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Old 04-11-2013, 10:23 AM   #290
watahyahknow
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Join Date: Apr 2013
Location: the netherlands europe
Posts: 6
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it does take a little more propane to run the generator compared to gasoline , it will rob some of the power that only means you need to fill up on gas more often than now , in my country as the price is about half of that of gasoline its still cheaper to run on gas even if the mpg goes down .
if the engine is only converted to propane without internal adaptations it whont make as mush power as on gasoline then again propane has an octane rating of about 108 depending on how warm it is , you can get it close to the same power as gasoline by raising the static compression and setting the ignitionsystem of the motor differently , the valves get less lubrication from the propane fuel but then again the unleaded gasoline allrealy causes that issue so the newer generators prolly allready have hardened seats and better valves in them
an engine running on propane allso makes less harmfull byproducts as carbon and co2 wish is a nice thing when gasses can enter the living quarters and an engine running on propane needs less oilchanges as its a cleaner fuel .... after its burned that is , the inlet and carb will gum up with some of the stuf floating in the gas

when he wouldve converted the generator to run on gas the 2nd tank he uses holding the gasoline isnt needed no more and can be replaced by a bigger or more propanetanks to offset the amount of refilling per period
if you allso have the campers gas engine converted to propane you only need to fill up with one feul , i even seen helper systems that injects propane intoo dieselengine for more power up steep slopes or when towing (look for bullydog propane kit on google and you tube)
from my own experiance it seems that generators and engines in general run smoother and more quet on propane as if vaporizes better than gasoline the gassystems that are for sale from places like impco works on vacuum so i think even a intelligent generator will work efficient on it
straingely enough propane is safer in a collision than a steel tank of gasoline , its less likely to rupture and spread its content over the floor i seen a film about a train coliding with a propanetank mounted on a concrete wedge it only relaesed some of he gas trough the safetyvalve
the only bad thing is the fact that it isnt eazy to fill up when youre stuck somewhere without fuel , a switchable reserve tank would help there though

i have seen one somewat professionally build 12 volt generator that basicly was a 6 hp engine connected to a 12 volt 120 Amp GM car generator
some others i seen where based on lawnmower engines driving a car generator at 3000 rpm trough pulleys ...... there realy noizy and i suspect not as efficient

as for running a generator on 120 volts : in his case allmost all the stuf he'd put intoo his stealth camper is running at 12 volts (tv bleu ray gamecomputer computer toilet lighting fans heater) or can be converted to run on 12 volt without the use of a inverter the only exceptions being the aircon unit the microwave oven and the coffeemaker , i wouldnt be suprized if you can find those made for commercial rigs and ships that run on either 24 or 12 volts
i just think it will take less energy to run everything from 12 or 24 volts straight of the generator to the batteries , faster too as the cargenerator i describet put out 120 amps compared to the 90 amp batterycharger he was using and there avalable with even more power for car audio stuff , it might even be cheaper as you dont realy need to purchase the inverter or batterycharger straight away to be operative , the 12 volt aplyances prolly be more expencive though
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