Community Forums

rough road · 02-03-2012, 05:29 AM

Its probably accurate to say that the average rv'er uses the genset for very -limited- periods of time and for this application propane is the far better choice-propane is already being used for heat, hot water and more likely than not for the refrigerator when desired. But the tank limit, most likely in the 8 gal range is a valid concern for more than normal generator operation, as this storage would give approx 14 hours of operation-4kw at roughly 3/4 gallon at 75% output-give or take.

If you depend on the genset then a gas generator is the LAST option I would choose, if you are in an 'A' you must have alot more propane storage-so depending on your needs propane may still be the fuel of choice. If your coach engine is diesel then going to a diesel genset is a no brainer, fuel consumptiion will be at least 30% less than a gasser, probably more in the 50% less range, the diesel genset will-like the propane genset usually ALWAYS start, the diesels are generally much quieter and the diesel genset will outlast the other five owners of the rv.

BUT there is nothing quite like being surrounded by the big boys all using diesel generators nearly all the time, which brings me to my final point-if you NEED your genset for ac is a motorhome is being in a rv the right thing for you, and those who have to 'camp' near you?

And yes this topic has always been a point of contention for us, genset use has gotten out of control.

Ed-Sommers · 02-03-2012, 09:21 AM

If comping in a national forest, way up there, and you needed fuel for a generator, and gasoline is 10 miles away, and propane is 60 miles away, what thought process would this cause! (It happens!)

Ed

jlyon69 · 02-03-2012, 01:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ed-Sommers

If comping in a national forest, way up there, and you needed fuel for a generator, and gasoline is 10 miles away, and propane is 60 miles away, what thought process would this cause! (It happens!)

Ed

Let's see..... 15 posts in this thread, 1 question regarding propane/gas. One response says propane and the rest say gas. Nuff said.

wa8yxm · 02-03-2012, 02:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rough road

Its probably accurate to say that the average rv'er uses the genset for very -limited- periods of time

I use mine for an average of between 1/2 and 1 hour a month in the winter,, Quite a bit more in the summer when it's hot and I sometimes need house A/C during times when I'm not in a campground.

Note; ANY generator, No matter what the fuel (Save solar) needs to run a minimum of 1/2 hour under 1/2 load every month.

rough road · 02-04-2012, 08:07 AM

Ed, this is exactly my point; National Parks are sans hookups for a very good reason and if I were czar of the system gen set use would be strictly limited to 1/2 hr am and 2 hours pm.

jlyon, perhaps the question should have been, 'which fuel is more reliable and least offensive', especially in the context of Ed's-nothing personal at all- post. If you are deep in the woods, say on public lands, or in a National Park with no one within ear shot then use your generator as much as you wish for as long as you wish.

As for us, if we HAVE to be next to some ultra maroon(s) (not you Ed) that HAVE to run the generator for very extended periods my choice is propane, gas then diesel; simply for the odor issue.

As for operating efficiency, its first diesel then propane, with corn gas coming in a distant last-indeed,[moderator edit] gas should NOT even be on the radar screen.

You may not like to hear this but-relative to the discussion at hand- propane fueled engines are, by far, the cleanest and most reliable AND when you factor in the unavoidable degredation in perfomance in gassers due to deposits/stale fuel I submit to all the de rate of propane becomes a non issue.

Diesel is, without question, the 'greenest' fuel.

These my friends are the facts.

ga traveler · 02-04-2012, 08:28 AM

In the 80's and early 90's a lot of the MH manuf. put LP gen. in diesel motorhomes to save money. I never had a single customer tell me they were going back with a LP generator. Every customer I had said they would get their next motorhome with a diesel generator.

Ed-Sommers · 02-04-2012, 08:55 AM

Actually, I have 1200 watts of solar on the roof and seldom need to run my relatively quite Honda for anything except for maybe charging after days of a good rain, or for a quality, delicious chicken cooked in my hot air cooker.

I could see diesel as my RV is diesel but I know of no small, portable units in diesel. I like the small units because I can run a long (but 10 gauge wire) cord and sit the already quiet generator behind a tree, or in a deep depression (the best), for quiet chicken cooking!

Ed

jlyon69 · 02-04-2012, 10:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rough road

jlyon, perhaps the question should have been, 'which fuel is more reliable and least offensive', especially in the context of Ed's-nothing personal at all- post. If you are deep in the woods, say on public lands, or in a National Park with no one within ear shot then use your generator as much as you wish for as long as you wish.

The question was: "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?"

So I have no idea why you are beating this dead horse so much. Diesel isn't even on the table for the OPs friend. We also don't know if they are tree huggers or not. It was a very simple question deserving of a very simple answer. Since these people have a motorhome and had a propane genny, I'm pretty confident they are aware of environmental differences of the two.

Perhaps one of us should have suggested a tri-powered genny, (LP, NG, gas) but I didn't because they are very expensive. I'm also sure by now the OP has relayed our suggestions to his friends.

