Propane tank size for my 4000 watt inverter generator

[crrcboatz]

View attachment 437573

This guy would know.

Call your local propane company and ask them what 250 gal tank would cost. Purchasing one instead of renting would be more cost effective in the long run. 250 gal's would last a very long time.

No place to put a 250gal. Tank. It’s only needed if I lose power too. Thanks but that would be overkill

 

[Firpo]

You’re going to have to do some math . I’d start by referring to your owners manual for efficiency. Then add up all the loads you plan on powering with your generator. Figure out what percentage of total load you’ll need (worst case) and voila, there’s your gph usage. Now how long would you like to be able to run without utility power? There’s the size tank…..or total number of 5 gallon tanks you’ll need. Another thing to check is the maintenance schedule for your generator. I’ve seen some at 50 hours which means you’ll be changing your oil every 2 days of continuous use. Something some folks don’t think about when getting themselves prepared for a long outage.

 

[swampratt]

My son was out or electricity for 2 weeks when he was in Moore after a tornado.
I took my 4000 watt peak 2000 watt continuous inverter over there and a deep cycle battery.

When the battery got low it would shut off the unit.
He had jumper cables ran under the garage door to his Ford Fiesta.
Things he ran with it all off 1 plug.
Refrigerator.
Fish tank.
Living room lights.
TV and video game system.
Central furnace blower. Gas furnace.

He used I think it was 3/4 of a tank of fuel 10 gallon tank to keep everything working as it should.
Harbor freight inverter I got in 2000 and it still works fine.

I have ran chop saws, circular saws, drills and window units and my mig welder with gas.

It has impressed me.


You should not need electricity all day. the fridge can sit unplugged for a few hours and still be good to go.

Use the power wisely and the propane should go much farther.

 

[crrcboatz]

You’re going to have to do some math . I’d start by referring to your owners manual for efficiency. Then add up all the loads you plan on powering with your generator. Figure out what percentage of total load you’ll need (worst case) and voila, there’s your gph usage. Now how long would you like to be able to run without utility power? There’s the size tank…..or total number of 5 gallon tanks you’ll need. Another thing to check is the maintenance schedule for your generator. I’ve seen some at 50 hours which means you’ll be changing your oil every 2 days of continuous use. Something some folks don’t think about when getting themselves prepared for a long outage.

Good heads up on the maintenance schedule I’ve done some of the math u r referring to that’s what I used to guide me to this inverter generator.

 

[Big House]

 

[TerryMiller]

No place to put a 250gal. Tank. It’s only needed if I lose power too. Thanks but that would be overkill

As another alternative, check with propane suppliers and see if they have a 100 gallon vertical propane cylinder. Also determine how far a supply truck would have to string a hose to reach said cylinder. We used to use one of those some years back, and if I remember right it was about 4 1/2 feet tall and roughly 3 feet wide.

 

[Firpo]

Thought of another thing when running your calculations you may or may not know. They can only fill whatever tank you land on to 80% so a 100 gallon tank will only have 80 gallons at it fullest. I’m really quick with those numbers.

 

[Shadowrider]

Generators burn a lot more fuel than people realize. I ran my Coleman 5500 watt during the deep freeze a few years ago and it would run just under a tank in about 8 hours. I was going to get 6 gallons every morning. I would only run it during the day and at night I was running my little Honda 1000 inverter for the gas furnace blower.

The 5500 was lightly loaded only running the chest freezer in the garage and the fridge in the house, plus a few lights as needed. So it wasn't loaded up heavily at all and it still drank through the fuel. Going to fill a 5 gallon and a 1 gallon can EVERY..SINGLE..MORNING was getting REALLY..FRIGGING..OLD at the end of it. Running on propane or NG burns slightly more fuel and gets you slightly less power than a gasoline rated unit. You need to account for that.

 

[cowadle]

Just run a line from your house tank? Or hook it up to your natural gas line? Maybe you are total electric?

Should be able to run on natural gas. Just a regulator setting is all that is necessary.

 

[swampratt]

Generators burn a lot more fuel than people realize. I ran my Coleman 5500 watt during the deep freeze a few years ago and it would run just under a tank in about 8 hours. I was going to get 6 gallons every morning. I would only run it during the day and at night I was running my little Honda 1000 inverter for the gas furnace blower.

The 5500 was lightly loaded only running the chest freezer in the garage and the fridge in the house, plus a few lights as needed. So it wasn't loaded up heavily at all and it still drank through the fuel. Going to fill a 5 gallon and a 1 gallon can EVERY..SINGLE..MORNING was getting REALLY..FRIGGING..OLD at the end of it. Running on propane or NG burns slightly more fuel and gets you slightly less power than a gasoline rated unit. You need to account for that.

I had a friend that did exactly what you did.
He said he hopes he never has to fetch that many 5 gallon jugs of gas ever again.