In this modern era, our daily life will just stop without electricity, and this becomes even more frustrating during blackouts. Luckily, having a portable generator by your side will solve this problem, and due to the small size and lightweight design, you can use it for home backup as well as outdoor activities and fishing too.
Many of you have a question such as how long can I run my portable generator continuously?
Well, your generator can run as long as you want if it is given proper maintenance at the specific time period and not to mention some break too.
The running time of your generator solely depends on some of the factors which we have discussed below.
Exactly how long can you run your portable generator?
As I said earlier, there are lots of factors that come into play when you want to run your generator non-stop. There are lots of new generator owner might reading this post so that I will explain it in as simple terms as possible.
Size
First and foremost, the running time of your generator depends on the size of your generator. As the size of the generator decreases, its fuel-tank size is also going to decrease, which results in a short runtime.
And because of the small fuel-tank, you will have to refuel again and again, and it is especially true in the case of inverter generators. Generally, a bigger generator gives you more runtime, which is important if you want to run your generator overnight.
Load
Another big factor is how much load you are putting on your generator, meaning that how much loaded your generator is. A higher load will consume your fuel faster; hence, the runtime will be less.
Let us understand it by this example; suppose you have a 5000 watts generator and you are running 4800 watts of the electrical device on it. Now let’s take another scenario in which you are running 2000 watts electrical device on a 5000 watts generator. In both cases, fuel consumption is going to be different that will greatly affect the runtime.
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Continuous running
Generators are not designed as car engines that can run for a long time without needing any breaks. If you put too much load on a generator for an extended time, then it is going to overheat, which hugely affects its overall lifecycle. So it is important to stop your generator for 20 to 30 minutes after every 2-3 hours to increase the overall life expectancy of your portable generator.
How much fuel can your gas generator hold?
As you know, the fuel-tank size one of the biggest deciding factors of generator runtime when it comes to running your generator continuously. Also, please do not forget to shut down your generator when you are refueling it because it can be dangerous for you.
Any generator can hold between 1 to 10 gallons of fuel depending on the generator’s power-producing capacity. Moreover, any decent generator will give you about 10 to 12 hours of runtime at 50% load on the full gas tank.
If you have more than 5 gallons of the fuel tank, then you may have to refuel twice a day (roughly 13 hours), which is not that bad. But do not forget that here we have considered only 50% load and the load more than that will decrease the overall runtime.
What about propane and dual-fuel generators?
One of the biggest advantages of using a propane or dual-fuel generator is that you don’t have to worry about the size of the fuel-tank anymore. Because by using the biggest propane tank, you can increase the runtime up to weeks.
We all agree that duel fuel or propane generators are superior to gas generators in every aspect. That being said, propane tanks come with 500 to 1000 gallons of capacity, and a typical propane generator will burn about 2-3 gallons of propane about every one hour.
So if we do the math, then 500 gallons of propane tank will help you run the generator for one week, whereas the 1000 gallons of the tank will last for more than 2 weeks. So it doesn’t mean that you should run a propane generator for one week.
It is also true that propane and dual-fuel generator needs proper rest after some time in order to maintain their efficiency and work cycle.
Gas Generator vs. Propane Generator: Which will run longer?
To answer this question, we are going to look at both the generators because both have their pros and cons.
Gas Generator: The Pros and Cons
Gas generators are widely used and super easy to fix, plus they are very reliable. Moreover, gasoline is very easy to obtain and gives you high BTU (British thermal unit) compared to propane.
But on the other hand, gasoline is expensive, and storage is dangerous because of its high flammability. That’s not all, propane goes bad within 12 months, and the ethanol mixed gasoline barely lasts for two-three months.
Moving on, you need to use the fuel stabilizer if you do not want to use your gas-generator; otherwise, the gum buildup will occur in the fuel tank and the fuel itself. Furthermore, you need to clean the carburetor more often and empty the whole fuel tank to remove residue and prevent the carburetor from clogging up.
Last but not least, gasoline is one of the top contributing fuels for pollution, and it produces one of the highest carbon monoxide and other harmful gases.
So in short, the gas generator has many disadvantages compared to advantages.
Propane Generator: The Pros and Cons
First of all, propane is much cheaper, and practically it lasts for an unlimited time, which is a huge advantage. Propane is stored in completely sealed tanks, so there is no risk of spillage or fire.
To top it off, propane generators are usually quiet compared to the generators running on gasoline. Other than that, you do not need to fuel stabilizer in propane or empty the fuel tank when the generator is not in use.
Additionally, propane is very environment-friendly, and it produces very less harmful gas emissions, which reduces the greenhouse effect.
Just like all things, propane has some downsides too. First of all, propane is not as efficient as gasoline, which means that your generator will consume more fuel when you are using propane. Other than that, propane does not work in cold temperature due to heat transfer issues.
Non-stop Power: You Will Need a Dual-fuel Generator
The dual-fuel generators are the solution to every problem you have. Thanks to its dual-fuel system, now you can use both gasoline and propane in one generator, and thus, the overall runtime of the generator will increase drastically. Check out the reviews of the best dual-fuel generators here.
That’s not all, a dual-fuel generator gives you the freedom of using any fuel as you want. For example, propane is cheaper to use, but when the propane is not available, or you want to use your generator in a cold place, then at that time, you can use the gasoline.
Other things to keep in mind when trying to run your generator continuously
Please note that the portable generators aren’t designed to run continuously for days. You can run them consistently 13-16 hours before they need rest and time to cool down the engine.
So what I mean to say is that there is no problem in running your generator, say, twice a day about 8-9 hours but more than that can break your generator.
If you live in an area where frequent power outage occurs and you need serious power uptime, then you are better off buying a standby generator or whole house generator, which specifically designed for this purpose.
