Power generator ?

[a hill]

You need to better research. You should definitely fear and take precautions around gas ... IT IS DANGEROUS.

Yes the liquid burns, and the vapor burns even faster, so fast fact that it is explosive. How do you think that it works in your car?

Why you would say this is beyond my fathoming. I really hope that you don't store gas with this attitude you are going to hurt someone or destroy a lot of property.

Look up what happens when you store gas in containers that are air tight. You need special containers for this, especially in a non temp controlled environment.

Liquid gasoline is stable and not explosive.
Vaporized gas has lots of oxygen around and can easily ignite from a spark.

As long as it is stored properly it’s very safe in liquid state.

An engine is different from your gas tank. There’s also a reason cars rarely blow up.

Responsible handling is good, but fear is bad.
-Andrew

 

[HuduVudu]

Liquid gasoline is stable and not explosive.

But it is flammable, and it easily evaporates ... to re-iterate ... the vapor is REALLY flammable.

Vaporized gas has lots of oxygen around and can easily ignite from a spark.

Yup, explosively ... like a bomb.

As long as it is stored properly it’s very safe in liquid state.

What is proper storage? Also my problem isn't with the liquid state. That isn't where the problem comes from. Turns out gas is very volatile and will evaporate very quickly even at low temperatures. The vapor is what causes the grief at least initially in a fire situation.

An engine is different from your gas tank.

Yup, but the physics of the gas are not. An engine has serveral inches of steel and aluminum to deal with what happens with the gas. An engine also compresses vaporized gas to maximize it's explosive power. To a lessor extent this can sometimes happen with containers that you store it in. To mind 90 degree garage with no vent on the container.

My point on the engine was what happens in the combustion chamber, to illistrate what gas is capable of.

There’s also a reason cars rarely blow up.

You need to live in AZ for a while. They don't blow up they catch fire with disasterous results. Please I know how this happens, but once again it is from not understanding and not respecting the thing that you are dealing with that causes these types of events.

Responsible handling is good, but fear is bad.

Agreed about responsible handling.

Fear and respect ensure that you take appropriate precautions with a substance that I will once again re-iterate is ... DANGEROUS. If you take this for granted for one second you will not like the outcome. I feel the same way about knives. and saws. My grandfather didn't see it this way. He spent most of his life minus 3 of his 10 fingers.

 

[Jekyl]

Buy a portable generator large enough to run your house. Why waste the money on something for just the tank while your heat doesn't work and your freezer thaws?

 

[HuduVudu]

Buy a portable generator large enough to run your house. Why waste the money on something for just the tank while your heat doesn't work and your freezer thaws?

How long will you run the generator?

Each person is making assumptions about this based on their own circumstances. This is causing confusion.

 

[Jekyl]

How long will you run the generator?

Each person is making assumptions about this based on their own circumstances. This is causing confusion.

I keep 3 6gal gas cans in my garage filled with gas and a bit of seafoam in them to prevent issues if sitting too long. With my 8500w generator that gets me a few days without having to go to the gas station. That runs my whole house. While everyone else is dark around me I'm watching my tank and playing xbox.

 

[HuduVudu]

I keep 3 6gal gas cans in my garage filled with gas and a bit of seafoam in them to prevent issues if sitting too long. With my 8500w generator that gets me a few days without having to go to the gas station. That runs my whole house. While everyone else is dark around me I'm watching my tank and playing xbox.

For reference the same amount of gas for me will last nearly a week.

Also my neighborhood isn't the highest of the high and my generator is quiet. This is helpful, when there is no ambient noise outside and there are people looking to make a quick buck. Just another thing to think about.

 

[Dburr1014]

A car works by vaporizing the gas into tiny particles, uses a spark plug to generate the spark.
Anything that is vaporized will explode.

Responsible gas handling is keeping it a labeled container, closed, away from heat or flame. It will not explode.

Throwing a match in a car with a full tank of gas will not explode like shown in movies. The match will actually go out. Nothing will happen. I do not advise you try, that would be irresponsible.

 

[Jekyl]

For reference the same amount of gas for me will last nearly a week.

Also my neighborhood isn't the highest of the high and my generator is quiet. This is helpful, when there is no ambient noise outside and there are people looking to make a quick buck. Just another thing to think about.

Mine I keep fenced in. Kept just outside my garage door while used with a cord going to the 220 outlet in my garage. Besides that it's also protected by glock.

 

[HuduVudu]

Mine I keep fenced in. Kept just outside my garage door while used with a cord going to the 220 outlet in my garage. Besides that it's also protected by glock.

I have two people that have my back.

In my situation, the garbage usually comes in with the tide at about 2-4a.m. I am not usually very awake then.

I was testing some jerry cans that I just bought with water. They were literally next to my bedroom window. The tide came in and they were gone. I actually came out of sound sleep a few minutes after the fact and chased the guy on a bike with the last of the cans. Fortunately for him I didn't catch him.

BTW fences are a deterent not a barrier.

