Portable tri-fuel generator for Chargeverter

[dewhite04]

Hi All,

I've got a pair of 6000xp and 280ah indoor batteries on the way, along with a Chargeverter-GC to provide backup power to the bulk of my home here in Houston, TX; and perhaps to experiment with TOU shifting to help offset the cost of the equipment over time.

Still on my shopping list is a portable tri-fuel generator to wheel-out when outages extend beyond a couple of hours here on the Gulf Coast. Hoping to utilize the full 26A @ 240v draw I have been assuming I need something with (26 * 240 / .8 = 7,800) running watts on Natural Gas to allow the unit to run at about 80% of it's stated capacity. Based on the NG de-rating I've seen on most units, I figure that probably equates to about 9,750 running watts on gasoline or better.

So far, I've been looking for a Westinghouse WGEN11500tfc because it seems to check all of the boxes at a price I'm comfortable with, including stated THD <5% which is a nice bonus in case I want to bypass the inverters or loan it to a friend or family member in the future.

Since the WGEN11500tfc is sold out from every retailer right now, I thought I would ask here and see if anybody else is doing this job with another similarly-priced unit. I'm pretty set on using Natural Gas, but if someone here has converted a gasoline or dual-fuel successfully for this purpose, I'd love to hear about it!

 

[DIYrich]

Consider using something like Motor Snorkle to convert gas generator to tri-fuel.

Otherwise, the Firman at Costco. If you are worried about THD, add a Chargeverter.

 

[50ShadesOfDirt]

If your scenario is chargeverter (only), you can roll with wgen9500df (don't think there is a tfc, but might be by now). The 9500's are higher-THD, and the 11500's are low-THD. If you also want the scenario of loaning out your gen, then I agree wgen11500tfc is good (but currently unobtanium). IMHO, thd isn't as important as surge protection.

All westinghouse models are right in the sweet spot for me ... feature-rich, inexpensive, etc. The only issue with them is that which plagues nearly every manufactured device ... quality ... occasionally, a unit gets out the door and has a problem requiring support call/repair. My 11500tfc shipped and ran great in the first month, but then exhibited an "automatic starter problem" ... I have a call open on it, and will probably need a new starter or flywheel (teeth not engaging all the time?).

Another issue (probably with any new gen with the dreaded CO sensor) is that this thing shut down once, in my open-air gen shed (just has a roof), and gave me no clue that the CO sensor probably triggered, and invoked an "inactive period"; control panel completely dead, no lights, nobody home (and no error msg saying "CO sensor"). I went back out a few hours later, and it fired right up.

Even with the above, I still think these are the right gen with the best mix of features, at the right price ...

 

[dewhite04]

If your scenario is chargeverter (only), you can roll with wgen9500df (don't think there is a tfc, but might be by now). The 9500's are higher-THD, and the 11500's are low-THD. If you also want the scenario of loaning out your gen, then I agree wgen11500tfc is good (but currently unobtanium). IMHO, thd isn't as important as surge protection.

All westinghouse models are right in the sweet spot for me ... feature-rich, inexpensive, etc. The only issue with them is that which plagues nearly every manufactured device ... occasionally, a unit gets out the door and has a problem requiring support call/repair. My 11500tfc shipped and ran great in the first month, but then exhibited an "automatic starter problem" ... I have a call open on it, and will probably need a new starter or flywheel (teeth not engaging all the time).

Another issue (probably with any new gen with the dreaded CO sensor) is that this thing shut down once, in my open-air gen shed (just has a roof), and gave me no clue that the CO sensor probably triggered, and invoked an "inactive period"; control panel completely dead, no lights, nobody home (and no error msg saying "CO sensor"). I went back out a few hours later, and it fired right up.

Even with the above, I still think these are the right gen with the best mix of features, at the right price ...

Thanks for your thoughts! There is a 9500tfc and a 10500tfc that are both available in the retail channel. When I can't stand to wait any longer, I will probably pull the trigger on one of those. Still checking 2-3 times per day at all of the retailers to see if I can be one of the lucky few to find an 11500tfc.

 

[dewhite04]

REMOVED DOUBLE POST.

 

[50ShadesOfDirt]

My guess is that a second round is coming, as fast as Westinghouse and their manufacturing (country) can produce a 2nd round (and get it shipped by sea over here and into the channel resellers) ... who knows how long such intervals are, but I hope they adjust and keep the pipe more perfectly full.

The wgen11500tfc seems like it'll be a winner, in many categories ...

 

[dewhite04]

Consider using something like Motor Snorkle to convert gas generator to tri-fuel.

Otherwise, the Firman at Costco. If you are worried about THD, add a Chargeverter.

Seems like the Firman would struggle to keep up with 26A@240v on NG? I do like the price, and the idea of being able to return it to Costco for up to a year (I think).

Maybe I'll take a 2nd look at that unit...

 

[DIYrich]

Seems like the Firman would struggle to keep up with 26A@240v on NG? I do like the price, and the idea of being able to return it to Costco for up to a year (I think).

Maybe I'll take a 2nd look at that unit...

When you have batteries, you don't need to power the full load. On natural gas, it is 5,500 running watts. 80% of that is 4.4kW (which is a good number for a chargeverter). Run for 8 hours, and that is 35 kWh to the battery (31 kWh net assuming 90% efficiency).

 

[seneysolar]

I have a Duromax 13000, but only a few hours on it for testing. Seems decent for the money and comparable to the Westinghouse, but I'm not a fan of the push button start/ auto choke (they all seem to use the same . There's nothing broken it just doesn't leave the choke on long enough. It will never start on its own until I manually hold the choke shut while its cranking, otherwise it makes 4 attempts and then faults.

 

[dougbert]

with one Chargeverter being fed by a genny, max load on the genny will be 5000 watts. Which is pretty good charging amount, and will max out your battery charging ability

Last year I got into buying cheap old, non-working generators and fixing them. (Learning from James Condon 's work). Then adding after market muffler, tri-fuel carbs or adapters. I sold some at cost, to some of my kids who wanted one. And selling to open market

I got lucky one day, while looking at the classifieds, and got a beautiful and well kept 8000 watt tri fuel Winco (1998), 2 cylinder for $50. Seller used it at a cabin and only used propane. The original price new was $2400 back in the day. Seller thought the powerhead was toast and was too expensive to fix, without a deep dive into why it failed. So he wanted to get rid of it fast.

Upon my investigation into the issue, turned out it was a melted capacitor excitation wire. Fixed it easily. Now it is my primary house genny on a 50 amp inlet feed line. A 50 amp would max out at 12,000 watts. Hence in the future I can use a bigger genny if wanted/desired

It currently is feeding 2 Chargeverters to charge 1600 amp-hr battery. The generator feed line is also connected to my inverter, if desired.

On propane the Winco generator will sustain a 6300 watt load, perfect for 2 CVs at 3000 watts each if needed. Will usually just use one of them.

I am also at 5500 ft above sea level -- low oxygen content in the air, thus lower power.
Plumbing nat gas for it as well

view of muffler ($200)

dropped noise 10db, measured with a meter at 15 ft

so there are options other than buying new