Ligerius
Well-Known Member
I have been doing a fair bit of research into Standby Generators, (the kind used in places with frequent power outages, which will kick in automatically) Some say to only run the aircooled models 200 hours a year, but they are rated for about 5,000 hours of use. They must be allowed sufficient time to cool off however, or you will burn up your engine. The more expensive watercooled models, (roughly 3 times the price) will last about 3 times as long however at about 10,000 to 15,000 hours. For about $10,000 you can get a liquid cooled generator made by Cummins Onan(a good manufacturer) that will give 22 KW at full load, but they say to only run it at 75% load max, but still, THATS 16,500 FREAKIN WATTS. Even the water cooled units need rest however, but I would think that a 12 hour run time every day would be more than enough with 12 hours off. You might even be able to get away with 18 hours. Of course one would still have to do maintenance every 200 hours at least, but they say it is best to do it every 50-75 hours of runtime. I still need to do more research into this, and maybe ask around on some survivalist or mechanical forums, but I think this could be a viable option for those who would like to be pulling more watts, but are worried about attracting attention. Even if a water cooled propane Genset couldn't pull the weight, you can get diesel generators that can run for 24 hours a day, needing very few rests, for 3 times as long as a liquid cooled generator. Thats 30,000 - 45,000 hours of use, pretty good eh?
