Community Forums

cordwood · 01-29-2012, 02:29 PM

hi all. have a friend that had his generator stolen out of their motor home. it was built into the chassis. they are going to replace it with a portable type. question is would you choose gas or propane? the mh. is gas engine with propane for everything else. they are willing to carry extra p. tanks.told him i would ask all the wise sages on the forum. we await with high anticipation.

the cord woods & sammy the hairy snausage.
2007 H.R with a tired Kia toad.

TXiceman · 01-29-2012, 03:26 PM

Propane generators really suck down the fuel and are derated from the gasoline units.

Ken

Steve N Sal · 01-29-2012, 03:30 PM

GAS!

Mr_D · 01-29-2012, 03:37 PM

Had a propane unit, used way too much fuel and was noisy. Gas will take more maintenance but if I had to choose between those two that's what I'd choose.

wa8yxm · 01-29-2012, 06:38 PM

I would choose the type of fuel that is most abundant when tanks are full.

So for my Class A that is 70 gallons of Gasoline, of which the genrator can use 3/4 or about 50-52 gallons.

V/s 27 gallons of propane, which does not pack the same punch as gasoline so I'd have less than half the run time.

gbstewart · 01-29-2012, 06:47 PM

gas, just seems better all around, also more choices in generators to buy

gbstewart

jlyon69 · 01-30-2012, 08:15 AM

Without a doubt, gas

alvinc · 01-30-2012, 12:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cordwood

hi all. have a friend that had his generator stolen out of their motor home. it was built into the chassis.

I dare say that the thieves may have been disappointed when they found out the generator doesn't run on gas.....would serve them right.

Gasoline is the way to go.

George Schweikle · 01-30-2012, 06:47 PM

We had a propane generator in our last Trek, and it was a pain since we did lots of short term dry camping at autocross events. It was difficult to keep enough propane to run the generator and roof air for three day weekend. Now, our gas generator will drink from the 60 gallon engine fuel tank, so this is better for us regardless of any difference in fuel cost.

rough road · 02-02-2012, 10:18 AM

Propane is by far the better choice-the benefits far outweigh the very small de rating, if you were able to see the inside of a propane engine side by side of a gas engine in the same application it would convince you also.

alvinc · 02-02-2012, 10:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rough road

Propane is by far the better choice-the benefits far outweigh the very small de rating, if you were able to see the inside of a propane engine side by side of a gas engine in the same application it would convince you also.

You are absolutely correct. However, in most cases the LP tanks are not sized appropriately for the task.

We have a 75 gallon gas tank which will give approximately 90 hours of 1/2 load generator use before the 1/4 tank limit is reached. Note this still leaves a 100 miles of driving range for the RV.

If this was a propane, much cleaner, generator we would need at least a 75 gallon propane tank. I have never seen or heard of a RV with anywhere that large a propane tank.

If you plan on only short uses of the generator, LP is far cleaner. By short I mean 24 hours or less.

In general most RV generators use the same fuel that powers the RV, diesel generators for diesel engine RV's, gas generators for gas powered RV's. Propane is cleaner, but comes with limitations.

bbeane · 02-02-2012, 11:01 AM

Gas

jlyon69 · 02-02-2012, 11:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rough road

Propane is by far the better choice-the benefits far outweigh the very small de rating, if you were able to see the inside of a propane engine side by side of a gas engine in the same application it would convince you also.

It would certainly be cleaner inside, just like any engine running on LP, NG or alcohol. However, how many MHs have you seen with 5000 hrs on them? My '92 Class C in 2011 had only 580 hours. My '99 has about 1000 hours. Just because one *may* get a 1000 or more hours out of the engine, still isn't worth all the hassle that comes along with LP. Especially when your generator will most likely out last your MH.

dajudge · 02-02-2012, 01:40 PM

I had a propane gen on my last MH, AllegroBay dp, and I have a gas onthis Allegro Bay gas. I spent over $200 on propane for the last hurricane when the power was out for four of five days and had the hassle of hooking up portable propane tanks to keep it going. If you have a gas, and a gasoline engine on the mh, you are good for a long time. (25 gal propane vs 60 gal gasoline)