 

[Jekyl]

I have two people that have my back.

In my situation, the garbage usually comes in with the tide at about 2-4a.m. I am not usually very awake then.

I was testing some jerry cans that I just bought with water. They were literally next to my bedroom window. The tide came in and they were gone. I actually came out of sound sleep a few minutes after the fact and chased the guy on a bike with the last of the cans. Fortunately for him I didn't catch him.

BTW fences are a deterent not a barrier.

Mine is a privacy fence that I keep locked from the inside. Also sleep with fans on. Soon as they shut off it wakes me up. Easy explanation to police when they only get my side of the story lol.

 

[Dburr1014]

Gas does NOT burn in a liquid state.
I don't need to research this any better.

 

[redfishbluefish]

Folks let's stick to the OP's question....what generator should he consider....and let's take the debate about gasoline safety to PM's/DM's. Thanks, Paul, Team R2R

 

[WVNed]

Fine

my 3500 watt generator will run 8 hours on 5 gallons of gas. I keep 3 cans in the garage and have to go out once a day. It is running 400 gallons of fish tanks, a chest freezer, some lights in the house and charging phones.

I guess once they convince you how dangerous all the fruits of civilization are you wont miss them when they are gone.

 

[G Santana]

I disagree with this advice. If the generator is not near the demands of the tank you will end up burning more gas and also need to keep more gas on hand because of that.

Having a bigger generator on hand might work for short outages but extended outages will cause you to burn through your reserves too quickly.

For me I need to hold 30 gallons of gas for about a week and a half of run time. I really don't want to have to hold more gas than that especially with the cost of gas and the fact that you need to cycle the gas so it doesn't go bad and yes I use conditioners for my gas.

Both valid points!!!

 

[HuduVudu]

I guess once they convince you how dangerous all the fruits of civilization are you wont miss them when they are gone.

I like the fruits of civilization that is why I have a generator.

Trust me, when I am without power, I do miss them. Ninety degrees at ninety percent humidity sux to sleep in.

 

[stevolough]

Both valid points!!!

Turn the generator on for a couple hours , cool the fridge, run the heat and warm the tank and circulate some water then shut it off for a couple hours. My 5500 w will run for a week with 20 gallons of gas. Unless there’s a natural disaster you always can get gas a few towns over. Those natural gas ones are great unless they shut the line down. If u live in a cold climate having something to run the heat is essential. If temp in house gets to low your heaters won’t keep up.

 

[ariellemermaid]

I disagree with this advice. If the generator is not near the demands of the tank you will end up burning more gas and also need to keep more gas on hand because of that.

Having a bigger generator on hand might work for short outages but extended outages will cause you to burn through your reserves too quickly.

For me I need to hold 30 gallons of gas for about a week and a half of run time. I really don't want to have to hold more gas than that especially with the cost of gas and the fact that you need to cycle the gas so it doesn't go bad and yes I use conditioners for my gas.

I have to agree with this but everyone’s needs are different of course. It’s worth considering the overall household emergency plan too.

Ideal would be a whole house standby (auto on/off) natural gas generator if you want to spend more than $7000. This takes care of outages even if you’re out of town, no tank sitter needed.

However when it comes to gas generators it’s worth thinking about the fuel burn rate as well as how to keep the tank of x gallons fresh and ready to go 24/7 all year long, or it’ll be useless just when you need it. Extended power outages are likely to be associated with weather events, so if you have a huge gas-hungry generator are you confident you’ll be able to get out and buy/transport large quantities of gas regularly?

So I found a portable 2250w on sale that I’m comfortable with. Still heavy when full, but easy enough to move around. Plenty of running watts for my tanks, a fridge, some LED lights. 1 gallon of gas should last 6-12 hours depending on the load. Now, I have natural gas fireplaces on each level so I don’t really need to worry about house heating. Just the bare necessities until power is restored. IMO all I should need for a fraction of the cost, size, fuel maintenance, and running costs of a much larger generator. Depending on what all you need to power in an emergency, bigger is not always better.

 

[WVNed]

I considered buying a generator as another capability to have at home. I did not buy it for just running the tank. I can run corded tools and lawn equipment anywhere in the yard for example.

 

[HuduVudu]

I also want to add (I don't remember if I put it in this thread) that it is REALLY important to test your solution BEFORE you have to use it.

Turn the house off at the breaker, and run your solution. Get your generator out. Start it, plug it in etc ...

During the great freeze in TX I almost killed my tank because I was an idiot and couldn't get my genny up quickly. You can see my stupid in my build thread.

If you can just turn the breaker back on then you can fix whatever holes you missed. It becomes even more difficult to troubleshoot in the middle of the event.

Food for thought.

 

[HuduVudu]

I considered buying a generator as another capability to have at home. I did not buy it for just running the tank. I can run corded tools and lawn equipment anywhere in the yard for example.

Ohhh my favorite buy, the multi use buy. Makes it easier to justify costs.