The Ultimate Guide to Off-Grid Generators

You might be wondering why we are talking about fuel powered generators when our goal is to be energy independent. I understand your concern because it took me a while to see how important having a good backup generator is to our off-grid lifestyle. In this article we’re going to talk about the reasons you should include one in your energy plan, whether you want an inverter or conventional generator, what fuel do you want your generator to run on, plus other options that make your generator more functional and efficient to use.

Why include a GENERATOR in your off-grid energy plan?

The bottom line is that your generator is there for your convenience. No matter how good and efficient you have set up your solar, hydro, or wind power systems, there will be times when things go wrong. Consider these scenarios:

• Cloudy Days A lot of homesteaders run a generator on cloudy days in order to fully charge their batteries. This is especially important for people like us who live in the northern states and don’t see the sun as much in the winter. Even if you have a really large solar system, it helps to have a generator to supplement your energy needs.
  
• Maintenance Days Let’s be real. There are days when you’ll need to go and do routine maintenance on your solar panels in order for them to work most efficiently. The cleaner they are the better they work. They may have developed cracks, or have just become really dirty from dust or bird droppings. Use your backup generator to substitute the energy loss while doing maintenance.
• Repairs It’s inevitable that your solar, hydro, or wind power systems will break at some point or another. This will leave you with a reduction in your normal energy production. Repairs on a solar panel can take up to two or three weeks if you send it in. If you are doing your own repairs on your hydro or wind turbines, this will also cost you time and energy. Again, your backup generator acts as a substitute in times like this and helps maintain normal energy production levels for you.
• Budget Becoming energy independent is not a cheap thing to do. All of the equipment you need can add up quickly. A generator is a good way to meet your immediate energy needs until you have the money to expand your alternative energy systems.

One of the most basic decisions you need to make is whether you want to buy an inverter or conventional generator.

Conventional Generators

Conventional generators have been around for a long time. The frequency of the power produced is known for fluctuating. Most people choose not to use a conventional generator to run small electronics because the power spikes could damage sensitive devices.

Pros of Conventional Generators:

• Larger Fuel Tanks Conventional generators generally have much larger fuel tanks than inverter generators do. You will save yourself on refilling if you buy a conventional generator.
• More Power If you need power, then buying a conventional generator might be the right choice for you. Inverter generators don’t usually go more than
• Cost Conventional Generators are substantially more affordable than inverter generators.

Cons of Conventional Generators:

• Noise Generators are given a decibel rating usually abbreviated dB or dBA. This rating helps us as the consumer know how loud a particular generator is while running. Conventional generators typically have a much higher decibel rating than inverter generators somewhere between 65-75 decibels. That is the same rating given for a loud barking dog and street traffic.
• “Dirty Electricity” People often refer to the power produced by conventional generators as “dirty”. What this means is that it is less consistent as the power produced by an inverter generator. This doesn’t make any difference to your larger pieces of equipment but it does matter to sensitive appliances like TVs and phones.

Inverter Generators

Inverter generators are a more recent development and produce AC power, that is converted to DC, and then back to AC power. Because of this, the power produced (“pure sine waves”) is much more stable than in a conventional generator and people find it safe to use for their small electronics.

Pros of Inverter Generators:

• Portable Most inverter generators are small and lightweight which make them convenient for picking up and carrying around on your homestead. Unlike conventional generators that are bulky and usually require wheels and a solid metal frame in order to move them around.
  
• Quieter Generators are given a decibel rating usually abbreviated dB or dBA. This rating helps us as the consumer know how loud a particular generator is while running. Inverter generators are designed to be quieter than conventional generators. Normal conversation is rated about 60 dB. Sounds above 85 dB are harmful depending on how long and often you are exposed to them without ear protection. So, if you’re concerned about drawing unnecessary attention to your homestead or being a bother to your neighbors, and inverter generator is a better choice.
• “Cleaner Electricity” The process by which inverter generators work produce electricity that is smoother than a conventional generator. This smooth electricity is the best for sensitive electronics such as computers, phones, TVs, printers, kitchen appliances, and power tools.
• Fuel Efficient Inverter generators are designed to be more compact, and one effect is their ability to adjust engine speed to the load at hand. This means that they make better use of the fuel they have.
• Parallel Operation Many inverter generators can be paired together with another identical generator and double your capacity. This means you can use two smaller, lighter inverter generators and provide the same wattage and amperage of one large generator. But, you will still have all the benefits of the smaller, quieter units.

Cons of Inverter Generators:

• More Expensive Inverter Generators are substantially more expensive than inverter generators.
• Smaller Fuel Tank They don’t have very large tank sizes compared to conventional generators. They are usually two to four gallons compared to nine to twelve gallons in conventional generators.

What FUEL is the best for your generator?

Not only do you have the option of conventional or inverter generators you also have many fuel options to choose from. Fuel powered generators are either run on diesel, gasoline, propane, natural gas, or a hybrid generator that has multi options. Read some of the pros and cons below to decide which choice is best for you and your situation.

Diesel

Pros:

• Least flammable fuel source.
• Fuel easily obtained. You can buy diesel at any gas station.
• Least expensive to operate.

Cons:

• 18-24 month shelf life, without additives.
• Diesel generators run best and are more fuel efficient when loaded at 70-80%. If they run for a long period of time with a light load, less than 40%, this can cause the engine to smoke because the injectors become carbonized. This is called “wet stacking”.

Gasoline

Pros:

• Common fuel source, easily obtained from any gas station.
• Increases portability of smaller generators.

