Whole House Generator (Propane)

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Mine, as you can see in the pic above, is 30” to the actual generator. NEC compliant per my consummate professional electrician.

Fuel consumption on my 14kw is in the noise of the gauge. It ran 4 days straight and the needle didn’t move on our 1000 gallon tank. Maybe need a new gauge

I looked it up its actually a bit more complicated than a simple distance. There are quite a few NFPA codes involved. Id still rather have it further away from my house myself like 15-20’ feet away.

[NH Shooter]

The power went off at about 40% tank fill and we used 5 to 10% a day. At that point roads were shit and everyone needed tank refills so we were looking at 10 days to get refilled.

This, IMO, is the achilles heel of a propane system - you are at the mercy of a delivery company. We use #2 fuel oil for our hot water and hydronic heating system so we're very familiar with the problems of delivery when demand is high or supply is low.

At my house I was having to buy fuel for my portables every morning and I was only running one at night for heat and the bigger one of the two during the day only. Buying 5 gallons of gas every morning was starting to get really old.

Having to deal with gasoline sucks, no doubt about it. But as opposed to dependence on a LPG delivery company to get there when needed, there are more options for obtaining gasoline.

In my case I keep at least 15 gallons on hand at all times for the lawn mower, snow blower, leaf blower, etc. If there are no power outages, a couple of 5-gallon cans are enough to get me through an entire year. But running a generator for hours on end can burn through 15 gallons in a couple of days. I use a full dose of Sta-Bil in each 5-gallon can and label it with the date it is filled. Any left after a year goes in the cars and the can(s) get refilled with fresh gas.

Speaking of cars, we keep the tanks full at all times in the winter when most of our power outages occur. Having everything on hand to siphon those tanks to fuel the generator is another way to keep a larger supply on hand.

Finally, as already mentioned, having backup methods to heat the house without electricity is a good idea. We don't run the generator at night, so we depend on a wood burning stove to keep the house comfortable. This past winter we also discovered that it works perfectly for frying food in a cast iron skillet. We also have a 120 gallon propane tank as another backup that supplies a Vermont Castings heating stove, and a camping stove that can be connected to it as well.

The new 12kw generator will easily power our microwave and toaster oven. If needed, it can also power our electric cook top, providing more cooking options than we had with the old 4kw generator.

When it comes to the necessities of modern living, options are a very good thing.

[blues]

In the previous outage my neighbor used her ventless logs to keep her house warm that was a ten day stretch. I cant remember the exact amount but the natural gas bill was substantial.

In the past when I've had to use my ventless propane fireplace to heat the house, (we have three, but only use one when we bother with them), I don't believe we used very much fuel. I think it's fairly efficient.

Funny thing is, I lit the pilot during the winter and tested that the fireplace was working properly in case we lost power...and the other day during our power outage, I decided to flip the piezoelectric rocker switch to turn on the flames, (from the already lit and running pilot), and nothing. (Fortunately, it wasn't cold.)

So, since I had checked it and it worked back a month or two ago, I guess either the damned rocker switch went bad, and isn't making the electrical contact required...or somehow something else went wrong to prevent the rest of the fireplace from receiving the gas and igniting.

Since it wasn't cold enough to matter, I just turned off the pilot and shut off the fuel supply to the fireplace. Guess I'll have to figure it out sometime before autumn. First time it ever failed.

[NH Shooter]

So, since I had checked it and it worked back a month or two ago, I guess either the damned rocker switch went bad, and isn't making the electrical contact required...or somehow something else went wrong to prevent the rest of the fireplace from receiving the gas and igniting.

We have this with our propane heating stove. The wiring connections on the switch and gas valve can oxidize causing this problem. Sometimes just pulling the connector off and reinstalling it will fix it.

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In the past when I've had to use my ventless propane fireplace to heat the house, (we have three, but only use one when we bother with them), I don't believe we used very much fuel. I think it's fairly efficient.

Funny thing is, I lit the pilot during the winter and tested that the fireplace was working properly in case we lost power...and the other day during our power outage, I decided to flip the piezoelectric rocker switch to turn on the flames, (from the already lit and running pilot), and nothing. (Fortunately, it wasn't cold.)

So, since I had checked it and it worked back a month or two ago, I guess either the damned rocker switch went bad, and isn't making the electrical contact required...or somehow something else went wrong to prevent the rest of the fireplace from receiving the gas and igniting.

Since it wasn't cold enough to matter, I just turned off the pilot and shut off the fuel supply to the fireplace. Guess I'll have to figure it out sometime before autumn. First time it ever failed.

Pretty easy to test a switch with the ohms setting on a voltmeter. Id be interested in hearing what went wrong with it when you do trouble shoot it. Contact cleaner can be a really simple tool.

[blues]

Thanks guys. It's gotta be something simple as they aren't complicated devices. (Just filthy and unhealthy.) I have ventless fireplaces, but they were already here when I bought the house.

I'll get to it when I get to it...but it's not top of my list since I have one in the bedroom (I haven't used in a long time) and another downstairs in an emergency. Plus, I hate using them.


I have a meeting scheduled with the authorized dealer who does Kohler, Cummins and Generac on Monday...and the authorized dealer who specializes only in Generac on Tuesday...so I'll have some idea about what my situation looks like.

[Cookie Monster]

@Cookie Monster

What size generator are you using?

Is a 10.00 kw says the inside label, had to go look.

We did laundry, ran the dishwasher, and had water from the well. Watched tv as well. To conserve propane we ended up shutting it down during the day.

[blues]

Is a 10.00 kw says the inside label, had to go look.

We did laundry, ran the dishwasher, and had water from the well. Watched tv as well. To conserve propane we ended up shutting it down during the day.

Thank you for that.

[blues]

Kohler guy came out and we chatted for a while, nice enough guy, but after I showed him the layout of our electric and propane he gave me a ballpark estimate of 14-15K. (I thought 10K, give or take. Guess I was wrong. He said he used to be able to do it for that.)

Anyway, 15K ain't happening, regardless of whether I could pay it. I just don't think it's a good return on the investment...despite how great it would be to have when the power goes down. So inefficient when you consider that my average electric bill is anywhere from a low of $65 - $75 to $120 depending on the demand for heating and cooling.
One day on the generator is higher than a month of electric service.


The Generac guy is supposed to come tomorrow. I'll see what he has to say.

[NEPAKevin]

Kohler guy came out and we chatted for a while, nice enough guy, but after I showed him the layout of our electric and propane he gave me a ballpark estimate of 14-15K. (I thought 10K, give or take. Guess I was wrong. He said he used to be able to do it for that.)

When I first started looking to upgrade to a whole house generator, not too long after a bad season of outages from ice storms, I had a similar experience. After a while we had a particularly mild winter and mostly dry spring and summer, and I started getting more and more spam from Home Depot, etc. about whole house generators. So I checked again and it was like everyone had them on sale and I was able to get one for a much better price although we still had to wait to get the install scheduled and do the paperwork with the township. Jump forward a few years to shortly after the pandemic subsided and the company that did our install about doubled their prices for services. Looking online, it appeared that the price of the Kohler maintenance kit was the same, so I assume the increase was on the labor end? I started doing my own services which as stated earlier in the thread are not a big deal. But the relevant part to your situation might be that perhaps either due to the labor shortage or other factors it might not be a good time? I understand and totally agree about not wanting to over pay, but have to say that after we finally got one and the first time that I was taking a shower and the power went out and I counted in my head for the generator to fire up, it was a really good feeling when the lights came on. HTH