frederick w
Wenatchee, wa
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I looked at a MH that the Gen. ran on propane. Wouldn't that be more expensive than running on diesel fuel?
Any benefits of Gen. running on propane. The huge propane tank sure takes up alot of basement storage.
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Fishinghat
Western Washington, USA
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Joined: 10/03/2002
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Propane generators are cheaper than diesel, so some manufacturers take that route. They work fine and the cost of the fuel is nominal when considering the other costs of owning and operating your coach. If you have a choice, diesel is preferred. A diesel generator runs off of your main tank so you won't have to worry about having enough propane.
Holiday Rambler Navigator DP, Hummer, and Honda VT1100C Shadow
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Dog Trainer
Richmond Mi.
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moisheh wrote:PropAne gensets are problematic. They are downrated as compared to the same unit that runs on gasoline. I do not know of any current DP that uses a propane gennie. Do not start well in cold weather. I would NEVER even look at a unit with one of those gennies!
Moisheh
Actually my propane genny has not been problematic at all. It is close to 20 years old now. It is the same generator as the gasoline powered but is set up to run propane. It is much cleaner burning than gas or diesel and puts out less emissions. The Propane burning Hi lo that I had for my shop was also very clean running and had very few problems. They do tend to burn more fuel as the propane burns at a lower BTU. and you do have to have additional capacity for propane.
Now to ask you the question that should be answered. Are you looking at an older MH that fits all your needs and wants with the exception of the genny ? and so you plan to do a lot of dry camping. I would not let the propane genny. be the deciding factor about the choice of a MH that I really liked.
On the other hand I wouold prfer the Diesel because I already am burning Diesel in my motor but 20 years ago they didn't use a lot of Diesel Gennys.
93 Airstream 35' Dp
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Golden_HVAC
Fulltime, CA, USA
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Propane generators are also lighter than a diesel generator, by about 300 pounds, but part of that is taken up by the huge propane tank required in place of using a gallon every 2-3 hours of diesel. Propane is closer to 1 gallon per hour, depending on the load you put on the generator, and how many watts the generator capacity is.
I would keep looking for a diesel generator if you plan on doing a lot of dry camping where it is warm, yet if your needs are not a lot of dry camping in hot weather, it will be an acceptable RV. I would install more than 200 watts of solar panels, to minimize generator run time, and it extends the battery life from 2-5 years to 4-10 years.
Fred.
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markandkim
Swansea, MA.
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It doesn't matter. Propane is a byproduct of oil. Price per BTU is the same. They are both very expensive right now. Propane lags behind in price but it will catch up in a couple of weeks. So it's a wash. You would have to carry more propane for the same amount of diesel fuel due to its low BTU content per gallon. So you would weigh more too.
I buy huge amounts of oil and natural gas for power plants for a living. I watch prices everyday, very closely.
If you could use natural gas, which you couldn't, you would be able run all you want.
Natural gas prices are the lowest I've every seen in my 35 years in the business. But you can not haul a 20,000 lb trailer down the road with it, so it's no good for us.
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moisheh
North America
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PropAne gensets are problematic. They are downrated as compared to the same unit that runs on gasoline. I do not know of any current DP that uses a propane gennie. Do not start well in cold weather. I would NEVER even look at a unit with one of those gennies!
Moisheh
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The Texan
Meridian, Idaho
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markandkim wrote:
Natural gas prices are the lowest I've every seen in my 35 years in the business. I love it too. Our heating bill this winter for the S&B in Idaho was a pleasant surprise, about 1/3 what it was a couple years ago. Last months bill was $3.33 for heat. Love it......
Bob & Betsy(FishNFanatic) - USN Aviation Ret'd '78 & LEO Ret'd '03 & "Oath Keeper Forever"
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Where the wheels are stopped today
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workhardplayharder
Treasure Coast Florida
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IMHO it is just convenient to have the gennie run off the same fuel as the chassis.
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Effy
MD
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workhardplayharder wrote:IMHO it is just convenient to have the gennie run off the same fuel as the chassis.
I would agree. Have an LP gen at the house and runs great, but on an RV, filling the gas tank is just a whole lot easier than filling an LP tank more often.
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dougrainer
Carrolton, Texas
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1. LP APU's will NOT run more than 24 hours on a tank
2. Diesel Apu's can run up to a week on the fuel tank
3. LP APU's ARE problematic, As a Dealer, we quit optioning them over 20 years ago due to the problems in hot weather. We got tired of customers having problems and we had to listen and try to get them fixed. NOT worth the headache to save a few thousand dollars.
4. Diesel is MORE efficient per gallon of fuel than LP
5. Having a LP APU will DRASTICALLY lower the resale value on a motorhome.
6. IF using the APU a lot of the time is important to you, do NOT go with LP. If having the APU is just an emergency backup or just for a few hours, then LP might be a good choice. Doug
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