Anyone hook up a portable generator to their house LP/NG?

[Ghostface]

I was looking at getting a standby generator but living in the city rarely am I without power for more than 12 hours. It’s hard to justify $10k for a standby. A couple of times we were without power 3-5 days But that was during a major ice storm and one time a tornado hit close. I had a Generac 6500 but it took a dump and the expense in fixing was more than what I paid for it. So I purchased another Generac, a GP8000E. The 6500 was enough to run what I needed to run with the exception of the central air, I know the 8000E isn’t enough to run central air but I got it at a really good price from Sams Club.

While surfing on YouTube I discovered my unit can run on natural gas and the conversion kit is only $200. I watched videos on how to build a storage unit to protect it from the elements. it was a PITA moving from it the shed to my back porch in the snow. After thinking about the protective shed (6x4j, now I’d like to hook it up to my nat gas Since it’s going to be permanent. Has anyone done this or paid to have someone do it? Im really looking at have someone do it because I’m not comfortable in doing it but I’m not sure what type of business does that. Your words of wisdom is appreciated….

 

[Jaybird1980]

I was looking at getting a standby generator but living in the city rarely am I without power for more than 12 hours. It’s hard to justify $10k for a standby. A couple of times we were without power 3-5 days But that was during a major ice storm and one time a tornado hit close. I had a Generac 6500 but it took a dump and the expense in fixing was more than what I paid for it. So I purchased another Generac, a GP8000E. The 6500 was enough to run what I needed to run with the exception of the central air, I know the 8000E isn’t enough to run central air but I got it at a really good price from Sams Club.

While surfing on YouTube I discovered my unit can run on natural gas and the conversion kit is only $200. I watched videos on on to build a storage unit to protect from the elememts and it was a PITA moving from the shed to my back porch in the snow. After thinking about the protective shed (6x4j, now I’d like to hook it up to my nat gas Since it’s going to be permanent. Has anyone done this or paid to have someone do it? Im really looking at have someone do it because I’m not comfortable in doing it but I’m not sure what type of business does that. Your words of wisdom is appreciated….

Are you doing the carb swap yourself? If so then any plumber should be able to plumb the gas line into your system.

 

[Ghostface]

I don’t think it needs it. Are we allowed to link YouTube videos here? I can show the conversion kit if we allowed to link.

 

[DoggyDaddy]

I don’t think it needs it. Are we allowed to link YouTube videos here? I can show the conversion kit if we allowed to link.

Yep, link away.

 

[spencer rifle]

We already have an external gas line (for boiling maple sap) and have the NG conversion kit for the Generac (but I haven't installed it yet). I put the gas line in myself years ago and so far haven't blown up the house. I will also be interested in any actual experience posted here.

 

[Jaybird1980]

I don’t think it needs it. Are we allowed to link YouTube videos here? I can show the conversion kit if we allowed to link.

You can link to YouTube. I know what the conversion is. You will need a spacer adapter and regulator put on with the carb, unless you already have the tri-fuel model.

A plumber can tie it into the home gas system.

 

[Ghostface]

Here is the conversion kit….



and this is the shed enclosure, I’m not going to do the remote start like he did.

 

[qwerty]

I faced the same thing with the whole house, and for the time being, I bought a Predator Generator from Harbor Freight (although mine does not have GFI), the Motor Snorkel from US Carburation (stupid easy install), the transfer kit from Generators Direct, and the quick connect flexible hose to go from the gas line to the generator from Amazon. I just finished the installation this fall and tested it out, and it works great.

 

[Ghostface]

So what did you need to hook up to your natural gas unit?

 

[Cameramonkey]

One word of caution. Are you looking for guaranteed service no matter what, or just service when your localized power is down?

If a tornado rolls through, you're good.
If the entire city is down (ice storm?) you might be OK.
If the SHTF, you're hosed because LNG is going down too because upstream providers wont have the power to run their gear to deliver the product to you.

If you want SHTF you're going to want propane and lots of local storage.

 

[Jon Smith]

Not an expert by far but be sure to check the gas consumption rate. i installed a cummins onan 20k and had to have my gas meter upsized.

 

[Leadeye]

Gas pressure is another thing, when I had mine installed, it needed an additional regulator.

 

[Ghostface]

I found a place that will do it, they are the same ones that came out and gave me an estimate on a standby generator install. They are who Generac sent out plus People know them and their work. Thanks for your input fellas….

 

[qwerty]

So what did you need to hook up to your natural gas unit?

The regulator has a fitting, so just miscellaneous fittings to connect to the quick release for the flexible hose and the other end at the gas line. I just picked up those at the local hardware store.
I added a shut off at the gas line rather than just relying on the quick release to seal it.


Glad you found someone to do it, better safe than sorry when it comes to all this.

 

[snapping turtle]

LP and NG will run most portable style generator fine and with LP no fuel spoilage and many storage options.

The trick to these above advantages is less power output. 8500 watts on gasoline is about 7700 watts LP. So calculate your needs based on the difference. If you get a tri fuel one like I have then it will state in the manual the wattage drop on LP.

 

[efd1295]

Another MotorSnorkel user here. I’ve done two portable generators so far, one for my dad and one for myself. My dad’s was a 10hp 5500w, mine is a 13hp 6800w portable generator. Install was less than an hour, neither required an upgrade of the NG meter. Both work flawlessly off NG, propane or gasoline. I had an outage last year for about 16 hours and it ran non stop without a hiccup. The quick connectors they sell make hookup a breeze.