| Click to Post a New Message!
Page [ 1 ] |
|
|
|
PTO driven vs Gas engine
If I was going to make more power say 12-15kw I would go with the PTO option. It would be cheaper as diesel gensets cost 3-4k minimum in that range and PTO gens can be had for $1600 with the shaft and cart.
Since your tractor is a little smaller than that and you are only going to make 7kws anyway I'd get a 6kw diesel portable which can be had for around $1500-2000 (see link). You 'll likely spend $1500 for a PTO setup anyway and why beat up the tractor? Plus you can move the portable to other locations easily
WHatever you do I wouldn't get gas, they burn 3 times as much fuel, you can't get gas easily during an outage, it doesn't store well and it's dangerous. If you heat with oil or have a diesel truck/tractor gas makes even less sense.
Link:
|
|
 Add Photo
Bookmarks: |
|
| |
|
PTO driven vs Gas engine
If you heat with home heating oil, diesel is a great choice, if you heat with propane or natural gas they are probably the better choice for you. I heat with diesel and have a 100 gallon propane tank for cooking so they are both viable options.
The one thing that hasn't been mentioned much is runtime. Take a look at these generators typical runtimes per gallon of fuel. Diesel stand-alone gens that make 10-12kw only burn about a 1/2 gallon of fuel an hour, gasoline gens are often more like 2 gallons an hour and propane is often 1.5 to 2 gallons an hour. (obviously if you have city natural gas, consumption isn't an issue) Even just keeping a 55 gallon barrel of diesel is likely to give you 4 days of constant run time. Even my tractor idling a PTO gen at 2600rpms( maybe a gallon an hour) burns much less than the gasoline gens. The price of HH oil is only $1.30, propane is around $2 and gasoline is $1.89 so diesel is also a winner there. I don't view price as that important as compared to availibility, but what the heck. With even a few day outage, you can quickly offset the higher price of diesel or even dual fuel gens. We all(almost) have diesel tracors so if you kept a 50 gallon barrel filled and used it for the tractor, refilling it when it hit the 1/2 way mark you would still have at least 2 days of constant run for a gen at any moment. Gelling, fungus, getting old is not an issue if you use it in this manner and just add about $2 worth of quality additive when you fill the tank.
Either propane or diesel is still more available in a pinch than gasoline. With no power, diesel or gasoline may not be pumping but my heating oil tank and all your neighbors tanks will still be available. I am quite sure my generatorless neighbor will trade me some HH oil or his extra BBQ tank in exchange for some elctricity or a place to keep his beer cold during the outage  With my hand pump and a little bargaining skill I could probably "bum" heating oil" from friends and neighbors to outlast the longest blackout I'v ever seen. Propane is also still available (small tanks though) everywhere and the companies deliver to your large tank unless roads are blocked etc. Gasoline, even IF the pumps are running is a nightmare to get, EVERYONE runs out to fill the cars, gens, etc. and you can wait hours or find the tanks empty. You can go right up to the diesel pumps though because 90% of the cars take are at the gasoline pumps. At 2 gallons an hour, if the pumps are closed siphoning the cars or filling 5 gallon gasoline containers won't be a long term solution. I am aso less than enthusiastic about filling my 55 gallon drum with gasoline and transporting, unloading and refilling from it. It isn't even fun filling a hot gen with the stuff. If you can't get the gas from the station your neighbor will also likely be less than enthusiastic about giving you the last of his petro when no refill is in sight. At 2 gallons an and hour even if you "score" 50 gallons of fuel you have to do it all over again tomorrow or really ration your power comsumption  Even if you go with the samller gens the % of comsumption differences for the various fuels apply.
Bottom line for me is I look outside right now and see the following.
100 gallon propane tank about 70% full ( 2 days use)
275 oil tank 3/4 full (5-6 days use)
Gas van 31 gallon tank 1/4 full (4 hours use)
I think many/most of us would have similar situations???
Even without considering run time for the various fuels, if I am relying on gas I have an almost immediate need to go out and leave the family at home alone under possibly very bad conditions.
Most of us heat with oil, propane or natural gas. In my humble opinion that leaves very few of us better off with a gas generator than the other options. I think gasoline is really only the best option if you don't use any of the other fuels and don't have a dieel truck/tractor. Then only other possible plus I see for gasoline is that for $500 dollars you have a budget generator.
|
|
Add Photo
Bookmarks: |
|
| |
|
Page [ 1 ] | Thread 74899 Filter by Poster:
2 | 4 | 2 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 |
|
()
Picture of the Day
Coachlarry
Unanswered Questions
Active Subjects
Hot Topics
Featured Suppliers
|
Gas Generator Weather Protecti
01-23-2004, 21:38 
Digg It 
Del.icio.us