Pros and Cons of Different Types of Fuel Generators

When shopping for generators, there are many different things to consider, such as: it's main purpose, how much power is needed, does it need to be stationary or portable, the run duration required, its safety and convenience, and the type of fuel you use and the availability of that fuel. One of the most important requirements, and one that some of these questions revolve around, is the type of fuel that the generator uses. There are four main types of fuels that generators use: gasoline, diesel, natural gas, and propane. Lets take a look at each of these and the pros and cons that each type offers.

• Gasoline - gas is readily available since we use it to run our cars. The price varies (like for all fuels), but gas prices is something most of us are regularly aware of, or can easily find out. Gas models, especially portable ones, are quite affordable. But the down side is that they have a short run time, the tank would have to be filled multiple times a day if you needed to run it continuously. So they are not good if you need to rely upon during a long term emergency. Also, if power goes down long term in an area, local gas stations would be affected so their gas pumps would not work.
  


• Diesel - generators that run off of diesel can have the same disadvantages as gas in terms of supply availability, they are also more expensive and most often used in industry. However, diesel engines require less maintenance and are more efficient than the others available.
  


• Natural gas - if you are looking at residential or home generators, one of the big advantages of natural gas is that if you have natural gas at home, a generator can be hooked directly into your natural gas line. This completely removes the problem of running out of fuel or having to constantly refill the tank. One thing to be aware of is that when you choose your generator model, be sure to check its required gas pressure, and check the standard delivery pressure of the natural gas coming into your home. If the required pressure of the generator is greater than what comes through the gas lines to your home, the generator may not work. Another possible problem to be aware of with natural gas, is that if there is a major disaster, natural gas supply may be interrupted or turned off for safety, in which case having a generator doesn't do much good. But, if your generator is a bi-fuel (which many NG one's are) then it can run on propane as well, which is good but you would need to do a basic field adjustment to convert from one fuel to the other. You also need a propane supply.
  


• Propane - Liquid petroleum gas (LPG), or propane, has the similar benefit as natural gas of being able to run long term, but instead of using a city line running into your home, you need a large propane tank on your property that is hooked up the generator. The tank does need to be periodically refilled, but depending upon the size of the tank and the size and use of your generator, one can operate off of a full tank for quite awhile. Since propane has an almost unlimited shelf life, if you have a propane tank that is set aside just for a generator, you know that you will be ok, even during and extended outage or major emergency.
  

Only you can determine what type of generator will work best for your needs, but make sure you consider the pros and cons of the different fuels when making the decision of what type of generators will work best for you.