DIESEL Vs NAURAL GAS OR LP

By Rafael Valderrama

At the time when you want to buy a power generator one of the first decision you need to make and the one that will impact more the whole installation process and the future of your investment is the type of fuel your generator will use.

One of important points is how safe is to store the fuel. Diesel fuel is the safest fuel to store and it takes a lot to make it burn. It has a shelf life, but can be extended by adding fuel preservatives. With the preservatives, life expectancy is about 2 years maximum. Diesel is one of the more efficient and environmentally friendly fuels.

Gasoline is the most common fuel. It has a normal useful life of about 6 months, and with fuel preservatives, can be extended to almost 2 years. But the big problem with  gasoline is that  it is extremely flammable and dangerous. Gasoline fumes are heavier than air and tend to settle. This is especially dangerous as gas soaked rags can produce enough fumes to be ignited around gas water heaters. It requires special storage and venting considerations. Many ordinances disallow storage of more than 6 gallons of gasoline without a special permit and inspections. Gasoline is also one of the most toxic; one teaspoon can contaminate 10,000 gallons of water.

Propane is a very popular source of fuel and it is already the primary source for heating and cooking. Propane has an indefinite shelf life, and storage is usually a 500 to 1000 gallon propane tank but propane is not as combustible as gasoline. Usually it derates the engine horsepower by 10% of it's gasoline capable rating. Propane driven engines do not have the cooling or lubricating benefits of gasoline or diesel fuels on valves.

The Natural gas has the same applications than the propane but the problem is  that it is flammable and derates the engine horsepower by 20% of it's gasoline capable rating. Because you don't store it, you can not be assured of it's availability in certain disaster situations such as earth quakes or any other natural disaster situation. Natural gas driven generators do not have the cooling benefits of gasoline or diesel fuels on valves.

Some other considerations you need to make is that there are always hiden costs at the time you buy a generator, specially in the case of propane generators. One of them is the tank. You will need to install a buried thank that give you at least 72 to 96 hours of continuous use. You will need also to  full tank  (you can’t fill the tank partially it needs to be the whole thank and in the future you won’t use the 100% of the Capacity of the tank due to the fact that the engine need a minimum pressure to work), gas lines and connection to generator.  

In the case of diesel the only thing you need is to fuel the tank which can be up to the level you want.

In the case of natural gas if the service is available in your areas you will need to paid for the service line to house and the meter and gas line and connection for generator.

The rest of the costs like transport of the generator, permits and  electrical wiring are the same.

Finally for me the point which is the most important at the time of choosing the fuel, is how the fuel will affect the functioning of the generator incase of an unexpected situation or disaster situation.

As concluded by the Chief Harlin R. Mc Even during the 7^th annual conference for technologies for critical incidents preparedness, only the sites that had large gasoline, diesel or propane fuel tanks capable of running generators for at least a week turned out to be the only sites still able to operate after Katrina hurricane, and the reason why was that after a natural disaster, safety will be a priority and road and site conditions may prohibit additional fuel deliveries in a timely manner.

As a part of those conclusions the state of Florida introduces new regulations that make mandatory for some gas stations to have power generation capabilities and that solves the problem about fuel availability but what about distribution?

If large tanks are the answer then we have the hole in the residential market where a big tank may not be an option due to space or budget.

So what could be the answer...simple, you can always have fuels like diesel or gasoline, even if there is no refill company on the road because you can always go and get it if no body can do it for you which is not the case for propane (at least in the volume you need it for a standard size hose generator) or natural gas.

So my conclusion is: Remember that the motivation for backup power is always prevention and there is no sense on half prevention and diesel give you an answer about that. If you want to buy a power generator to protect your business or your family during a disaster try not to leave loose ends.

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