propane, Gas or Diesel - RV-Dreams Community Forum

gilljr · RV-Dreams Family Member

propane, Gas or Diesel

Terry and Jo · RV-Dreams Family Member

Before being able to give advice, one really needs to know what your plans are for RV'ing. Thus, what I have to say will simply be general statements, based on what I would do in a similar situation.

First of all, allow me to touch on one drawback to a gasoline generator. We have a Honda EU3000IS generator and overall are very pleased with it, however it has two drawbacks. One, with a full tank of fuel, it weighs about 150 lbs, which is just about unmanageable for just one person. While I can lift ours, I can't carry it very far because it is bulky as well as heavy. I can move it in stages of a few feet at a time. Second, because ours was purchased in Oklahoma, we found that when we went into the mountains, the higher elevation and lesser amount of oxygen causes it to run rich on fuel and thus fouls the carburetor. That makes it necessary to either re-jet the carburetor or change the plugs. We found that running the generator for about six hours per day led to the need to replace the plug after about 2 or 3 days.

When we were researching for our RV, we found that the Onan 5500 (and possibly others) had a control that allowed one to change the carburetor for the different altitudes. Those Onans were set up for propane use.

One would need to know what circumstances you would be planning for before advising on a generator fuel type or size. Will you be mostly hooking up to electric, or will you be doing a lot of boondocking? We ordered our Mobile Suites with generator prep (but no generator) so that we would have the option of getting a bigger generator than our Honda. We also ordered ours with a 3000 watt pure sine wave inverter, thus it came with 4 batteries instead of two. That option would allow us to boondock if we wished, and our Honda could then be used to be hooked up to "recharge" the batteries.

If one is going to go with a propane powered generator, I would think that one might want to have extra LPG cylinders, because if one runs the generator a lot, it will use a lot of LPG, so extra cylinders would likely be needed. If one goes with a diesel or gasoline generator, one needs to be able to carry extra fuel of that type. Oh, and with regards to many of the generators with smaller engines, such as our Honda, it is recommended that they only use 100% gasoline instead of an ethanol mix. Ethanol is hard on the smaller engines.

Good luck with your research. Also, if you go with a portable, you can find smaller generators that can be set up to run two in parallel, thus giving you more power, but not being quite so heavy.

Terry

gilljr · RV-Dreams Family Member

We will be hooked to electric most of the time. We will do some boondocking and are planning an Alaska trip next year. We have two 40 lb. tanks now and I will get a spare for Alaska trip. Thanks for all your advice Terry. You have really helped us since we got our Suites.

Jack Mayer · RV-Dreams Family Member

Here are my general recommendations - you will have to fit them against your requirements.

- If you are going to boondock a fair amount they you should have solar. If you have solar then an LP genset is my preference, because it is not going to be used a lot. The downside of the LP is getting fuel if used frequently, but with solar that is not an issue. The plus of the LP is that you can neglect exercising the genset and it is far more forgiving than gas or diesel.

- If you are not going to boondock a lot then the above "may" apply to you, as well. The reason is that you are simply not going to need the genset much. And people that do not boondock much generally neglect the genset more than people that DO boondock. SO LP may make sense...but be aware of the inconvenience of getting fuel.

- If you plan to run the genset a lot then diesel is the way to go...especially if it is on a diesel truck with lots of fuel, or on a diesel motorhome (in your case we are talking 5er though). Gas is a close second....mainly for ease of fueling.

Let me stress that LP is FAR more forgiving to abuse than gas or diesel. If you exercise the genset regularly - and properly- then gas/diesel is not a big issue. MOST do not, though. And remember, there is nothing worse than a genset that will not start when you need it.

Bill and Linda · RV-Dreams Family Member

X2 on Jack’s comments about LP. I have an Onan 5,500 watt LP genset that I had moved from my previous rig to our current rig. It was over 7 years old when moved and never failed to start because LP, unlike gas or diesel, doesn’t go bad in the genset when it sits. It runs just as well at 9,000 feet plus as at sea level and did just three weeks ago in the Colorado mountains. No need to adjust the mixture as is sometimes required in gas units. Our Onan LP unit has no mixture control because it is not required. As I say, push the button, its starts.

Total maintenance now over 8 years has been to change the oil. Every so many hours recommended preventive maintenance requires the cleaning of the soot filter in the exhaust. Mine has never been dirty because it is LP. There just isn’t any soot from LP.

LP is not as efficient as gas or diesel, but especially in a 5er, it is so much more practical assuming the genset is used relatively little. This is completely different than a motor home situation where gensets are often run during travel to power the air conditioning, etc. and have a big diesel tank going along for the ride anyway.

We’ve never needed extra LP cylinders beyond the two 40lb units when booddocking but if required remember you can pick those up pretty easy at a Wal-Mart, etc. They are a lot easier to deal with than extra diesel or gas cans and they don’t spill.

Our experience over the years . . .

cherylbrv · RV-Dreams Family Member

Terry and Jo wrote:
...
When we were researching for our RV, we found that the Onan 5500 (and possibly others) had a control that allowed one to change the carburetor for the different altitudes...

I have that same generator. How do you change the control, and how do you know what to change it to?

The Bear II · RV-Dreams Family Member

I had an Onan gas generator in my 5th wheel until it died. The manufacturer had installed a 7 gallon steel gas tank to fuel the generator. I will never have an installed gas generator again.

It worked great and was very convenient until you had to fill the gas tank. Even though I used two 3 gallon containers with no spill valves, it was a chore to refill the tank while camped. One of the biggest problems was the filler cap was located 2 feet away from the water heater fresh air vent. So I would have to turn off the water heater and then relight it after I filled the gas tank.

Now I use two Honda 2000i with the parallel kit. These provide flexibility, run one or both depending on what we need them for. Easier and safer to fill with gas. Can use them away from the RV if needed. I used them at our home when a transformer blew and Edison indicated it would be a 24 hour fix. We had lights and TV while everyone else was in the dark.

Terry and Jo · RV-Dreams Family Member

cherylbrv wrote:
Terry and Jo wrote:
...
When we were researching for our RV, we found that the Onan 5500 (and possibly others) had a control that allowed one to change the carburetor for the different altitudes...
I have that same generator. How do you change the control, and how do you know what to change it to?

Cheryl,

We don't have the Onan, but you want to look in the area of the carburetor of the generator and look for a small lever (roughly 3 to 4 inches long). If yours has it, there should be some gauge-like thing at that lever that has increments of altitude. The ones I saw weren't very precise, so if one knew that they would be at 7000 feet, it was set that way. They might have been in 1000 foot increments on the gauge. Another thing that I don't know is when Onan began to put those on their generators. If you have a manual, check in that. If not, check on-line for one.

As far as knowing how to set the control, "there's an app for that." On my Android Motorola phone, I downloaded a free app for altitudes. It isn't exactly precise, but neither is the control on the generator.

Terry