propane generator

[goutoe]

so i am bored today, walked around the bus, wishing it was warm enough to work on things, so i decided to try to start the generater LP powered kohler 7500 twin cylinder, 21 degrees outside darn thing started like it was july? my question is how does this work ? no choke no ether, is it all about vapor? I guess I should devert the exaust to warm the 6v92ta for easier starting?

[treeplanter]

My bus has a huge propane tank that feeds the Onan generator,just got done this summer replacing all the valves and lines.On my tank it has liquid and vapor connections on it , the liquid side connects to the generator the vapor side supplies the stove and instahot water heater and furnace.The generator starts up fine when it had fuel.

[wg4t50]

Correct, No Choke, it just requires massive amount of vapor.  the gasous as in LP Gas units are great when all parts are in good order.

Just for your info, the typical LP Gas generator will consume 3 times the gallns of fuel that a diesel doing the exact same load.  BTDT.

LP Gas is nice, just costly and can be difficult to find at a reasonable price.

Merry Christmas

Dave M

[luvrbus]

My Onan is vapor a 3800 w unit it uses about 1 gal per hr under full load I buy with out all the taxes and it cost about 2 bucks a gal on the average over the last 4 years


The stuff varies in price everywhere here in the valley the smoke shop sells it for $2.29 then 2 miles up the road at the Texaco it's $3.29 another 2 miles the plumbing supply sell it for $2.97 then the campgrounds get $4.25 to $4.50 a gal all in 8 mile area

I haven't been to Quartzsite yet but with all the snowbirds it is usually around $2.50 a gal there with the wholesale price of $1.88 today I would pay $1.98 from my dealer fwiw  

[TomC]

As compared to a Diesel genset-when dry camping in the winter (no A/C needed), the 10kw genset uses about 1gal per day. Good Luck, TomC

[luvrbus]

I can get on a gal of propane a day not running the AC I had 13k diesel unit in the Eagle that puppy would use some fuel under a full load with 3 AC's runnings 

The Prevost guys with 20 +KW generator and Aqua/Hots can get into some serious fuel usage all depends on what the requirements for bus systems are no free lunches when it comes to power   

[goutoe]

Thanks for the input guys, sounds like you've done your homework on consumption, I would prefer a diesel gen but at the time i am happy with the LP Kohler. I have had gas onans in the past, I dont care to go there again, always good to hear what others are using, thanks again >>>>>John.

[wg4t50]

Having enjoyed the bus/RV game for 25 years, many different generator setups, Gasoline, LP Gas Vapor, Diesel plus Aqua Hot and talking to many fellow RVers, it is very clear few have a real sense of the fuel useage.  Just like the guy with the Winny 32' with a gasoline engine who is getting 15-17 mpg, just makes me laugh, so I tell them they must have a bad problem as everyone else with that setup is over 20 mpg, yes I get a dumb look in return.

Point is, the diesel generator uses 1/3 the gallons of fuel that a LP unit uses, about half of a gasoline unit.  This is not a guess, having been in the generator business over 40 years, I have played all the games with gasoline, lp gas, and diesel.

When I had the MC7 setup, I tried them all and kept close records on fuel used as I had a 50 gal diesel tank for the generator, it might burn as much as 10 gal a day max. I started the genset before the DDC and shut it down after the DDC stopped. 24/7 as they say.

Now have the 12 kw PowerTech w/Kubota & Aqua Hot, the burner nozzel is .35 gph (when burning), the specs say it could use about 3 gal a day.
Since I now have 1 fuel tank 194 gal, it is impossible to measure each.

Merry Christmas and see ya at Arcadia
Dave M

[Jon]

Just to provide a data point...........

I dry camped at the Oshkosh EAA airshow for the entire duration. I filled my diesel 2 miles from where I parked. When I got to the parking spot I started the generator and turned on everything electrical I intended to use in my electric panel, including my HW tank, water pump, TVs, all ACs, refrigerator, etc. The loads on my 20KW Kohler generator seemed to be 20 to 30 amps per leg. Quiet time started at 10:00 so I shut it down every night and started it again at 6:00 in the morning. It ran a total of 170 hours and at the end of the airshow I went the two miles to the truck stop, got to the exact same fuel island and pump and filled up, having used 71 gallons. I consumed a little over .4 GPH and will admit to being an energy hog, not concerned with conservation, but comfort.

The temps were in the 90s so at least 2 ACs were running almost the entire time with the third kicking in occasionally.

[luvrbus]

That is what it is about Jon I have a friend with a Aqua/Hot system that keeps his bus set on 60 degrees in the winter time in freezing Idaho temperatures to save money on fuel it's dumb to pay $12,000 for a system and stay cold to save fuel money IMO

[Jon]

We spend a lot of money on our coaches we don't usually even consider relating to stuff that cost us such as insurance, batteries and tires that are aging out so in 5 to 7 years we get to buy them again. Then we install systems to make us comfortable or to make life easy and we are reluctant to use them. So the hell with the cost of fuel, I am dragging that big generator around with me so I might as well make use of it at every opportunity.

[Ed Hackenbruch]

 So Jon, if you used it that way for a full month (30 days), your fuel cost to provide electricity would be about $730 using $3.80 as a price for diesel. A lot of people that i know would be very upset if their electric bill for their house was that high. 

[wg4t50]

Some times, money is not the most important thing on the horizon. I feel if I can wear my toys out, I have had a grand time, besides I am not saving anything for the DW's next bunkey  buddy, he can spend his money, not use mine 
Dave M

[luvrbus]

Ed I think the Chinese made calculator is a little off on the math there bud lol did that last for month ? or was you just figuring a month of use sounds like about 2 weeks of run time to me

[Jon]

So Jon, if you used it that way for a full month (30 days), your fuel cost to provide electricity would be about $730 using $3.80 as a price for diesel. A lot of people that i know would be very upset if their electric bill for their house was that high. 

Ed

Actually, if my math is correct, if run the generator 24 hours per day, burn .41 GPH for 30 days and fuel is its current cost of $3.70 a gallon  I am around $1100 per month for generator fuel based on all the electric I was using. While that sucks compared to my home and garage electric bills it compares to spending one night at a time in some RV parks where it seems the prices are $30 to $40 per night for most.

Owning our coaches is not cheap and I am not going to live in mine full time or when I do deny the comfort and ease of use that I seek. Others may use their coaches differently, but we are at the point in our lives where if we don't spend it, our son-in-law will. So the $400 per day in fuel, the cost of the generator or campgrounds, plus all the other costs associated with ownership are dollars we earned and intend to enjoy for as long as we can. It makes no sense, it would be cheaper to drive a car and sleep in motels, but screw it......for once in our lives we do not look at prices on menus.