Fuel for your Generator -- How Much?

Entropy1

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Just curious. How much fuel do you have 'stored' (on hand) for your generator for the next power outage? AND What size of generator are you feeding this fuel to?

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mrscoyote

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We have a 12 kilowatt generator it will run all the 110 stuff in the house and also the well which is 220 and a 300 gal propane tank.
 

Denim Deb

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We don't store much fuel since it doesn't store well. Our generator is 6500 peak and isn't really quite big enough. Unless we have everything else turned off, we can't run the pump.
 

Entropy1

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Deb, that is the size of the geny I'd like to buy next, but right now we have a 3000 watt and keep about 100 L (that's what 20 Gal.) of gasoline on hand.

With that past 3 million customer outage in the U.S. that lasted a week, I though people would want to make sure they have enough fuel on hand.
 

Denim Deb

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Starting small and working your way up is a smart idea. I heard about people in this area that had no power for quite some time and couldn't afford to run their generators. I think for most people a smaller generator that will power a few lights, the fridge and the freezer is about all they need. Sure, it might be hot in the house w/out the AC running, but people survived for years w/out it.
 

Entropy1

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It is big enough to power our sump pump, which runs alot in the spring. That and the fridge and freezer are our only real emergency power requirements. Anything bigger would mean more fuel is needed. Right?

It runs at about 10 L for 10 Hrs at 50% load. Assuming a 50% load I should be good for about 100 hrs, or only 4 days. A 7 to 10 day outage during our sump pumping season would mean we would need more fuel ... On the 3rd day I'd be driving for gas or see my basement start to take on water when the gasoline runs out.


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Denim Deb

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Normally, the bigger the generator, the more fuel you need.

I'm not sure because I can't find the manual for it, but I have a small (2000 watt peak) generator that only holds about 1.5 gallons. And, I think I can run that for 10 hours or so on 1/2 power. Our big generator holds I think 5 gallons. And, I can run it for the same amount of time on 1/2 power. If I lived by myself, I'd probably figure out what all I needed to have, and just have a generator for that, and not worry about the rest of the house. As long as I can run the fridge, the freezer, a light or 2 and my laptop, I'd be happy. I try to keep water stored for washing, drinking, etc so I wouldn't worry about the well. I might want to run my electric hot plate, but wouldn't need to run that constantly and would probably only have the fridge and freezer running part of the time-just enough to keep the food from spoiling.
 

the funny farm6

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this is a litle off-topic, but how long will gas be good if stored in those red plastic gas cans? we have seven 1 gal and a 3 or 4 large 5gal? and a few of in-between size. we tend to find them on the side of the road off and on. when we have gas in them for the lawn mower or such dh always puts a ziplock bag over the spout with a rubber band. and if there are fumes built up he lets them out. we keep it in the barn in the dark/shade. we never fill them all, and so there is never gas in them for any longer then a few weeks. but if i wanted to store for emergency how long would it be good?

i belive our generator says 5555 on the side. when we went temperarly off-grid last summer we ran frige, some lights, some tv-dvd player, and at night my bedroom a/c. (yes i am a baby) and it ran @ 10 hours on a tank of gas with all that running.
 

Entropy1

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I only keep gasoline stored for a little under 3 months and make sure to cycle through it, by using it in my vehicle. If it is stabilized it might be ok for 6 to 8 months, but I think the stuff out of the pump is ok for 3 months.

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mrscoyote

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Our generator runs on propane so long term storage is not a problem.
 
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