Generator Tri-Fuel Conversion ???

[kmitchl]

I converted mine to tri-fuel. I made some of the parts myself to get fuel to the gasoline carb. I do have to adjust the mixture when I change fuels. I have never done any testing to confirm the power output is degraded on propane or NG. Fortunately, I have never needed to run it for an extended time. The benefit of converting is you can store propane without it degrading like gasoline. Also, when we get a weather event the gasoline pumps are also out of power. NG is seldom interrupted.

During Beryl I ran mine from about noon on Monday until 8 am Tuesday when power was restored. I started with propane and quickly realized with what I had on hand I would be soon out. So I switched to NG. Did not need to tweak the mixture when I made the switch and had no problem starting with a pull rope.

[JhuntsAlot]

During Beryl I ran mine from about noon on Monday until 8 am Tuesday when power was restored. I started with propane and quickly realized with what I had on hand I would be soon out. So I switched to NG. Did not need to tweak the mixture when I made the switch and had no problem starting with a pull rope.

That is pretty good. I have not tried propane yet, so not sure if adjustments are needed.

I have read that LP and gasoline use about the same gallons per hour.



J

[RascalArms]

I installed a dual fuel carb kit on my 8750 Predator several years ago. Set up for propane. YouTube got me through it relatively unscathed. It has been awesome for us the few times we've been without power.
It will handle the entire house minus the AC.

[scott1022]

Well, we got our NG bill/payment over the weekend. It was $141 in total and about $100 over the usual bill. So here is a comparison of NG and gasoline. Typically, we would get about 10 hours of run time of a full tank (7 gallons) of gasoline. We would use two tanks in a 24-hour period. Was out of power for 8 days.

Breakdown-

Gasoline = 14gal per day x $2.90 x 8 days = $325 total for gasoline. Not sure how to add a cost to searching for gas stations, waiting in line, dealing with people, etc.

NG = $100. $307, if we want to include the $207 I paid for the conversion kit and tachometer/hour meter.


Will say it again, couldn't be happier with doing the conversion. One of the best things I have done in a while.


J

That's awesome! I'm glad to know that the NG ran well AND you didn't have to fight the line at the pump. This is definitely the route that I want to go when I finally save up for a generator.

[JhuntsAlot]

I installed a dual fuel carb kit on my 8750 Predator several years ago. Set up for propane. YouTube got me through it relatively unscathed. It has been awesome for us the few times we've been without power.
It will handle the entire house minus the AC.

Thats a nice setup there.

I am having to use a longer cord and its about another 45' from the generator plug to my panel. So I am figuring I am losing something there.

If it runs everything but the central A/C, you are doing well.



J

[JhuntsAlot]

That's awesome! I'm glad to know that the NG ran well AND you didn't have to fight the line at the pump. This is definitely the route that I want to go when I finally save up for a generator.

When I am in the market for a generator again, I will be doing some comparisons.

Buying one that is a tri-fuel out of the box would be ideal. But I will look into prices for out-of-box and a regular gasoline only that I would have to add the motor snorkel.

If its a wash, I would save the time and get the out-of-box.



J

[txbowman12]

When I am in the market for a generator again, I will be doing some comparisons.

Buying one that is a tri-fuel out of the box would be ideal. But I will look into prices for out-of-box and a regular gasoline only that I would have to add the motor snorkel.

If its a wash, I would save the time and get the out-of-box.



J

The champion tri-fuel inverter is a good unit. Open frame inverter, so loud, but not as loud as a normal generator. Nice thing about the inverter is when you don't have a lot of load on it, the rpms can drop and save on fuel consumption.