Propane conversion for my Storm Responder 5500-watt generator

[Hammermechanicman]

Had many different backup generation systems over the years. The gas and propane systems while working well always needed maintenance, and when running consumed massive quantities of fuel. Installed a whole house solar system 3 years ago and haven't spent a single cent on electrical energy since. Completely seamless operation. I know it's not right for everyone, but in my case it was one of the best investments we've made.

Curious how much you spent on the system. Got a family i am friends with who wanting to be "green" installed solar to power their electeic car super charger that pulls 48 amps which it won't. They dropped a ton of money on the solar system but no storage. They believed all the fairy tales the salesman told them.
In the 80's i installed passive solar for hot water. It worked extremely well. So good that a few months after installing it the power company thought i was stealing power. Storing energy in water is a whole lot cheaper than storing it in batteries. Not quite the same but in the end accomplishes the same thing. Less energy consumrd from the grid.

 

[Gym123]

Hello folks,

I have a secondary standby generator that is a B&S 5500/8250-watt Storm Responder. I want to adapt it to run on 20LB portable propane tanks. I am tired of chasing gasoline/ carburetor related issues every time I need this thing in an emergency.

I have watched a couple of videos, and it seems to be a straightforward process except the kits I look at from Nash & US carburetion and others are incomplete. I am looking for everything that goes from the propane tank to the regulator and what needs to be put on the engine carburetor.

Is there anyone who sells a complete kit, or are they all broken down in "bundle" segments? I am not a fan of piecing together a mixed parts kit.

Thanks in advance.

I don't know how good it is/isn't, but I found a kit on Amazon. I haven't done anything about using propane because I plan to buy a larger generator that has at least one 240V outlet.

 

[Gym123]

Curious how much you spent on the system. Got a family i am friends with who wanting to be "green" installed solar to power their electeic car super charger that pulls 48 amps which it won't. They dropped a ton of money on the solar system but no storage. They believed all the fairy tales the salesman told them.
In the 80's i installed passive solar for hot water. It worked extremely well. So good that a few months after installing it the power company thought i was stealing power. Storing energy in water is a whole lot cheaper than storing it in batteries. Not quite the same but in the end accomplishes the same thing. Less energy consumrd from the grid.

Where did you store the water- underground, in an insulated tank surrounded by thermal mass? What capacity?

 

[Hammermechanicman]

Where did you store the water- underground, in an insulated tank surrounded by thermal mass? What capacity?

I had 2 water tanks. A standard 55 gal electric and an 80 gal electric i converted to solar. I had 2 4'x8' panels on the roof. The system would heat the the solar tank to around 130 degrees and that fed the standard tank so the water heater almost never turned on. My cost to heat domestic hot water was pretty much zero. With a family of 4 you use a lot of hot water. I wrapped both tanks in fiberglass blankets and i had plenty of hot water heated the day before at 6:00 in the morning. There are systems that use one tank but they are not as good as a proper dual tank system.

 

[Gord Baker]

As it stands right now, I went with US carburetion and ordered the Propane conversion kit specifically for my model and a Propane line kit which has all the fittings. The only other thing I had to order is the yellow PTFE tape that resistant to Propane oils.

I will update one I get everything installed and tuned in.

A You Tube member Who goes by Bassguitarist1985 has a very good video about a generator Propane conversion on a similar model generator, except he had problems with the generator itself that he had to resolve.

You should NOT be using Teflon Tape for NG or Propane joints. Use the white paste. Proper shutdown, leaving Tank empty, no Fuel in Carb will result in quick Starts.

 

[RevB]

Thanks hlw49,

I know there is some drop in wattage output due to the BTU difference in the fuel combustion, but yours sounds dramatic.

Are you sure you have mixture lean enough? Propane is the opposite of gasoline when it comes to a proper mixture. To rich will lug down the motor and cause overheating.

No, that's about right. If you consider gasoline (e10) to be 1.0 Gasoline Equivalent then propane is about 0.76 Gasoline Equivalent. You'd need 1.52 gallons of propane to equal the BTU content of 1 gallon of gasoline. Motor gasoline, 1 gallon=120,214 Btu
Diesel fuel, 1 gallon=137,381 Btu
Heating oil, 1 gallon=138,500 Btu
Propane, 1 gallon=91,452 Btu.
Power would be down on propane per gallon per unit time which would be about 1.31 times more propane per unit time.

 

[RevB]

Thanks hlw49,

I know there is some drop in wattage output due to the BTU difference in the fuel combustion, but yours sounds dramatic.

Are you sure you have mixture lean enough? Propane is the opposite of gasoline when it comes to a proper mixture. To rich will lug down the motor and cause overheating.

And too rich gasoline will behave similarly to a too rich propane. There is no opposite.....

 

[Breezes]

I have a Tri-fuel conversion on my 7000 watt DeVilbiss generator with a 14 HP B/S Vanguard engine. The only problem I have had is the 20 propane freezing after several hours run time in cold weather which decreases the pressure to the regulator. I also use a two tank auto switch-over valve.

 

[farmerdave1954]

Curious how much you spent on the system. Got a family i am friends with who wanting to be "green" installed solar to power their electeic car super charger that pulls 48 amps which it won't. They dropped a ton of money on the solar system but no storage. They believed all the fairy tales the salesman told them.
In the 80's i installed passive solar for hot water. It worked extremely well. So good that a few months after installing it the power company thought i was stealing power. Storing energy in water is a whole lot cheaper than storing it in batteries. Not quite the same but in the end accomplishes the same thing. Less energy consumrd from the grid.

People are finally learning the truth about the problems with electric vehicles. Have you noticed the severe drop in EV sales? Some mfgs are dropping them from their line. All they gain is moving the emissions from the tailpipe to the power generating station, unless it's a hydroelectric station.

 

[farmerdave1954]

If you are lucky enough to live where natural gas is available, that's the best of all worlds. A whole-house auto-start auto-transfer generator is not really all that much more expensive than a portable genset, especially if you take into account the convenience factor. If you have a sump pump in a leaky basement, it could be cheaper in the end by not coming home to a flooded basement after you have been gone a while. Or a freezer of spoiled food. If power goes out in the middle of the night, you just roll over and go back to sleep. No fuel storage, no fuel supply issues, no fuel theft worries, no stale fuel, no refilling propane tanks, or risk of running out of fuel.