors have separate adjusters for the fuel and air mixtures instead of having it one adjustment like a petroleum fueled motor (ie a throttle butterfly on a carb). It would work for power generation but I would hardly consider it to be convenient or real practical.


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## Darren (May 10, 2002)

secretcreek said:


> Saw this Ad yesterday... wondered if this was a good idea to have on-hand for SHTF. Old enough to have no electronics. But it's old and a bohemeth too????? Your opinion...I know nothing of this stuff. Except I think a generator although noisy and fumey would be good to have post SHTF *(except the noise gives you away!!!)-scrt crk
> 
> ONAN 6-7kw genset 1972 $400.00 OBO
> I cannot find a serial plate or model plate on this genset. Strongly resembles a 6.5NH onan we used to have. Fitted for natural gas used as an emergency backup at a facility. Was replaced due to a new gen installed 3 or so years ago, as far as I know it runs. I was planning to swap the carb for gasoline and use for camping, but it is way too big for me to move around like that. Would work great in an RV or mounted into a truck. Serious buyers are welcome to come look at it, reply to this with your phone number, I will try to call right back.
> ...


Just make sure the output voltage is what you need. It looks like a bargain. Onans show up on Ebay if you want to check pricing.


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