As far as me quoting Ed, he was just another in a long line that agreed with the majority of us who suggested gas and the reason it was suggested. I used his post to emphasize that. Ed; if you took any offense to that I apologize, none was intented.

In closing and before I unsub from this thread, I'm very glad you enjoy your propane generator and I certainly understand why. So I hope you do the same and understand why the majority of RVing folks prerfer gas over propane. It's always nice when we all agree to disagree.

tomwalt · 02-04-2012, 11:04 AM

Gas (2 Hondas)

rough road · 02-04-2012, 07:50 PM

jlyon, for [moderator edit] those that don't annoy the crap out of the everyone within 1/4 mile by constantly running the genset propane is by far the best choice, compared to gas the propane engine is less complex, the propane engine runs at least twice as clean is at least twice as reliable and will last at least twice as long-you don't like hearing this and its fine by me.

Even if I had a unit stolen I would still hang another one under the chasis and be done with it-trick is to use stainless bolts and put them on with an impact wrench, the threads will gall and the creeps will have to use a recip to get it again-its noisy and the miscreants probably will only have one blade with them....

Theberrys · 02-04-2012, 08:03 PM

We have propane and it works fine. We do not boondock very much and have a large factory installed LP tank (65 gal). OH yea I don't have to clean the gummed up fuel out of the lines and carb in the spring like I did on my prior gas unit. Of course you can go to Camping World and pay "BUCKLEY" to do service for you every year. The Coach is a Pusher so the only other option was diesel.

Dick

p.s. If you never watched King of The Hill you don't know who BUCKLEY is.

RSchleder · 02-05-2012, 05:41 AM

I agree, gas is the way to go in a gas coach. I've had 3 DP motorhomes and 1 had a propane gen set while the other 2 had diesel Gen's. We also found having to fill the propane all the time when dry camping at swap meets and car shows was a real pain!

rough road · 02-05-2012, 06:40 AM

Theberrys, you raise an excellent point-(nothing quite like pushing the button on the generator, having done nothing to it since spring and have the unit start right up,) , older gassers don't like ethanol at all AND the serious talk of going to E15 is yet another reason to consider propane. If you have never seen the engine oil that comes out of a propane engine after alot of hours take a look next time the service is done-this alone should convince you that you have the best design; and I assure you that the inside of the engine looks much the same....
You and I agree that 'normal' people are far better off with propane, and by the way-so is the planet; corn gas is real dumb.

jlyon69 · 02-05-2012, 09:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rough road

jlyon, for [moderator edit] those that don't annoy the crap out of the everyone within 1/4 mile by constantly running the genset propane is by far the best choice, compared to gas the propane engine is less complex, the propane engine runs at least twice as clean is at least twice as reliable and will last at least twice as long-you don't like hearing this and its fine by me.

No, this is great stuff and you now have me totally convinced to switch. I fall right onto the category you're talking about. I don't use my genny that much because I have switched the DWs CPAP to 12V, both TVs are 12v LED, don't use the microwave, switched all candescent lights to LEDs, ect, ect. Oh, also have solar on the roof (not that big though but can keep up with the lights). So I only run my genny to charge the batteries if/when they get low and run the ACs in the summer. We do several months in FL, so we need a lot of propane.

My HWH, furnace and frig run on propane now. Because I have 2 ACs I'll need a comparable genny. Looks like the ONAN MARQUIS GOLD 5500 WATT- LP GAS (RV QG 5500LP) which is $3,993.92...figure with installation $4500.00.

Here's where I'm running into a problem is, I live in northern Mi and a lot of our camping is in colder weather. During cold weather the LP only lasts for 3 days max, less during real cold weather, as my LP tank only holds %75 of about 26 gals. I did install an Extend-a-stay and carry 2 20# tanks that will fit in an extra bay, which helps in cold weather for a slightly longer stay.

Searching for larger tanks, I can only find 1 supplier that has a larger tank that will fit in the space I have, it's about $600 and only holds 30 gals, which brings me up to about 26 gals usable. So I still must have more propane.

I'm thinking when we pull our trailer, I could get a couple 100# tanks and hall them in there and they are only about $350 a pair. The only slight problem with these is if I need more propane, I must take the motorhome and trailer to find some more. But that's just a small inconvenience and gasoline would probably only be $100 -150 for gasoline to go get it and back.

So far so good. However, may times we don't take the trailer, so I got to figure out how to bring along at least 40-50 more gals to make this work. I mentioned to DW I could haul them in the motorhome, but she isn't going to allow that, I think it's illegal anyway.

So for about $6,000.00 and a few inconveniences, I think I can make this work. I just need more help in figuring this out. Oh my present MH in this market is only worth 20 to $25,000. Does this sound like a good plan and would go this route if you were me? Thoughts? Thanks!!!