Diesel Generator Set

When deciding on a generator set some of the toughest challenge is deciding what type of fuel you use on the generator. We will give you the advantages and disadvantages of gaseous (including natural gas or propane) and also on diesel to help you make a decision which one would work best for your application.

What the advances of buying a diesel generator instead of gas generator  -  Positive reasons to use gaseous powered engines:

• Quieter engine noise level
• More convenient fuel source (natural gas)
• More emission compliant

What the advances of buying a diesel generator instead of gas generator  - negative reasons to use LP and NG factors to consider:

• More expensive to operate can be as much as 3 times the fuel consumption compare to a diesel engine.
• More expensive to purchase for models larger than 30kw
• Shorter life expectancy -  for air-cooled models ten to one and water-cooled models three to one compared to diesel powered gensets. A gas engine can have life expectancy as low as 500 hours depending on engine make and use.
• Hurricanes and earthquakes can disrupt the flow of natural gas lines with up rutted trees and can be very dangerous if lines are broken.
• Natural gas begins to derate at +20 degrees above zero and propane begins to derate around -20 degrees above zero.

What the advances of buying a diesel generator instead of gas generator  -  Positive factors for diesel engines:

• Life expectancy for liquid cooled 1800 rpm engines can be 20,000 hours if properly serviced  compared to 5-6000 hours on industrial quality gaseous gensets. Even 3600 rpm diesel engines normally have a 10,000 to 15,000 hour life expectancy.
• Diesel engines are less expensive to operate. Diesel generators are designed for off-road applications and can operate on dyed or construction diesel fuel which is sold without the road tax and is considerably cheaper to purchase.
• Diesel engines can operate in arctic-cold conditions  with fuel additive.
• Diesel fuel is safer because of the high flash point it is difficult to start a fire with diesel fuel.
• Diesel engines perform better when worked under a load for a long period of time.
• Diesel fuel is easier to obtain during a disaster because it is necessary fuel for the military, trucking industry, and farming operations.
• the diesel generator set cost of owning is much lower over the long run than gaseous gensets.

What the advances of buying a diesel generator instead of gas generator  -  Negative factors for diesel engines:

• Engine noise is higher. The use of designed enclosure and sound attenuation system is more important on a diesel generator set.
• In some states, diesel engines are not allow to operate over a number of hours per year because of the emission of diesel fuel does cause air pollution.  
• Requires more maintenance than a gaseous unit and requires clean moisture free fuel.
• A diesel engine is subject easier to "wet stacking" if run for long periods of time with ultra light loads than gaseous gensets.
• If you live where hurricane can develop you might need a large fuel tank due to the possibility of extended power outages. Some counties require the generator on-board fuel tanks to be double-wall containment type which does increase the cost of the genset.
• Diesel generator set are heavier then their counterpart gaseous genset and can cost considerably more than a inexpensive air-cooled gas generator set.

We hope this gives you the necessary information to see the positive and negative of each type of  genset.