In order to have reliability from your gas generator, you must have proper maintenance of it. but a question comes here How Long Can a Natural Gas Generator Run Continuously? If you want your generator to run continuously in case of a power outage for a longer period, then you must give it a break for a few hours after running continuously. as it is also recommended by Generac that you need to have professional maintenance for your back up generator after every six months.
How Long Can a Natural Gas Generator Run Continuously?
When we are concerned about running a generator continuously, then in theory or logically a standby generator can run indefinitely as much as fuel is supplied to it. Some generators are fueled using natural gas and likewise, there is no need to hang or hoop up a gas tank as it gets an unlimited supply of natural gas from the utility company.
A few generator companies recommend that you need to run your generator continuously for up to a week at a time and then have little maintenance before starting it again even in hurricane season.
Anyhow, whichever type of fuel you are going to use. You must give a rest to your generator for cooling purposes. And when you are not in your home or at your work or school, you must shut down your generator at night. It seems to be true when your generators work at 3600 RPM. Such engines got hot in a short period of time and then use excess oil.
Check Oil Levels
During periodic shut down you must need to check the oil levels. If you find a low level, then must refill it by taking much care as overfilling can cause a lot of problems.
For extended power outages, the engines that operate at 1800 RPM are proven to be the best engines. because it uses not have much oil and runs cooler and is much more expensive than a 3600 RPM generator’s engine. When your focus is to get proper reliability then get such one that runs at 1800 RPM.
No doubt the 3600 RPM also runs without any issue, but it is best for short periods of power outages. And again, when you suffer through extended outages having these generators then must shut your engine down periodically for generator cooling purposes and have an eye on its oil levels.
By running your generator on Natural Gas, you will be able to run your generator continuously for days and weeks at a time. It will be the most preferred choice for whole-house generators because of the limitless natural gas supply and unless the supply is interrupted it will be an extremely rare event.
Maintenance is Required for your Natural Gas generator
At least once a year, a whole-house natural gas generator required maintenance and testing by a professional technician. It also needs attention same as your like need, tunes it up, and periodic oil changes.
It is also a good practice to start your generator up and let it start for 15 – 20 minutes per month. If you don’t take much care of your expensive generator, then it will not start after a power outage and it will only happen when it’s not getting maintenance properly.
COMFORTABILITY, PEACEFUL, And TENSION FREE MIND
It can become a very stressful and uncomfortable situation when you suffer through an extended power outage. A whole house Natural Gas running generator can provide you with such relaxation which removes these concerns.
The generator has a transfer switch that will turn on automatically when the power goes out. And when the utility company restores the power and the generator senses that and shut down by itself.
Benefits of Running Your Generator on Natural Gas
The main benefit of running your generator on natural gas is you do not need to refill your fuel tank again and again. Because a lot of home has built-in pipeline supply for natural gas. It has become the most preferable option for residential stand-by generators to run on natural gas.
Right now, in the United States of America, Natural Gas costs around $3.25 per thousand cubic feet per hour. As a 7-kilo-watt generator consumes around 118 cubic feet per hour it becomes the cost of operation is only $0.82. and for a 15-kilowatt generator, it arises to $1.71 per hour which utilizes 245 cubic feet of Natural Gas. and it varies for 4000watt, 5000watt,7000watt, 7500watt, 8000-8500, 9000watt and 12000watt generators
If we figure out the rough estimate, the running generator for 10 minutes once a week will cost you about $4 to $5 each month, it also varies as per the energy load. But every day the generator will cost you around $20 to $40 in case of a power outage.
Be mindful that the cost of your running generator depends on your power need. Now modern generators, are coming with low-fuel or half-load features. So that’s why the expenses of running your generator can be increased or decreased as per your power load.
How Much Does a Generac Generator Cost while Running on Natural Gas?
Let us talk about a 20 KW Generac home standby generator cost and gas consumption, suppose it runs at 50% load and consumes 204 cubic feet of Natural Gas and it consumes 301 cubic feet at 100% load. So, at half-load, it costs about $2.50, and at full-load, it costs $3.65 per hour. But it is still based on the national rate of Natural Gas which is around $11.00 per 1000 cubic feet.
What is The Maximum Amount of time A Generac generator can run Continuously?
Just like a car, if your generator is in good working condition then it must run if it gets fuel supply. Similarly, the amount of the fuel supply will determine the amount of time it will run.
You can provide your Generac generator with unlimited fuel supply if it runs on Natural Gas and that is connected to the gas pipeline coming from your home. In this way, your Generac gas generator will run for a couple of days at a time if your generator does not have any mechanical issues.
On the other hand, if your generator runs on liquid propane. Running time will not be indefinite as compared to running on Natural Gas. But most of the generators’ tanks can hold between 250 to 1000 gallons of fuel.
Normally, the household generator consumes around 2-3 liters of propane per hour. You can now estimate that a 1000-gallon tank will last longer around two weeks in case of a power outage.
Furthermore, home generators that run on diesel come with multiple sizes of tanks. Its subbase tank can hold less than 1000 gallons of fuel, and other types can hold up to 1000 gallons of fuel. Its above tank is also available.
If we talk about 10 KW generator usage, at half load it consumes 0.35 gallons of diesel per hour. It means a 1000-gallon tank will last longer about 17 weeks.
Running your generator on Natural Gas will never Stop Unless…
When you are running your generator on natural gas, it’s fueled up by gas and connected to a pipeline supply which is provided by the utility company and will never be stopped.
Then definitely it will not run out.
Unless or until your gas pipeline breaks down, in that time you will face a problem only.
Is It Possible to Run a Generator For 24 Hours consecutively?
When you run your generator over 12 to 24 hours of the period, it will produce a little amount of extra heat. But if you exceed this interval over a day of continuous usage then it will create a risk to your generator engine having produced much heat that might be much danger to your generator.
Running your Natural Gas generator Continuously will be Noisy
Generators create much noise even when you run them for a shorter period, on the other hand when you run your generator on even natural gas continuously it will make a headache for you and for your neighborhood.
To be honest, running generators irritates me a lot even if you have the quietest one but still when the motors are continuously running it creates much noise.
And when you leave your generator running all night, will not only cause sleep difficulty for you but also people living around, who may protest against this. Just keep in mind all these things.