quote:

Originally posted by NormanConquest:
You're right Ann. Not just fuel prices but prices on everything. I still have a hard time believing people are that stupid in their support of socialism. It has NEVER worked. As the old adage goes, "The definition of insanity is making the same mistakes over + over expecting different results."

What I can't wait for is the libtards squealing with joy over illegals getting free health care, open borders, high fuel prices, rent increases and even higher prices at the grocery. They will say it is great for the good of the people. Few will remember how well the economy was for the Trump years. They won't care.

Anyway, yes, it is for sure to be better prepared and live rural if you can. I don't think the riots and anarchy are over. Not by a long shot.

I can't believe no one has mentioned diesel? I have a 25kva Kubota diesel that will run my place. Since I have diesel tractors I have plenty of diesel on hand at all times.

And you guys using gas! Give up that stabil! Startron works much, much better! I use it in all my small engines, boats, gas cans and ranch vehicles. Wonderful stuff!

Nat gas is good and easy, but I'd never try to run a generator on propane over diesel.


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You are correct on the longevity of diesel. Put a new battery in an old tractor in the field + she will run. Carburation + storage of fuels is to individual tastes. I find LP more "worker-friendly". and Ann BTW, you are quite correct that the riots are not over. In an inappropriate statement although dissimilar but valid just the same, "They will never go back to the farm once they've seen Paree." Yeah when rioting + paid chaos is funded why not? Much easier than working,right?

Norman - Old diesel engines will run on old diesel fuel regardless of how much water and biologic it's contaminated with. But try and run a new diesel engine with electronic injectors on contaminated fuel and you will be replacing all the injectors. Cha' ching...

Regardless of the fuel stabilizer you use, it's best practice not to store it for more than a year. In addition to stabilizing stored fuel it's also best practice to either start your generator for 20 minutes or so each month or fog the engine cylinders with oil to prevent corrosion. And if you don't start the engine often, replace the crankcase oil as moisture creeps into everything.

It's best not to start working on a small engine when you really need it to work.

I have a Kohler 4 cylinder water cooled 7.5KW generator. It only runs 1800 RPM. I bet the damn things weighs 500 lbs. I have fuel line running from a 55 gallon tank. It burns about an gallon an hour on full load. I think that 7.5 KW is a very conservative rating. I have a car type muffler attached to it. Just purrs.
My father bought it years ago. I believe these were used to power lights HVAC units in large yachts.
You can run it 24/7. Just change the oil.

Well unless I stand corrected I still feel that an LP conversion is the way to go. It works, so why mess with it?

I had my home and farm house wired with 50 amp plug ins for my portable generator. I recently bought a 9500W gasoline portable and can move it to wherever it is needed. I also have a 30 gallon portable gas tank on wheels with a hand pump that can go with it. I also have a 250 gallon tank at the farm with non ethanol gasoline for the four wheelers and lawn mower. That fuel doesn’t get a chance to get old because we mow a 5 acre yard and use the side by sides constantly and refill it at least once a year.
We had one hurricane too many this year so bought the gen. Had my kids houses wired also. They both have smaller gens. So now no extension cord BS.

That is the key; never let it set dormant for a long time; otherwise gas is a good option.

ive done power generation for 2 caterpillar dealers and 1 kohler dealer... about 20 yrs worth..... my house is set up with a 15kw diesel powered generator.. kubota engine/lima generator... onan transfer switch... when the power goes off, generator stars and transfers in under 10 seconds... power comes back on, generator times out after 10 minutes... a commercial setup like this will cost about $12-15k...its not cheap... fuel useage runs about 20 gallons of diesel a day... at full load...

Yes indeed Jim, diesel + propane lasts a long time. And you are right about it not being a cheap backup, BUT consider the cost of a freezer full of meat + your water well + all of a sudden the price gets more reasonable. I can live without A.C. I've done it for years, but I CAN NOT live without water.

When I lived in Southeast Michigan, our electrical grid in the summer would black out about once or twice a week on hot days. I got pissed and had a Generac whole house NG generator installed. We did this about a month prior to Katrina after which their prices went up and there was a shortage of units for months.

Can't remember the size, but it ran everything in our house other than the AC. It served us very, very, well over the next several years. The only thing I had to do was change the oil every once in awhile and put in a new battery.

We had some outages in our area that lasted for several days and we were just fine. My son and family moved in with us during these periods as they were without power. Depending on the weather we would often shut it down at midnight when we went to bed and then restart it at 7am.

Bottom line; it was a good investment.