Cons:

• Highly flammable.
  
• Short shelf life, approximately 12 months.
• Storing large quantities of fuel is hazardous.
• May not be available during power outages.
• Somewhat expensive fuel, check your local prices.

Propane

Pros:

• Long shelf life.
• Burns clean.
• Easily stored in both large tanks or in smaller 5 – 10 gallon cylinders.
• Propane generators typically have a quieter engine noise than the others.

Cons:

• Somewhat expensive fuel, check your local prices.
• Propane begins to derate around -20 degrees above zero.
• Fuel system is more complicated than others so installation and maintenance cost of propane generators is more.
• Compared to diesel generators, propane generators typically have higher fuel consumption rates and shorter life expectancies.

Natural Gas

Pros:

• Burns clean.
• Great for cold climates because it performs well in cold weather.

Cons:

• Natural gas begins to derate at +20 degrees above zero.
• Higher fuel consumption rate and shorter life expectancy when compared to diesel.
• Not an off-grid fuel source.

Hybrid (Bi-Fuel / Dual Fuel)

Hybrid generators give you the freedom and flexibility of fuel choice.

Pros:

• Give yourself options in case of emergencies or a short supply of one type of fuel.

Cons:

• All the cons listed above for each individual fuel source apply here as well. Remember that gasoline has a short shelf life of only 12 months and is highly flammable. Diesel generators need to be run at least at a 70% load in order to avoid “wet stacking”. Propane generators have a more complex fuel system than the others so propane generators are more expensive to maintain and natural gas is dependent on the grid, which doesn’t make it an off-grid fuel option.

Additional Features

There are many features that you might consider important to have included with your generator. Some of these features will make your generator run more efficiently and others are there for convenience.

• Pull cord or electric start This point deals with how you start your generator. Many generators come with both a pull-cord and electric start, but often times people prefer one way over the other. For example, women and older people tend to prefer the electric start option over a pull cord because yanking on a starting rope is uncomfortable for them. If your generator doesn’t come with an electric starter, you may be able to install one yourself. If you have an electric start, this means you also have a battery that you need to maintain and keep charged.
  
• Low oil shut off sensor Don’t underestimate how important this feature is to the life and efficiency of your generator. If the oil level in your generator is too low, you can cause permanent damage by running it without enough oil. It is worth your attention to buy a generator equipped with a low oil shut off sensor. This sensor is designed to prevent the engine from being damaged by automatically shutting the engine off if it detects the oil level is too low.
• Remote start A lot of people really like to have this feature on their generator. Even if you purchase an older generator that didn’t come with a remote start, you can buy a kit that turns it into one. Remote starts are great for those times you don’t want to go outside to power up. Check your manual, but some remote starts are effective up to 100 feet. This is great when there’s a storm outside and with a push of a button you can get your generator up and running from the comfort of your home.
• Eco mode Some generators are equip with eco mode. This mode allows your generator to adjust the engine speed to produce only the amount of power needed for the current load. In essence you save fuel because the engine is not running at full speed. Eco mode also makes your generator quieter.
• Outlets Check the specs on the generator you are considering to see what outlets it includes. In general the more powerful your generator the more outlet combinations are possible. Some options include: 120-Volt 20 Amp household outlets, 120-Volt, 30 Amp RV ready outlets, USB ports, 240-Volt 20 Amp, etc.
  
• Bluetooth With bluetooth capabilities you can monitor power consumption, fuel level, runtime remaining and remotely shut off your generator using an app on your phone. This is pretty handy if you are busy working and don’t want to spare the time to check on your generator.

What SIZE generator to buy?

Generators are sold by how many watts they can produce. To determine what size generator to buy you need to first determine your power requirements and your wattage needs. If you are planning on doing more than just charging your back-up batteries to supplement your energy system, your requirements may be much more. You can create a list using a load calculator or wattage worksheet to easily figure this out. Identify the items with surge/starting watts and running watts for each item. Add these numbers up and this will be your total wattage requirements. Keep in mind that electrical motors typically demand two to three times the running wattage to start up.

Generator Maintenance 

1. Oil Change New generators need to have their oil changed after 30 hours of use. After that first oil change, change the oil every 100 hours of use. Keep extra oil on hand.
2. Spark plugs You should put new spark plugs in at least every year.
3. Air filters They need to be changed every 200 hours of use or at least at the start of each season. Replacing air filters is very simple in a generator.
4. Fresh Gas Always use fresh stabilized gas in your generator. Stale fuel can cause generator starting problems. You can add fuel stabilizers to your gas to minimize fuel breakdown.
5. Storage If you’re going to store your generator for more than a month, make sure to store it with an empty tank.
6. Frequency Whether you need to use it or not, it’s best to start your generator every 30 days and run it for just a few minutes. This will help keep the engine in great shape and ready for it when you really need it.
7. Owner’s Manual Read your owner’s manual to find specific maintenance for your chosen generator.

The Generator for our plan

We feel that the Champion 3500 Watt Dual Fuel Conventional Generator will meet our needs perfectly as we get our homestead started. Our plan is to use our generator to run power tools while constructing our house and charge our back-up batteries when the need arrises. We wanted the added option of using either propane or gas to run it. We may upgrade in the future to a generator that is more powerful and has more bells and whistles, but this one will do just fine for us in the beginning.

As you can see the best generator for you is really dependent on your own personal needs and even preferences. But, having a back-up generator to supplement your energy needs is a very smart way to go. Even as prepared as you may be things can happen that disrupt well thought-out plans. Which generator do you choose and why? Tell me in the comment section.