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$2500 Whole house natural gas generator build list. (1 Viewer)

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BigRick

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Would running propane or gas be cheaper?

I know the bigger issue would be getting a weeks worth of those other fuels would be difficult, but just curious.
Gas way cheaper if you can find it... if pumps work..... I go to waller for ethanol free so it'll last few months before gumming up like at the corn fuel at 99% of pumps. Im gonna upgrade to a Cummins 13k diesel.
 

BigRick

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I was just questioning the 1" vs 3/4" based on one of the charts I am reading 20' is 3/4" and 30' is 1". My distance is less than 20' but still wondering if I should just go with a 1". Would going too big cause any issues?
You loose line pressure
 

Tenny

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You loose line pressure
Hmm, it's like 8' directly to where I plan to keep it, but when I add in the line laying on the ground going (slightly) around a fence and stuff like that I want to go with like 20.

Found another website that said anything above 10' go with 1". I'm guessing I should just do 1" and 15' length.
 

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Gas way cheaper if you can find it... if pumps work..... I go to waller for ethanol free so it'll last few months before gumming up like at the corn fuel at 99% of pumps. Im gonna upgrade to a Cummins 13k diesel.
I know buc'ees has eth free, but I'm mostly worried about if they even have pumps running during a bad situation. I don't like keeping fuel on hand either. Something I'll have to think about thanks.
 

BigRick

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Hmm, it's like 8' directly to where I plan to keep it, but when I add in the line laying on the ground going (slightly) around a fence and stuff like that I want to go with like 20.

Found another website that said anything above 10' go with 1". I'm guessing I should just do 1" and 15' length.
Problem is if pressure drops you might get a surging fuel issue.
 
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Gas way cheaper if you can find it... if pumps work..... I go to waller for ethanol free so it'll last few months before gumming up like at the corn fuel at 99% of pumps. Im gonna upgrade to a Cummins 13k diesel.

Running a multi-fuel generator definitely has it's plus sides and downsides. You're correct that gasoline is cheaper than propane, but in extreme weather events usually becomes scarce or may have to wait in long lines or limited to certain quantities. Propane tanks are almost always on hand at the stations that carry them. If you keep two or three on hand then it's fairly easy to go to the closest location and do a cylinder exchange.

As for long term fuel storage, I always use stabilizer and ethanol guard in my gas tanks and have never had an issue with it gumming up. Plus I drain my generator's tank when it's not being used. I'll keep the gas in the cans for about 6 months, after that I'll fill up the cars with them. Then refill them when needed.

When my wife and I move in about a year I'll be going with a diesel generator at the next house.
 

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I found a place selling 55 gallon steel drums for 25 bucks. Gonna grab one for diesel storage or regular gas for now til diesel genny comes in.
 

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If you run a NG generator for a week expect a 1000 bill.

No kidding - we all hear oh NG is so cheap

I see the insane bill for NG when I run the spa -not even the pool. Imagine if you I run the pool heater regularly.
 
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R-BallJunkie

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I was just questioning the 1" vs 3/4" based on one of the charts I am reading 20' is 3/4" and 30' is 1". My distance is less than 20' but still wondering if I should just go with a 1". Would going too big cause any issues?
3/4" @ 20LF would be more than fine and much much cheaper. Make sure you find a quick disconnect of the same size to attach to your gas meter, the other to the hose. you want to go big time, you can get two disconnects. Screen Shot 2021-05-06 at 7.31.02 PM.png
 
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R-BallJunkie

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If you run a NG generator for a week expect a 1000 bill.
i dont think it would be that high...this is what i calculated based on my current gas bill.


Screen Shot 2021-05-06 at 7.52.39 PM.png


your generator wont be at full load all the time.

these numbers are based on a 20kw generator....the one i have in probably 9k after derates.

Screen Shot 2021-05-06 at 7.55.05 PM.png

No scrambling to cool or heat your tank, no thrown out food, no sweating or freezing....i'll pay it.
 

BigRick

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i dont think it would be that high...this is what i calculated based on my current gas bill.


Screen Shot 2021-05-06 at 7.52.39 PM.png


your generator wont be at full load all the time.

these numbers are based on a 20kw generator....the one i have in probably 9k after derates.

Screen Shot 2021-05-06 at 7.55.05 PM.png

No scrambling to cool or heat your tank, no thrown out food, no sweating or freezing....i'll pay it.
LNG prices are about t to soar because commercial use and regulations.
 

steveb

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You know what sucks? They have been and probably still are flaring it off out in west texas. Not enough storage and pipeline capacity.
 

foos

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LNG prices are about t to soar because commercial use and regulations.
I heard rumor that COVID killed the small providers and that the large providers see the writing on the wall with electrification and do not plan on increasing production. NG may not go up as much as the dinosaur squeezing's we put in cars, but we may not see any fossil fuel go down again. Basically sounds like O&G may finish up new production they already started, but may not sink money into any after that and instead ride out what they already built along with any price hikes they can get away with.
 

BigRick

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I heard rumor that COVID killed the small providers and that the large providers see the writing on the wall with electrification and do not plan on increasing production. NG may not go up as much as the dinosaur squeezing's we put in cars, but we may not see any fossil fuel go down again. Basically sounds like O&G may finish up new production they already started, but may not sink money into any after that and instead ride out what they already built along with any price hikes they can get away with.
NG is what will be used to power most of the EV charging stations. Oil is needed for everything you touch.
 
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Talked to an electrician about wiring in a transfer switch. He looked at my load panel and said since I'm only using 12 of the 24 spaces on my panel it would be far cheaper and easier to move the top two breakers to the other rail, mount a 50 amp power inlet and wire it to a dedicated 50 amp double pole breaker and install an interlock kit. He said that the main reason for using a transfer switch is if you do not have enough spaces in the load panel, or do not have a large enough generator and don't want to flip a bunch of breakers so you would just wire in the stuff you want on the generator and the rest would remain unpowered.

So I'm looking at about $150 worth of parts to do this myself or 300 for him to do it, and another 300 for the A/C soft start kit and I'm done until I decide to plumb in the connections for the generator to run off of natural gas. He also said that it would be a nice selling point for the house that it's setup to have a backup generator.
 
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